The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-03-17

valued at a fraction of that" He
thought the school taxes. although
high, we're but a small part Of the
value returned in increased moral and
mental development. In South Dakota,
the richest state per capita In the
Union, the children should receive
the besteducation We can provide.
For the children on the farm, the
governor pleaded that they might be
given an equal chance with those In
the cities and towns with their splen-
did school buildings and equipment.
He urged that all be given the oppor-
tunity to continue their studies be-
yond the eighth grade. He paid a
deep tribute to the vocation of teach
ing and emphasized strongly the re-
sponsibility the teacher bears in in
tluencing the lives and purposes of
her pupils. In closing Governor Yes
sey touched upon the management of
the schools in the municipality and
the state and asked that the voters
would not stint hearty support Of ed
ucational aims, one of the funda-
mental and nee led things of u s. c.
ial life.
/ Prof. G. Willis Of Brookings, we'll
known in Mitchell from addresses
given here at the time Of the state
corn show and farmers Institutes, de-
livered one of his characteristic adj
dresses upon various phases of our
educational problems. One of the first
matters mentioned was the present
unsanitary methods in vogue in many
of the schools and the professor em-
! phasized especially the need of hyge-
mic drinking conditions.
He decried the tendencies many of
the schools show to discourage life
on the farm and emphasized that their
chief purpose is to make the pupils
in love with country life. The best
crop raised on the farm, he said, was
the crop of boys and girls and every
thing should be done that is possible
to have them stay there. To this end
the agricultural college owes much of
its aim in allaying the contentment
of the country-bred boy and girl. The
practical side of education as applied
to agriculture has not yet received
its full measure of appreciation.
Professor Willis paid a deep tribute
to the farmer and his relation to the
outside world. He demonstrated how
too often in the past the farmer has
been the man who followed the pos
session because of necessity, but that
now he was coming to be the educated
highly developed specialist; a man
who would get the most valuable crop
from his land and leave in better con-
dition then when he found it. The
qualifications for a successful farmer,
as developed by the professor, are
becoming higher each year and re-
veal the need only for employing
scientific and proper training. In con-
clusion the speaker touched upon
several of the pertinent and import
ant phases of the EDUCATIONAL prob
lem.
Corn Contest for Boys of County.
Superintendent G.. G.. Lawrence of
Lincoln county, the first man to intro
duce corn contests as a feature of the
educational work in the rural dis
tricts, presented his subject in a lucid
and convincing way. He first brought
forth the conception generally ac-
cepted and taught in the country
schools that to educate the boy and
girl was to teach them to do that
which they would never have occas-
ion to use afterward. 1t has resulted
in attracting many to poorly paid
positions in the cities. AS one step
boys opportunities this system of
contests has been devised.
In Lincoln county, 42O boys were
supplied by the superintendent with
seed corn the first year, the object
being to induce them to enter the
contest for the prizes which had been
hung up amounting to 500. OF this
number yer LOO finished the contest.
Corn was sent from all over the coun-
ty and the various awards made, each
participant receiving recognition. The
next year a larger number competed
with very successful results. Essays
were also written describing their
methods and prizes for these awarded.
Additional prizes were also offered
for the girls in baking and sewing
exhibits and several hundred partici-
pated and all We're given small sums
for their interest. The entire agri-
cultural population of Lincoln county
has been greatly aided and benefited