The National tribune., 1911-02-16
was,lngton,s WASTE Land

There was funny piece in the Cleve-
land Leader in recent Issue, the same
being an appeal mot to desecrate
Mount Vernon by placing the District
Reformatory Institution within five
miles of Mount VERMONT The Cleve-
land Leader says with hundreds of
suitable sites in the District of Column
bia. they went across the Potomac Riv-
er in Virginia, and selected land ada
cent to Mount Vernon, where Washing
ton lived, died and lies buried" which
is real funny. The District of Columbia
is 10 miles square, and within that 10
miles square there live in the neighbor-
hood of $4,000 people. Now, where
in the name of common sense. in the
10 miles square of the District of Co.
lumbia. with its $4,000 people, could
5000 acres be picked out upon which
to establish prison reformatory? The
Cleveland Leaders idea of hundreds
of suitable sites in the District" is so far
wide of the mark that there is abso-
lutely not a square acre of ground in
side of the District of Columbia where
the reformatory could be located. The
idea of going down into Virginia was to
take up some of the vacant and waste
land to put reformatory subjects to
work on it. The sacredness of Mount
Vernon seems just to have struck Vir-
ginia people. 1t took many long year
and a whole lot of Northern money to
redeem Mount Vernon from an aban-
doned farm appearance, which began
just before the war, was held in abey-
ance for the five years of the war and
then began in earnest after it. WASH
ington himself left his mothers body to
lie in what might be termed unconse-
Grated ground, the same being a COW
lot, and when he died no stone Nor any
kind of a marker had been erected to
her memory. 1t took Northern women
and Northern money to redeem the
once unbeautiful spot where Mary, the
mother of Washington, lies, and make
of 1t one of the show places of Virginia
Neither Congress nor the people of Vir-
ginia ever had, nor have they yet,
evinced any interest, at least in a mone-
tary way, in that little plot down near
where the mother of
sleeps. The suggestion that
any great institution which will help
men to education in any way, whether
with their hands or their heads or both,
would have been pleasant to Washing
ton. and he would undoubtedly have
given 1t his approval, and the idea that
this land, which lunches up within two
or three miles. Of the Washington
would contaminate Mount Ver-
non, is all nonsense, anyhow. One won
ders what they are going to do about it.
Mount Vernon belongs to the women
who redeemed it. They have a moneyed
as well as sentimental interest in it,
and they have not eyinced the remotest
to sell 1t to Congress or to
the State of Virginia. Indeed. neither
Congress nor the State of Virginia have
come forward with a check in exchange
for the grounds of Mount Vernon. yet
every once in awhile someone comes
out with hare-up about having to pay
4 quarter to get inside the Mount Yer
non gates. If it had not been for the
filthy Iucre put into this property by
those women there probably would not
be any Mount Vernon fore anybody to
visit either for a quarter or for moth
ng. Its grounds were being decimated
Ill the time and the estate was narrow
we're almost In ruins. In fact. some of
he buildings have gone to pieces en-
irely.
Tho Three "R'sy
N. D. Cram. representing one of the
arge publishing houses of New York.
n an Interesting talk on the subject of
principal studies In the schools to-day.
declared that. the. three a-..R's," which
we're the only thing almost in the
chooI days of our grandfathers, have
lot nearly so much relative Importance
Is they once had. He declared that the
schools to-day are specializing to a
yreat extent, while reading, writing
Ind arithmetic have their important
places in the curriculum to-day the
eachers and schools are giving atten
ion more to other studies. Manual
he said, ''is becoming one of
he principal features of public schools,
lot only in the cities, but in country
chools Business courses occupy a
arge part Of the attention of the
made more prominent than the things
hat used to occupy exclusively the at
ention of our instructors. This is a |
natural progression, OF course.
"One of the most striking and impor-
ant advances made in education in this |
country is In the development of con-
olidated agricultural schools, especially |
n the South. This is bound to be of
help to that part of the |
which, 1t is claimed. will show
n the next rs years the greatest indus
rial development of any part of the |
United States. All thru the South pu bile |
chool instruction Is taking on an i'm |
,etus. This Is due, no doubt, to the |
rowing attention being paid that sec
ion. Following the civil war education
n the South languished very much, and |
hose who were able sent their children |
o private schools. The public institu-
ions were greatly inferior to those of
he. North. Now, however, they are
oming into their own, thanks to the
mercy and enterprise of some very ca
,able men,"
While Mr.. Cram no doubt tells the |
ruth about the specializing and the les
ening value placed upon the three
RS" II is nevertheless a fact that boys
nd girls of the present day are turned
ut OF our public grammar and high
chools far less able to care for them
elves in q business way than our faith
rs and grandfathers were. A man or
woman who has a thorO foundation in
he three RS" and a little brains to
Jack it up with is bound to win II he
las the will power and energy. and this
for children too young to
now whether they want to make
ricks, plan buildings or design houses.
7hether they want to be floor walkers
n department stores, lawyers. preach
rs or doctors, Ii sill poppycock. When
boy or girl gets into the high school
, plenty of time to take up specializing.
'efore that ne ought to have his head
tuffed with reading, writing and arith-
letic, spelling and geography. His read
ng ought to be along historical lines.
nd there you have the sum total of the
oundation Of a sure enough education.
city editor of one of the newspapers
Washington had submitted to him a
hort time ago AM article that had been
az a mr. nj, ar" M tup hui