Newark post., 1911-07-12
The Disposal Of The Profits
Address Delivered By Professor Waugh Massachusetts Agricultural
College, At State Farm On June 29h 1911


ligent neighborhood. A fine pub
lie building adds to the pride al,u
| worth of the community. A mean,
| ugly, undignifed school house or
court house is a blot upon the
neighborhood, a genuine public
disgrace and capable Of uncon-
ceivable mischief. 1t is impossible
to estimate the influence for good
or evil of such public buildings,
but it is quite plain that enough
care has not been given to such
matters in times past.
In pioneer community where
times are hard and money scarce,
and expert help beyond reach,
! some mistakes of this sort are to
be expected, but in a prosperous,
up-to-date neighborhood where
people have brains and time to
think about such things, bad pub
lie buildings are wholly inexcus-
able.
The desirability of improving
the schools will generally be ac-
cepted as readily as the PROPOSE
ton of road improvement. We all
want better schools. We are proud
of those we have, but we realize
; right we'll that they are not SO
good as they should be. There
are two principal ways of improv-
, ing the schools in any community.
| The first and simplest is by paying
more money into them. 1t is a
rule almost without exception that
Our school teachers are underpaid.
While | have the highest respect
and the creates: esteem for school
teachers as a class, and while |
would be the last one to say a
word against them, collectively or
| individually, | must voice the feel
ing Of us all (school teachers in
cluded by saying that more liberal
wages would secure for us a pro-
portionately improved grade OF
teachers. This method of inn
provement is obvious and is al
ways open.
The second method and one
which ought to be applied to a
large number of schools is to give
the entire system All overhauliug
Schools have been with us so long
that they are accepted as a matter
of course.
| They are allowed to run this
year just as they have always run
in the past. The incentive to i'm.
provement is very small. Changes
come with great difficulty. In or
der to give the schools in any
community a thorough overhaul,
ing and the complete reconstruc-
ton which | have in mind, it is
best to call in some expert adj
vice fro mthe outside.
| Some progressive man or wo.
man from a considerable distance
known to be broad-minded d..
up-to-date in educational matters
! and known to have keen anc
| kindly personality, can visit the
community and make many sug.
gestions which could never be
made by native citizen, and which
would never be accepted if they
were made. For, mark you, it is
important that this outside ex-
pert should not only make sugges-
tions, but that he should be given
the opportunity to carry his sug-
! gestions into effect. Reasonable
changes in the course OF study
new plans and methods o.: teach.
ing and an, entire indirecton oi
the whole system may be effected
in this way to the ultimate salts
faction of everyone. This sounds
revolutionary; but the nature ot
the case is such that any local at
tempts at patching up the old
scheme are of no effect. The
thorough overhauling by an un.
prejudiced outsider is the best and
surest method.
| AS the schools SO the churches
It is safe to say that there is not
a community anywhere which
could not profit by the complete
overhauling of its church affairs
1t is a simple statement of univer-
sal truism to say that most com.
mnuities would be benefited by
wiping out at least half the exist.
ing churches. There is hardly Z
community in our Eastern States
which does not have too many
| churches. If the number could be
reduced one-half, congregations
merged, funds better distributed
| stronger Drea cheers enUaCed ap(