The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-02

Mrs Champ Clark comes forward as an enthusiastic advocate of school books that have been relegated to the nebul- ous region of has been."
 She advocates a return to the use of 'McGuffey's Readers and other text books of that class that she used in her school days. This, of course, in cludes the "Old Blue Back Spelling Book" by Noah Webster.
 Perhaps Mrs. Clark has had some sad experiences with modern stenographers who cannot spell. Perhaps her interest in the matter has been aroused through the profanity of her distinguished hus- band in relation to these same stenog- raphers who have more hair than edu- cation.
 It is a matter of general complaint that students of the present day con not spell.
 It is generally admitted that the boy or girl who mastered the "Old Blue Back" can spell.
 Every adult reader of The Age-Her- aid will recall this masterpiece of school publications with many fond recollections. In your memory it stands out as a we'll thumbed and worn volume of hideous proportions.
 I showed copy of the old book to a veteran yesterday.
 NO, that Is not the old Blue Back !" he said, shaking his head and turning it fondly in his hands. "The old Blue Back was longer, wider and thicker than this"
 He began to turn the pages. But 1t is the old book" he exclaimed. Here are the same dear old pages. Here are .ba' and 'ab Here Is baker 'abase' and botany and the other familiar words and lessons that were drilled into our minds under the persuading influence of the rod and stern. mascu- line tutorship"
 And the old mans eyes twinkled and his heart throbbed. He was perhaps thinking of the old log school house at the bend of the road, the bubbling spring at the foot of the hill under the shade of the old beach tree and of Fanny, who stood next to him in the 
 with down the lane when school was out
 Those were days when the average schoolboy was equipped with a "speller," slate, an arithmetic and a reader These with an apple for Fanny and lunch in a tin pail constituted his full equipment for school. He went as early as he could get his face washed and stayed all day. There was short recess during the morning, an hours i'm termission for dinner and another re- cess in the afternoon. Studies con tinued till almost sundown.
 But you remember all these details and can fill in the skeleton with your own tender recolections of the knotty problems. the frowsy headed sweetheart and the games on the playground.
 The old 'blue-bacls'' is one of the best sellers in the world. It stands, perhaps, next to the Bible though in recent years the market has sagged consider- ably to give place to new ideas and new books that must be sold whether they are any better than the original speller or not. .FN..i The modern idea seems to teach the form of words rather than their con struction, accent and pronuncioation. The ..blue- back" dissected the word in such way that when you got it you had it. It is a mooted question as to whether this is better than the sight reading of the present day
 The first word you were required to learn following the perpendicular alpha bet was .'ba.' The last word on page 174 is "whortleberry." The pages be- tween have a regular graduation or words and phrases that led the pupils through all the tortuous maze of strain ing development. You have not forgotten the first les sons Six of them consist of short per pendicular columns of words of two