Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-01-16
GOVERNOR QhRIE'S
. OPEN DOOR POLICY
CONTINUED from Page Four.>


declined to the school Of ten children
and very Frequently to less. Form
erly there was the enthusiasm OF
numbers at least. The young men
and women were there. They are no
longer there. It is said that ninety
i've per cent Of the boys and girls
never reach the high school. They
never will under present conditions.
The course Of study in the rural
school should be related to the life OF
the country. It should be in terms OF
the things right next to the boy and
girl. Everything should have inter-
esting practical relation to what the
boy and girl see done every day in the
life about them and to what they see,
hear and DO themselves. Not abstrac-
tions, but concrste applications and
illustrations constantly. The training
should have intimate relation to what
men and women have to do in che
world this % we'll as cultural. There
should bs vocational instruction. The
township school might have small
side buildings for this purpose. The
school should be IN interesting place.
To illustrate: Geography should re-
late to the country round about,
grammar TO Whist The boys and girls
are saying, arithmetic to loads Of
corn, cords Of wood, acres OF land,
tons Of hay bushels Of potatoes and
loans Of money. ! should not follow
the readers; should have Joel
Chandler Harrn Uncle Remus stor-
les, Earnest Thompson seton's ami
NAL stories, Coopers The Deerslayer,
The Spy, The Pioneer, The Path
finder. ~
May I not suggest, also, that the
best thought of the day seems to
have reached the conclusion that pro-
vision ought to be made for district
agricultural and manual training
schools, including domestic science.
The distance from the public school
to the agricultural college is long
one, but if the school referred to
were found on the way for period
of training It would be Of inestimable
value. / invite your serious consider
alton Of this question.
Office Of School Treasurer Abolished.
am advised that we now pay
school treasurers $175.0Oo annually.
This is q needless waste Il the peo-
pies money. Ths once ought to b
abolished and provision made author
king the county treasurer to pay AL
warrants drawn on school funds.
Public Health.
The preservatioa Of :: the public
heath Il . matter Of the greatest inn
portance. Thirty-two years have
passed since the law was enacted ere
sting . state board Of health. There
has been little legislation since and
none that makes it possible for the
board to be q really efficient instTa-
ment for the public good. In the be-
ginning 100000 was appropriated
annually and it has never been in
creased, but Of this the secretary's
salary, So, 10000. all the contingent
expenses Of his Office, the expenses OF
the board and all costs of printing
are paid. Il is manifest that there
can Do nothing Of consequence left to
enable the board to meet the demands
made upon 1t by great state. There
have been epidemics Of typhoid fever
and ota,sr scourges in the state. but
the board when called upon could do
nothing in the way Of making inves-
tipations because it had no funds. l
am advised that in one district there
are thirteen towns now known to
have impure wstsr supply. In view
of the progress made by medical sci
ence in the hast ten years in the abil-
itv TO. detect the cause o6 disease, In
view 'of the advance that has been
made IN sanitary engineering with
references to watsr supply and sew
age and garbage disposal and to the
end tsat prompt action may be taken
to prevent the spread Of communities
bile diseases and that there may be
prevention Of the pollution Of water
supplies and to the end that bstter
sanitary conditions generally may BE-
brought about especially in our
towns, / suggest that there ought to
he. after careful consideration and
consultation with experts In sanitary
science, rewriting Of the law re-
latinR, 20 tho whole subject and an
appropriation made commensurate
with the importance Of it. While
talking about the conservation of our
soil, forests, mines and water power,
we opaR,t not to forget the necessity