New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-06

by hoyfnoaau kNiVtN""'
Time was when one must know how
20 shoot or rake a trap If one would
eat. Time was when ability to shoot
tran. skin an animal and tan It's pelt
meant covering for the body or none
Not so far back as history goes man
had to be his own mason, carpenter
blacksmith, or he had to live in the
omen. without shelter and without tools
for work. Women spun those days
the only days when cloth was all wool
and 3 yard vide. Women cooked with
out the aid of Good Housekeeping,
DR.. Wiley or even the Settlement Cook
Book; consequently there was no crit
icism of meals-they we're beyond crit
icism. Children rode horses of sticks
then; children PLAYED ball with point
cd block A knO.ted handkerchief was
the little girls doll. The preacher in
the days Of that fast-fsdinG past
preached God and dsmnation, and men
went to church with guns over their
arms
Those were the days when the hu-
man element prevailed--the days when
man, woman and child knew Y hat 70 do
and how in any emergency. Prompt ic-
cision and supplementary action were
necessary 10 life There was stand
ard for society.
To-day all is different the mechsni-
cal prevails. wits divide us into classes
germs worry our appetites and our
sleeping rooms, fashion twists us out
Of shape for. the sake OF showing shape,
and where the human element exists
there is pGverty This IS not as ~
should be, and naturally there Will
come again \ time when man Will once
moro come into his own will ascend
again TO his throne. throne Of power,
built on the right TO do with has mus
cles the things he senses with his soul.
The engineer depends on his signals
and not on himself; the train wrecks.
The mariner depends on his boat that
marvellous creation Of science not on
his sense, net on his responsibility, ana
1he shin goes down. The mechanic feels
his machine is protected from every &C
cident nc depends or the device
rather than on his concentration an"
of comes an arm or out goes an eye.
The Judge says the statutes say so
forgets he. of all men, should be q
psychological humanitarian and OF
goes some wretched man. woman or
child to Incarceration. The boy VIII
not subject himself to routine dlscl-
pline: he cannot be proficient IN all MS
assigned school subjects; he OBJECTS 10
straitjacket physical posture ilNe
hours day: ne gets his books solleG,
L1,alaA Of and
We All know what happens He may be
,,binned which sometimes is most
nerciful for the boy; he may be ha-
rsnrued ana promise to never again;
he NAV be placed in an ungraded
school: he may hsve TO do ali his hght-
ing in q back alley somewhere. MS .
mother. probably a washwoman-oo boys /.
of the well-to-do rarely get black eyes .
will have TO scorch her soul by CIV
ing him a whipping for the teacher /
saRe. and surely. il the book solled /.
has 10 he replaced. the money will
corne from straitened purse. why
The human. element is lacking IN the ;
scboolroom. believe good poker play /
ers do not play according TO boyle; !
noker is au American game VIC uSeo .
10 no daring. Our teachers need 10 T.
dare. they need to forget rules, regula- /
lions. normal training, college degree /
philosophy forget all and be human /
tartan. which means anything ouI De'us
sentimental and soft hearted hhoW /
children. and knowing children is hiIucIl
more than an intuitive process; love
.b;iSrep which means anything but .
tosnbandling; visualize the future Tor
The good Of the state then WINE
Green's dirty face, Tommy Smith /
ruined book. Pedro's black eye ana
even Llsvsllyn Forsythe's acquired
Ian yffI all have R meaning, ana Ine
meaning will take you much Garner 70
school than the rules require and keep '
YOU there much later. 49,,
Never before in history has tneIe
been DECADE such as the one Jus
nest wherein man wanted so to help
socisI conditions. OF course, the last
decade has. reached the height OF eX- .
trsvagance. the height Of crime
the height Of class insanity, DGS
had this not been so there woulo
mot have been so much Tor ear
nest people interested IN the We',
fare Of the nation TO do. But sociaI
reformers have always begun AT the
wrong end-society's STANDARD can
never be changed excepting through
the children. We can speno IIuT"
time and energy and sclentihc app,
cation TO the alienation Of poverty
tbet exists at present; we can remove
the charity stigma from what IS soel-
ctv's dutyl-to help the poor; we can
@Snuq" to our hearts desire, and there
- dufv 10 perform, world without end,
Int We must stsndardize for perma-
nencv through the children. And tne
onlv means of reaching all the emil
dren Is through the public school.
We are constantly thinking OF re-
form from the viewpoint Of the adult
even in irving to allsy the teroclous
slsverv of child labor we work only
tbrou9b the adult. 1t is time we saw
psychological changes from the stand
noint OF the child Harshness, physi-
cal suffering, soul baseness, bad heaith
these are the things we are trying 10
remove from society. FAIRNESS, use
fitness. rest, zest in living and all Tor
the state these are the elements we
are trying to instil. And all TINS Is
easy If the teacher will but introduce
again to eur school regime the human
element, which should not be confused
with the personal element
just as the engineer depends on ms
semaphore, the machlnlst on ms pro-
tecting device, the sutomobllst on nus
safety clutch-so teachers To-Day Ge
rend on the manufacturers and the
booksellers. We have been led to be-
Ieve that to sit other than as So-and-
SOS desks and chairs permit will bring
sninal curvature; unless a certain kind
~ blackboard, placed in certain light,
Is provided. blindness will follow We
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