Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-16
II WASN'T HooKWoRM.

That hookworm disease is respon
sible for lack of progress in many
country schools: that it can be eradl-
Gated. and that the rura! schools are
now taking the lead in the movement
TO destroy this and other handicaps
20 good health. are some of the con-
illusions Of a bulletin by DR. John A.
Terrell on Rural School and Hook
worm Disease" just issued for free
distribution by the United States Blu
reau OF Education
Perhaps the hookworm is responsible
for a lot o: "dolessness" and scant az
,ention TO lessons down south where
that particular wriggler is supposed 10
Keep company with the boil weevi and
disreputable companions but up north
the situation was different years ago
and here seems no good reason to be-
Iieve that conditions have radically
changed.
When We older fellows wen. 10 school
a the Old Red away hack in the nine
tenth century we used to notice cases
that might be diagnosed nowadays as
hookworm There was Bill Dempsey.
Bill never paid any attention 10 his
lessons and his only educational
triumph was that he never missed fail
ing in recitation. From the primer on
10 Sanders Third a succession of
schoolma ans dragged and coaxed Bill
When Bill was IL he was in the D
spelling class and other fellows of his
would have operated on him for hook
worm. But We happened to pick W
healthy young Pennsylvania Dutch
man for teacher the following winter
He could make a witchmark but ne
had never heard Of hookworm. He
dia gnosed Bits case and applied the
remedy mos. approved in Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania. He whaied Bill
thoroughly and joyously along about
the third day OF school ard promised
10 wallop him harder every day that
ne didn't come up with fair showing
in he spelling class. And before the
term was out Bill vas reading in the
Fifth reader and spelling IN the \. And
Bill went or next term to greater
t-iumphs He won the little red book
about Little Henry's Sacrifice" given
as a prize for the mos: head marks.
%.
1t was this same teacher that buliied
and shook Priscin' Plunket from the
c arithmetic class into mathematical
glory. Nowadays the doctors would
have doped Priscilr for hookworm
She just sa, In her seat and looked
languidly about. Couldn't apply her
self someway. Fast enough to giggl
when she saw anything to Giggie al and
wrote more notes containing the al
/ legation that roses is red and violets
| is blue than any other girl in he
school.
For two weeks he made her life a
/ burden She came to class in tremb
drenched in tears like country school
/ Niobe We used to feel sorry for heT
and say Things back of the schoo!house
about the teacher But 10, six weeks
/ afterward we were sitting shamed and
Inundated after having failed egregi-
| ousiy before Company while
Preaciil' was finishing UP proudly
Therefore, If the fox is forty rods ahead
| o f,he hound and the fox runs ten rods
while the hound runs twelve - etc.
under the admiring gaze Of the schoo
intendent who had sneaked up to the
front door and popped in on one OF
his periodical visits. You know ir
those days the county superintendent!
sometimes found their way to the Tu-a
schools Only we didn't call them rura
schools then. We said "deestric
school, Why SO far from being at
1icted with llookworms this Priscill
had a first grade certificate and wa.
teaching in town before she was 10.
There were lots of such cases thos
days. Some of them got worse. The.
weren't treated right. Teachers Tx
the Pennsylvania Dutchman wer
scarce. But when one OF them cam
along he ran the school Ma didn'
keep at Pa until he went to the direc
tors with the complaint that his chill,
was being put upon and that par
TALLY was being shown; they jus
waited and let little Bill or Priscil
sweat 1t out. And when they came o.