South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-06
0hiOan Makes Plea for Equal
Suffrage in Course of Ad-
dress on "NeW Ideas" Be-
fore County Teachers.
DR.. CLAYTON TALKS
ON EDUCATING CHILD
United States Commissioner
Says Teachers Problem is to
COrreIate School Work With
the Pupils Home Life.

Before a gathering which filled the
lower floor of the high school audi
torium Friday. Dr. p. p. Claxton.
United States commissioner of educa-
ton. and Herbert < Bigelow OF Gin
cinnati, spoke before the teachers of
st. Joseph county at the regular meet
ing of the Teachers association.
During the course of his remarks
on education Mr. Bigelbw spoke in
favor of equal rights for women. He
said that it was his hope that the
struggle now on in this country would
establish the principle that liberty is
not a matter of sex any more than it is
a matter of birth or of color. Mr..
BigelOw was president of the Ohio
constitutional convention, and a prom
inent reformer of the state. He spoke
in an eloquent manner on the sub
ject, "Old Institutions and New Ideas"
The session was called To order at
$3.50 O'Clock with r. II. Longfeld,
county superintendent of schools pre-
siding. Practically all of the 500
teachers of the city and county were
present The devotional exercises
were conducted by Rev. II. l.. Davis
OF the First Methodist church.
Dr. ClaXton the first speaker,
dwelt for an hour on the principles
which he considered TO be the most
important in the education of the
child.
On New Ideas
DR.. Bigelow, speaking next on odd
Institutions and New Ideas, said:
New ideas are as painful as new
shoes IT. remains for some one now
to perfect some method by which old
ideas can be extracted from the minds
of people without pain" He said
that one of the greatest obstacles in
the progress of the world was the fact
that the human mind was SO reluctant
TO accept new ideas.
The speaker made an eloquent plea
for "the larger freedom. The teach
ers have before them the great work
of making the child think for itself SO
that the pliable minds may not be-
come as putty in the hands of those
who would do the thinking for them.
You teachers" said Bigelow, come
TO your pupils that they may have
life and that more abundantly.' His
tory shows that the human race itself
is developing into the larger life; that
the race as well as the individual at
tains education and growth by the
learning of one new fact after another
History is the continued story OF
struggle against what seem to be new
truths.
For EQUAL RIGHTS.
Illustrating the idea of the struggle
of humanity against new ideas and for
principles, Mr.. Bigelow spoke elo~
uuently of those who had fought IN
the forefront during the stormy pc
riods of our own history.
The first great struggle OF the
American people" declared the speak
er, was for the principle that lib
erty shall not be a matter OF BIRTH
the second struggle was for the prln-
ciple that liberty shall not be mat
ter of color; let Us hope that now the
struggle may establish the principle
that liberty shall not be matter OF
sex. Institutions are built around
ideas and we must mould our instltu-
tions by changing our ideas.
The speaker referred To what
thankless task the man has who at
tempts TO teach people to unlearn
what they have learned. He gave
numerous anecdotes to recall the fact
that people are prone TO at first lg-
more. then sneer at and combat the
man with a new idea and finally to
build monuments 10 such men. In
1899 il was that men were arrested
who had dared 70 discuss the
"heresy'' OF taxing the public for the
purpose OF educating on equal terms
the children OF the rich and the poor.
DIR. ClaxtOn's Speech.
on the subject Of child education
Dr. ClaXtOn said:
I always like To come 10 this part
of the country where the public
schools have not failed. Education is
CONTINUED OK F--GE F'OUR.)