Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-06-25
State Known by
Educational Work

of the faculties of the universities of
Wisconsin and Washington, and for
fifteen years in public school and
university teaching, now engaged in
lecture work on the Chautauqua and
lyceum platforms, was a visitor in
Ashland yesterday. Dr. Daggy is an
enthusiastic believer in the democrat
ization of education. In an interview
with him relative to normal school
matters he said in part as follows:
II am very much interested in the
attempt of the people of Oregon to
improve their educational facilities.
| cannot understand how anyone who
believes in popular education could
believe that one normal school is suf
ficient for this state. ! have lived
in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois,
Indiana and California and in all of
these states the policy is to have
sufficient number of splendid normal
schools in every section of the state
so that the largest possible number
of young men and women will have
a chance to attend these schools at
the least possible expense. In none
of these states would the people
think of lessening the number of
normals.
During the last five or six years
I have travelled in all parts OF the
United States and have visited
great many schools, colleges and uni
versities. When Oregon closed her
normal schools she did thing which
has diverted millions of dollars into
other states. People could not under
stand how a progressive and intelli
gent state could deliberately destroy
its best asset, i. e. the peoples
schools. rus.
''The old idea of education was
that education is for the privileged
few and that the masses are to be
held in ignorance. The AmeriGani
idea declares that it is the privilege
of every man to secure an education
and that it is the duty of the state
to give him this opportunity. ! can
understand how those who live by
their wits at the expense of the COM
mon people are opposed to the diffu-
sion of education. If you educate the
people, the fellows who eat their
bread by the sweat of the other mans
brow will have to look for respectable
jobs. / can imagine no greater curl
osity than a farmer, laboring man,
business man or any useful produc-
tive member of society who is in ia
vor of restricting and reducing the
number of normal schools. The more
schools the people have, the more
general will be the intelligence
among the people, and, as Henry
Ward Beecher said, The higher the
order of intelligence, the greater the
value of these people from CONNER
cial point of view Good business
sense as well as good ethics demand
that a great state like Oregon have
at least three normal schools of the
very first rank.
"In my own state of Washington,
where am now living, we have had
to meet this issue. We have three
normal schools. An attempt was
made to reduce these to one, but the
politicians who proposed this plan
were defeated by the people. We
now have three first-class normal
schools-one at Bellingham, in the
northern part of the state, one al
Ellensburg, and one at Cheney, in
the eastern part of the state. 1t has
now become the accepted policy OF
the state of Washington to enlarge
these schools.
"a more beautiful location for 9
normal school than Ashland cannot
be imagined, for you have here one OF
the most beautiful cities on the coast
With the re-establishment of your
school hundreds Of boys and girls
| will come to the institution who 9TH
erwise would probably not go beyond
the grades Not only will this school
result in improving the standards o.
your teachers, but 1t will especially
furnish a supply from this section ol
the state who are particularly famil
lar with the needs of the people who
are to live in this section.
From what l know of the people
of this state feel confident that the
only thing that can defeat the re
establishment of the normal woult
be an alliance between few poll
ticians who regard public office as &
private snap and who represent tha'
small minority who believe that ig