The Alaska daily empire., 1915-05-26
INFLUENCE OF
 lIRDfRG8RDEN
 IN AM RIGA

Whether Or not one wishes to agree entirely with the statement made to che effect that man will not evolve any higher physically and that he it at present at the very first round Of the spiritual and moral ladder one is almost forced to admit that our boast ed civilization seems but veneer when we contemplate the oyerwhelm- ! lug evidences of ignorance end dis honesty with which we come In daily contact
 "Men are but children of a larger growth, and there was time In the life of even the worst villain when his propensity for evil could have been overcome and all his perverted energies directed into useful channels The reformatories today are over. crowded and the prisons are filled with the children Of yesterday who never had a chance to rise above the miserable conditions into which they were born.
 An important question Is. how can we hasten the time when the vast multitude of these little children, who are coming into the world every day, may be gently led out of the environ. ment of ignorance and crime into {. the bright light of a useful and happy existence.
 Perhaps one of the most important factors in the betterment of the con ditions of these children is the kln. dergarten. that branch of the public school system of the country which has demonstrated It's worth and val ue beyond the slightest doubt or the slightest question There is not part of the country where there is larger generosity in the department of cdu- cation than in the West.
 Speaking of this matter before the National Congress of Mothers meeting in joint session with the National Parent Teachers Association in Spo- kane few days ago, Miss Bessie Locke, of the United States Bureau of Education said:
 Your earnest assistance in the ad. vancement of the Kindergarten move ment. to establish classes wherever 1t is possible to do 30, Is urged as the one quick and sure means of confer ing upon the children of this land a legacy of perpetual prosperity and happiness. while insuring it to the greatest possible extent, against ig norance, dishonesty and crime.
 The National Kindergarten Asso- citation was organized and incorporat- ed in 1909 to promote the establish ment of lindergartens in every part of our country
 In 1913 it undertook to assist the commissioner of education in conduct. ing a Kindergarten division in the United States Bureau of Education. Together we are doing a work of the utmost importance which had never before been undertaken.
 We have made a careful study of the Kindergarten movement in every state. have produced and issued hun dreds of thousands of educational and propaganda bulletins and leaflets. | have had Kindergarten motion picture | films made for the panama-Pacific- 1 international Exposition and for gen. eral circulation, have sent out stero ! pdcan lectures and steremotorgraphic ! slides in an exhibit showing princi- ! ples and methods of Kindergarten handwork. and have furnished special | information and advice whenever re- Quested 10 do SO.
 It was at our suggestion that North | Carolina and Nevada had Kindergarten laws enacted last winter.
 Dr. Claxton. our United States commissioner of education. has said;
 Vital Facts In Education
 "rhe Kindergarten is a vital factor in American education. 1t ought to become a part of the public school school system of every city, town and village in the country If all homes were ideal. stll the broader social life for which Froehler pleaded for the children would need to be SUD- piled by the Kindergarten.
 But. alas, they are not an ideal In many grinding poverty and tradi. tional ignorance have done their work all too perfectly. In many there is want of intelligent mother love Harsh ness takes the place of gentleness.i negligence of cleanliness and loving care; profanity of the pure speech and simple virtues that should greet the ear and appeal to the heart of every child.
 For many children the home is on the street Tn many homes of wealth and refinement the ignorant nurse is the child's only and most constant companion, But the Kindergarten 1 costs money, I think hear some one | say: We cannot afford it. We can l afford 1t. and all other educational facilities necessary for the full edu- cation of our people.
 Duty TO Children
 "We must do it: it is our duty first to our children for whom we live, and in and through whom we must live after we are dead. The wealth we have Is theirs-beyond that which we must consume in the needs of our daily life Sooner or later we muse leave 1t to them; we are only their stewards and guardians.
 Shall we invest their money for them in bonds For brains. in lands or in life? Shall we leave them money or skill to produce money and more than money?