The Mena weekly star., 1916-10-05
ENTHUSIASM WAS KEY
 NOTE OF SCHOOL RALLY
Continued from First Page .

Confer Point the only consolidated scbool of the county, led the van a s'ibf exhibit of work in domestic a s5il,.1 and cllhning and corn club work! ,,'. 0ni flown ltheline came West Naf- low with it's fine exhibit of work III nenmanship. Alder Springs school toIlnwed with fine work in map ara object drawing. Happy Hill, located near Hartley; was partlcu- iarlv strong on corn club work, fine evhihits being made by Earl Dun- can Elmer Gordon and 0. H. Riding. Rich Mountain pupils presented pies and cakes as evidence of work in domestic economy and some fine
 vork in needlecraft. Womac school exhibited some specimens of de- mestic art that won the admiration of critical judges of needlecraft and then too. there were good speci- mems of school work.
 Vandervoort school, under the dIS rection of Prof. k. w. Hamby, had one of the large displays on exhibit, including drawings, busy work by the little folks. manuscripts of ev- cry day school work, and best of ali was a fine display of needle work. Two-Mile. with Amos Mus grave as teacher. has learned the lesson of diversiflcation in educa- tion. as shown by the exhibit of the work done by the tots in the pri- mary grade up to work in domestic art and corn club work.
 The Morning Program.
 The program for this morning was truly an educational rally in that the speakers from the address of welcome, thru the response and the leading address by Prof. B. w. TOrreyson. stressed the crisis that has been reached in the educational condition of Arkansas, and the ne- cessity of adopting Amendment No. f2, so that the bar and limitation that is now hindering the educa- tiOnal development of the state may be removed. Minor Pipkin. pres ident of the Mena Board of Educa- tion. was very appropriately selec- ted to deliver the address of well come. Briefly he congratulated the County Superintendent, the teach CTS, pupils and patrons for the splendid showing made in the ex- hibits and in the matter of attend ance of those interested in educa- ton, and then he assured the visit ors that there is no occasion on which the people are more welcome in Mena than CD the occasion of the annual rally and educational fair, but of more importance, he considered, the fact that the peo- pie must rally to the support of Amendment No i2, to the end that the good work that is being done may be continued and intensified. The fact that Arkansas was 43rd in the list of states educationally con- sidered, he pointed out was abun- dant evidence that something must be done if the state is to advance in the sisterhood of states. The speaker reminded his hearers that the adoption of the amendment would not result in forcing every school in the state to vote the max mum of 12 mills, but that it simply would give the privilege to any dis trict that so desired to increase the maximum from : mills to i2 mills He also suggested the necessity of every elector voting on the amend ment for the reason that failure to vote IS the same as voting against the proposition, for the adoption must be made by a majority of the electors voting at the next general election and not by a majority of those voting on the proposition.
 Prof. Tom. J. Wilbanks in re- sponse to the address of welcome, suggested that in the final analysis there is only one thing that he could say in response to the address and the contingent which he repre- sented would rally on November :, and vote solidly for Amendment No. i2. Yet hei desired to say that the educational rally furnished an ex- ample of the exception to the rule that you cannot get something for nothing, for on this occasion he and others from the backwoods come under the influence of the leading educators of the state, and get the inspiration that leads them to go forward in the work. Mena, he said, may not appreciate the good that comes to teachers, pupils and patrons of the county by this annual rally, but those from with out know that it brings about CO., operation, increases inspiration, and gives others the opportunity to come under the influence of the generosity of the good people of Mena.
 One of the strongest educational addresses ever made in Mena was that delivered by Prof. B. w. Tor reyson, Secretary of the State Board of Education and in charge of the department of Secondary Education under the State Department of Ed llcation. T Mir. Torreyson noted the changing trend in education from the purely cultural to the vocation al, and in this connection he refer red to the splendid showing made by the schools of Polk county in domestic art and science and the agricultural activities among the boys. Using as theme the state ment that the rearing and training Of children is the chief duty of the parents and that it should also be the chief oduty of the state, Prof. lorreysonl gave a n1asterful pre- sentation of the necessity of the adoption of Amendment No. i2 that the state and the parent may fulfill thls chief aim in life MT. Torrey- son pointed out that in the period rom 1908 to 1915 the state of Ar kansas had made great progress along educational lines. Schools were standardized, buildings were erected, equipment was increased and county superintendents were elected but that in 1915 when tho