Charlevoix county herald., 1916-05-12
PRESERVE THE
GOOD OLD RATTAN
SEVERAL TEACHERS AND "OLD
FASHIONED" CITIZENS OUT.
LINE BELIEF IN ROD
SAY PEDAGOGUts NEED POWER
Present Tendency Is to Spare the Rod
and Spoil the Child.

Boston, Mass.-Preserve the good
old rattan, the old fashioned spank
ings and the "clubbin's' in the schools
was the rallying cry of several teach
ers and old fashioned citizens who
appeared before the committee on ed.
ucation to protest the bill which
would do away with corporal punish
ment except by permission of the par
ents or guardian Of the child.
"There is too much of this molly
coddling going on" declared indig.
nant citizen John /. Fitzgerald, who
represents the cosmopolitan district
of Ward 8. "Time was when the ca.
o'-nine tails and the switch were part
OF the household furniture. Now We
have the spectacle of a daughter
haling her father into court because
he had dared to chastise her Beatings
never hurt any man; they do him
good"
He believed firmly in the principle
of "spare the rod and spoil the child
and gave lusty cheers for the good ole
plan of applying a rattan to the prop
er vulnerable spot in the hide of re-
calcitrant pupil.
But FitZgerald's roofing for the
stick treatment was as naught com
pared to the delegation of principals
of schools in Lynn. 1t seemed as If
all the corporal punishers of the Shoe
City were on deck to defend their
constitutional rights.
Edgar Copeland who is said to be
one of the most popular principals
in this city, was one of the principal
speakers in defense of the system. He
declared that a teacher must have
the power behind him to get action
out of obstinate pupils or to reprove
youthful pranks that violate the rules
of good order in the school room.
James w. Applebee of Lynn, an
other principal, confessed to having a
clear record this year and a good
amateur standing in the corporal pun
ishment league. But he was strong
for the rattan method of educating
the youthful mind to sprout.
"There is time when a boy needs
it right on the spot" he said, but the
reference was not to locality but to
time. IF you cannot punish the boy
he takes the attitude What are you
going to do about it?'
There are some schools where d
boy gets sick and has decent burial
before the red tape is cut and pun
ishment allowed and the hoy gets
what he is spelling for
The hearing was decidedly reminis-
cent of the youthful days of the com.
mittee and the audience, and they
took keen interest in it. Every po-
tential beaten of the children, as the
principals were looked upon, was
greeted with careful scrutiny as II he
might have concealed a stick up his
sleeve which he was about TO assault
them with
William T. Mignault was the peti
toner for the legislation. II was his
contention that the child should be
protected from the sudden passion Of
the teacher.
"At present" he said, "the same
person is the accuser and the judge
Of the child" He told of a case in
Dorchester where a girl of II was so
punished that her ear was torn to
an extent requiring six stitches to sew
it up. He believed that his bill, while
not abolishing corporal punishment.
would tend to prevent unjust punish
ment. Senator Chapman and Rep
resentative Wall were recorded for
the bill.