The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-10-31
SAVE SCHOOLS
AS NATION WARS
!. ON PRUSSIANISM
President Edwards APP
peals for United Front
In Educational Work


fellow men; when under the stress
OF increasing demands and increasing
enort and sacrifice, the human mind
| is prone to temporiZe and disregard
fundamental things, feeling that
present conditions are temporary and
that satisfactory adjustments can be
made later, IL certainly behooves all
who are engaged in educational
work, all who are interested in chill
dren and young people; all who love
young life and have faith in It. to
DO the most sober-minded thinking
they ever did and to unite firmly on
| the one principle that our schools
must not be suffered to decline or
deteriorate on account of the condi-
tons confronting us as a nation"
said State High School Inspector e.
r. Edwards OF jamestown in his an
nual address as president of the
North Dakota Education association
i this afternoon.
Mr. Edwards subject was Educa-
tional Patriotism, his address follow
ing a welcome on behalf Of the state
bv Governor Frazier and for the city
Of Bismarck by G. N. Remission,
| secretary Of the commercial club.
Must Not Make Mistake.
America must not repeat the
experience Of the nations Of the old
Il
and universities of young men and
their elementary schools Of boys and
| girls under the early stress Of the
i war;, said President Edwards. "The
school systems of F1ance and Eng
land are all but ruined. The most
| efficient school system on EARTH OF
which Germany boosted, is nothing
but a wreck. England. has Just now
passed the largest common school
Il hRTHpnf In Tho hfufnwwy nF nn
and has enacted the most stringent
compulsory attendance laws she ever
had and is enforcing them. England
| and France ARE looking to America
today to supply them with trained
men in all lines to make up their
losses. A little later-very soon we
all hope-we will be called upon to
furnish not only the money but the
brains to rehabilitate the rest of Eu-
rope. Will we be prepared to do SO?
Certainly not, If We allow our own
schools to deteriorate and the educa-
| tional enthusiasm of America to
/ wane.
when taxes get high, when costs
mount up, when anything unusual
transpires. the schools are the first
/ to be attacked and to be neglected. |
Witness how some leading daily
| newspapers have been calling atten-
in our CONSUMPTION law to Ak the
minimum age limit at "a instead of
is or 10. / am thankful twas fixed
/ at II, the age when a boy becomes a
man, legally. It is not yet necessary
| to rob our schools to obtain soldiers,
and it should not be for a long
time.
Working Against Schools.
IF anyone doubts that sinister
II fnAVran1ag re- Of IN az nNF ny
tention away from our schools and
to undermine them through neglect
during the war, just recall that every
public school building in New York
city has been measured for army
| hospital purposes; just recall that
the manufacturers who have under
the protection of law been employing |
little boys and girls recently went
into the courts and newspapers to
get the federal child labor law sus-
pended during the period Of the |
war, and that in at least one state |
federal judge was found who
rendered a decision which will make |
/ it ineffective in that district until |
passed upon by the higher courts. |
Recall also, how the passage OF this |
law was fought in congress. But we |
can be thankful that il did pass and |
/ that it now is in effect, liberating |
manual and intellectual slavery.
THE stress OF war will give these
enemies of children's rights-these |
craven wretches who think more |
highly OF a dollar than OF child
| the powerful few who are money
and profit MADAM opportunity to |
curtail expenditures for education |
and to make more children the slaves |
Of ignorance and thus undermine our |
citizenship.
'This greatest and most altruistic |
war ever fought thrusts upon us the |
absolute necessity of safeguarding |
ideas and furnishing ideals as well /
as accoutrements of war. Aeroplanes, /
battleships, armies, huge expendi-
lures of money cannot make the /
world safe for democracy. Democ-
racy is a system of ideas, body Of
ideals, an attitude of mind. Its
sanctuary must be an institution,
social, political, educational, devoted
to the fullest conservation and
preservation of. this attitude and
these ideals. Such an institution is
and must continue to be the Ameri-
can public school system providing
fully for the complete training of
children and young people from the
kindergarten through the university
and technical schools.
1nOuSauWS ana LnOubAHu6 Oh AM
erica's noblest young men are now
on their way to fight for these ideals
and thousands more are preparing to
go. They are the sons OF rich and
poor alike. Many an eastern college
patronized by rich mems sons is on 1
the verge Of closing because the stu
dents have gone to Europe to aid in /
the great work Of making the old /
world safe for all mankind Many Of .
those going will never return. This /
win be a loss sad beyond imagina-
ton; but even such a tragedy will |
sink into insignihcance beside q |
greater catastrophe IT, while they are |
dying from the bullets and the afro
cities Of the goth. century Huns and |
Vandals, we who are here fail to do |
our part; fail to keep our schools
and colleges, our universities ana |
other schools not only as usual, but
better than ever and more efficient |
than ever, that the ideals for which |
we as nation are lighting may be |
inculcated in the hearts and minds |
Of the youth of our land who must |
because OF the terrible exigencies OF
this war bear the burden of citizenry |
al an earlier date than was expect
ed"
- ax@nVIsw tlAaaE AtthuR