The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-21
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

Daddy, school begins today. This was the greeting of my youngest son brought to me. You old men with boys at the front no doubt nae a tug at your heart as you saw the happy lads trooping schoolward, for you were thinking of the time when your own bairn with shining face used to come from the days work you found rest in his gadsome spirit.
 l am going over the state good bit at present and frequently I look out the car window and see Sturdy little fel- along the dusty road, and it heartens me for I know that all over this land of ours there are millions who are be- ing educated in our public schools.
 America is, going to show in this war that her system of culture is far super for in every way to German kultur, and tHdl our pupHc sChoolS prepare poyS LOT self-reliant manhood, while her machine methods in education turn~out efficient machines who lack initiative,
 
 I think that all along the line, from the lSindergartens to the universities, that the American brand of schooling is going to show conclusively that by pre-. pairing men for democracy it is far bet ter than the system which makes citi- zens content with autocracy. Tn spite of the claim that Americans were lost in materalism the world is to learn that no nation is more given to ideal ism.
 This war is a combat between ideas, Taking America as the highest type of democracy, we discover that it is under girt by it's free schools. There is mo- where in all the world where an edu- cation is within the reach of everyone as it is in the United States. It, how ever, is not a mere Goddess culture for | it is backed up by Sunday schools. I think I am in some position to speak on the worth of our schools as I am fairly familiar with the education al systems in France, Germany and Austria I put in sometime as a lad l attended the LyceeN Condorcet, one of l the public schools.
 | One of the strange things which i found as boy at school in a private school in Paris was that the French | boys learned their lessons in the same way that some of our forefathers used to learn theirs in the old district schools. for they studied them aloud in sing 1 song fashion, that sounded rlore like a music than literary class.
 l I met Chap Cory on the streets the other day, and he said, Frank, have you realized that the question of getting iteachers i'll the public schools is getting 1 serious?" I answered in the affirmative, and then he began to tell me what it l meant, and how we ought to appreciate | those who had turned down bigger sal aries and easier places to stand by the l schools.
 Dr. Phillips, realizing the sacrifices
 which many were making took occasion at the state teachers institute to ex- press his pride on the fact that hum dreds of them had shown their patriot ism by turning a deaf ear to all offers to leave their profession at time when their country needed their services to man the schools.
 At the first outbreak/of the war there were some timid souls who were ready to shut down the schools during the wa, period and turn the children into the
 fields and the factories, but such has, | ty and hysterical action would have
 been suicidal. It would not have help
 ed to any appreciable extent the labol Tsituation and would have brought tt
 the front questions of child employment
 which were in process of solution.<
 Our worthy President. who has had t
 give aid in the solving of so many wa
 problems, threw himself into the breacl
 and put an end to any such short-sght ed policy. He is a gloriied schoolmas
 ter and no one better knew the impor