The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-07-25

9D1EW Alabama women have achieved
 IFJ more enviable position in the S world of letters than Miss Claudia
 Crumpton, the accomplished and cultured head of the English department of the Alabama Girls Technical institute at Montevallo, and her visit to Birmingham during the past few days has been the
 occasion for many demonstrations of genuine admira tion of her splendid work by numberless friends, not only in the institute, but also in "the better speech movement" of which she Is the head in Alabama and which Is being promoted by the English Association of America.
 Miss Crumpton Is. strictly speaking, an Alabama product-born and reared in this state where she received her early educa ton, bearing the distinction of be- ing "a Judson girl" first of all; later taking a masters degree in English at the Chicago university, and also being a graduate of Georgetown college, Ken lucky.
 Miss Crumpton has taught in the Woman's college of Richmond, and also at Greensboro, N. C., and at the Jud- son for year, and since then she has been at Montevallo, where she has &C., complished some very effective results.
 In speaking of her work both at Mon tevallo and with the better speech move- ment in Alabama, Miss Crumpton said of the latter:
 My election to the position which I now hold was the result of report l made on Aabama's speech work in New York and when l was made one of the directors of the National Council of Teachers of English. which meant national recognition of our work here, 1t naturally afforded me 8 great deal of satisfaction. The work in this state has progressed admirably and the at- tempt which Is being made to have us as a nation realize the beauty and purity Of our mother tongue by speaking 1t cor rectly Is a most laudable and worthy one,"
 It is to be understood, of course, that many of our little provincialisms will remain just as they are" Miss Crump ton said, flor, as pr. Scott of the Uni versity of Michigan said In an address I heard him make on the Standard of American Speech 1t would be too bad to have erased from our vocabulary cer- tain little forms of speech and diction which are original and unique. He quoted as an instance most amusing sentence which was contained in a little story about man who in 8 certain Sec- tion of the country walked up to the door of house and asked the lady for something to eat. He said: Have you any potatoes? Mo- replied the lady. Have you any meat?' he question. 'No,' came the answer again. Have you any bread?' the man asked. What sort of bread? the lady asked. Corn bread?' he told her. Why, corn breads what We aint got anything but replied the lady. For pure originality, nothing could be more unique and those little affectations and origlnalities," Dr. Scott said, should not be eliminated, because they were so amusing.
 my work at the institute" Miss Crump- ton continued, land in regard to the school I would like to say that 1t Is now recognized as one of the most important branches of educational achievement In the south. At first the Alabama Girls Technical institute was looked upon as school for poor girls entirely, and wealthy and cultured girls rather stood aloof, but now I am glad to say that Alabama, In fact the whole south, recog- nizes the importance of what 1t stands for and that technical education is af- forded right here in our midst which can- not be gotten anywhere In the north and east.
 ''Dr. McIver. the first president of the State Normal and Industrial school of North Carolina Is largely responsible for the establishment of technical schools for girls in the south" Miss Crumpton said. Tn the north there are very few