The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1920-04-29
THREE HUNDRED
TEACHERS HERE
Convention of Sibley Association At.
tended by Workers from Var
iOus Points in State
BAD ROADS REDUCE NUMBERS
Visitors Pleased With Reception Given
BY Oakes People

to normal again, but during the last
days of the past week even a blind
man could have told that there was
something doing in Oakes. Any blind
man who was here certainly has our
sympathy, for he missed a lot. The
schoolma'ams in this section of the
state may not be long on salaries,
If the addresses and discussions
Of the convention are to be relie.l
upon, but it is sure that they are
not short on good looks.
Over 800 of the educators of the
southeastern quarter Of the state
were assembled in Oakes in attend
ance upon the convention of the Sib-
lye Education association, which has
now been reorganized as the South
eastern division of the North Dakota
State Teachers association. Oakes
has the distinction of being the host
at the first and last session Of the
Sibley association.
That the attendance was not one or
two hundred more was due to the
rains Of last week. Over so teachers
who had written in to the local COM
mittee on arrangements for room res.
ervations were prevented from COM
ing because of the muddy roads. This
explains why some Of the household
ers of the city who had cleaned up the
spare guest room in expectation of
housing some of the teachers had
their work for nothing. The CON-
mittee had prepared to handle a
crowd of over 400.
The teachers were met at the trains
by reception committee headed by
j. w. Bush and C. E. Knox. For some
reason they had no trouble at all in
finding volunteers to assist them in
this arduous task. Arrangements had
been perfected in advance, whereby
the visitors were conducted to the
headquarters and registered and as
signed to rooms with tho least pos
siIie delay and confusion. The dining
room of the Home Hotel was turned
over to the association as headquar-
ters, where committees might work,
and members sit and visit at will.
School people were here from as
far as Fargo and Wahpeton on the
east, Darlington to the north, and Bis
marck on the west. They all went
away praising the hospitality of
Oakes, and expressing the hope that
they might come again some time,
which is exactly the way the citizens
of Oakes feel about them.
The convention was formally called
to order by President Mckenna short
~ after s o'clock Thursday evening.
In the absence Of the secretary, Sup
erintendcnt j. c. Gould of Oakes was
appointed secretary pro ten.
The program opened with music by
the Oakes Grade Girls Glee club, and
violin solo by Lorraine Bronson, one
of the members. Owing to a meeting
of the board Of administration which
made it impossible for Miss Nelson
to arrive in Oakes until S:45, the two
addresses Of the evening were inter-
changed. President E. Lee Howard of
Fargo college spoke first, following
the invocation by Rev. j. E. Larson
Of Oakes..
President Howard spoke with elo-
quence about the present crisis in ed
ucational affairs. lie used as his
text" an editorial in a recent Satur-
day Evening Post, in which a college
was defined, according to former
President James A. Garfield, as a
log with Mark Hopkins on one end
and Garfield on the other. President
Howard said that we have been spend
ing too much of our money and at
tention on the upholstering of the log,
and not enough to the Mark Hop
kinses. He paid tribute to those teach
ers who have stuck by their posts in
the face of the cost of living, and
plead for more adequate salaries, even
if to. pay them makes it necessary for
wealthy private citizens to endow our
public schools as they have in the past
endowed colleges. After all, the most
important thing about the school sys-
tenn is the boy on the other end of the
log, and he deserves the best. No
greater investment can be made than
in human lives.
After number of announcements,
State Superintendent Minnie j. Mel
son was introduced. After outlining
the history Of the Sibley Education
association, she discussed the needs of
the hour, educationally. The chief
Feed is better trained teachers. To
obtain them will necessitate the pro-
viding Of better salaries, better living
conditions, especially for the rural
teachers, but more especially an
aroused public sentiment that will
make the teaching profession more
highly honored and appreciated. She
spoke Of the teachers week" to be
held beginning May 16, during which
an effort will be made to arouse pub
lie sentiment in North Dakota in the
Continued on page ~