Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-26
STATE TO PROMOTE
CITIZENSHIP SCHOOLS
Subject Discussed by Miss Morris,
Delegate to National Suf-
frage Convention.

tTaRc convention.
eve find very hazy notions regarding
the citizenship schools that every one
hears so much about these days. As a
delegate returned from the National
Suffrage Convention in Chicago can you
not shed bit of light on the subject
Thus a reporter confronted one of Della
wares representatives to the League of
Women Voters and piled her with ques-
tions.
Well" began Miss Morris, ''The
principal thing to remember is that there
Is no longer any question of equal sui
frage or unequal suffrage, for, although
the ratification of the Nineteenth Amend
mcnt may be delayed for a short time it is
practically an accomplished fact and
every patriotic citizen whether or not he
approved of its passage will feel exactly
the same way about the citizenship
schools and will work for the accomplish
ment of their purpose. You will be inter
ested in the story told by one OF your
Associated Press men on the floor OF the
convention. A New York reporter had
been sent to New England town for
the purpose of attending citizenship
school in order to write up the story as a
paper. After vieitug the school, the
reporter wired the following message to
his editor, Impossible to treat this as a
Joke. Send up the whole bunch to get
educated so you at once get the point.
The venture which rs attracting nation
wide attention is not the fanciful dream OF
a few idealists, but the means by which
a great gap IN the present system OF
democracy NAV be filed. In Missouri
alone 80 citizenship schools have already
been launched and in every place where
they are started people are literally
eating them up.
How can YOU account for such an
INTEREST,"" interrupted the reporter.
The reason why. that rs plain as the
nose on your face. Most people, and
women in particular, are timd. They
don't like making fools of themselves
and they are eager 10 prove they are not
quite the idiots some consider them.
Moreover, il is generally conceded TO be
true that the weakest link in the whole
chain OF democracy is ignorance concern
ing political machinery and its actual
relation to the government. Citizenship
schools will do much to redeem the
ballot lost through technical error besides
teaching the vote how to use his or her
ballot to get the best results. They viii
also explain the proper channels through
which one must proceed to help remedy
evils in a community In other words, n
government of the people, by the people
and for the people Is a parody on the real
meaning when the people themselves, by
which | mean the greater majority, 60
blind-foldedly to the polls and often cast
their ballots against the very principles
which they would spend their hearts
blood in trying To uphold Citizenship
schools cannot reconstruct an entire
nation in week They cannot educate
an illiteracy greater than the entire popu-
lation of Canada, but they can bring
about a higher order Of democracy which
in time will eliminate such notable
failures in municipal and State govern
ment as are common today.
What plans are formulated for such
schools In Delaware?" Miss Morris was
asked
I'VE are hoping that Delaware will be
we'll in the vanguard IN promoting citizen
ship schools 1t will be one means Of
expressing the impulse which is animating
Delaware today-namely, the desire that
her citizens as nearly as possible shall be
one hundred per cent prepared educa-
TO meet the problems of today
and those of tomorrow. 1t rs certain that
every Delawarean who in the least COM
prehcnds what the project can mean
for the future of our State will be glad 10
give it the financial backing which II
needs. Persons already equipped with
knowledge of civil government
and political science are taking intensive
courses to prepare themselves TO teach in
the citizenship schools These teachers
must be paid and well paid for their work. !
Delaware will have at least one such /
trained person TO go into each county, |
remain for q short time TO conduct model /
schools TO show Others how to continue the /
work. Manuals containing the rudimen- !
tary facts of government as applied to t
our own locality are being compiled by |
members Of the Delaware bar 10 be used /
as text books. Needless TO say, the project /
will take large sum of money to begin !
with, but, already the finance. committee !
with representatives from each county /
and from Wilmington are reporting contri- I
buttons in denominations of SIS. S50$IOO, |
from patriotic citizens and that, too from
who have neither political I
aspirations nor previous suffrage align
nents. No sum Is too small, however. to
De accepted for this work and even small
may manifest an expression
1f good will toward the endeavor For
more definite plans concerning the schools
inquire Of Dean Robinson Of Newark,
She IS Delaware's chairman OF the citizen
ship work for the League of Women
Voters as well as Delaware 5 representa-
i've on the National Board Of Education.
All contributions for the support of these
schools should be made TO one OF the fol-
owing persons: Mrs. John r. Eskridge.
William s. Bergland. lois
Rodney street. Wilmington; Mrs. Philip
3urnet, Sr.. Dover; Mrs Andrew Lynch,
Georgetown: Mrs. Harmon REYNOLDS.
townsend; Miss Agnes Y. Downey, 1920
Nest Tenth street, Wilmington; Miss
Alice Morgan, Seaford "