Evening star., 1921-05-01

United States. One Of the things Mr.,
Davis had in mind when he took up
the work was the establishment OF
home for children-children with
out father or mother. children with
out a father and children without
mother. A home where these littletots
might be taken care of. where help-
ing hand could be extended to them IN
their first steps along lfe's pathway.
and the slogan he nailed TO the mast
head was Every child is entitled to
at least a high school education ana
trade
II the present Secretary of Labor
had never accomplished anything else
for mankind his work in bringing into
beine the home at Mooseheart. ILL.,, for
the orphans would have won for MIN
the deepest respect and hlghest re-
gard of all thinking people.
The putting of life into practicaIly
dead organization was not accom-
plished by Mr.. Davis with ease. re-
member distinctly on one occaer Ider
at a national convention OF the oiae,.
at which the writer was present as d
Commemorative from a western STATE
when a little coterie Of men endeaV-
ored to change the policy OF the Or
ganization because in the cary oay'
eanizations, there were men VINO were
actuated by selfish motives, and TINS
group started to wage a DltteI nsnt'
making attacks both on the admins
tration of the order and upon Mr. Da-
Wis personally.
THOSE who were present will never
forget his attitude. For personal
abuse he cared but little. but when
the principles of the order were at
tackled he became an irresistible force,
and, taking the floor. answered the
critics at length. Ho took their argu-
ments. one by one, analyzed them and
showed the fallacies contained there
in. No general ever handled situa-
tion in a more skillful manner. and no
orator ever carried greater weight IN
the presentation of case than dld
Mr. Davis when he marshaled 1act
after fact and presented them to the
convention for consideration. He was
pleading not only for the life of the
organization, but for the children. 1t
was to bring happiness to the lives OF
thousands Of children and content
ment to the minds Of their parents.
When he had finished all delegates
to the convention, with the exception
Of a few disturbing elements. rose to
their feet and cheered him for over
ten minutes. 1t was not alone that
they believed in the director general
of the order and its principles, out
they wanted to take occasion to let
every one know that they appreciated
what he had done for the body OF
which they were members During MS
speech one could feel the dynamic
force Of his presence throughout the
auditorium, and if any body of men,
l. "a n la hnY DfOh.
lens or employers. or groups OF citl-
zens, come to the office of the Secre-
tary of Labor with a proposition that
is not fair and square and above board
they had better be prepared for
fight and fight to finish. Courte-
Gus and considerate is Mr.. Davis. but
when aroused he is extremely force
full friend of his once remarked:
'The only way you can lick James
]. Davis is to kill him..
This story would be incomplete if
one did not give a brief description Of
the school and home called Moose
heart. The keynote there is "Prepa-
ration for Life" Mooseheart is To-
Gated thirty-seven miles west Of Chi
cagb and from the main buildings the
ground slopes gently down to within
about 100 yards of the Fox river.
Here is a perfect stretch of con-
crete boulevard. link in the great
Lincoln highway. which stretches
from New York to San Francisco.
Across the highway is the Moose
heart station: to the west are two
great stone posts. at the top OF which
is a sign showing the visitor a well
come. Winding driveways lead up to
the beautiful white buildings. on the
way to which we find pretty exam
Piles of landscape gardens. A little
further we find the administration
building. More than thousand
children are housed in the different
edifces. and these orphans. from
tiny babes to young men and women.
have their welfare looked after with
the same care as If they were son
or daughter of a multi-millionaire.
Physicians. dentists. nurses. dieti-
tians. etc, care for their physical
welfare: teachers Of recognized
children are not garbed as are chm
dren in some institutions. Individu-
ality and self-expression Is encour
aged. Work of paying nature can
be performed by students of suitable
so desire. They are encouraged to
save so that when they graduate
they may have little nest egg.
Mooseheart boasts of its department
store, confectionery and barber shop.
The food given those who live at
as we'll as abundant. The average
consumption of milk is about quart
a day to each child. This all comes
from Mooseheart's famous heard OF
Holstein cows.
These children may take up course
in printing. farming. machinery. cleo
tricity. gardening. nursing, dressmak
ing, concrete working, sewing, Ste
biography. music. etc. Matrons pre-
side over the homes assisted by some
Of the older girls. SO that the latter
may receive education as practical
homemakers and homekeepers.
X
THERE are a number Of instances
where mothers live in Moose
heart. and where. IL possible, these
mothers are made matrons Of cot
tages. There Is q beautiful theater
located on the grounds. Amateur
dramatics, vaudeville and lectures are