The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-08-01
MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1921.
COOP TIME TO WATCH OUT

. . NOOC lW " WA Ut w
America stands today as the only !
one among the great nations Of the
earth in which there is not high de-
gree OF literacy. 1t is the worlds
greatest disgrace that in the richest
country on the globe there is no money
available to pay red blooded men and
women to teach our children. Unless
we are willing to pay teachers more
I imam 1anltors or scavengers the
temple of freedom will be destroyed.
IT has been declared that America,
like Rome will be destroyed by van
das from within and not from with
cut, through the forces of illiteracy.
One man out Of every four in the
American Army could neither read
nor write but there was only one
Iilliterate in.iive thousand in the Ger
man Army. No one can realize without
seeing the seemingly impenetrable
terrain Of the Argonne Forest what
we owe TO our soldiers. But it was
crime to send them in as they were
against men of such high literacy. &
fhOpe there will never be another war,
/ but II there is 1t will be disgrace
/ to the nation If our men are not bet.
ter prepared and II Is the task of the
schools to prepare them"
The foregoing is said to have been
uttered by DR. John j. Tigert, United
States Commissioner of Education, In
IAN address to students OF the Rutgers
Summer session at an educational
conference at New Brunswick, New
Jersey, a few days ago. Probably
what he actually said was considerab-
ly different. Men in public places
are often misquoted by sensation
hunting newspaper reporters and then
the distorted version is eagerly
passed along by a thoughtless public.
Several of the statements attribut-
ed to Commissioner Tigart are untrue
and most Of them are grotesque.
Very likely he did urge the import
ance of improved schools and the
more emphatic control ofyouth by the
School and educational trained forces.
\ Every man, has right to try to- sell
FIhh own deRseand. in this respect, is
nosdifferesh from, az indiaI sn !. anc-
Itloneeeo6fb ambody etsa' iwbo 'lias to
disrdse or fa producehmilu
The point-fiie f}annrr-is trying TO-
makcaapstMAss each Justification and
trfde has AZ QG74alSPerated idata Of its
oMp importance, School mep 9ihini
lhat the schools are the one biG idea
and that everything else shoulSrtand
aside and let the professional oduca.
Ttor class s~the.-world; ministers
and priests think that church asd &c
clesiastica rules ought to be the con.
trolling factors In the world, forget
ting that they have nd one try and
made a sad mess of It, capitalists and
bankers. heavy OF mind and body,
look at themselves in the mirror and
agree that it would be a fine world II
they could manage it for their own
benefit and Of course they would be
kind to the rest of us; labor union
leaders have the same obsession in
spite Of the truth, proved a million
times every day, that no one groap br
!. class OF mankind is unsellish enough
Ito be trusted for a minute with the
rights, property or person OF any
other group or class; the socialists
4 communists and other theorists are
firm in the faith that il they could get
the power to apply their ideas to the
rest of us they could make us nice
little manikns with another
thought in the world than to read and
obey the rules laid down for us by the
central committee.
We could go on with the list for
another column. II would include the
doctors who are the most pestiferous,
lawyers who are most cunning and un'
scrupulous, editors who are most wit
less and visionary and whole lot of
others who are just as certain that
they alone can lead the way.
Look out for the gang that wants
to boss the other gangs. They all
are dangerous The stronger they
get the more dangerous they are
They grow in pride and conceit as
they grow in strength and pride
goeth before destruction.