Evening star., 1922-12-02
7 EXT week is set apart by the
President of the United
Nfafas nr Ednnafinn uaaL

N i 6hI week Is SET apart ny tHe
nj President of the United
States as Education week.
To many that fact does not
seem to have a personal interest. but
they look upon it as something to
boost the pay of school teachers or
the young. Education is a dry word.
suggestive of hard discipline and
mental tasks.
But. primarily, America needs to
be educated as to the care of the body.
In the draft for the world war we
made the amazing discovery that one
third of the youth of this land We're
up"-and SO they were unfit. physi-
cally, to serve their country or them
selves. Men without sound bodies.
well developed. are not whole men
and can never do a mans full duty.
1t is not medicine that is needed.
nor surgery. but proper exercise and
physical training. together with d
balanced food, from their youth up.
1t is not over twenty years since
even the medical fraternity began to
appreciate that a balanced ration was
quite as essential to build up the hui
man body as stock feeders had long
known it to be for the animal 1t was
supposed that only the faddist would
ever consistently follow the rules of
a balanced ration. Today We have
clinics in the schools to discover, by
experiment and test, what the chill
dren lack in diet. and classes are
given the correcting elements in spe
cial foods.
We must learn how to avoid pre-
ventable diseases. for such illnesses
cost the country over 5000, ,00G. 600 "A
year. That is equal 10 20 per cent
of the average value Of all the agri-
cultural products of the country.
Stop preventable diseases. and we
would lower taxes or increase our
national income $4,000 ,0o0, 900 annu-
ally.
Lessons of pure patriotism should
be emphasized during Education
week, for this country is menaced to-
day as it never has been before by
hypocrisy and contempt for law be
tendency to favor enforcement OF
such laws as We like and to wink at
evasions or defiance of certain laws
that we do not favor.
The spread of the outlaw order of
Ku KIuxism is a menace which gov
erenors and even the President of the
United States are facing as a serious
matter. There is talk of nationwide
action against the order as Il con-
spiracy against good government
This should have our serious attention
during Education week.
We must face the actual illiteracy
of the people of America as indicated
by the tests of drafted soldiers. These
tests showed that 24.9 per cent could
neither read nor write. The census
figures, showing only 6 per cent illit-
crate, are utterly misleading: for they
,l.yx
ported to the census takers that they
could not read nor write English. and
many evaded the humiliating confess
sion. The Army figures are based
upon actual trials of each drafted
man. They showed that even the
per cent Of illiteracy. Education
week has to do with that problem
most emphatically. Compulsory edu-
cation legislation should be enacted
not only by states. but also by the
federal Congress for the whole coun-
constitutional power. then We should
amend the Constitution. An illiterase
nation cannot survive.
Education week must also teach
that war of defense is not crime:
that the Stacker is contamptihle
coward; and'that patriotism is love Of
country. which, next to love of God. is
the most holy sentiment of the human
heart.
There are 10000 sick and wounded
in hospitals and struggling to regain
some degree of health, that they may
yet work. Note the tone Of the mes
sage, in their name. spoken by the
national commander Of the American
Legion. their champion. Commander
Alvin NJ Owsley says: The legion
asks for no charity for the disabled:
the legion calls for justice-;hat is
all. We call upon the nation to be
mindful of its own
That means disqualification without
too much haggling. 1t means the
highest medical and surgical skill
available. and not too much expert
mentation by young graduates of
medical schools. more concerned in
holding their jobs than in restoring
leases" to health so that the buddies
may work. The most priced blessing
in all the world is the health and op-
portunity to work.
In the week of last year correspond
ing to Safety week of this year we
killed in Washington one person
every day This year up to date of
this writing. but one fatality has oc-
Cured. though it must he recognized
that the real safety of traffic cannot
come until the public generally has
learned all the rules and gotten the
subconscious habit of oheEing them.
Safety cannot be commanded: it must
be educated until i. becomes a second
nature habit with all.
X X 4
The proposal to require all automo-
bile drivers to be bonded in the sum
of $4,000 has been abandoned as i'm