Evening star., 1922-11-20
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

spfnes and thrown back shoulders
and pouter-pigeon chests. in contrast
with the slouch of the finest crack
regiments of English or French, in
the same parade? Americans are not
all Apollos. but Is It fair to denounce
us as cripples and weaklings? Come.
let us reason together. The physique
of the American Army was the nine
days wonder and admiration Of the
Europeans.
1t may be true that half OF us are
not SO symmetrical and mighty OF
ought to see the rest of the world
Europeans, for example. Wen com
pare limbs and torsos with the best
Of them.
The practical point is what arc
we going to do about it. At best, all
we can hope to do is to improve the
ancestors of the generations OF the
century beginning about 1000: the
die is cast for our own generation
and the next, and not only would sel-
ting-up gymnastics fail to make over ,
the children Of civil war ancestors,
but II is not the best method of get
ting the best out Of our own present
environment and opportunities. E"en
systematic swinging of arms and
bending Of spines in meaningless
gymnastics might help stop the ply
sica1 decadence, but better method
is to put the whole mind and body
in accord with cotemporaneous en-
rironment-
Who is SO blind as not to sec that
this age is different, most radically.
from the conditions OF former ages"
The automobile has given Daddy
Longlegs limbs to the race, so that
all the world is on wheels and the
horizon has widened by hundreds OF
miles. a tour with outdoor camping
is worth ten years Of indoor gyIatlaS-
of muscles. but to the expansion "f
the souls lungs. hike is worth
more than a trapeze. 4 Boy Scout
stunt is glorious. Soon flying through
clouds and defying the sun $ beamtng
face will make men but a little lower
than the angels. Away with your
out-of-date setting-up exercises. Us
for the zenith and fresh air and all
outdoors. The most worthless thipG
in the world is art for arts SAKE
except exercise for exercises sake.
AS for the illiteracy of the age in
America, that is a crime of our l"cis-
latures and executives. 1t is crimp
not an oversight or matter of no
consequence. We have sown the
the whirlwind of sulIen unrest with
demagoglct betrayal of the country
through the ignoranc. of quarter
of its population? 1t is the great
menace of America.
No one imagined the horrible igno-
rance of Americans until the wcrld- II
draft disclosed 1t. \ quarter OF the
men of draft age We're proved unahic
to read or write, and what is true
of the men must be even wprs" OF
the women for il is uoto:iou ii;at
girls are not usually given as much
schooling in the hinterlaud as are
boys--and that for boys is shan"tuily
inadquatr. In some of the soutEf rii
states. even amongst the whites over
50 per cent are unable to read ar
write. In some Of the manufacturing
districts of the north. the proportion
unable to read or Write the language
of this country is hardly any hiEhes
Yet America has been snoring under
the Soporitic of the ten-yc.4r census.
which had deceived us into believing
that illiteracy affected only per
cent. because only that proportion
confessed.
Gen. Pershinr. addressing an educa-
tional conference. expressed tho hope
that out OF the conf"renc" would
come some system which can be ap
piled throughout our public schools
whereby the lessons of patriotism and
the obligation TO the country and
those things that go to make up good
citizenship may he taught effectively
and may be adopted as general pro
cedure throughout the country.
That is quit" besid" the mark: tho
children in our little red schoolhous'
are all right: quit nagging the sch""'
teacherS-pay them instead-but look
out for the quarter or half the Fon-
ulation that is not reached by III"
schools. 90 after them in the high
ways and hedges and compel them
to come in. Get them before they
get the country. There is the cruA
of the whole problenl-federal com
pulsory laws forcing illiteracy out
into the very gulf stream. il has no
place under Old Glory. If an amend
ment of the Constitution is neces-
sary to give power for a federal law
and a federal supervision of educa-
ton. be il. We should have the
commissioner of education in the
Presidents cabinet, as other nations
cabinets.
Representative Sydney Anderson OF
Minnesota has summed up the cause
of the overturning of so many con-
gressmen in the recent election: AiY-
due to too much Congress. lie says
no party can keep Congress in ses-
sion eleven months and get away with
il. You have got to maintain per-
Sppa1 contact with The voters
We wonder why Mr.. Anderson for
sock the old classic in summing up
the situation. He might have pointed
out that Congress was parlous. but
the shorter and more effective express
sion is that of the bird: Polly YOU
talk too - much" Amt Congress Il
bird?