Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1922-10-06
SUPT. BLAIR TAKES
STEPS TO PROTECT.
SCHOOL CHILDREN
URGES THAT SUPERiNTE
STOP ORGANIZATIONS FROM
USING SCHOOLS AS A COLLECT.
ING AGENCY TO SECURE FUNDS
FOR SOME MORE OR LESS WoR.
THY CAUSE.

The teachers and school heads of
this community have received a very
interesting article written by State
Superintendent of Public instruction
Francis c. Blair, advocating the keep
ing of all outside interests, that would
tend to detract from the school work,
from the Riddles during their hours of
study. In his article Mr.. Blair Is re-
ferring 10 the practice OF having
school children collect for various
phianthropic agencies
The article, as received at the Of
fee OF Supt c. J. Byrne reads:
To Superintendents and Teachers:
The war called into being all sorts
Of commissions, boards and function
aries, public and priva,e. all claim
ing the direct or indirect sanction
and support of the government In
their promotion of some idea or pro
gram which they knew was essential
to the winning of the war or the
safety of the nation. Among the
many things which the armistice and
the treaty of peace did not put an
end to are some of these organiza-
tons which assume that they are as
essential to the preservation of civ
ilization in times of peace as they are
in war. They are usually national in
scope but seeking articulation with
the smaller municipal unit, Thou.
sands of we'll meaning, enthusiastic,
active minded persons, pocketed or
stranded in these storm born, hold
over organizations are earnestly seek
ing to promote that they believe is
a worth whiel object While IL is
easy to see and to say that alto
Ecther too much of the energy and
money of many OF these organizations
has been spent in noise making and
notoriety seeking. it would be UNI
wise and unfair to overlook the sub
stantial achievements of some Of
these instrumentalities But all of
such organizations discovered early
that their only guarantee of success
was in enlisting or Communicating
some existing institution to carry the
load and do the work necessary to
the accomplishment OF their ends.
The one existing institution to which
all Of these commanding end demand
ing organizations turned was the pub
lie school system.
During the war school authorities
willingly modified or set aside their
regular programs to allow teachers
TO take on and perform those extra
school duties. No doubt much profit
came TO teacher and pupil as well as
the entire school system from this
patriotic and heroic willingness to
sacrifice enythng and everything for
the great common cause, but no in
tcligent friend of public education
could fail to see the temporary con
fusion and disorder which followed
1t is unjust and untrue to declared
all of such organizations as are nowI
soliciting or demanding the time and
services of the public schools areI
diaturbinga disorganhing influences
Some Of the detectives they seek fiji
into the school program economical
~ and effectively without entailing
the outlay of much extra time or en-
ergy of teachers. Some of them have
done much in establishing needed and
helpful connections between the
school and community life. On the.
other hand evidence is not wanting
that some of them look upon the
public schools as a sort OF an as
sembling station for their various and
varied products. No teached or su-
perintendent will take kindly to such
an assumption. To be sure the re-
fusal to open your doors may, and
probably will, bring down upon you
the charge that you are improgres
sive, fossil in education Moreover
such refusal may deprive you of
much favorable publicity which their
ample funds are every ready to give
for willing service.
With solicitors and promoters
knocking at our front and back doors,
how shall we decide what ones to
deny and what ones to admit? No
doubt when you looked out of your
doors and windows as the new school
year began You were surprised if not
alarmed to see all the avenues of ap-
proach crowded with propagandists
bringing their wagons to hitch to
your star. Some with banners and
megaphones are demanding that GER
tain special emphasis to their propa-
ganda. But perhaps the most insist
ent and disturbing are those who de-
mand the use of the school as q