Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-10-13
DR.. THOMAS
Endorses Junior Red
Cross in u. S.

Speaks Thursday Before Younger
Branch National Order at Capitol
Prejudice Educ ational ~ Junior
Work in Maine.
DR.. Augustus o. Thomas, Com
missioner of Education for Maine,
speaking in Washington Thursday
before the Junior Red Cross Confer
ence Of the National Red Cross Con-
vention, endorsed heartily the work
Of the Juniors throughout the coun-
try and advocated keeping up ma
ton wide organization among school
children as a SPECIAL means to create
more sympathetic comradeship
among all the peoples Of the world.
"Prejudice," he said, "is not born in
children, it is educated in them. If
we can eliminate prejudice from the
rising generation the nations will be
able to live together tremendously"
DR.. Thomas is thoroughly equipped
to speak intellgently and sympa-
thetically on the work of the Junior
Red Cross, because he believes very
deeply in the value of this work as it
has been developed IN the schools of
Maine, where 24,979 children are now
enrolled. Organized in the fall of
1917, it has encouraged children to
"do" things, and to do them for 9TH
ers. The children of South Portland,
who hustled around and enabled an
impoverished mother of eight to have
an ambulance, medicine and the
necessary clothes to go comfortably
to a hospital. will not soon forget
that lesson in immediate, practical
charity.
Bar Harbor children sent bit of
their lovely coast-country in the
springtime to the patients in the
Children's Hospital. Boston, where
dBinty Maybaskets filed with flowers
blotted out pain at least momentarily.
Pittsfield children made CHEEKY Eas-
ter cards for the children in the Bos-
ton City Hospital, while Portland
Juniors took care Of the eX-scrvice
men in neighboring hospitals at
Christmas by sending Christmas
wreaths. boxes of fruit and gifts.
Portland Juniors also made toys for
the Children's Hospital in Portland,
and sent blank Easter cards. already
stamped, to ex-service men for them
in turn to send to their friends.
Industrious Skowhegan Juniors
don't want people from other places
to come to Skowhegan and say.
Those children are not tidy" so they
take upon themselves the job Of
keeping the school "tidy" and get in
cidentally good deal of fun in clean
ing up the yard and busting the
school and inspecting the desks.
There are no more enterprising
JUNIORS in Maine than those of Fort
Fairfield, however, who by a fair
raised $3.50 and themselves cstab-
lished a dental clinic that is open
every Friday afternoon, and at which
local dentists serve, bringing their
own equipment. Equally impressive
is the work of the Gardiner Juniors,
who raised the necessary funds and
equipped a lunchroom in their High
school.
When Madison children at the end
of the school year felt the pressing
need of larger school quarters, the
Juniors decided to stage demonstra-
ton in the form of a Good Health
decentralization "being quite a
town for parades." So 600 children
marched in costume through the
streets.
The group which represented
mothers with sick children in this
IL
and expression. First grade boys in
orange and black as microbes"
danced around n terrible Dragon"
six feet long with six legs. a frightful
head and most imposing teeth. Three
eighth grade boys obligingly supplied
the legs But King Health himself,