Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-10-01
NAMES SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Review of improvements Made in
Recent Years.

Recent Years.
GFrom journal of Education, Boston,
September I'D
Maine during the reigns of State
Superintendent Stetson, Smith and
Thomas has evolved a series of func-
tionings that to-day afford genuine
solution of the various educational
problems peculiar to Maine, and in
cidentally those common to all
American states.
w. w. Stetson, a specially brilliant
platform man, brought to Maine,
year after year, especially the men
whose influence has made North
Carolina the leader in education
among the states. Governor Aycock,
in appreciation of whom education
ally, North Carolina. has erected six
monuments in various parts of the
state, and Philander P. Claxton,
whose noble leadership in North
Carolina and in the State University
of Tennessee made him United States
Commissioner of Education, were
chief among the men whose magic in
spiration helped to create Names de-
votion to the solution of her prob
lens. Especially did DR.. Stetson
start the Americanization of the
schools in the land of the Acadians.
1t was he who started the legislation
requiring that all school teaching
should be in English.
Then Payson Smith came with his
craftsmanship vision and cleaned up
literally all the exceptional prob
lens on the islands off the coast and
all of the problems of the scat
tered children in the logging camps
of Names vast forests. He made
Maine forget her traditional thrift,
and regardless of cost gave to every
child the advantages of education.
But it was the cleaning out of
some fiercely vicious conditions on
some islands and one shore COM
munity. We were urgent in our de-
mand that the story of the worst con-
dition of which we have ever known
should be given the public, but wiser
minds than mine succeeded in clean
ing every vestige of negro-Indian i'm
morality off the island, the individu-
ais were placed where they could do
no harm and the island restored to
decency This was due to the in
sstent heroism of Payson Smith.
Then he found strange situation
on all lighthouse islands. The Fed
eral government would neither pro-
vide schools for children on those is
lands nor would it allow the State to
NEEDLE with anything on those is
lands. There was the place and that
the time when with statesmanlike
masterfulness Payson Smith went to
Washington and stayed there until
the government had to yield and
State and Federal government COM
bined in having all children ap-
propriately educated
1t was Payson Smith who began
the creation of State Department
of Education with Mr.. Taylor, Flor
ence Hale and Harold Allen, whom
DR.. Thomas has magnified so nobly.
1t is near miraculous that man
could come from Nebraska, bringing
experience as a normal school princi-
pal and state superintendent beyond
the Missouri and evolve out of the
unfinished work of two eminent
state superintendent solutions of all
| the problems they had visioned, and
| under his leadership Maine has
| trebled her financial educational SER
vice to her people, has made her
| experimenting force supremely eff
| ficient and has made the helping
| teacher a worldwide wonder by its
success.
r.