Montana labor news., 1939-04-06

Frankly, | can't say. That depends
largely upon our educators. 1t is
the educational system that in large
part helps to reinforce or discourage
the folklore, the attitudes and preju-
dices of youth. If you accept this
layman's definition of training and
teach Notwithstanding for the
production of material things, of
course, but more important for the
saving of democracy-all will be
well. But if you don't, I see only
a dismal picture for the youth of the
future not only for the unframed but
for the trained. "Man liveth not of
bread alone" And democracy liveth
not on education for exploitation.
And this is not merely a beautiful
theory with us. We who have the
responsibility of administering the
National Youth Administration pro-
gram and deal largely with the un-
employed out-of-school youth are
probably brought face to face daily
with the tragic situation of youth
more than any others. We see youth
unframed and trained for the indus
tries out of work. We see the stores
of surplus commodities-overproduc-
ton and hunger. We are trying to
do u bit in the field of education
for democracy. Through the forum,
with our guidance program and re-
lated training, we are attempting to
arouse public consciousness and civic
responsibility. We realize that youth
must make an examination of the
economic situation before he can
even decide on a vocation. While
our projects have not always been
what we wanted them to be, we
have no apologies for the National
Youth Administration. We at least
knew that something had to be done
and done quickly.
Before closing, I would like to
quote from a speech made by
Charles Hubbard Judd, education
director of National Youth Admins
t~ration, on March Both before the
annual meeting of the North Central
Association of Colleges and Second
airy Schools at Chicago, which ex-
presses my feeling:
"The educational institutions of the
country have been so fully occupied
receiving new registrants that they
have had little energy to devote to
making any readjustments. Parents
have never been able to see the stu
alton in the large. The emergency
of 1882 came upon the country as an
emergency because the depression
revealed the inadequacies of our
understanding of what had been
maturing for years. We know what
we ought to have ~foreseen.
"The problem which faces all who
are interested in education today is
not the problem of deciding whether
the camps of the Civilian Conserva-
ton Corps and the projects of the
National Youth Administration were
the wisest devices which could have
been adopted. The problem which
educators must be persuaded to dis
cuss is the problem of the future. It
is idle to dream about going back
to the educational situation of 1900,
or even of 1929. The fact is that
1929 was not a cause but a conse-
quence. If we try to imagine that
we are going back to 1929, we are
closing our minds to facts that arc
so clear that even the wayfaring
educators ought to be able to see
them"
In conclusion, I want to say that
I am still on the side of democracy.
And this implies that I have faith in
our people and educators. And in
their ability to somehow emerge to
save the democratic way of living.
The educators have the ability to so
readjust the training program that
the present crisis shall prove a
stimulus and an awakening rather
than the death knell of democracy.