Milford chronicle., 1955-05-27
Former Milford
School Principal A
Successful Author

One book especially, among the
flood now pouring from the press,
will interest the readers of this
region. It is Lets Habe A Better
World: A Program for Progress
and Survival" by Daniel Wolford
La Rue.
Many mature citizens hereabout
| remember DR.. La Rue as former
| head of the Milford school system.
He was active here shortly after
| the turn of the century. The pub
| Usher of the Chronicle went to
school under DIR. La Rue about
1904. He taught Latin and math-
ematics in the high school, gave
| addresses in various clubs and
churches, sang in choirs, and
taught Sunday School classes.
Lets Have A Better World. is
fundamentally a study of civiliza-
tion and how to advance it. But as
DR.. La Rue presents the subject,
the job is one that touches our
daily lives at many points. 1t is
like health: we are either building
it up or mussing it up all the time.
Why such big taxes? To support
big armies. What makes the big
standing armies necessary? A for
eign dictator. Why are young men
drafted from home and school?
Because of these same foreign die
tators. DR.. La Rue shows what can
be done about dictators, with a
remedy for wars of both types, hot
and cold.
"If we would solve human prob
lems," the author insists, we must
study human nature" For man is
the villain" in the plot of retard-
| ing civilization-tha is, certain
men. So some simple, basic psy-
chology is set forth, including the
psychology of the dictator both in
our home town and abroad, but in
such simple terms that the lay
reader can readily assimilate it.
This opens the way to solu-
tion of other practical problems.
How can we prevent juvenile de-
linquency? The killings on our
| highways? Crime i'll general? And
more and more heavy taxes to re-
strain these offenses?
| There is a special chapter deal
| ing with moral education. The au-
thor, basing his argument in part
on the story of the development OF
| the Seeing Eye" dog, guide for
| the blind, shows how we can ans
wer the prayer, God give us men, y
4 icrh
and who have the will 10 do it.
| Lets Have A Eetter World" is
| classed by some as ''non-technical
science" The author has made an
| obvious effort to base his state
| ments on facts, woven together by
| sound logic. Yet the style is sim
pie.
DIR. La Rue resigned from his
position here to take graduate
| work at Harvard University, where
he received his doctors degree. At
ter three years as Superintendent
of Schools in Augusta, Maine, he
returned to one of his alma ma
ters, The State Teachers College at
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Here he served as head of the de-
partment of education and teacher
of psychology and related bran
ches.
During the years spent there, he
| has been active in various direc-
tions: teaching eugenics and other
| branches in the summer school at
| Harvard; officiating as acting pres
| ident of his State Teachers College
and incidentally refusing the per-
manent presidency of it; spending
a year as captain in the United
States Army and supervising the
giving of intelligence tests in Fort
Meade, Maryland; writing half a
dozen books in the field of psy-
chology and education; authorizing
numerous articles in leading peri
odicals: and so on.
DR.. La Rue's texts have been
used in Harvard, Columbia, and
other institutions of note.
Early comments on Lets Have
A Better World" contain such ex-
pressions as stimulating anu force
full" compelling; concrete, pos
tive and constructive; excellent
ly written;" very highly regard
ed;" will produce more genuine
enlightenment Cor agreeable ar
gument) than a dozen self-analysis
best sellers"
DR.. La Rue married the former
Mabel Scudder Guinnip, of Homes
dale, Pa. She also is writer, au-
! thor of a number of books for chill
dren. The La Rues, who now make
their home in East Stroudsburg
| Pa, have one son. He took up
business life after receiving his
degree from the Harvard Gnadu-
ate School of Business Admins
tration, and is now with the Ford
ri.,rr