Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1898, Page 11

— = THE EVENING STAR. a bremihes PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEP? SUNDAY AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 3101 Pennsyivenis Avaims, Jor. 11th 3%, b7 Che Evening Star Newspaper Uompany, ‘S. H. KAUFFMANN, Pres’t. a Yew York Offce, 49 Potter Building, The Evening Star ts served te subscribers tn the eity by carriers. on their own account, at 10 cents per week. o- 44 cects per mont. Coples at the counter 2 cents each. By matl—anywhere in the United States or Canada—postage prepaid—S0 cents per menth. Sacuréay Q-tutunic Sheet Star. §1 per year, with foreign postage added, (Entered at the Post Ottice at Washington, D. C.. a d-cla. s mail matter.) 7 All mail subscriptions must be pat? In advance. Part2. Che Fy ening Star. Pages 1 1-114. Rates of advertising made kuown on application. WASHINGTON, D. ©. TUESDAY, JULY 12. 1898-FOURTEEN PAGES COMING TO A CLOSE a Last Day of the National Educational Convention. DEPARTHEN TS IN SESSION Program for the Meeting in Con- vention Hall. SUBJECTS OF INTEREST The closing sessions of many of the de- nents of the N. E. A. are in progress afternoon, the programs of which are as follows: mentary education—First Congrega- 1 Church, 10th and G streets. 1. Necessity of stimulating and utilizing spontaneous individual purpose on the part of the pupils—Superintendent W. H. Elson, Superior, W Discussion led by Superintendent Clar- ence F. Carroll, Worcester, M: 2. Desirability of fostering social effort ont t of the puptls—Inspector James L_ Hughes, Toronto, Ontarto. Discussion led by Supervisor B. C. Greg- ory, Trenton, N. J., and Principal Richard Waterman, jr., Chicago, Il. . Successive differentiation of subjects of instruction—Dr. Z. nyder, president State Normal School, Greeley, Col. Discussion led by Superintendent T. A. Mott, Ricnmond, Ind. 4. Business—Reports of committees, elec- tion of officers. Local committee, airman. Secondary 1, O A. Miss E. Denney, Hi 7th education — Central street between 6th and ness—Reports of committees, elec- tion of officers. Round tables 2. Composition-rhetoric—Lead Ernest R. Clark, instructor in English, Colorado Springs, Col. 3. History—Leader, James J. Sheppard, High School, New York city. he high school as a social factor— H. Thurber, dean of Morgan ‘a my, Morgan Park, Til. Local committee, Dr. F. ne, man ee N : Higher education—Columbian University Hall, 15th and H streets. 1. Should the undergraduate curriculum chair- of four years in colleges and universities be shortened : a (a) By reducing it to three years? ¢ aw, editor of F minutes). Dr. Albert Shaw, e¢ jew of Reviews, New York city. oi jon (10 minutes). Prof. A. T. Or- ceton University, Princeton, N.J. allowing such freedom of elec- the junior and senior years that a or degree and a professional degree ained in six years? (20 ion GO minut General minute speeches) 25 minut ble to form a and univers!- milar to the na- schools? (20 and desi 4 college: "A. Hinsdale, University . Ann Arbor, Mi cussion (10 minute: President A. 8. niversity of Illinois, Champaign, ) minutes). President Chas. y of Tennessee, Knox- issifn (5-minute speeches). 's—Election of « rs, etc. committee, Dr. B. Whitman, : at Schools—All Souls’ Church, ifth »pi Valley State N Model ‘The in the Sny- n. ion of Mrs. officers. Ida G. Myers, Me- Gunton Temple d R stree’ from cit ke hools editor Journal of -p—what shall it be Ind. Hayden, s iness—Election of officers. »cal committee—Miss A. E. Scammell, .irman. Department of business education—Acad- of Mu {th and D streets. 1. Admimstration and bookkeeping of a national bank and the qualifications and trair Coffin, deputy cor ment, Was qua house ning of a bank accountant—George M. er, Treasury Depart- he ions and accountant—. tr itor of Accountic city ‘The obj and method of teaching commercial geography—Prof. D. M. Willis, rsity of West Virginia, Morgantown ms and training of the con- orter—David Wolfe Grown, United States House of eporter, Representatives. (Mr. Brown will conduct at f reporters to the reporters’ rooms n the Capitol and explain the process of congressional proceedings.) Qualifications and training of the court orter—L Dement, Chicago, Hl. on of officees, &c. Sara A. Spencer 1 science education—Sessions in Lutheran Church, lith and H ul's report. of ers, ae. committed ker, chair- —Wesley Chapel, Sth and F of committee on reading Is ons for the several grades of pub- lists for public scnos ow used effectually?—Shermar . Glenns Falls, N.Y to interest the public in chile —Frank C. Patten, Heiena, Ment. General discussion. Business—Election of offi wocal committee—W. B. Pat as TS. rson, chair- jucation of deaf, dum nklin School building, blind, 13th &e.— end K > trend of training in backward und y deficient children—Miss Marga- Baneroft, Haddonfield, N. J. Sducation of the blind—Mrs. J. , chairman, subdepartment The deaf, blind and deficient children of Ilinois—Orvilie T. Bright, Cook county superintendent. + 4. Address—Dr. E. M. Gallaudet, Wash- ington, D. C. . The di bert C ssell schools of Wisconsin—Prof. Spencer, Milwaukee, Wis. . Business meeting—Election of «fficers. Practical class work representiy the ee branches of the Gepartment will be th in operation in different rooms, and Dr. Wm. O. Krohn, Hospital, It, will ,con- duct a physical laboratory for sense tests. Local committee—Dr. Alex. Grahem ell, chairman. Closing Session of the Couvention. The closing session of the convention 1 will be held tonight at Convention Hall. The program. preceded by a half-hour’s concert by the National Guard Brigade Rand, from 7:30 to 8 o'clock, will be as follows: 1. Prayer—Rey. Teunis 8. Hamlin, Church of the Covenant. 2. Addresses—Educational review (ten- minute speeches, without manuscript): (a) Some fundamentals in teaching—L. D. Harvey, president state normal school, Mil- waukee, Wi (b) Sociology’s demand upon the schools —J. F. Millspaugh, superintendent of pub- lic schools, Salt Lake City, Utah. (c) The public school of the south—A. A. Kincannon, state superintendent public in- struction, Jackson, Miss. Music—National Guard Brigade Band. (a) Between day school and reform school—C. G. Pearse, superintendent pub- lic schools, Omaha, Neb. (€) Education out of school—E. Oram Lyte. principal state normal school, Mil- lersville, Pa. (1) The proper education of an American citizen—G. N. Gresham, principal Lincoln high school, Kansas City, Mo. Music—National Guard Brigade Band. (g) Industrial education, the hope of the nation—G. R. Glenn, state school commis- sioyer, Atlanta, Ga. (h) The school of the future—A. E. Win- ship, editor Journal of Education, Boston, Ma () The personality of the teacher—James M. Milne, principal state normal school, Oneonta, N. Y. (j) The larger university idea—Elmer E. Brown, professor of pedagogy, University of California, Berkeley, Cal. 3. Report of committee on resolutions. 4. Introduction of president-elect. 5. Music—“America,” National Guard Bri- gade Band and audience. 6. Benediction. —___ WOMEN OF THE E. A. Sketches of Several Convention Dele- gates of Prominence. Miss Mary McGee, who had charge of the interesting display of the work of the pri- mary department of the New York State School for the Blind, left for home yester- day morning. Miss McGee is a teacher of fine gifts, and to her some of the devices i for the successful introduction of writing script in that school is largely due, an art not yet known in other schools for the blind. By a series of grooved lines (raised) she enabled the child to follow in a straight course, and by thumb spacing to keep words separate. Mr. Gardner Fuller, superintendent of the ew York State S hool, had the finest dis- play made of handiwork in the sixteenth de- partment, and Mrs. Pierson, one of the best trainers in needlework and other fancy work, was in charge. he most noticeable thing in the display was the fourteen-foot flag made by forty-five blind girls, each sirl having chosen a star as her state. Miss Virginia Osborn, superintendent of the Oral Public Day School of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a young woman, but already has achieved quite a reputation as a teacher. She brought the display of Ohio work shown in the Franklin building. Miss Garrett's class from the school of dumb children, Pi delphia, gave an ex- hibition drill at the session of the opening meeting of department sixteen yesterday afternoon that was very pleasing and 4 good test of the ability of this class to con- quer any difficulty of drill that other chil- dren can. Miss L. DeL. Richards, principal of the Institute for the Deaf at Providence, R. 1, is one of the prominent women engaged in this most difficult work. She has been in the field for eighteen years, and has had experience in several states. She has taught in Jacksonvill lil., state institu- which is the largest in'the world, and under the care of a gentleman well known in Washington, Dr. Joseph Gordon, Meriy connected with the college at jall G nm. The Rhode Island school sticks strictly to the oral method of teach- ing. discarding all signs. The reception tendered by President Gal- la adet to the visiting teachers of the deat at Kenda 3 largely attended, and on the al of the party they were us! d into the h: vhere an elegant llaudet acting the corps of teachers The school rooms and all thrown open for inspec- Among those present were stess, assisted by in the institution. buildings were tion of visitors. Superintendent Frank F of the Indiana State Institution for the Blind; Mrs. E. L. Osgood of Boston, Mass.; Dr.’ Josepoh C. Gordon, president of the department: Dr. der Graham Bell, Prof. §. Mount Airy, Philadelphia; Hampl of the Arbor, Mich., and greatly entertained a instructed by the trip. ne Miss Maud Emerson, a: nt_ principal | of the school for the deaf at Mystic, Comm, Was a member of the ciass of of Smith She Colleg aught for four y mont and Massachusetts before goin, Mystic, Conn. She became interested a the work for the deaf when in the vicinity of Clarks’ school in Northampton, Mass., as a student, and never lost sight of the idea until she had thrown in her lot with the army of women devoting themselves to this work of patience. Indeed, two-thirds of the principals of deaf schools, or schools for the mentally backward, are in the hands of women. Miss Emerson's school uses the oral method only. Miss Margaret Bancroft, principal of Haddenfieid, New Jersey, school for back: ward or mentally defle‘ent children, is a Fioneer in the work. No man has ever had anything to do with this school, its found- €rs and promoters, from the start all being women, but Miss Bancroft has won her way to recognition one of the most painstaking workers, and careful observers ef conditions and methods in this compara- tively new field of philanthropic effort. In her paper read at the opening session of department sixteen yesterday afternoon she held the attention of the high-class au- diencé with her observations on “the trend of training in backward and mentally de- ficient children.” She is a strong, forceful and somewhat radical speaker, and says some rtling things. She clearly shows such children need much more care and tact in development than dealing with the deaf or blind. Miss M. C. McCowan is principal of the McCowan Oral school for young deaf chil- dren in Chicago, and is also supervising principal for the Chicago day schools for the deaf. When she took up this work ten years ago there were but four such schools, but now there are ten, all using the oral method of training by special desire of the parents, who find it so much easier to com- municate in that way with their children than through the sign system. These schools nave all been organized and direct- ed by Miss McGowan, who now fs recog- nized among educators as being in the front rank. The children in the schools under her supervision take the same course that children of the same grade do in the or- dinary public school. Miss Louise Connolly, formerly connected with the Business High School of this city and who spoke Saturday afternoon at the field meeting of the geographic society and (he National Educational Association, is re- garded as one of the foremost educators of the east. Long identified with public school work here and in the English depart- ment of the High Schools, she inaugurated new methods and systems, which brought the work up to a high standard. Miss Con- nolly was the first woman to take a de- gree at Columbian College and is a most progressive teache —_ Educational Convention Reports, An interesting report of the proceedings of the National Educational Association convention will be published each day in The Evening Star. Copies from July 7 to 13, inclusive, will be mailed to any address in the United States on receipt of 10 cents at The Star office, corner 11th and Pennsyl- vania avenue. rs in Ver- —_+—__ Harry Hand has been appointed by the District omens an additional pri- vate on the police force for at the National Base Ball Park. aN MANUAL TRAINING First Session of Important Depart- ment at Masonic Hall. EDUCATION OF INDUSTRIAL CLASSES Topic of a Paper by Prof.. Snyder of Michigan. GREAT AND GRAVE PROBLEM The department of manual and industrial education held its first session yesterday afternoon in Masonic Hall, {th and F streets, and after an address by the presi- dent, Edward O. Session of Peoria, a paper treating of education for the industrial ciasses was read by Prof. J. L. Snyder of the Michigan Agricultural College. Prof. Snyder said that in general terms the industrial classes include farmers, me- chanics and all other persons who work with their hands for a living. During the early history of this country they com- posed nearly the entire population, but in recent years the demand for trained men for the professions and other callings has lessened the proportion of those engaged in industrial pursuits. But this sturdy stock have been and are still the bone and sinew, the stay, of this nation. They have made this country what it is, and the future welfare of this nation is in their hands. If this country continues to be prosperous the industrial classes must be intelligent and contented. The industrial conditions have changed very much within the last quarter of a century, and the condition of the man who can simply work with his hands {s steadily growing worse in this country, but for the man who is able to put brains into his work there were never brighter prospects than at the present time. More Education Needed. There is only one way by which the in- dutrial classes can keep abreast of the times and maintain the high position of honor which has always been accorded them in this country, and that is by more and better education. The average school life of the child in this country is but a small fraction over four years. Children belonging to our working classes receive very little over three years of school train- ing. This means that seventy-five per cent of these children never get beyond the third reader; fifty per cent of them, per- haps never reach it. But one out of eight, including all classes, attends school after the age of fourteen, one out of thirty-one after the age of eighteen and but five out of each thousand enter college. A Great and Grave Problem. The great problem to be evolved by edu- cators is how to kep this great body of children in school for a longer period of time. Our public school system, formed at a time when an education was scarcely thought necessary for the men who toiled for a living, has steadily led young people away from industrial pursuits. It makes no pretense to meet the special needs of the industrial classes. The object is not to train students from the ordinary walks of life for the vocations to which they natural- ly belong, but it rather seeks to stimulate them to break away from present environ- ments and seek a calling free from manual labor. If manual training and other prac- tical subjects were introduced into our courses of study two results would follow: First, pupils would be induced to remain in school longer, and, second, the knowledge and training given would better prepare students for their life work. Our present courses of study are arranged for the ten percent who expect to take a higher education. Would it not be better to reverse this order and arrange our courses of study to satisfy the ninety per cent who will not be able to enter the sec- ondary schools nor the university? Domestic Science for Girls. A dis n followed, led by Superinten- deni E. Mackey of Reading, Pa., and then followed a carefully prepared paper by Mrs. Ellen M. Richards 6f the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology, on Domestic cience as a Synthetic Study for Girls. If the youth must always begin again at the beginning and, as an individual, make his way through the epochs of the world’s civilization, and if the aim of education is to have the pupil reach the highest in- teleoctual and moral standpoint of the race in the briefest time and with the greatest economy of effort, said Mrs. Rich- ards, it is evident that in the recapitula- tion of the experimental knowledge of the race, slowly accumulated through one or two hundred centuries, a thousand years of race development must be condensed into one year of the child's life. It there- fore behooves all who have to do with the education of children to search for the fun- damental ideas of each race epoch as ani- mal, savage, early barbarian, later bar- barian and carly civilization. According to the Romans, the highest development of the animal moe of thought is reached by the child in the first part of its second year. The long epoch of savagery 1s shortened for the child into two or three years by the circumstances of family life. He does not need to search for subsistence, to provide shelter for him- self nor to invent a language. His environ- ment does this and he only needs to cor- relate himself with it, to discover himself as an individual. ‘The early barbarian epoch, therefore, comes to the average child at three to five years; picture writing, symbolic of dawn- ing religious ideas, the making of rude i plements, the beginnings of ownership. The later barbarian ideas, use of sharp tools, ornamentation of articles for cere- monial observances, acquisition of pro: erty, beginning of government, these be- long to the years from five to ight. Schemes That Are Neglected. The epoch of early civilization, including the beginnings of arts and of manufac- tures, of industrial processes and the con- sequent growth of ideas of house life and architecture, has, it seems to me, been ne- glected in most schemes of education. I believe that from eight to eleven the child should be allowed to quicken his mind as the race was stimulated, by the pleasure of producing results by his own labor, and tkat these results should be more or less measured by the standards of the epoch in which they were developed, that in the time spent by a child in painfully toiling ever fine stitches in one bit-of patchwork a large doll might be most effectively dress- ed in barbarian fashion, showing the effect of color and form and ideal, and that this rapidity of action in coarser material will lead to wider insight into race meaning: From eleven to fourteen the differentia: tion of sex occupations begins as it did in the progress of civilization. Women re- tired indoors, spun, wove, embroidered altar cloths, priests’ vestments and tapes- tries. They were finding out nature's re- scurces and applying them to personal use; in short, all fundamental industry had threads in this epoch and influenced all ac- tivity. . A Real Foundation. Of the seven fundamental ide: given by Morgan, education has taken cogni- zance of language, government and re- ligion and neglected house life and archi. tecture, and toa great degree family life and subsistence, and yet the latter are the foundation on which the former are build- ed. The child thus misses a most helpful sus which comes from the building up from the abundant resources of nature . by his own industry certain wholes which add to his happiness and comfort. These synthetic occupations cause a richer life and give a better baianced character than the mere analytical pro- cesses of acquiring knowledge which others have gaired. In giving to the child all that the race has acquired, the teacher takes away the desire and the power, which is his birthright, to add by his own activity something to this sum total. ‘This paper was discussed by Miss Bow- man of the Ohio State University, Ohio. Manual Training in Horticulture. “Manual Training in Horticulture,” by Prof. R. Lazenby ;of tae University of Ohio, Columbus, followe@ Miss Richards’ paper: “It fs generally conceded that there are three quite distinct facters in any weli- rounded system of education. These are knowledge, training and eulture. In other words, to know sqmething, to do some- thing and to be something comprises a large part of the duty of man.” He thought there was too much teacning and too little trainmg. “Our present rational crisis had demonstrated that the manual as well as mental training that ts given by our military and naval schools is just what best fits our youth for eminence and re- nown as a military or naval commancer. But if this be true for the art of war, it cannot be any less true for the peaceful arts and great industries of cur times. A. strong plea was made for manual training in horticulture. The hammer and the saw should be supylemented by the hoe and the rake; the budding knife and the pruning shears, as well as the plane and chisel, should be used to educate the hand and ‘eye. A discussion of this paper followed, ied by President George T. Fairchiid of the State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. President Fairchild believed there Was such a thing as “Manual Training in Horticulture.” Horticulture shows, as few things do, how nature handles her powers. Its pursuit by children opens up a world of activity. It touches the whole system of geology, and how we should teach geogra- phy. It is also adapted to every age, and here it is where nature study at first hand has an opportunity to permeate our whole school system. Prof. George A. Robbins of Chicago, as chairman of a committee appointed a year ago, read a report upon “Hindrances and Helps to Manual Training and Industrial Education.” He considered it under topics of inefficient supervision, the engaging of mechanics for teachers, the employment of ‘untrained teachers, how its advocates re- tard, the conservatism of teachers, the dis- respect for manual training and the lack of funds. The influences which have pro- moted manual training in the past have been state and national aid, private en- terprise, educational associations, trained teachers and public exhibitions. The meeting adjourned at 2 p.m. Wed- nesday, after appointing of the following nominating committee: Charles R. Rich- ards, New York; W. R. Lazenby, Colum- bus, Ohio; Charles A. Bennett, Peoria, Ill. Interesting Exhibits. The hall was prettily decorated with flags and bunting and flowering plants. Around the sides of the room were arrang- ed exhibits of woodwork, bent iron, forge work, sawing, mechanical and free-hand drawing. Among the schools making an exhibit were the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Baltimore Polytechnic,’ Rochester Athenaeum, Rochester, N. Y.; Jacob Tome Institute, Fort Deposit, Md.; Townsend In- dustrial School, Newport, R. I; West Brook, Me., grammar schools; the public schools of East Orange, N. J.; Hoboken, N. J., and Brockton, Mass. "The city schools were well represented in the vari- ous lines of manual training and domestic arts. _——— ART EDUCATION. Interesting Features of the Closing Session. ‘The closing session of the department of art education held yesterday afternoon in Luther Place Memorial Church was as in- teresting as that of Friday. ‘The session vas opened by an address, “The Function of Art in the Higher Educa- tion of the American Citizen,” by William Ordway Partridge, sculptor, Milton, Mass. His paper was diseussed by Mr. John S. Clark of Boston, Mass., and by Mr. E. Messer of this city. Art in the High School. “The province of art in the high school” was then considered by Miss Rhoda E. Selleck of the Indianapolis High School. She said the making of ornament, sculpture and painting are ideal arts which inspire men to greater efforts. The same principles and aspirations, if applied to the search for the necessities of life, would so elevate the “standards of manufactured articles that every industry would become an art. ‘The province of art in the high school ia- volves the spontaneous work of the ele- mentary grades and to help the pupil to see in this study a world of relationship that can be immediately applied. To reach this result his training must include the study of nature, :he study of the numan figure, the study of the works of man, the history of his achievements, and above all to lead him to measure his cul- ture and spiritual activities by the change in his attitude toward the true and the good. ‘The pupil is now at the stage when the mere grammar of drawing may be en:pha- sized and the outline and shading in what- ever medium used, whether pencil or char- ceal or color, may put the pupil in full sympathy with his study and be a means of recording impressions and of expzessing ideas. Human Figure and Decoration. The study of the human figure has be- ccme one of the strongest features of the high school work, and the drawing from nature as a means of learning what to see and how to see. The decorative has its most important place for the development of the pupil's creative powers and a knowledge of the utilitarian phase of the work. The union of the fine and the decorative arts will, to a great extent, shape the history of our times and be one of the chief means toward solving the economic problem of making labor interesting and the workman proud of his production. Art and Literature. ‘The union of art and literature leads into the province of esthetics and there, with his religion and philosophy, leads man to search for knowledge of the highest cspir- ations of the human soul. By giving the pupil access to the seeing of good pictures, good pieces of sculpture, access to a good library and museum, we appeal to the emotions of the pupils for beauty so pregnant at this age, and by making him feel that in the atmosphere of all our efforts there is an mspiration for refinement and true culture, we shail give to the future a larger and stronger humeni- ty, capable of living a nobler and happier life. Offigers and Committee. A business mesting followed, at which W. A. Mason, supervisor of drawing in the public schools of Philadelphia, was elected president; Charies F. Wheelock of New York, vice president, amd Miss Mary Woodmansee of Nebraska, secretary. The executive committee for the coming year will consist of Miss Harriet Ceci] Magee of Oshkosh, Wis.; Dr..Gertrude Edmund and Dr. Langdon S. Thompson. The committes of ten ma2mbers, whom it was decided on Fri Jast to appoint in or- der to consider. and repert upon a basic course of study to be purgued in our schools in drawing, manual’ traiping and elemen- tary art, was yesterd: announced by President McG2e to co! of the following members: Langdon 8. mpson of New Jersey, John 8. Clark Henry T. Bailey of Massachusetts, nry F. Carter of Colo- rado, Josephine C. Locke-of Illinois, M. V. O'Shea of Wisco! New York city, syivania and_ and Grace 0, L. |LIBERAL SUPPORT Relations of the Government to Pop- ular Education. ADDRESS BY SUPERINTENDENT SEAVER Public Schools and the Universities Under Consideration. THE GENERAL DEBATE The duty of the democratic state to pub- lic education was thoroughly discussed by N. E. A. delegates at the session held at the National Theater this morning, the last meeting of the series. Popular educa- tion promoted by the national governments in America and Europe were compared and the duty of the educated towards the state set forth. The principal address was by Mr. Edwin P. Seaver, superintendent of the Boston public schcols. Mr. Z. X. Snyder of Colorado, was called upon for a report of the committee on nor- mal schools, appointed at the last session. He stated that owing to the difficult char- acter of the work and the lack of funds to meet the necessary expenses, it had been impossible for the committee to complete its investigations, and therefore there was no report to submit. Superintendent Seaver's Address. Superintendent Seaver argued that the most liberal support of public instruction in all grades from university to kindergar- ten is the public policy most in accord with the principles of democratic government. Popular education had been adopted by monarchial governments to promote the national spirit, to increase national power, or to promote the welfare of subjects. But in a democratic nation, education was not a boon conferred by the government on the people; it was a matter which the people themselves had chosen to promote through the action of their governments. The child’s right to an education, which is also, much more, the communit right that the child be educated, has been embodied in the fundamental law, or constitutions of our republican state governments, as a se curity for civil liberty. There is no limit to what a government of the people and by the people may do for the people in edu- cation as in anything else. Public support of university education no less legiti- mate and no less necessary to the welfare of a democracy than is the public support of common schools. racy must educate its leader: . Seaver. An absolute governm can suppress demagogue: a demoeri can only hope to make them harmles: ecucation. Jefferscn, the father of Amer- ican democracy, advocated a general sys- tem of free public irstruction ranging from the common schools to the university, and designed to reach every description of our citizens, from the richest to the poorest. The University of Virginia, which he ner- svaded the legislature of his state to e: tablish, adorns his memory no less worth- fly than does the Declaration of Inde- pendence. Public School and Universities. The public high schools, the speaker argued, should be constantly kept in close and vital relations to the universities. They should be enlarged and developed until they reach th2 standard of foreign schoo of similar grade. Much of the work now done in the earlier half of the usuai col- lege course in this country shou'd be done in the public high scho This, accord- ing to Mr. Seaver, is the next step forward in the progress of our secondary educa- tion. For the benefit of the many youths who do not find what they need in our present high schools, there should be main- tained, at the public cost, industrial, te nical and commercial schools of the kind well known in France and Germany. W the United States as well provid schools of this kind as Germany were they as well attended, we s have more pupils in them than we n have in all our public schools. The remark able progress mad@ in recent years by Germany in manufactures and commere has impressed England with the import- ance of industrial and commercial edu tion, and schools for this purpose are be- coming numerous and strong in this coun- try. 7 In Mr. Seaver’s opinion, we shall learn some time that the surest protection to our industries, whether infant or adult, is not high protective tariff, but industrial’ educa- tion. All children, rich and poor alike. be educated in public schools. V right of the parent to use private schools was not denied by the speaker, he asserted that he believed it to be best that some part, at least, of every child’s education should be in the public schools, where he may learn those lessons of civic equality and fraternity and of patriotic duty which only public schools can fully impart. The great, all-inclusive purpose of public in- struction, in all grades, is the education of the young citizens to good citizenship. Universal suffrage is in itself no guaranty of civil liberty. Neither is universal suf- frage joined with popular intelligence. It was a highly intelligent people in France that voted to accept the second empire. Duties of Voters. The American voters who deliver their city or their state over to the domination of the political boss are intelligent enough men; they can read and write; they can reason from cause to effect; they under- stand the rights and duties pertaining to citizenship; but they prefer to serve their own selfish ends, or they are culpably in- different. Therefore, said Mr. Seaver, it is not more intelligence that we want, but more con- science among those who hold the des- tinies of the nation in their hands. Read- ing and writing tests afford no remedy The only radical cure is to be found in making public instruction universal and also everywhere intensely patriotic. This, declared Dr. Seaver, is the plain duty of the democratic state to education. The General Discussion. Miss A. B, Fisher sang a very pretty so- prano solo, after which the discussion of the subject presented by Dr. Seaver was begun by Superintendent McHenry Rhoads of Frankfort, Ky. Matter of Legislatio: It was Mr. Rhoad’s belief that self-gov- ernment cannot exist without thorough pepular education. If the legislatures and public officers are wise and liberal in their administration of affairs they must extend popular education in a humanistic spirit. The universality of popular education shculd not only be the pride of the people, but the guarantee of the future existence of the state. Problem for Superintendents. “An Important Problem for the School Superintendent” was the subject of a paper by Mr. Richard Hardy, superintendent of public schools at Ispeming, Mich. The problem Mr. Hardy discussed was the best means for conducting the school fer the best interests of its supporters and at- tendants. Superintendents should give more attention to the affairs of their own individual districts, because every commu- nity has its own peculiar problems to solve. The solution eign be along pedagogical and soclalogical lines. z President C. D. McIver of the North Carolina State Normal School and trial College made the conciuding of the morning. He spoke princip: advocacy of more universal advantages for women. The wonren from the higher considered one of the sistenc in democratic hoped that the nationa in the future us this condition. oo KINDERGARTEN IDEA. Indus- speech ty in educational exclusion of itutions he incon- tion, and he ciation trould $ influence to change THE Its Influence Discussed at the De- partment’s Closing Session. The subject considered at the closing ses- sion of the kindergarten department, held yesterday at Calvary Baptist Church, was ‘The Influence of the Kindergarten Idea,” and the first paper read was by Mrs. Marla Kraus-Boelte of New York city, who con- sidered the development of the inner life of the child. Improved infant education, commences on a natural, log being abstracted from perceptions—becom- ing thus the product of the individual's own mental activity, developing originality in- stead of giving “blind consent” to the ideas of others. The foundation for this during the first years of chilu’s life. Man alone js endowed with a free will—to accept and to reject, and without it edu tion would have no basis. Its aim is knowledge.” As in the “form-world God's creations, so also in the mental de- velopment, a natural series of events must take place in order to reach the corres- ponding idea of the mind. The Value of Free Choice. For this erd the child is given certain means by which, not only to prepare and accustom the mind to Icgical thinking, but to assist equally the the soui correspondingly from without, do- ing away with “mere educational instinct Free choice on the child’s part is the nec sary factor for success in this; giving his she said, asis—ideas ld be jaid natural functions of attention to this outer expression of the same he evinces the pl of doing for himself. All science is based on >xperi- mental work. perimental. In dealing with the fundamental forms of Mature, and constantly, though uncon- sciou’ using the fundamental law by way of arrangement, classification and combination, th become ife elements,” leying thus a bread foundation fer hberal culture. The child's knowledge is ex- Play asx a actor. There is the harmonious blendi and work, freedom nd order, rights and social dutic Ti work and play materials should be regarded cnly as means to influence the child's acter, his morals, his mind, heart tellect. Play, thus rightly understood, proves itself the factor of a ing the i ner growth of the child, independent formal instruction. Self-seein: ing, self-making, self-experienc ing—th: the activities « and rightly developed they 4 with happiness, gayety and joy« individua m is that the child Like the bee that flies from flower to flower, seeking food and finding it, so the child -so to speak—through his surroundings and the different domains of ce—as he may come in touch with them—passing some by without paying any uttention, and reaching out to others with perfect ease, in order to gain the mental food necessary for his mind. ‘To follow one theught or merely one idea during an en tire morning, week or month, would seem contrary to “child natur nd the laws of the child's inner development. Care in Direction. Although the elements of “free develop- ment” shovld ever be predominan re the plants in nature’s garden, care should be taken “that such free development does not diverge and become degraded to mre toying and arbitrariness.’ All the condi- tions for esthetic activity should first 1 iver; then free will, subj- to intelligent motive, should be addr , directing the same to proximate ends through and useful work or gen of the child's cay he wiil be guided to lif from content with tr to become a * reliance invorn fected 1 ng him: rsonal wel ing” m,"” this ting in per- mplicity and an by piety. the service of mankiad and of God. Officers were th elected as follows President Maria Kraus York president, s es, Cal.; r, Washington, D. C. 0 persons have registe din th Kindergarten Register. Of se 119 clive and thirty student: id gradu- Representatives cam om Ontaric busetts, New York, Pennsy yland, California, Colorado, Virginia, st Virginia, Di of Columbia, Ker y, Indiana, Iilinois, Iowa, Missouri, orth Dakota. > “HOOSIER SCHOOL W tue Utah, Nebraska, ASTER.” Bright, Progressive and Numerousiy in Front Rank. Among the largest delegations is that of Indiana, there being 300 teachers enrolled from the Hoosier state. The ‘Hoosier school master’ is bright, progressive and alert, and taken collectively, the peda- gogues from Indiana stand right up along- side the best and braniest. Among those present are: Miss Carrie B. Adams, superintendent of mu: ‘ormal School, Terre Haute; Miss Mary J. Ander- son, Terre Haute, Normal; Miss Clara Ax’ Franklin; Superintendent J. W. Bus Alexandria; Professor Severance Burrage, Perdue University; Editor George F. Boss; Superintendent Oscar R. Baker, Winches- ter; Principal Adelaide S. Baylor, Wabas! Professor J. T. Brown, Richmond; Super- intendent H. W. Bowers, Union City; Pro- fessor W. A. Bell, Indianapolis; Professor Jesse H. Brown, Indianapolis; Superintend- ent Bowman, Mount Vernon; Miss Esther Conway, Winchester; A. U. Crull, Hunting- ton; Superintendent J. W. Carr, Anderson; Mrs. Martha Logsdon Coull, Indianapolis; Miss Charity Dive, Indianapolis; Professor D. R. Ellsbarger, Richmond; Superintend- ent David K. Goss, Indianapolis; Miss Lydia Gemmer, Williamsport; Professor W. 8. Hiser, Richmond; Miss Lou Hosmer, La Porte; Superintendent A. A. Hughart, Val- parairo; Miss Ade'ia R. Hornbrooke, Evans- tcn: Superintendent and Mrs. Hester, Evansville; Mrs. T. B. Howeman, Warsaw; Miss Mary Jefferson, Lafayette; Superin- tendent Frank L* Jones, Tipton; Francis Johnson, Latayette;. Homer Kessler, Lo- gansport; Superintendent G. T. Kennaston, Crawfordsville; 8. M. Keltun, trustee, An- derson, T. A. Motte, superintendent, Rich- - Superintendent A. E. Malsbarry, Superintendent and Mrs. R. A. Ogg, Kokomo; Superintendent and Mrs. Charles F. Patterson, Edinburg; Principal Worth Reed, Lafayette; Professor H. C. Sampson, Vincennes; President Joseph Swain, Bloom- ington; Superintendent W. H. Serrons and wife, Brookeville; Superintendent W. R. Snyder, state marager, N. E. A., Muncie; Mrs. W. R. Snyder, Muncie; Principal George E. Thorne, Kokomo; Superintendent Charles Van Matre, Muncie; Superintend- ent and Mrs. John A. Wood, La Porte; Superintendent J. T. Warsham and wife, Huntingbury; Superintendent J. H. Wood- ruff, Indianapolis; President A. H. Yoder, Vincennes. saab The North Dakotans. North Dakota is a long way off, and it takes nearly five days’ straight traveling to reach Washington, but fourteen bright men and women are attending the N. E. A. fro are: W. L. 3 Well; Helen BL Stockwell Bliss Elia Stout Laura C. Birchall, Minnie Hector, Fred Hector, Addie M. Teeter, Abbie Hays, Car- tie V. Burgess, Nellie Sterrett, Ster- rett, D. W. Elves, Catharine McMurchy, Ralph H. Burns. _ & —<—= The Evening Star is the only afternoon paper in Washington that receives the dispatches of the Associated Press. It is therefore the only one in which the reader can find the complete news of the world, directly trans- mitted by telegraph, up to the moment of going to press. ERRORS EXPLAINED | An Authoritative Declaration by Dr. E. M. Gallaudet. THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF The Feature of the Convention of the N. E. A. TRUE METHODS DESCRIBED —— ee Probably there is no other subject more in- teresting,both to educatorsand laymen alike at the present time, than the education of the defective classes; the deaf, the dumb and the blind, in whoSe path to mental im- provement nature has placed such appall- ing obstacles. The large audience that as- sembled in the National Theater last night therefore dwelt with great earnestness upon every word uttered by Dr. E. M. Gal- laudet when he told of the deaf and their Possibilities. Easily the leading authority of the world in this important sphere of modern education, Dr. Gallaudet added a valuable contribution to the literature he has so frequently adorned heretofore, and his paper will be read with eagerness everywhere. Dr. Gallaudet was introduced by the pr siding officer, Herain Hadley, vice pr dent of the N. E. A. for New Mexico, and was warmly ¢1 ted. He spoke as follows: “I trust I may not be thought egotistical when I begin with a word as to my per- sonal connection with the education of the deaf. “It has been my privilege to be associated with this class of persons for more than forty years as a teacher and as an server “I have examined the methods pursued in more than two score of the schools for number of schools in thirteen of the coun- tries of Europe. I have taken careful note of the results of ever od which has been made use of in ev place that could be reached by trav “Within a year I have had unusual op- portunities for meeting, in personal con- verse, large numbers of educated deaf per- sons, not now in school, in Italy, Switzer- land, Austria, Germany, France, Englan: Scotiand and Ireland. From these per: whose testimony ¥ from their s own ¢€ perience, I was able to learn much of value as to the results and relative advantages of the different methods of education, and my intercourse with th by means of a language more truly wide than Vol apuk w er be, the atural, ideographic language of gestures: no doubt the old known to man, but whose antiquity is by no means a synonym of decrepitud in ex- actness or decay. F the use of this unique m mind comes into more when the language ntact with min, ar rbitrary and art are interposed Mental Blankness. “Any endeavor to appreciat n stand the possibilities of the deaf must be- gin with an effort to comprehend, which is not an easy task,the state of mental blank- ness, in which a child born deaf and re- maining without education must necessari- ly continue. The starting point, when the tra‘uing of such a child is begun, is infinitely lower in the scule of mental development than that of a normal person. To such a child all the objects and living creatures around him are without names. For his own crude thoughts he has no means of verbal ex pression. All the phenomena and ministry of sound have no existence to him. “The high degree of intelligence, and even of social culture, which is possible to the fic and r- unlettered who all their faculties, growing out of that easy personal inter- course which hearing and speech afford, car never be attained by a deaf mute left to his own resources. “Some of you may remember Charles Dickens’ description, in his American Notes, of the blind deaf-mute, Laura Bridg- man, in which he speaks of her, before education, ‘built up, as it were, in a marble cell, impervious to any ray of light or pa ticle of sound, with her poor, white han peeping through a chink in the wall, beckoning to some good man for help, that an immortal soul might be awakened. The Deaf-Mutes’ Possibilities “Only a little less pitiable in degree, and qvite the same in kind, is the condition of the deaf-mute left without education. And yet experience has proved that when once the helping hand of the teacher is extend- ed, the deaf-mute’s possibilities for intel- lectual growth are not less than those of normal persons. “In the four score schools of the United States upward of 10,000 deaf children re- ceive the full equivalent of the common school education, including industrial training; many are given high school courses of study, and a proportion, greater than that in the community at large, are acquiring a knowledge of the ancient and modern languages, the sciences, the higher mathematics, history, literature, economics and philosophy, in the college which has been for many years liberally sustained for their exclusive benefit at the federal capital by the government of te United States. “In this college deaf-mutes have become fitted to be editors and publishers, to be clergymen, to enter the civil service of the government, to be teachers and heads of schools, tg be architects and artists, to fill elective offices in the public service, to engage in scientific pursuits, to succeed in active business, to practice law, even be- fore the Supreme Court of the United States, and to be postmasters by presiden- tial appointment. None have as yet been elected as members of Congress, or to the Senate, but I have heard the opinion ex- pressed that the transaction of public busi- ness might be expedited, under certain con- ditions, if a proportion of the federal leg- islators could be chosen from this class of persons. “It is possible to teach a child born deat to speak well, and to understand the speech of others by observing the motior of their lips. This has been done in many instances in many countries. But the con- clusion often drawn from such successes, that all deaf children may do likewise, is not sustained by experience. $ Serious Error. “Success in teaching deaf-mutes to speak is a matter of gradation, and in estimating the value of results, enthusiasm and bias on the part of the teacher often lead to serious error. - “A large proportion of deaf children Se mec wa an cee Nn mr (Continued on Fourteenth Page.)