The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 23, 1898, Page 26

26 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 1898 R e e Rl oo e leleelelolelelelololofolelololofofolorololoRolotototoTotooloTo o lotolololo oL ) [QROXOXQRCKCIOXC] T was as early as 1872 that the teach- ers of the San Francisco School De- partment began to realize the fm- portance of organizing for the pur- pose of aiding one another in time of need.- Ably engineered bv Miss Kate Kennedy, always a_foremost progressive epirit in school affairs, a plan was at length perfected by which the San Fran- clsco Teachers’ Mutual Ald Society, the the first of the kind in the United States, it is claimed, came into existence on May 18, 1873, Miss Kennedy being elected presi- dent. This soctety does not pretend to be a charitable institution, but has adopted the insurance plan and is conducted as far as possible on a purely business basis. As its name impiies, the organization was formed for the relief of its sick or dls- abled members. That the society has stood the test of all these succeeding years with undiminished prosperity cer- tainly proves its sou s and efficiency. However, in 1889 it thought ‘best to incorporate. Accordingly on March 13 of that year articles of Incorporation were filed and the socletv was transformed into a recognized legal body inaccordance with the laws of our State. board of directors after this change Miss Jessie Smith was president. At the of its first year the so- $20,000 in nk higher rate of sick b Fellows or other ki s paving = fits than the Odd ganizations of the . member of teacher must of §10 and dues of In return celve benefits during vacatiol to draw_their $10 & be sick five co i s > proper es the schools of cts, and the visiting sick members is placed in charge of regular visiting committees. One of these must twice a week visit the teacher who !s {ll and the latter's claim for benefits must be duly ¢ the proper committees and the president of the society. The soclety annually elects a board of | of the whole number of census children. | try, what will it amount to Of the first | audited and | ing on June § those teachers already i terested in the fund organized as a sec tion of the State Teachers' Annuity an: Retirement Fund. | The matter of the High School teachers becoming contributors to the fund has | been referred for decision to the District | Attorney. The difficulty lies in the read- ing of the law, which is not clear as to | the position of these teachers in regard | to the fund. The law provides that the County Treasurer shall deduct $1 from | the monthly warrants of teachers, to be laced in the annuity fund; but as the High School teachers are pald, not through the County Treasurer, but through the city, no method has as yet | been provided by which the contributions of these teachers to the fund can be re- celved by the County Treasurer. 1t the decision of the District Attorney is favorable to the annuity fund a num- ber of the High School teachers will im- | mediately join. As_the City and County Treasurer of San Francisco is one and the same person this difficulty has not arisen here but it is hoped that an amendment to the law de- ciding the gquestion, which affects High School teachers all over the State, will | e carried at the next Legislature. | All the ninth grafde puplls of Oakland, | except one small class in East Oakland, are concentrated in the Central Gragnmar School. In this ninth grade the scholars select efther & manual training course of | two years or a one-year Latin course. At the end of the year the Latin students go to the High School. There is also an additional year—the eleventh grade—for those students wish- | ing to complete the commercial course. If this term the ninth grade proves over. crowded the commercial department will | be temporarily removed to the High | School, until such a time as the condi- tion of the funds will permit an addition | | to the Central School building for its ac- ¢ | commodation. | -| The last diplomas in the commercial de- partment_were issued at the end of last | year to Miss Blanche Morse, a grand- daughter of Ex-Sheriff Harry Morse; to | Miss Edna Price and to Archie Boland | Hereafter the City Board of Education | will probably not grant diplomas to grad- | uates of this course, but will merely issue certificates of proficiency. | The Mariposa_Chronicle of September | 185, says: “Thomas Daguerreau of | having taken charge of the | hes to announce to the public aloon will be closed except on | and on that day pic res will | rom sun s the first p to sunset. . -day the county contains thirt five school districts, with an attendance | of 950 children. This is about 85 per cent | ed In the schools and colleges there is hardly any more in need than history of patient, intelligent effort toward im- provement in teaching. The session of the State Teachers' Association just past bore evidence of & stronger interest in oW BEHOOL TRACGDERS DELP ONE GUOTDER. Satisfactory Progress of the Mutual Aid Society. @ lolclclolcelelolelelclelolclolololololoXoloololololololoololojolololofolojojojojojojolojolojolojolofoJoNolololo koo YofoloYoloololooJoloXolo) [cJoJcXoXOJO) ready well trodden. You can beat out new lines to your heart's content. But ust here is our main question: Why does istory prove so hard a subject for young people and many adults also? Is it not largely due to the smallness and is carried out in the primary depart- ment. DR Dr. W. A. Finley has been appointed Buperintendent of Madera County, vice B. A. Hawkins, resigned, on account of {liness. B e Miss Busie Lord Currier, who has lon been prominent as teacher, poet an story writer in Washington, has recently entered Berkeley for & graduate course In pedagogy. S . The’State Board of Education will meet early in February at Sacramento to des- 1gnate the official organ of education. e . A. Winship, editor of the New England THE NEW MISSION HIGH SCHOOL. HE work on the new Mission High Schoo! at the corner of Eighteenth and Dolores streets has progressed to the third | story. The cost of the finished building will be about $140,000, C. l. Havens being architect. There will be fifteen classrooms and spacious chemistry and physical latoratories, lecture-rcoms, and a large assembly-hall seating about 1500 persons. Below the latter will be a gymnasium, about 8o feet square. The building will be ready for occupancy by | July next. Joseph O’Connor has lately been elected principal. the fleld of history teachin be hoped that this increased interest will soon bear fruit. But the quegtions that now directly concern us are: we do in this tield of local stu and it is to and how EDUCATION OF YOUTHFUL MONGOLIANS. == PR PUPILS OF THE CHINESE PUBLIC SCHOOL. The Chinese public Miss Rose Thayer is principal, was opened about 1853, and to-day contains five classes of 121 pupils, elght only being girls. The course of study is the same as that followed in the other primary schools of the city. In the first grades reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic are taught, and in the higher grades language, geography and history, includ- ing the earl tory of the United States and the biographies of Columbus, Wash- school, of which ington, Franklln, etc., are studied. he pupils are quiet and exceedingly doclle, showing a profound respect for their teachers. Though many of them are employed in stores and also attend the Chinese school, they thoroughly en- joy the public school work and prove apt students. Th recelve no report cards and have no rewards in view, but simply work for the pleasure of it Arithmetic es especially easy for these bright-ey Chinese youngsters, but reading is their chief enjoyment. At Christmas time a number of Chinese merchants—some of whom had no chil dren attending the school—made up a generous purse with which to buy and | decorate a beautiful tree, and also lent | a hall, where singing, exercises and drills took place among a delighted throng of Chinese spectators. The.children received the same toys as their American friends, but the boys asked especially for book: Fairy “Gulliver,” ““Robinson Crusoe,” were read with avidity, and one boy of a mechan turn of mind asked for a book on electricity. On account of preparation for Chinese New Year the school this week has tem- porarily lost a number of its pupils. eleven directors, and this board is re- sponsible for ‘the management of the furds and the business of the soclety in general. The latter is transacted at the semi-annual meetings of all the members. The officers of the soclety for the pres- | ent year are as follows: President, Miss Laura T. Fowler, one of -the founders and a most capable and efficient member, this being her third term of office; financial secretary, Miss Nellie Haswell; recording secretary, Miss Mar- | Alice | grette d’Arcy. At_the last meeting of the soclety on the 14th of this month a committee was appointed to revi laws. Grote; treasurer, Miss Alameda County has a large Teachers’ Association, of which only a small part are contributors to the teachers’ annuity fund. At a recent meeting & standing committee, composed of Superintendent Gerlick as chairman, Miss Cohen of Ala- meda and Miss French of Berkeley, was appointed to further the cause of this find among the teachers of the general assoclation of 200 members. original | and republish the by- | At a meet- | T The deficlency is largely due to the mag- | nificent distances between school houses. In order to visit each district once every | school vear and to find the school In ses- slon the County Superintendent drives some 600 miles, but goes her way rejolc- ing and blessing the law that established schools at lovely Wawona and in the Yo- semite Valley. | Mariposa County has an efficlent corps of teachers, who are energetic, progres sive and self-sacrificing. Most of them | | are graduates of the surrounding schools and residents of the count of the present teachers are men, wh a larger number than for several years. | Not so many studies are taught here | as in other counties which have longer school terms, but the work as a rule is | thoroughly done and well up to the | standard elsewhere. . The following is an extract from a most interesting paper on “The Study of | Local History,” which wes read by F.| H. Clark of the Lowell High School be- fore a recent meeting of the Teachers' lub: “Of all the studies pursued or attempt- with Dr. ities of the Kola (guru use they are enabled to impossible with those and nervous troubles. V. NEW TO-DAY. NN e o Do not confuse *Cola this” and **Kola that' . Charcot’s The Mighty Black Men of Western Tropical Africa—grand zccimens of physical development— pend for vigor and energy upon the nerve and muscle-building qual- men and women in this city owe their energy to the pre- cious qualities extracted from this noble nut combined in DR. CHARCOT’S Kola Nervine Tablets. These tablets, made (from the FRESH KOLA NUTS) upon the pre- scription of Dr. Jean Martin Charcot, the the world has ever known, absolutely banish sleeplessness Kola Nervine Tablets. ) nut. By its withstand the 1 Kola Nut. fatigue of killing marches and to perform feats of strength not using the nut. Thousands of eatest doctor DR. CHARCOT’S Write for PROOFS of CURES, 50c and $1a package. Get them of your druggist or if he cannot supply you, send money and druggist’s name and we will send you the genuine tablets, Eureka Chemical and Manufacturing Co., La Crosse, Wis. REDINGTON & .CO, General Distributors. 4 shall we work? 4 “Every man has a_blography, even if it is never writen. Eve: place has its history even if the world cares nothing for it. There 1s no school in California or anywhere else which has not an_opportu- nity to study local history. But San Francisco is great enough and stands for | enough in the general life of the nation to deserve attention far beyond the ordi- | nary locality. narrowness of their ence? individual experi- activity of to history for expansion and enrichment of knowiedge? But to profit by this knowledge our own lives must be touched with sympathy, and we must never for- get that the men and women of the past thought, felt and acted largely as we do to-day. ' And so, by studying one's own life and community in its tang tory, the student builds a bridge of sym- pathy between the present and the past, | and ‘the broad avenues of history will lead to a more complete and abundant life and thought. “*Our school children do not take them- selves or their community very seriously. They are not students in these lines. Here, then, is an imperative need for this bridge of sympathy, and if needed for the pupils how much more so for the teach- ers. At this point we may call to mind the recent saying of Professor Griggs, that we Influence our pupils not alone by what we are, but also by what we try to be, and that to be teachers truly we must be students and learners as well. “In order, then, primarily to advance the thought and work of our schools and of universities In history study, and if possible to contribute something to the culture of our community, the Teachers’ Club proposes to form a sec tlon for work in local history. It mat- ters little who is leader. The three mgin points that will bring success are, that each teacher interested take up some par- ticular guestion and work at it; that all co-operate by meeting and digcussing the results of the work, and that a fresh spirit_of enthusiasm and belief in the importance of history be infused into our | ON THE BLACKBOARD. Contrary to popular opinion, the week's vacation accorded to the San Francisco schools during the Jubllee celebration does not meet with approval of the ma- Jority of teachers in the department, for every day thus taken means so much greater crowding of puplls and teachers in the definite amount of work which must be accomplished before the close of the term. b In the Adams Cosmopolitan BSchool there are, this term, 700 German students, and 150 taking French. On Thursday evening, January 20, Sup- erintendent Webster gave the second of two instructive lectures upon the metric chart and metric system before the Teachers' Club, of which he is ex-officio an honorary member. The invitations sent out by the club to the teachers of the seventh, eighth and ninth grades re- sulted In a large and interested audience that listened wflh.cl.oss attention. The manual training class of the Teach- ers’ Club, under the nstruction of Frank Gardner of the Polytechnic High School, has resumed work. It is the purpose of the club to provide faciliti for pursuing the study of special subjects as occasions arise from demands made upon teachers by an ever varying curriculum. Is it because our actual lives can- | not possibly bring to us the thought and | ast generationssthat we turn le his- | | Journal of Education, will be one of the noted lecturers at the Southern Califor- nla State Teachers' Assoclation which meets in March at Los Angeles. e During the Jubllee celebration next week sixteen companies from the dif- ferent schools will have a competitive drill for a silk banner. These young sol dlers are belng drilled by Professor Mieh- ling, special teacher of physical culture in the department. . . . Girls from the various schools will sing the State and national songs at Wood- ward’s Gardens, and there will also be a chorus of tralned voices of boys and girls. R The students of the Lowell High School, particularly the seniors, have just issued the first number of thelr magazine, the { Loweil. It makes a very creditable ap- pearance, with its bright red cover and interesting pages. Professor Clark of the history department contributes the lead- ing article. Ek caskire Two companies of seventy-two each from the Lincoln School will drill on Monday. The boys will wear red, yellow and blue ribbons, representing the two universities, bearing “L. G. S.” in let- ters of gold. | . . In the Lowell High School the company of sixty cadets, under the able leadership of Captain Charles G. Bartlett, will turn out pext week with flying colors. This company, which is attached to the First Regiment, N. G. C., is the only one in the State under regular Government su- pervision, and receives an apportionment of $40 per month. . . . On Tuesday there will be a football game between the National Guard and the regular army, the team of the former being mainly composed of cadets, under the fieadersh!p of Captain E. Robinson. | Some of the cadets will also take part in the Wednesday tournament. On Janu- 29, ary 29, at the opening of the Mining Fair, the cadets will again parade with the First Regiment, under the command of Colonel James F. Smith. S | The course of lectures on military tae tics, which begun before Christmas, will be resumed during the present term. Cap- ain E. A. O'Connell, U. S. A.. will de- lver the next lecture, which will be upon “Military Law.” | . iate | Last Thursday evening Colonel Smith, [ in whose honor Camp Smith last fall was | named, was presented with a fine album. containing the history and photographs | of the life at camp, which were collected | by the officers and non-commissioned o | ficers of the Cadet Company. LIVE QUAIL IN LONDON MARKET. The only foreign game birds which | arrive here alive are the quails. They | reach us in the early spring, just when | every other kind of game is out of sea- son and young ducks and chickens | are either still in the shell or extrava- | gantly dear. So are the quails, but, as the old farmer said of the curacao at 5 ! shillings a glass, they are “wurth it | too.” The Egyptian quails come first. A month later the Ttalian quails arrive. Thelr numbers seem never to diminish, though 18,000 were brought to Rome in |one day. Dealers collect them from 0900060000000 000000000360600006008600000800060000000009006000 gratifying. 2009009290099 99000900000000000006 ¢ “Passing over the Important part that San r'rancisco has always played in the history_of the coast let us enumerate some of the functions that are now in ex- ercise. Our city is a financial center, a center of capital, credit and exchange; it is a market for the products of farm and dairy of a great part of the surroundin country; it is a supply point for import: and manufactured articles in many lines of commerce, is a port of enlg or the growing trade from across the Pacificand around the continent, and it is the prin- cipal shipping point for the surplus wheat yield of the State. San Francisco is met- ropolitan in its newspapers and its thea- ters, is cosmopolitan to the highest de- ee in 1ts population, is the leading polit- cal center of the State and is the resi- dence of nearly one-fourth the members of the State Legislature. “Is there here any lack of material for the student of local history? No one need fear hnfin have to mrv’cllnpuu al- | PROGRESS. OF EDUCATION Though Napa County is small in area and population, it has been forging ahead In educational lines until work done has attracted the notice of educators throughout the State. Until 189 the superintendent was not expected to devote his time to the work of the office, and while the superintendents have In general been excellent teachers and consclentious workers, their beat efforts have been devoted to the schools in which they have taught. During the present administration, of which this article treats, there have been two high schools established, a district school at Napa and a union high school at St. Helena. In both of these a four-year course has been adopted. F. O. Mower, formerly of the Oak Mound, 18 principal of the Napa school. F. J. Metzler, whose work at the Esparto high school of Yolo County is so well and favorably known, was chosen as principal of the St. Helena school. There are, besides the high schools, fifty-five districts. school; sixteen from nine to nine and three-fourths months; three only falling below elght. Of the ninety-two teachers about 331-3 per cent have had.professional train- The trustees are beginning to see the wisdom of retaining schools range from $50 to $150 per month. ing in the normal schools or the universities of this State. g00d teachers, as is evidenced by the long tenure of office. The present superintendent, Miss Kate Ames, was elected in 189, and with the beginning of her administration came a new era in the method of work at the central office. From circular letters we have received, we judge that the most fmportant reforms have been along two lines. Tt is these reforms that have attracted most notice and which Miss Ames was requested to present before the State Teachers’ Association, which met in San Francisco in December. all of her attempts at improvement the co-operation of the Board of Education, of teachers, and trustees has been most As is the case in most school libraries, the books, while excellent, were not suited to the age of the children. Through a circular sent out during the first year, and suggestions that have followed from time to time, some books suitable to the age of children have been placed in nearly all the schools. At the same time the superintendent present- ed to the Board of Education the need of a course In supplemental reading. This was made out in December, 185, and introduced Into the schools at the opening of the spring term. In this, also, the trustees deserve especial commenda- tion for their co-operation and material ald. Perhaps the most progressive step Is the course In professsional reading. This Miss Ames has outlined and sent to teachers as a suggestion for the year's reading. Last year this met with remarkable success. Though not compul- sory, many of the teachers did the reading and were ready to discuss the questions presented at the institute. During the last year three books constituted the course: Rousseau’s “Emile”; classical, Pestalozzi's “Leonard and Gertrude.” report of the State Council and the three great reports of the Committees of Ten, Twelve and Fifteen. gestions were made In reference to articles bearing on the books read. One day was devoted to this work, under the direction of Dr. Thomas P. Balley, at the annual institute. ‘000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 The report comes from San Joss that the teachers of Santa Clara County have had two or three meetings in regard to | the pension fund, which have proved de- cidedly chilling, and they have hitherto failed to perfect an organization, since so many cannot see any feasibility in the plan’of the fund. Another second grade, making nineteen classes In all, has been added to. the John Swett Bchool. Miss Tidd has been appointed teacher. In the same school there has been adopted the custom of having the dif- ferent grammar grades meet on the al- ternating Fridays of the month to take art in musical and literary exercises. he recitations are almost exclusively Gaye fiose pupita hore On, foms Krg 088 pu 0 ve trav ive ‘l&l on the visl Dhotographs. IN NAPA COUNTY. Of these fifteen during the last year held a ten months' Historical, Quick's “Educational Reformers”; Besides these, teachers were urged to read the the The salaries of these In personal, Other sug- POPPPCPOPCPPOVI9PPPPPPPPPIBPISPOISGSGISIS Sicily, the Naples coast, and that strip (of sandhills between the Pontine marshes and the sea, stretching from Nettuno to Astura. The Italian birds all come by rail via Paris, in the small low cages, which prevent them from hurting themselves by trying to fly. As soon as they arrive they are sent to London to be fattened, unless it is in- tended to use them for winter fatten- ing, when they are kept in Paris.— Cornhill Magazine. ————— There is an easy, simple way to tell if a diamond is genuine. Make a small dot on a piece of paper with a lead pen- cll and look at it through the diamond. If it shows but a single dot the dia- mond is genuine; if it shows more than one or the mark appears scattered it is faise, no matter what it cost. NEW TO-DAY. STRIKING CONTRAST IN RESULTS REALIZED UNDER DIFFERENT SYS- TEMS OF OLD LINE LIFE INSURANCE. How $5501.15 Was Saved Under Annual Distribution of Surplus in THE MUTUAL BENEFIT LIFE INSURANCE CO, As Against “20 Year Distribution,” or ‘20 Year Tontine,” in Tontine Companies. The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of New Jersey is one of the strongest old-line companies in the country. It was or- ganized in 1845 as a purely mutual company, and, after hdving paid over $159,000,000 to policy-holders, has over $68,000,000 solid assets. It pays large cash dividends annually, thus giving solid insur ance at the lowest net cost. During the seven years previous to 1897 the official figures show that the Mutual Benefit saved (for benefit of policy-holders) more of its interest recelpts from investments above expenses than the four leading tontine companies, viz., the Mutual Life, the Equitable Life and the New York Life of New York and the Northwestern of Mil- waukee all combined, and it is unalterably opposed to all forms of gambling or tontine policies issued by such companies. The practical advantages of the annual distribution of surplus under the purely mutual system as practiced by the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of New Jersey are strikingly illustrated below. Every life Insurance contract which is to run for a long term of years, or for life, must, in order to be safe for the insured, name a premium containing a margin over the present actual costs of such Insurance. Varying mortality, decreasing rates of interest, unfore- seen expenses and losses incident to the management of every busi- ness, make such provisional “margin” an absolute necessity. The vital question then is: What is to become of this present “provisional margin?"” Shall it go all to stockholders under the “stock’ plan? Or In part to stockholders under the “mixed mutual” plan? Or all into “the pool” under tne “tontine” plan? Or come back all into the pocket of the policy-holders in annual settlements under the “purely mutual” plan? In deciding this question the following case in point should be considered: Mr. Adam Hersperger, the well-known founder of the Chautauqua Lake Ice Company, insured his life in the Mutual Beu~ efit Life Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey, on April 29, 1876, under policy No. 85,612, for $10,000, ordinary life plan, age 86, annual premium $621 00. Mr. Hersperger died April 5th, 1895. He had paid nineteen years' premiums. He was paid back his nineteen annual “margins” or dividends, besides the policy. His total cash dividends amounted to $3242 10. His average annual dividend was $170 64. His average annual payment was not “$621,” but 'nnly $450 886. The usual stock rate (no dividends) is $520 80. The saving In cost in the *“‘Mutual Benefit” as compared with stock rate in nineteen years was $1328 86. The saving In cost as compared with “twenty-year tontine” or “twenty-year distribution” was $3242 10. But allowing that money’s use in business i{s worth 6 per cent of the principal, the saving on this basis as compared with the cost at stock rate was $2502 87; the saving as compared with cost of “twenty-year tontine” or “twenty-year distribution” was $5501 15. The above facts clearly demonstrate: First—That the “stock” plan greatly enhances the costs of in- surance and adds nothing to the security of the contract. Second—That the “mixed mutual” plan, in so far as it is tribu- tary to stock, is not in the interest of the insured. Third—That the “tontine” plan raises still higher the enhanced costs of the stock plan, charging excessive rates for long periods of years, and meanwhile sequesters or side-tracks in ‘“pool” and thus exposes to total forfeiture all dividends and their accumulations. Fourth—That the “Purely Mutual” plan, returning to policy- holders each year all “margins” above the ascertained costs, guar- antees to every policy-holder, on principles of equity, all benefits of an inviolable insurance; and that these margins, singly or together, with or without interest, are no trifles. The Mutual Benefit, the leading “annual distribution” company, issues policies on all desirable plans, and guarantees a dollar’s worth of insurance for every dollar of “premium” paid. The Mutual Benefit's policies are absolutely non-forfeitable and incontestable after the second year. The term of extended insur- ance and the surrender values of the policy in cash or paid-up in- surance are clearly stated on the policy, so that the insured always knows just what the policy is worth. Mr. James Munsell Jr.,, at 415 Montgomery street, San Fran- cisco, i1s the managing agent of the company for California and Nevada. > » W. W. MONTAGUE & C0., IMPORTERS OF Stoves, Metals, Housefurnishing Goods .. ... MANUFACTURERS OF RIVETED IRON and STEEL PIPE For Water Supply, Hydraulic Mining, Irrigating, ‘Ranches, etc. 309-311-313-315-317 Market St., SAN FRANCISCO. BRANCH HOUSES—Los Anaeles Sa CRAY moves dandr E:"tgm"":i‘?fin"'fi’;‘% i¢ | YOUNG, OLD OR MIDDLE-AGED MEN 1 "“HA Bon's stuin Buiering from the effects of youthful errors op n’ premature decay should send ju. book of | 100 pages, which explaina all the pecrete s, Matled free securely ealed in plain wrapyer. DR. LOBB, 829 N. ISth st., Phila, Pa.