The Conservative.
may , but does not necessarily , become a
motive power in directing conduct and
regulating character. A specific effort
must be put forth to train the will and
make it an efficient instrument in recti
fying life. Here is where the schools
have demonstrably failed , for , while
their tendencies are not unmoral , they
are not so vigorously and definitely
moral as to insure the essential right
eousness of the rising generation , and
this is one of the prime demands which
democracy , as well as humanity , must
make upon the schools , as intelligence
and righteousness ore fundamental at
tributes of democratic citizenship.
Observers in various stations of life
have already noted a tendency towards
a lowering of moral standards , a less
scrupulous observance of the obligations
of honesty and good faith , and a readi
ness to retort to sharp practices , which
do not augur well for the future. Again ,
the standards of student honor are no
toriously lower than those that obtain
in society. These facts indicate that
there is an imperative necessity for a
new adjustment of our methods , so that
this evil may be remedied , but it
is much easier to make a diagnosis of
the case than to prescribe the remedy.
Probably every child possesses the
power to distinguish between the right
and the wrong , and furthermore he is ,
or may be conscious of right and wrong
in every act of his life. Moreover , the
generality of children would choose to
do the right rather than the wrong un
less acted upon by some constraining
power outside of themselves. But as a
matter of fact , the children of today
are not taught to exercise their volun
tary powers wisely and uprightly. In
school they are submitted to an author
ity from which they have no appeal ,
which decides for them definitely what
they shall do and what they shall not
do , thus eliminating from their lives all
power of choice. In addition to this ,
such authority is frequently so exercised
that they deem themselves justified in
eluding it , whenever they can do so
without being caught , a proceeding
which certainly is not strictly moral in
its tendencies , and which cultivates an
attitude of mind towards all authority
which is not in consonance with the
high ideals of our civilization.
Lack of School Democracy.
Such a system of government not
only lowers personal standards of mo
rality , but is not in harmony with the
constitution under which we live , and
will not furnish the best preparation for
citizenship. This criticism of the
schools , therefore , resolves itself into
two indictments : First , that they are
not giving an adequate moral training ,
and , second that they are not in har
mony in their , organization with the
democratic idea.
This problem is the most important as
it is the most baffling that pre
sents itself to the schools today for
solution , and no one can yet propose an
adequate remedy for it. It is believed
lint the germs of a solution may be
: ound in the so-called school
democracies , * which first originated in
Chicago , and are now gaining
a foot-hold all over the country.
These organizations seem to bo based
upon correct principles , and it only re
mains to be seen whether they will
prove sufficiently practical and elastic
to meet the situation in all its various
fields and phases.
In conclusion it may be said that the
history of the American school has
been a glorious one , and its future cer
tainly will not belie the past. It has
never failed to correct its defects as
they have become manifest , and it must
not now be found wanting , when the
final test of citizenship comes to be ap
plied to it.
Chicago , 111. , June 20 , 1901.
In reply to an
OLD SETTLERS invitation extend-
MEETING. ed by Judge Jes-
seu and the Edi
tor of THE CONSERVATIVE , on behalf of
the Old Settlers of Otoe county , who
are to assemble in Morton Park on Mon
day , September 2 , 1901 , our esteemed
fellow-citizen , ex-Governor Robert W.
Furnas , who is acknowledged by all to
be one of the greatest benefactors of the
commonwealth of Nebraska , remarks :
"Those of us who served as pioneers
in laying foundations for our children ,
are annually being called home. Soon
the roll call will not be responded to.
But our works will not be forgotten.
They are impressed on all that is good
and great in this young and growing
commonwealth. May He , who knoweth
all things , and doeth all things well ,
keep Nebraska pioneers under the hollow
of His hand , while here sojourners , and
in the end grant them admission into
the great Hereafter , where we are as
sured neither sorrow nor old age shal
mar that joy which shall be everlasting. "
Men of wealth
RICH AND DEAD , in Nebraska and
elsewhere , ought
to remember that soon they will all be
as dead as the poorest deceased paupers.
In the grave there is no time , no credit
given by the worms to millionaires
They are consumed by the slow com
bustion of decay , and hungry maggots
just as inconsiderately and voraciously
as are the bodies of the poor. A rich
man , Robert of Doncaster , dead anc
buried in England , has this truthful
epitaph upon his tombstone : "What ]
gave , that I have ; what I spent that I
had ; what I left , that I lost. " Gentle
men who love money , hate a loss. Let
them give , avoid loss and have.
* The Hyde Park High School , of Chicago , of
which Professor French is principal , lias
adopted the idea of a "School Democracy. " It
has attracted great attention among educators
and appears to be very successful.
This wood is very
CATALPA. durable , and is quickly
grown. It is with
confidence recommended to those en
gaged in mining , as a tree worthy their
practical attention. This is more es-
) ecially true when mine timbers for
irops are transported for long distances ,
as they are today. Plant catalpas clear
across the plains , and up into the
Rocky Mountains. They grow swiftly.
They endure undecayed for centuries.
J. Sterling Mor
LANDSCAPES ton thinks that
VS. every railroad in
TREES. the country should
utilize the unused
parts of its right-of-way for arboricul
ture and believes that in twenty years
they could raise enough catalpa ties to
almost supply themselves. The propo
sition has its good features , but what
would the passenger , who delights in
viewing the landscape , think about it if
his view was obstructed by continuous
rows of trees along the tracks ? Norfolk
News.
Passengers can live in health and
prosperity without viewing landscapes.
But all animal existence on this globe
will perish when all forests have been
destroyed. As between h'uman life and
landscapes from car windows , THE CON
SERVATIVE prefers life.
The department
SEEDS AND TREES , of agriculture
evinces a truly
paternal solicitude for the welfare of
the American farmer. Recent telegrams
announce that double the usual quanti
ties of garden and flower seeds will be
gratuitously distributed next year
among these bucolic wards of the na
tion. Thus the Indians and the farm
ers are placed upon the same intellectual
plane , and the former is no more a men
dicant in getting his cash annuities than
the department of agriculture would
make the farmer by its annual gratui
ties of seeds. But hereafter we are
told the department will also make a
yearly donation of trees to the farmers.
Why not send around , likewise , do
nated settings of eggs of the rarer va
rieties of poul-
Eggs. try ? Why not
bestow a bull ,
boar or stallion iipon the rural
constituent now and then ? Why
permit governmental paternalism to
pause in its beneficence 'with seeds and
trees ? Why not "frank out" cattle ,
swine , sheep and horses to the poor
farmers ?
"The truth is that the decision of the
court has not ended any difficulties or
uncertainties , " the Hartford ( Conn. )
Times ( Ind. Dem. ) says. "It has in
creased them. The whole question of
colonization is still to be faced by con
gress and the people. "