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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1901)
1 . . ' - . > . .M.piTrT. . - , % . . , i. iiHy.- - - i . - . . ll'-rOOffTOOP ! 1" ! J I'M ' W' ' i lA1 ' r t be Conservative. honor and honesty be witheld or less ened , and then to think : "this is the man whose life-long devotion to the nation and the throne I rewarded by dismissing him in his old age from the high position which he had adorned so long , and which subsequent events have shown that he , better than any other could fill ! " But all the more because of that wrong , which the great majority of Germans can neither forget nor forgive , was it in cumbent upon the Emperor to show , if not a tardy repentance , at least a pres ent grateful recognition of past achieve ments to which he owes , among other blessings , his seat upon the imperial throne. That repentance was not in his thoughts , however , was manifest in the inscription upon the ribbon of the laural wreath. "Des grossen Kaisers grossem Diener. " ( "jTo the great Em peror's great servant , " ) thus emphasiz ing Bismarck's position as , after all , only that of a servant or hod-carrier. ( Handlanger , to quote another of the Emperor's expressions ) to a master and a superior ; whereas both of the former Emperors were proud and glad to call him "fellow-worker , " and did not by any means consider him as the mere in strument of their sovereign will. This slight was the more noteworthy because at present the tendency in Ger many is towards a return to Bismarck's policy , which , had it been adhered to , would probably , among other things , have prevented the acquisition of the Chinese province a disastrous prece dent which has inflamed the greed of other powers and laid the train for countless complications and griev ances in the political future. However , Bismarck's greatness can not be lessened by any petty attack from a survivor ; the attempt only recoils upon its author , and so this half-hearted fes tivity will go down into history as shorn of its grandeur "by the King's command. " ELIZABETH E. EVANS. Munich , Germany , July 1901. PRACTICAL TEACHING. EDITOR CONSERVATIVE : Your name is associated with Arboi Day in every state of the American Re public. It is a beautiful remembrance and the arborioultural movement you then inaugurated has already done a great work. I know of you only through Arbor Day and your work as secretary of agriculture , and because of that knowledge I write you in regard to some work I think should be put into the public schools. Nature Study. You have , doubtless , followed , in a general way at least , the work that is being done in New York State on Nature Study. Dr. Bailey , o : Cornell , has charge of it , and he has worked mostly through leaflets He says it is to help solve the agricul- ural problem that they are working. Phey try to interest people in their sur roundings , to bring all possible advant ages to the rural population , to teach them to make use of their opportunities and thus , in a measure , stem the tide of mmigration from the country to the cities. In the great agricultural state of Ne braska there might be teaching in the schools that had to do with the present and probable environment of the pupils. If the purpose of our public schools is to fit for the profession of teaching or for entrance to the state university , they are fulfilling their mission admirab'ly. Planting. The opinion is gaining ground , I be lieve , that it is the business of our pub lic schools to train men and women for the duties of life , to make them self- supporting , productive members of so ciety. The great business of Nebraska is and ever must be agriculture. If the schools give any training that makes for agriculture I do not know of it. There is , to be sure , an agricultural school at Lincoln. This can reach but a fraction of the population and it tends to send out teachers of agriculture rather than farmers. Near Nature. It could and it should be taught in the rural schools , by putting in the right kind of nature study work. The pupils might be made more interested in their immediate surroundings , they might be taught to plant fruit trees etc. , and , in this way , education would render the rural population more stable , and not educate always away from farm lite. The rural teachers might be put in touch with the work done at Lincoiu they might be taught to use the govern ment publications and to apply general knowledge to the special conditions in Nebraska. In Nature study , fruits , trees , birds insects , animals should be taught for their human interest and not as ele mentary science. For instance , witl the "apple , " scientific classification and technical terms are of interest to soient ists , but all over people are interested in the care and culture of the fruit. Plant ing of trees , care , pruning , grafting , etc. varities , suited to the climate , it seems to me , are the essential things to know in the study of apples. This kind of nature study I have my self worked out in the Indian schools and my work comes out this year in thi New England Journal of Education We studied "bees" as honey producers and insects worth studying , because of their economic value to man. I think I have given you an idea o the work I believe should be done in tin public schools of Nebraska , and I hope have interested you in the same. This work is being done admirablj \ > y Dr. Hedge , of Clark University , in Massachusetts. I submitted my written work to him this summer and he assist- d me in getting a publisher. He said t was a great pity the right kind of nature study should not be done in No- > raska. It can be done if men like J. Sterling Morton interest themselves in getting it into the schools. I know of 10 other way. Hoping that I may hear from you be fore I leave the state , I beg to remain , Respectfully , LOUISA MODERMOTT. Sutton , Neb. , Aug. 12 , 1901. ROOM BELOW THE TOP. I have carefully and thoughtfully read the statements of the eminently success ful men as published in THE CONSERVA TIVE. I think something should bo said for the encouragement of the middleweights - weights , and even the feather-weights. If all should get to the top there would not be standing room. There is a ma jority of these two classes , and these I wish to encourage. The persons who are not philosophers will make mistakes. I am glad that Mr. Campbell mentioned his lack of success in "other fields. " The boy , left as an orphan at thirteen , without proper training , to grow up be tween people , buffeted by every cross wind I have something to say to him. He should not even think of reaching the top , for , if he but take even one step in advance he may fall. First , let him en deavor to stand erect. When , after much practice , he succeeds , let him take one step. If he fall , and fall he will , let him try again. The happiest people , and those who live longest , do not crush the happy spirit of youth with unwonted ambition. The man with the "little farm well tilled , " "the man with the hoe , " will live longer and enjoy life better than the man at the top with ambition's hol low dreams. Money is not happiness. Power is not enjoyment. Have we not noticed that not many great men live to a great age ? I think the happiest people I ever saw were two brothers , "back yonder in Illi nois. " They "spliced purses" and bought forty acres of land. Each took twenty and improved it ; each took a wife. There are no families in the world who enjoy life better , than they. How often have I met men at the top , the lines of whose faces distinctly indi cated that they did not enjoy lif < ) ! How often have I met men at the bottom men , for instance , who swung the spike- mauls all dayand whose voices wrought homely melodies as they sat around the railroad camp at evening , and every line on their faces indicated merriment ! There is success all the way through from bottom to top. JOSEPH MAKINSON ! Holdredge , Neb. , Aug. 27 , 1901.
