FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 75 



THURSDAY EVENING. 



C. B. Charles^ presiding. 

 SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS. 



HON. J. E. HAMMOiSD. SUPT. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 



America is pre-emiuentl}' the land of universal education, the land 

 where the son of the humblest citizen has a chance to win his way to an 

 equal footing beside the favored child of fortune. Theoretically our 

 public school system is the avenue through which is to come happiness 

 to the common people. But as the labor problem grows more and more 

 complex, our social reformers and philanthropists are beginning to ques- 

 tion if, after all, our educational methods are not engendering a dislike 

 for manual labor, and breeding an indisposition to perform the humbler 

 duties that must be done by at least three-fourths of mankind. They 

 ask, "Does not the farmer's son too often leave school with a distaste for 

 his father's occupation? Is not the poor man's daughter frequently edu- 

 cated above the homely duties of every-day life? Does not the average 

 graduate of our secondary schools in a sense scorn the day-laborer, be 

 he ever so honest and industrious?" These are serious questions, and a 

 negative answer is by no means so certain as one might wish. 



Indeed, among the humbler ranks of society, the chief motive today 

 impelling parents to make sacrifices for the salve of educating their chil- 

 dren seems to be that they may make them so-called "ladies and gentle- 

 men." In view of these facts, it behooves all educators to consider most 

 seriously how best to avoid the inculcation of these false views of life, 

 while endeavoring to 



ENRICH AND BROADEN THE COMMON MIND BY EDUCATION. 



Surely there must be some way to teach that honest toil never degrades; 

 that labor alone gives relish to pleasure. Otherwise universal education 

 becomes a questionable blessing, for among the masses there must ever be 

 many farmers, mechanics, carpenters, and day-laborers of all sorts. 



The professions have long been so over-crowded that there's only room 

 at the top; and business positions are so eagerly sought that, thoiigh the 

 wages of clerkS;, book-keepers, and stenographers are reduced to the 

 merest pittance, still the supply exceeds the demand. It would seem, 

 then, that one important part of our public school work is to instill a 

 deeper respect for the workman, a greater appreciation of the value of 

 skilled labor, that there is an increasing demand for people who can 

 "think with their hands." For, 'mid the dust and clamor of mill and 

 factory, 'mid the clink of anvil and hammer, great results are growing; 

 and wherever the genius of man keeps the wheels of industry turning, 

 there must the humble toiler perform his part in the world's economy. 



