214 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 



possible to arrange a program upon which only the 

 ablest and most capable young persons of the neigh- 

 borhood may appear. But such would be a viola- 

 tion of the best purpose of the society ; namely, not 

 merely to provide a first-class entertainment, but an 

 entertainment which shall bring out the greatest pos- 

 sible variety of talent and awaken interest and enthu- 

 siasm on the part of every member. 



Then, let the motto of the ideal country literary 

 society be, "Something worth while for every mem- 

 ber to do." The old-fashioned country society, like 

 the older public school, was too narrow. It touched 

 life and awakened interests in only a few places. The 

 old school tested a boy in the three R's and geography. 

 If he did well in these, he was "smart." If he failed 

 in the traditional subjects, he was branded as a 

 dullard and crowded out of the school, although in 

 respect to some other untested activities he may have 

 been a slumbering genius. So with the primitive 

 "literary and debating society"; debating and 

 "speaking pieces" were practically the only numbers 

 on the program and usually only the ablest were 

 allowed to appear. Ordinary talent in debating 

 and reciting and all manner of promising talent in 

 other lines was allowed to slumber on in the lives of 

 many of the young people in attendance. Now, it 

 is practically a certainty that every member of the 

 young literary society can perform a part very ac- 

 ceptably, provided the discerning leader know what 



