676 
The RURAL- NEW-YORKER 
The School Question 
Letters from a Young School Teacher 
[Letters of Ruth Kel*ey to her sister 
Anna. Ruth finished high school in 
June, and after a six-weeks’ Summer 
school course at a normal school, has 
signed a contract for a one-room rural 
school. Anna is at home in the city.] 
Dear Sister Anna: 
This is just a note to let you know I 
arrived, and an ai rival in this place is an 
event, not an incident. The train stopped 
at the little station we hunted for on 
the map, Campton, where I found Mr. 
Greene, the trustee, waiting for me. Of 
course I didn’t know him, but he had no 
difficulty in finding me, because I was the 
only passenger to get off. Resides, he 
said I looked like a “school-ma’am.” Now 
what kind of a look is that? If I have 
the school-ma’am appearance before I 
have taught a day, by the end of the 
eighteen weeks people who pass me in 
the dark will know I’m a teacher. 
Mr. Greene had come for a load of feed, 
as well as me, so that I rode with him 
on the high seat of the wagon. The 
ride on the train was a distance of 40 
miles but that nine-mile drive sent me in 
more directions and made me see things 
from more angles than a 400-mile train 
ride ever could. 
My boarding place is fine. Of course 
I’ve only had one meal here yet, but that 
certainly tasted good. Mr. and Mrs. 
Gates constitute the boarding-house fam¬ 
ily. Mrs. Gates is rather quiet, but I 
believe I shall like her very much. She 
is a little older than mother, I should 
say, judging from her appearance. 
Mr. Greene left me here and said he 
lived about half a mile beyond. ^ The 
schoolhouse is a mile from here. That’s 
quite a walk, but I shall enjoy walking 
every night and morning. That will 
keep me from getting lonesome. 
My bedroom is upstairs over the par¬ 
lor. It is a large room but doesn’t con¬ 
tain a great deal of furniture. Tomor¬ 
row I intend to ask Mrs. Gates for a 
desk or a table because I must prepare 
my work every night, and I can be so 
quiet up here. It’s so quiet now I can 
scarcely realize I’m alive. I just looked 
out the window and didn’t see a street¬ 
car. not even a light except one big star 
that shone over in the west. Maybe 
that isn’t west here; it would be at home. 
Re sure you write often to, 
Your professional sister, 
RUTH. 
Dear Anna : 
This makes five whole days of teaching, 
if that’s what it should be called. Per¬ 
haps I have taught, but I’m positive I’ve 
done everything else. 
Mr. Greene told me he could not find 
any reliable woman to clean the school- 
house, so that he had to hire Mrs. Sample 
and he doubted if she would be very 
thorough. 
He had good reasons for doubt. The 
floor was clean and that was all. Every 
night after school and last Saturday. I 
cleaned. The windows have the small 
panes and it took me a long time to 
make them shine. Some nights I didn’t 
have enough water to do much. There 
is no well on the school grounds. The 
boys have to carry the water from one 
of' the houses near the school. The 
woman who lives nearest the grounds, 
won’t let the children come there, be¬ 
cause they broke her pump last year, so 
that they have to go to the next house 
bevond and that is some distance. 
The bookcase is an old-fashioned high 
one that some one gave to the district. 
It was filled with papers and books 
in the worst confusion, but you ought 
to see it now’. I have three rows of big 
volumes of reports and tw r o rows of read¬ 
able books. The trustee says we must 
keep those reports, although no one ever 
uses them, but they were sent to the 
school by the State, and therefore must 
be of some value. They fill up the book¬ 
case anyway, and make visitors think v T e 
have a big library. 
Some of the seats were loose and I 
asked Mr. Greene to fasten them to the 
floor. He said he would do it next 
month but that he must take care of his 
corn first. The children wiggled around 
so much that I took a hammer and some 
nails and nailed them (the seats) to the 
floor. I should have used screws, but 
nails go in easier, and I knew they would 
hold the seats for a while and perhaps 
save some youngster from being hurled 
to an untimely death. 
I wish you would send me a small roll 
of gauze and some iodine. One of the 
little girls cut her foot on some window 
glass, and I didn’t have any first-aid 
kit to help out. I tied my best handker¬ 
chief on her foot. That was all right 
for the girl, but my supply of handker¬ 
chiefs—linen ones— is very limited. 
Before I forget it I must tell you I 
am teaching 12 pupils, along with my 
other duties. They have graded them¬ 
selves from the first grade to the eighth. 
The teacher’s program of last year was 
on the wall, and I am following that until 
I have a chance to improve it. She had 
HO classes a day. and that’s what I have. 
Every afternoon it takes me until about 
five o’clock to get all the classes in. 
Perhaps when I am more experienced I 
can close school promptly at four. The 
days are long now, so that the children 
can get home before dark even if they do 
stay in school until five, and if I am wil¬ 
ling to teach an extra hour, they surely 
ought to be willing to learn that much 
more. There are two in the first grade; 
twins. Ren and Rill Sample. I wish you 
could see them in all their glory and 
freckles^ 
My start is still ifp in the west, only 
the sun comes up in that direction too. 
You see I am living where “East Is 
West.” 
Don’t forget that gauze. Mother’s 
letter came Saturday. 
Your loving sister, 
RUTH. 
P. S.—If you can find any black paint 
for a black-board, I wish you w r ould 
send that too. I can't use the black¬ 
boards the way they are now. 
What Do We Want in the School? 
I have asked several farmers what we 
want in rural schools, and they are unani¬ 
mous in the opinion that they “want to 
be left alone” by the department at Al¬ 
bany. No. most emphatically it has not 
the confidence of the people. As a rural 
teacher, I am conscientiously trying to 
give my patrons the sort of service they 
do want, in so far as it is possible to do 
so. They pay,for it, and I feel that they 
are entitled to it. A contributor recently 
said: “We know we want help to improve 
our schools”; but why not do it our¬ 
selves? From whence comes the “public 
money,” of which we hear so much? Did 
it not originally belong to the people 
before they paid it out as State and 
county tax? Could they not reasonably 
have used it to make their schools what 
they want them to be without first passing 
it through several other hands? The 
parents of my boys and girls are not stu¬ 
pid ; they are thinking people, who know 
what they want for their children, and 
the feeling of antagonism created by ar¬ 
bitrary consolidations, compulsory phys¬ 
ical training, etc., is so great that if the 
department offered them a really desirable 
thing it is doubtful if they would consider 
it favorably now. They have consider¬ 
able Americanism, and they want inde¬ 
pendence. I am very sorry that these 
things are so. but whose fault is it? 
MRS. E. M. A. 
Children in Rural Schools 
The recent articles on rural schools 
touch my heart. The same density of 
mind and perversity of spirit that cause 
millions of men to make their horses need¬ 
lessly uncomfortable, even to the degree 
of misery, by using “overdraw” checks or 
by clipping off their nice warm coats in 
Winter, while men on public works dress 
heavily, also cause them to make the edu¬ 
cation of their children a needlessly hard 
process. An article by Dr. Hirshberg 
should be read thoughtfully by every par¬ 
ent in America. Here is a quotation 
from it: “Another investigator followed 
the growth of 1,014' children through the 
first four years of school life and found 
that 46 per cent failed to gain weight in 
the first school year, while 21 per cent 
showed an actual loss.” Farmers know 
that animals, once stunted, never attain 
their best development. 
Keep the schoolhouses as near to the 
homes of the patrons as they are now, 
and be sure that the children can enter 
a nice warm room the minute they get 
there. I have known of a large school in 
a thriving village where the smallest 
grade entered by a side door on the west 
side, and had to stand in the bitter cold 
until the bell rang. Some of them had 
come a long distance, and were very cold. 
They had not timed their arrival very 
well, and so had to remain outside per¬ 
haps five. 10 or 15 minutes. I have seen 
their teacher warming herself over the 
register while her pupils were outside in 
the bitter cold. Once I opened their door 
before time and let them into the hall, 
where they stood very quietly, but when 
their teacher came she promptly turned 
them out again and said: “No matter 
how cold it is. they must, stay outside 
until the bell rings.” Parents should 
take pains to know just what the children 
have to pass through. They do not know 
enough to detect bad conditions and re¬ 
port them. 
Small children do not really need to go 
to school in Winter. All they need to 
learn could be acquired during Spring and 
Fall. Besides, many parents could give 
their little ones a few minutes’ drill in 
reading, spelling and writing. One hour a 
day would be sufficient. School should close 
for the day at noon. Then let the children 
go home, get a good, warm dinner and spend 
the rest of the day in useful work and 
healthful play. Do not let them study 
out of school hours. They can become 
good readers, spellers and writers and 
iearn enough of arithmetic and geography 
in three hours’ study a day. They can 
then teach themselves all they need to 
know by reading, conversation, observa¬ 
tion, etc., all through life. Then the help 
the boys give their fathers on the farms 
in the afternoons will be a blessing to 
both fathers and children alike. 
The girl at home is in better company 
with her mother than she would be by 
spending too much time away from it. 
and the help she can give her mother may 
spare her life many years, and at the 
same time give the girl an education in 
the real, earnest duties and privileges of 
life, so that when she marries she will be 
worth her weight in gold. 
New York. s. barnesdale. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK |! 
___ 
DOMESTIC.— An 1 ,S00-gallon tank of 
phosgene, one of the most potent and 
insidious of the poison gases used in the 
war, sprang a leak April 22 at the Hem¬ 
ingway chemical plant at Middlebrook, 
N. J. One man died from the effects of 
the gas, four are in a serious condition 
and scores are suffering from inflamma¬ 
tion of the throat. 
A campaign recently has been inaugu¬ 
rated by the Chamber of Commerce of 
Mitchell. S. D.. to have the name of 
South Dakota changed to Roosevelt. A 
similar movement ’started several years 
ago received only little public support, 
and consequently was dropped. 
Regular army troops may be ordered 
to duty in guarding the Federal building, 
the larger branches of the postoffice, rail¬ 
road terminal loading platforms and 
branches of the Federal Reserve Rank, it 
was announced by Postmaster Wiliam B. 
Carlile of Chicago, April 25. This is a 
result of recent mail robberies. 
A five-year-old girl was killed and five 
persons were injured, two seriously, when 
a racehorse dashed through a racetrack 
fence into a crowd of spectators at Picher, 
Okla.. April 25. 
A plea that, grand juries, for which 
women have not been impaneled, cannot 
return legal indictments was made by 
attorneys at Chicago. April 25, in asking 
that an indictment against Thomas 
Devereaux. charged with robbery, be 
quashed. .Tames C. O'Brien and John 
Owen, both former assistant state’s at¬ 
torneys, argued before Judge Charles A. 
McDonald. Chief Justice of the Superior 
Court, that with the Nineteenth Amend¬ 
ment in effect women must be called for 
jury service and that, as they had not 
been called for the jury which indicted 
Devereaux. the indictment was illegal. 
WASHINGTON. — Immigration re¬ 
striction legislation received approval of 
the House April 23 by an overwhelming 
majority. It now goes to the Senate. 
The bill as passed provides that from 
May 10. 1921. to .Tune 30, 1922. only 
three per cent of the nationals of each 
country in the United States in 1910 may 
enter as immigrants. This will allow the 
entrance of about 355.000 during the 14 
months’ period, or about 25.000 a month. 
In March about 70.000 came in. Under 
the percentage the majority immigration 
will come from these countries: United 
Kingdom. 77.226 ; Germany, 75.040 ; Aus¬ 
tria, 50,117; Italy, 40,294, and Russia, 
May 7, 1921 
51.974. Only two changes were made in 
the bill as it. was vetoed by President 
Wilson at the last session of Congress. 
One allows aliens who served in the mili¬ 
tary or naval forces of the United States 
to send for their blood relatives, regard¬ 
less of the restriction, and the other 
tightens up the provision allowing re¬ 
ligious refugees to enter. 
Activity of German citizens in obtain¬ 
ing patents from the American Govern¬ 
ment embodying many of the principles of 
American railroad artillery and other 
ordnance led Secretary Weeks to ask Con¬ 
gress April 25 for legislation limiting the 
granting of patents to foreigners The 
War Secretary said 201 ordnance patents 
had been obtained here by German citi¬ 
zens since last July 1. and all transferred 
to Frederick Krupp. the great ordnance 
manufacturer at Essen. 
Sale of the War Department’s surplus 
supply of canned meats, approximately 
SI.000.000 pounds, to Thomas Roberts & 
Co. of Philadelphia, for $5,316,276, was 
announced April 22 before the House 
Military Committee by Assistant Secre¬ 
tary Wainwright. The committee was 
informed that the meat cost the Govern¬ 
ment .”,4 cents a pound, and that the pres¬ 
ent market price averaged 21 cents. The 
sale price was approximately 6y 2 cents. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The annual 
meeting of the Pennsylvania cattle feed¬ 
ers was held at the Pennsylvania State 
College. Thursday, May 5. The experi¬ 
ments involving 60 head of cattle are in 
progress at the present time. One is a 
continuation of the experiments conducted 
during the past few years to study the best 
type of ration for Pennsylvania con¬ 
ditions ; the second experiment is to make 
a comparison of a poor type of cattle with 
choice cattle fed the same combination of 
feeds. 
Organization of the National Union of 
Farm Loan Associations was completed 
at Washington. April 23. with the election 
of the following officers: President. M. 
Ehvood Gates of California; vice-presi¬ 
dent, Cyrus IT. Good of Manheim, Pa.: 
general agent. AY. AA r . Flannagan of 
\A T ashington, D. C. 
Senator Capper of Kansas introduced 
April 25 a bill to repeal that provision in 
the transportation act which directs the 
Interstate Commerce Commission to make 
rates which will assure a return to the 
carriers as a whole of six per cent. This 
is the so-called guarantee provision of the 
Oummins-Esch law, which has been a 
subject of much controversy and against 
which farmers, livestock men and shippers 
generally are protesting. Senator Cap¬ 
per’s bill would prevent the Interstate 
Commerce Commission from encroaching 
on the State rates and nullifies the orders 
of the commission heretofore made so far 
as they affect rates within the States. 
Oklahoma’s board bill for crows from 
its sister States—north, east, south and 
west—is $1,200,000 annually. According 
to a report made at Stillwater, April 25. 
by C. E. Sandborn, professor of entomol¬ 
ogy at the Oklahoma A. & M. College, 
crows cause a loss of more than thisi sum 
to farmers each year, chiefly through their 
consumption of grain. The figure was 
arrived at on an estimate of 10.000.000 
crows consuming $10,000 worth of grain 
per day for 120 days, the average period 
of their sojourn in the Winter. “Okla¬ 
homa boards the crow during the Winter 
and thus raises a heavy burden from the 
Northern and Eastern States.” the report 
says, “where it appeal’s to be more of a 
Slimmer resident than a Winter pest.” 
Creation of a joint commission of agri¬ 
culture to investigate conditions affecting 
the farming industry and to suggest re¬ 
medial legislation is proposed in a reso¬ 
lution introduced into Congress April 25 
by Senator Lenroot. Republican, of AA T is- 
consin, and Representative Strong, Re¬ 
publican. of Kansas. The resolution said 
that unless the condition of agriculture 
was remedied “the United States will in 
a few years be forced to import much of 
the food necessary for its own inhabi¬ 
tants.” It was added that producers of 
grain, live stock and cotton were threat¬ 
ened with ruin. A similar resolution was 
introduced by Senator Robinson, Demo¬ 
crat, of Arkansas, who asked that a spe¬ 
cial inquiry be made into milling charges 
on rice. “Thousands of rice farmers have 
been driven from prosperity to poverty,” 
said Senator Robinson. 
From 40.000 to 50.000 men will be re¬ 
quired to gather the 1921 crop in Kansas, 
it was estimated at a meeting of heads 
of employment agencies and the labor 
department of the Industrial Court at 
Topeka, April 26. Plans for recruiting 
and distributing harvest hands in the 
State this season were outlined at the 
meeting. 
A drive is being made in Vermont, to 
set an example for the nation in forest 
rehabilitation. Warnings by experts that 
extensive timber cutting bids fair to 
change the historic Green Mountains into 
a sad colored brown range have sunk deep 
in the minds of the farmers, and hundreds 
are seeking to heal the broad scars left 
by the ax men. For the last few years 
prudent farmers have been setting out an 
average of 500.000 forest seedlings each 
Spring on denuded wood lands of little 
or no agricultural value. Reports show 
that at least 80 per cent of these young¬ 
sters are developing rapidly into sturdy 
trees. W. G. Hastings, chief forester of 
the State, is elated over the ever-increas¬ 
ing call for young trees. These are grown 
in the State nurseries at Burlington and 
Sharon, where the A^ermont authorities 
are trying to balance conditions between 
consumption and production of timber. 
A Hedge of Climbing Roses 
