PIUGRIM rATHBRS." ^^^yr 1898 Glass L H^^y Book _*Xi2_ - Hon. Newton Bateman, L,L. D. "OUR PILGRIM rATHBRS. A SYMPOSIUM. »» Illinois State Teachers' Association '' Sprinyfield, Illinois, Dec. 28, 1897. GALKSBUKG, ILL. THE WAGONEK PKINTING CO. <- ^1 (s :y The education of a people is a problem of transcendent magnitude and moment. Into it there enter, as into no other, the elements of national destiny. In the presence of it, the petty issues that divide and embattle political parties, are dwarfed into insignificance. Compared with it, other questions of national concern are local, ephemeral — it alone is all-embracing- and everlasting in its sweep and grasp, because it enfolds the life itself of the state, in the shaping and moulding of the character of its citizens. — Bateman. ^^ Preface. The Illinois State Teachers' Association was org-anized in Blooming-ton, December 26, 1853. Throug-h its influence came the State Superintend- ency, the County Superintendency, the Normal Schools, the State University, and even the school system itself. Thoug-h the first act establishing- free schools in Illinois was passed by the General Assembly in 1825, yet the means of support were so uncertain that it was not till the Free School Act of 1855 had become a law that the school system was placed upon a firm basis. The men who laid the foundation of our common school system have mostly passed away, but there remain a few who were leaders in those days, and whom the teachers of the State still revere. That the teachers of to-day mig-ht hear the story of those times from the actors themselves, it was suggested by Mr. A. V. Greenman, Superintendent of West Aurora Schools and Chairman of the Executive Committee for 1897, to bring- these educational pio- neers before the Association once more. Accord- ing-ly the closing- session of the State Teachers' Association, held at Springfield, 111., Dec. 28-30, 1897, was given to a symposium ^ — "Our Pilgrim 4 "Our Pilgkim Fathers." Fathers." Mr. E. A. Gastman, Superintendent of Schools, Decatur, 111., presided and introduced the speakers with a pleasant bit of personal reminis- cence, which will be found preceding- each address. The speakers were g-iven the closest attention, and the audience seemed to realize that thej were not merely listeners, but witnesses of an historic event never to be repeated. So impressed were they that, at the close, they unanimously voted to publish the entire proceeding's of the evening- as a further con- tribution of the Association to the educational his- tory of Illinois. Executive Committee : W. L. Steele, Galesburg-, 111. Miss Martha Buck, Carbondale, 111. David Felmley, Normal, 111. GaIcshnro; III., March, iSgS. E. A. Gastman. ( Supt. of Schools, Decatur, 111., PRESIDING OFFICER. When the experience of the race becomes that of every individual, — when every man moves step by step to the grand music of human prog-ress.— when every man's now is his g-olden moment, the brightest and best in his experience, — the most redolent of good deeds and noble purposes; it will require no additional legislation to establish among men the true, the never ending m\Uen\um.—Echvarifs. Hon. Kichaki) Edwards, D. D., LL. D. THE PRESIDENT'S INTRODUCTION OF DR. EDWARDS. There has been much speculation about the name that should be g-iven to the exercises of this evening-. Some have insisted that it was "a collection of fossils," others that it was a display intended to illustrate "the social life of past historic g-enera- tions," but others more thoug-htful and kindly in speech, have called it the "g-athering- of the snow birds." And I now take very g-reat pleasure in introducing- to you one of the most illustrious of the flock. Dr. Richard Edwards. ADDRESS OF DR. EDWARDS. I UNDERSTAND the purpose of this sympos- ium to be the bring-ing- up of some of the characteristics of the olden time education, and the comparing- of them with modern conditions. It is fair to presume that those who take part in the discussion are to recall their earliest educa- tional experience. In my own case, this will neces- sitate g-oing- beyond the boundary of the United States. At the age of seven or eig-ht years I became a pupil in one of the old country schools for chil- dren. The spoken lang-uag-e of the people was not the Eng^lish, but it was considered the proper thing-, in teaching- the children, to use Eng-lish books, and also as much of the Eng-lish speech as they could be induced to remember. The Eng-lish New Testament was very early introduced as a reading- book. In the pronunciation of words we were not enslaved by Eng-lish custom. No one seemed to think that we oug-ht to understand the thoug-ht in what we read, except, possibly, in a very vag-ue and g-eneral way. The sig-nilicance of only a very few English words was known to us. Among- the matters which we were required to commit to memory, was the cate- chism of the established church. But as already stated, it conveyed no meaning- to us. We repeated 9 10 "Oi'K Pii.GKiM Fath?:k.s." it with our peculiar pronunciation, and all seemed to be satisfied with our performance. In order to relieve ourselves of the monotony of unintellig-ible repetition, we sometimes took the liberty of con- verting- the prose into metrical feet. Sometimes the number of syllables in the sentence did not meet the metrical demands. But this difficulty was easily overcome. We inserted an additional syl- lable, or clipped a syllable, as the emerg^ency mig-ht require. The teacher, also, had very frequent use for his implement of punishment. If sparing- the rod is the only way of spoiling- children, we were not spoiled. After an interval of some forty years, I revisited the scenes of this early experience, and saw the schools that had taken the place of these earl}- ones. There had been a revolution. Blackboards were in use. It was clear that the children understood the import of the lang-uage which they spoke. I took the liberty to question the boys as to the meaning- of certain Eng-lish sentences. Their answers were clear and accurate. The^' could readily translate the meaning- into their mother tong-ue. I also met m}^ old school-master, then enfeebled by the weig-ht of years. I had a kindly memory of him, for, al- thoug-li I had not escaped the flag-ellations which were considered so important a part of our educa- Address of Dk. Edwards. 11 tion, I remembered that in m^- case the}' had com- monly been laid on with a li^ht and kindly- hand. The effect of kindness was not lost, even amid the gfrotesque methods of that earl\' time. My next experience with schools was in the state of Ohio, on the Western Reserve, among- the people who had broug-ht with them to their new abodes, the institutions and customs of the state of Connec- ticut. The usag-e in respect to the paying- of tuition fees among- the people did not appear to be the same in all schools. In some of them such fees were collected, and in others the)' were not. I con- tent m^'self with a partial description of one school of which I was a pupil. The teacher was a farmer, who cultivated his acres in the summer, and wielded the rod in the winter. The house was built of log's. The chinking- and daubing- had not been thoroug-hly done. The cold air in winter had a reasonably free access into the room. Holes had been bored into the log-s at an ang-le of about 60 deg-rees with the vertical wall, and small branches of trees had been driven into them. Kach of these had been so cut that a small stem was left near the outer end of it, which served to keep in place the boards that took the place of desks. The seats were made of slabs throug-h which holes had been bored for supports. The sticks which were used for this latter purpose 12 "OuK Pii.GKiM Fathers." often came throug-h the slabs in such a way as to interfere with the comfort of sitting-. When a pupil was writing-, he sat with his face towards the wall. This involved a lifting- of the feet over the puncheon bench. But when the writing- was done, and he was called upon to recite, it was necessary to lift the feet once more over the slab seats and lay them down on the front side. This adjustment was for the older pupils, who were learning- to write. The smaller ones sat in long- seats near the middle of the floor, at a lower level than the others. The effect of the more or less open cracks between the log-s was somewhat neutralized by an immense tire- place at the end of the room, where a vast amount of wood was consumed. Of, course, that part of the room in the immediate vicinity of the fire, ex- perienced an intense deg-ree of heat, while the re- moter part mig-ht be uncomfortably cold. I remem- ber that one day, a lig-ht haired little boy, of 8 or 9 years, named Jacob Keg-ley, who sat at the torrid end of the bench, announced to the teacher in re- spectful tones, that he was "g-etting- too hot." The answer was, "Jacob, when you get too hot, let me know." I remember that in this school a very larg-e part of the work was done by each pupil by himself. There were classes in reading-, and also in spelling-. Address of Dr. Edwards. 13 but I do not recall any other grouping- of individuals into a class. I think the Three R's included all that was taug-ht us. Neither Knglish g-rammar nor g-eog-raphy was taught. But I remember that a cer- tain young" man, older than the majority of us, was called up every day for a reading- exercise by him- self. In some way he had secured a book which must have had something- of the character of a work on g-eog-raphy. And I can distinctly recall some of the young- man's pronunciations. One day he was reading- an account of the city of Philadelphia. Among- other thing-s, some of the public institutions of the city were named. In his loud and monoto- nous tones, he proceeded to tell us that that city contained a certain number of "hostabels," by which he meant hospitals. I think there was no correction of his peculiar rendering- of that word. But it must not be inferred that nothing- was learned in these schools. Practical knowledg-e of arithmetic was g-ained. A sufficient familiarity with Kng-lish words was secured to enable the pu- pils to read newspapers, and to serve as a basis for further and more accurate acquisitions. I would not imply that newspapers, at that time, and in that community, were very common. The fact was quite otherwise. Still it was true that occasionally one mig-ht be seen. And when dictionaries came to 14 "Our Pilgrim Fatheks." be used, man}- of the young- people taug-ht in these schools, beg-an to acquire more accurate forms of pronunciation. The schools to which I have been referring- were the country schools. In the larger towns more prog-ress had been made. In the town of Ravenna, the county seat of Portag-e County, the public school was quite in advance of this rural establishment to which I have referred. Eng-lish Grammar was taug-ht. Also Geog-raphy. Eng-lish Composition was one of the reg-ular exercises. A reasonably correct pronunciation of Eng-lish words was insisted upon. The dictionary became a necessity. The teacher of this school eng-ag-ed in his work with srreat enthusiasm. He was a somewhat erratic man, but I am very sure that his personal influence over the boys and g-irls under his charg-e was very helpful to them. I believe that he possessed the spirit of the true teacher. In the rural schools the qualifications of the teacher were not very rigorously considered. The examination appears to have been conducted by the authority of the county. I have in my possession a certificate which was g-ranted me on the lOtli day of November, 1843. The school which I was to teach was in the countrj-. But the Examining- Board had their headquarters at the count}' seat. Address ok Dr. Edwards. 15 In this paper it is declared that I was qualified to teach reading-, writing- and arithmetic, and also English g-rammar and g•eog-raph3^ The sig-ner of the paper was, at that time, a man of prominence, and afterwards became Chief Justice of the state of Ohio. He sig-ns the certificate as the Clerk of the Board of Examiners. Let us pause for a moment and take note of three thing-s in respect to these early schools. First, let us consider their physical surrounding-s. These we should pronounce unfit, ill adapted to the purpose for which schools are established. But we must re-^ member that these physical surrounding-s were in- cident to the existing- conditions. It mig-ht be said that they were incident to a certain inferior state of civilization. But this statement would impl}- a falsehood. These dwellers among- the forests of the Western Reserve were not barbarians. They were men and women whose ideals of life were worthy- of imitation. Nor were they lacking in knowledg-e. In certain lines, at least, they were sturdy thinkers. Their undeveloped physical sur- rounding-s were merely an incident in their career. And they were not long- in so changing- these sur- rounding-s as to make them fit appendag-es to the hig-hest culture. In considering- the important ques- tions involved, therefore, it seems to me that we 16 "Our Pilgrim Fatheks." may say that the physical surrounding's were of lit- tle sig-nificance. Indeed, in some respects they were a help rather than a hindrance to the development of what is noblest in man and woman. The noblest and most cultured men on earth may dwell for a nig-ht amid the roughness and wildness of the most undeveloped wilderness. The exposure only makes them stronger for future achievement. The next point relates to the educational methods. These, it must be confessed, were in some respects inferior. They had not been carefully thought out. There was no well developed system, either of ped- agog"y or of school administration. In that partic- ular, therefore, we may justly claim that there has been progress. The work of education has been systematized. The laws of mental and moral growth are more clearly and systematically stated. But I doubt whether they are more clearly apprehended than they were by some of the old fashioned school masters. The third point to which I wish to call attention is, the personality of the teacher. And in this re- spect many of the old schools were quite equal to anything we have to-day. I say many of them, for not every school-master of the old regime was worthy of his vocation. But it seems to me that in the sturdy love of the truth; in the exercise of a gentle sympathy Address of Dk. Edwards. 17 for the young- in their labors and trials; in a clear apprehension of the needs of childhood, and of the best way of supplying- these needs; in the ability to discern the right thing- to be done in an emerg-enc}" the best teachers of sixty years ag-o could have held their own with those of to-day. I do not forg-et that distance may lend enchantment to the view, but as I recall some of the men and women who were eng-ag-ed in educational work at that time, I am profoundly impressed with their hig-h moral and intellectual worth. And this fact was the salvation of those early schools. It was this that g-ave inspir- ation to so many of the young- men and young- women who since that da}' have become eminent in all the higher departments of life. In truth ma}' I not say that this is the mightiest element in educa- tion? May I not say that under all circumstances the rig-ht kind of a man is worth more than the sys- tem, however well developed this latter may be. It was the custom of the teacher in those ancient schools to devote a certain portion of every session to private interviews with the pupils concerning- their difficulties in arithmetic and other studies. In these interviews a free conversation was carried on, the teacher by questions ascertaining- wherein the pupil found himself unequal to the work. I think the usual topic discussed was arithmetic. Methods 18 "OuK Pilgrim Fathers." of solving- the difficult problems were sug-g-ested. The application of the rules laid down in the book was pointed out. Very often encourag-ing- words were spoken to such pupils as needed them. This was certainly a redeeming- trait in the old system. And may it not be true that if we could, in our own times, modify our rig-orous classification of pupils so as to restore somethings of this old time method, we should make an improvement in existing- conditions? Is there not in our time some dang-er that the indi- vidual shall be submerg-ed in the system? Does not the hig-hest ideal of education involve something- of the old-time contact of mind with mind? It was my g-ood fortune to be connected with the early normal school movements in the State of Mas- sachusetts. When that connection beg-an, the first school, that at Lexing-ton, had been in operation four or five years, but it was a time of severe trial for the normal schools. A g-reat majority of the educated classes of that State were opposed to them. The colleg-e g-raduates, as a whole, were thoroug-hly committed to the principle that if the teacher un- derstood the subject which he was to teach, he was qualified for the work. "If you know Latin, 3'ou can teach Latin," was a maxim which I have heard repeated many times. This condition of thing-s necessitated g-reat earnestness and g-reat persistency Address of Dk. Edwards. 19 in those who were conducting^ these Normal schools. The memory of those days are very inspiring-. It seemed as if the very situation had the effect of up- lifting- and ennobling- the men and women who taug-ht in the teachers' schools. When we are sail- ing with the current we do not feel called upon to put forth our mig-htiest efforts at the oars. If we know that we are carried forward by the surround- ing- forces, we hold our powers in suspense. Resis- tance, on the contrary, awakens our dormant ener- gies. The consequence is that an honorable list mig-ht be made of men and women, who were de- veloped into heroes by the demands made upon them, as pioneers in the normal school work in Massachu- setts. Among them a few stand preeminent. Hor- ace Mann, Cyrus Peirce, Nicholas Tilling-hast, de- serve to have their memories preserved, both on account of their worth as men, and of the valuable service which the}- rendered to the cause of educa- tion. It would be very pleasant as well as instructive to consider some of the facts connected with the prog-- ress of education in Illinois from the establishment of the free school law in 1854 to the founding- of the State University in 1867. But the time forbids. I may however say that there were men connected with that whole movement who deserve to have 20 "Our Pilgrim Fathers." their names held in honorable remembrance. When these men beg^an their labors, the state of Illinois was not in the front rank, educationally^ among- the states of the Union. To-day she is abreast of the foremost. This g-reat advance was not accom- plished without labor, and the labor was not per- formed without a hig-h degree of faith and hope and courag-e. To elevate the ideals of a whole community in respect to a question so important as this, to induce the people to devote their time and labor and money to the carr3Mng- forward of the enterprise, involves the practice of all the heroic virtues. It may be invidious to designate a sing-le man as hav- ing- been preeminently a leader in so mag^nificent a movement, but I think our sense of justice will not be shocked if I take the liberty of naming- in this connection Prof. Jonathan B. Turner of Jackson- ville. He was a steadfast advocate of a State Uni- versity and of an institution for the training- of teachers for the public schools. He and the noble men and women who wroug-ht with him, were not impelled by selfish motives in what they did. They soug-ht to set in motion the forces that would be most potent in developing- the intellig-ence and vir- tue of the mass of the people. And this is a kind of labor that not only raises the g-rade of ordinar}- Address of Dk. Edwards. 21 hurnanit}^ but in a special manner ennobles those who carry it forward. I have said that these g-reat intellectual and moral chang-es are not easy of attainment. If this propo- sition is doubted, the evidence of its truth can be abundantly- furnished in the personal testimony of the men and women who lived among- the scenes to which we refer. Go back to the year 1862, a period which had witnessed already much prog-ress, and what do we find as to the condition of the public sentiment ? All over the state of Illinois there was a powerful feeling- of hostility to the normal school already established, and to the proposed State Uni- versity. In the year just named g-reat numbers of the educational men of the state had enlisted as soldiers. Their hig-her intellig-ence had taug-ht them the value of the Union whose life was threat- ened. In some cases it seemed as if their absence from their homes had developed the feeling- in some minds that che cause of education could be more effectually resisted, A wave of opposition to edu- cational prog-ress seemed in dang-er of flooding- the state. There was prophecy of disaster to the new movements. I remember that while these clouds were floating- in the air, a g-entleman of some prom- inence assured me in private conversation that the people of McLean County would soon have the nor- 22 "Our Pilgrim Fathers." mal school building- for a corn crib. But the effect of these trying- experiences -was to stimulate the friends of education at home to g-reater activity, and the final result was that for the next twenty years the prog-ress made in education in the State of Illi- nois exceeded the hopes of the majority of educa- tional workers. A paper is to be read this evening- by our friend, Dr. Willard, upon the life and services of Newton Bateman. I have no doubt that the subject will be justly and adequately presented. But I have a strong- desire in these closing- sentences of my paper to refer to that disting-uished man. I shall not take time to set forth his character, his attainments, or his influence upon the educational life of the State of Illinois. But I wish simply to express the sense of my profound personal obligation to him. In the trying- days to which I have already referred, when g-rave doubts were entertained as to the success of the normal school enterprise in this state, and when men and women connected with that institution were putting- their whole lives into the work before them, Newton Bateman was always their staunch friend. His reports contain words of encourag-e- ment and inspiration. Month by month and year by year g-ave us the help of his public approval and personal support. How much his words may have Address of Dk. Edwards. 23 influenced the final result, no one can tell. But thej were certainly a potent factor. In the name of the Normal University, and of the thousands who hav^e ^one forth from it, streng-thened and uplifted by his words and his example, I beg" leave to lay this simple leaflet upon his honored tomb. That soul is blest, in dark or sunny hours, That toils, and trusts and sinjjrs. —HevM'tt. ll' |e;/ 'f''%^V 0& 1*1"^ ^P 1. -►..; \;: ^K m m i ^t/ti ^ 1 ^ Edwin C. Hewett, A. M., LL. D. THK PRESIDENT'S INTRODUCTION OF DR. HEWETT. It is nearly forty years ago when the boys and g-irls in the dear old Normal School at Blooming-ton g-athered one Monday morning- in the Assembly room and beg-an to discuss "the new teacher." "Where is he?" ran from lip to lip. "Don't you see up there on the platform?" "What ! that little bit of a fellow?" And witty but mischievous Matt Marble said to the g-irls, "if he does not behave himself I will put him in Enoch's overcoat pocket and have him carried off." Ladies and g-entlemen, permit me to introduce the "new teacher," Dr. Edwin C. Hewett. ADDRESS OF DR. HEWETT. "m JWY LIFE beg-an among- the hills of one of I y I the roug-hest and poorest parts of Worcester / county, Massachusetts; and in that vicinit}^ all my boyhood was spent. The common, district schools afforded the only opportunities for education that I enjoyed until I was about twenty years old. And the memories of those old schools are among- the most vivid and the most pleasant recollections of my 3^outh. I suppose the schools which I attend- ed were pretty fair representatives of the common, district schools of New Eng-land sixty years ag-o. I presume the common schools in the larg-e towns and cities may have been somewhat better than they were; but I never knew much about them from personal observation. The public schools were wholly under the man- ag-ement of the several towns. I am not aware that there was anything- whatever like an educational department in the State Government; I am sure that there was no representation of educational affairs in the g-overnment of the county, nor is there to this day. In New Eng-land, the counties have always played a subordinate part in the ma- chinery of g-overnment. The towns, or townships 27 28 -'Our Pii^gkim Fathers." as perhaps we should be inclined to say, have been of first importance from the earliest times. Each year, at the reg-ular town-meeting- in March, the citizens determined by vote how much money the town should raise by tax for the support of schools during" the year. At the same time, they also chose a town school-committee, usually three in number, who licensed the teachers, and who had the g-eneral supervision of the schools. Almost without exception, one or more of the ministers of the town were chosen on that committee. Each of the several districts chose a man, called a pruden- tial committee, whose business it was to hire the teacher, provide fuel and other supplies, attend to the repairs of the school house, etc. Usually, only two terms of the school were held in the year — a summer term taug-ht by a woman, beg-inning" about May, and a winter term, beg-inning" almost invariably on the "Monday after Thanks- g-iving-." About eleven or twelve weeks was the usual leng-th of a term, although I remember one term that was only four weeks long-. The summer term was commonly attended only bj- the small children and a few of the larg-er girls. But, usually nearly all the young- people of the district, up to the ag-e of eig-hteen or more, attended the winter term. The teachers in the winter, with very few excep- Address of Dr. Hewett. 29 tions, were men; and thirty dollars a month and board was accounted a g^ood salary. The women who taug-ht in the summer often received no more than a dollar and a half a week, or even less. Sometimes the teachers "boarded around;" but, in my childhood, that custom was nearly g-one out of fashion. The country school houses were commonly small structures of wood or brick, at the cross-roads, un- shaded and bleak; they were sometimes painted red. A large box stove in the center of the room roasted the pupils on one side, while drafts of wintry air from windows and chinks chilled them on the other. The fires were built each morning- by the boys, taking- "turns." Well do I remember my experi- ence as a boy of ten years, in g-oing- from my home, a mile throug-h the snow, to build the fire in time to have the school house warmed at nine o'clock. It was a point of honor to accomplish this, for pub- lic sentiment in the school was very severe on the lazy fellow who failed to perform this duty thor- oug-hly when his "turn" came. Of apparatus, blackboards, wall maps, charts, dictionaries, refer- ence books, etc., there was almost none; some school rooms had a small board about two feet square, painted black, on which work was done with lumps of common chalk. 30 - " OuK Pilgrim Fatheks." Text-books were few and rude and, althoug-h some particular kind was desig-nated for use, there was a "plentiful lack" of uniformity. The g-enial text-book ag-ent had not yet "put in an appearance." Among- the text-books that I remember using, were Webster's Speller, Cummings's Speller, The Ameri- can First-class Book, The National Reader, Por- ter's Rhetorical Reader, The Intelligent Reader, Smith's Arithmetic, Emerson's Arithmetics, "Peter Parley's" Geography, Olney's Geography and Atlas, Smith's Grammar, etc. Nearly all the text-books were constructed on the plan of question and answer; and in geog-raphy, g-ram- mar and history, little was done in recitation, but for the teacher to ask the printed question and the pupil to reply in the exact words of the text. As these printed answers were often long-er than we liked to commit to memory, only a part, which would make a fragmentary but intelligible answer to the teacher's question, was commonly learned. We often set off, by penciled brackets, the words that would serve this purpose; and a text-book that had been much used was sure to be "edited" in this way. What I have just said will indicate what was the g-eneral "method of teaching." The youngest pu- pils were called up to the teacher twice a day or Address of Dr. Hewett. 31 oftener, to "say their letters." This the}' did in rotation, as the teacher pointed with his pen knife to the several letters in order, in the speller. After the child could say his letters, he was put into the a, b, ab's, then into the reading- of short sentences in the spelling- book. The spelling classes usually came out on to the floor, "toed the mark," and "spelled for the head." I never knew a written ex- ercise in spelling. In geography, history and grammar, the pupils commonly recited by classes, in the way I have already indicated. In grammar, much of the time was given to parsing; for this purpose, the "Essay on Man," or "Paradise Lost," often furnished the text. In arithmetic, many of the pupils, especially the older ones, worked inde- pendently; the teacher would g-o to the pupil's seat occasionall}', to see how he g^ot on, to ask a question or two, or to assist in doing- a "hard sum." In writing, also, each pupil worked by himself. His copy-book was made of a few sheets of paper, bought at the "store" and sewed tog-ether at home; his copies were set by the teacher; he furnished his own ink, often home-made; and his pen was a quill sharpened by the teacher. He wrote whenever he chose, and for as long a time as he pleased. The style of government in these schools depend- ed entirely upon the intelligence, judicial acumen 32 "Our Pilgrim Fathers." and muscular streng-th of the individual teacher. Usually, however, the rod or ferule pla3'ed a larg-e part; it was a very common thing- to see the teacher marching- about the room with one or the other of these persuaders under his arm; and it was not there merely for an ornament, but was often used to g-ive promiscuous blows upon supposed offenders. Severe flog-g-ings, always in the presence of the school, were common. Sometimes, on such occa- sions, if the pupil was larg-e or plucky, resistance was shown, and a very "pretty fig-ht" was the re- sult. If the pupil did not see fit to fig-ht, he could show his pluck in another way, — that is, by receiv- ing- his punishment with the stoicism of a wild In- dian. Brutal punishments, like pulling- the hair, slapping the face, holding- out a book at arm's leng-th, "holding- a nail in the floor," etc., were not uncommon. The winter term of the district school was a g^reat affair in the district. As I have said, most of the larg-e boys and g-irls — young- men and women — at- tended; often such a school, under a sing-le master, would number from sixty to one hundred pupils, — ag-es rang-ing- from four to twenty-one, and studies from a, b, c, to Latin and g-eometry. The daily ses- sion, almost always, opened with a reading- in course from the New Testament; each pupil from Address of Dk. Hewktt. 33 the hig-her classes stood up at his seat in turn, and read two verses; meanwhile, the teacher often mended pens, or mended the lire. When the read- ing- was done, the teacher followed it with an ex- tempore prayer, if he chose to do so; there were no "reg-ulations of the Board," as to relig-ious exer- cises, — nor, g"enerally, as to anything- else. The sing-ing- of a song- or hjmn, at the opening- exer- cises — or at any other time — was a very rare occurrence. During- the winter, skating- and coasting- frolics b}- da}', and spelling- and writing- schools b}' nig-lit, were very frequent. Around such affairs, the social life of the neig-hborhood larg-ely centered; and here the preliminaries of many a matrimonial eng-ag-e- ment were adjusted. At the close of the term, the committee, the minister, and the leading- citizens usually g-athered at the school house; the pupils "spoke pieces" and, perhaps, read compositions; and the dig-nitaries spoke pieces, too, praising- the pu- pils, extolling^ their wonderful privileg-es, and re- minding- them that every one stood a chance of becoming- President. I have, perhaps, dwelt too long- on the old New Eng-land, district school; but, with all its crudeness, hardships and meag-er advantag-es, I remember it loving-l}', — I can now see, in mj' mind's eye, how the 34 "Our Pii.grim Fathers." white road wound its half-mile up the hill when I trudg-ed over it, not five years old, one summer morning-, to enter such a school for the first time. I remember how the room looked to me, I remember many of the pupils seated on the low seats; I remember the pink apron of the teacher; and the scenes of the old district school fill a large place in my memory, from that time till at sixteen I ceased to be a pupil in such a school. And the memories of pupil days are supplemented by later memories of two winters when I acted the part of master, I must not omit saying- a few words about the numerous "Select Schools" and Academies of those days. These were all in the hands of independent manag-ers; the Select Schools were usually opened and conducted by any who chose, and who could se- cure patronag-e. In many of these institutions, most excellent work was done, not on account of the system, — for system, there was none,^ — but be- cause of the ability, insig-ht, culture, and devotion of those who taug-ht. But it cost money to at- tend these schools, and money was not plenty with the farmer folk of New Eng-land, in those days. Here and there a boy or g-irl, by the help of an insistent will, strong- hands and self-sacrificing- parents, went to the Academy for a longer or shorter time. But for the majority, the common Address of Dk. Hewett. 35 school, or People's "Colleg-e," as I have described it, was all. In the lig-ht of modern public education, you say, How crude! How meag-er! How inadequate! True, my dear friend. But, out of just such schools came a large proportion of the men and women who have made this country what it is, at the close of this wonderful "nineteenth century." Some of those old-time teachers were notoriously unfit for their places, — could not the same be said of some at the present time? None of them had received special training- for teaching, none had any theoretical knowledge of pedagogy, correlation or appercep- tion. But they had common sense, they knew hu- man nature, they had interest in their work, and they sympathized with their pupils. Quite frequent- ly the teacher was a bright, ambitious young fel- low from college, like the one so graphically de- scribed by Whittier, in "Snow Bound." Of the pupils, too, many were in grim earnest in their school work; they had learned the lesson of toil, and they did not shrink from it on the farm or in the school; they appreciated their privileges and fully realized that their time for school was short; they had learned the lesson of sturdy self-reliance, and did not expect to be carried over the hard places, nor to take their educational pabulum in 36 "Our Pilgrim Fathers." the form of spoon victuals or "cut feed." Some- thing- besides the best appliances, a perfect system, a theoretically philosophic method, was necessar}' to secure success thcu^ and now. Just about sixty years ago, a wonderful chang-e in school matters beg^an. Massachusetts estab- lished a State Board of Education, with Horace Mann at its head; Normal Schools, Teachers' Insti- tutes and Teachers' Associations quickly followed. Text-books beg-an to improve wonderfully, both in matter and make-up; improved apparatus, reference books and libraries beg-an to make their way into the schools; steps beg-an to be taken in the produc- tion of modern children's literature as well as pro- fessional literature for teachers; public hig-h schools began to multiply; it was the dawn of the present public school system. I have no time to trace these movements, to com- mend or to criticize them. It must suffice to say that the advancement has been amazing"; but the g"oal is not reached, nor are all problems solved, nor all dangers passed. But it is fair to say that there are certain great fundamental facts of human nature and of child nature, which are unchang-e- able and cannot be ig-nored with safet}" some of these facts have been discovered, but I think I need not name them in this presence. Address of Dk. Hewett. 37 That these truths or facts were distinctly felt — thoug-h not formulated — by the g-ood teachers of the old time, accounts for what was g-ood in their work, and it was much. That these truths cannot be safely ig-nored in the future, however elaborate and costly our machinery, or ing-enious and perfect our methods, we shall do well to remember. The same being's do not remain long on earth. But others coming- after take up their work and go beyond them. In this way new fields of vision and beauty are ever opening before us, and new ideas are born into life. — Eherhart. John F. Eberhart. THE PRESIDENT'S INTRODUCTION OF JOHN F. EBERHART. According- to the leg-ends of the family, it was at four o'clock on Sunday- morning-, June 15, 1834, in the city of New York, that the g-entle zephyrs were first disturbed b}' my melodious voice. My father broug-ht his famil}- to Hudson, McLean County, Illinois, in the spring- of 1838. It took him three weeks to accomplish the journey which now can be made in thirty hours. We commenced the life of pioneer farmers immediately. There were no schools in our neig-hborhood until about 1845 or 1846. In December, 1856, I was teaching- my second school in Kappa, Woodford County, and John W. Cook was one of my pupils. I read reg-ularly and with much interest the "Illinois Teacher," edited by Charles E. Hovey, superintendent of the Peoria schools. The establishment of a State Normal School was the great subject before the educational men of the state. The State Association was to hold its fourth meeting- in Chicag-o during- the holi- days and the "Teacher" urg-ed that every school- master in the state should be present and help to accomplish the work in hand. I determined to g-o 40 Intkoduction ok John F. Ebekhakt. 41 and it is safe to say to-nig-ht that the enthusiasm received at ni}- first teachers' meeting- has never been lost. Never having- been fifty miles from home before the sights of "the g-reat city" impressed me much. We arrived at the Chicag-o and Alton depot about midnig-ht and as I looked down one of the streets my first thoug-ht was that for some rea- son, unknown to me, little bonfires had been built, on either side along- its whole leng-th! One evening-, before the usual lecture, I wandered into a picture store and was attracted by the ap- pearance of a tall, scholarly looking^ g-entleman who was evidently admiring the treasures spread upon the walls. I hardly know how it came about, but I soon found myself engag-ed in a pleasant conversa- tion with the g-enial man. And ladies and gentle- men, the friendship thus happily begun has con- tinued during all the past forty-one years, and I take great pleasure to-night in introducing to you John F. Eberhart, who was the County School Commissioner of Cook County when I met him in the little picture store. ADDRESS OP^ JOHN F. EBERHART. fORTY-THREE years ag-o I first saw a Western State. Chicag-o then had 42 teachers; now it has about 5,000. Then it took about $2,500 to pay them for a month's services; now it takes nearly- $500,000. The first educational meeting- I attended in this state was at Blooming-ton, in July, 1855. It was a meeting- of the "State Board of Education" ap- pointed by the State Teachers' Institute held at Peoria the preceding- winter. This board consisted of nine members and seemed to have plenary powers in matters educational in the state, and arrang-ed for the annual meeting- of the State Teachers' In- stitute in this city in 1855, which meeting- 42 years ag-o I also attended, as well as ever}^ annual meeting- thereafter for seventeen consecutive years. All of these sessions were full of interest and inci- dents, many of which history does not record. At almost every session there was some g-reat forward movement projected by some of the early leaders. In fact, I think that this Association, with its fore- runners of kindred associations, can rig-htly claim fatherhood to nearly all the improvements in our present excellent system of education in the state; — such as, amendments to the school law, the estab- 42 Address of John F. Ebekhakt. 43 lishment of state, county and local supervision, and the creation of schools for normal instruction. There was a g^ood deal of feeling- on the part of some of the leading- teachers in the meeting- of 1855 ag-ainst "outsiders" as they were called. The}- pro- posed to amend the constitution so as to exclude from membership all except practical school room teachers, but finally compromised by admitting- also all school officers in the State. I think this is still the constitution of the Association. The teachers felt that theirs was a specific profession, having- in charg-e a special work, and they did not want to be interfered with by ministers, politicians and g-en- eral reformers who were usually g-ood talkers and manipulators. And they especially feared the in- fluence of such men as W. F. M. Arney, Bronson Murray, Prof. J. B. Turner and others who had really hitherto been the leaders in educational affairs of the State. These were broad-minded men and powerful in a deliberative body and had held a number of educational conventions in the interest of general education in the State, and had projected a plan for a g-rand industrial university, with a Normal School as a prominent department. Here was the issue. The teachers wanted an inde- pendent Normal School and not a department in a University. 44 "OuK P11X.KIM Fathers." If mv memory is correct we had 128 teachers at our first meeting- here in this city in 1855. But the Association gradually g^rew in numbers as it did in importance and power, until in Galesburg- in 1867, it numbered about 600, and now numbers its thousands. In some respects in the early days of this Associ- ation we had the advantag-e over you of the present day. There were not as many of us then so that we had a better chance to become acquainted with each other and form many pleasant personal friend- ships and associations. Some of these friendships in a number of cases also matured into something- better and more lasting- and made benedicts out of bachelors and charming- housewives out of school- ma'ams. This may have impoverished the ranks of the teachers, but surely enriched the schools! We were nearly all poor in those days and had small salaries; so the railroads gave us half rates and the good people where we met entertained us in generous style — ending usually with a royal ban- quet. We also had book agents then, all jolly good fellows, and they were a strong feature of every meeting and generous to the extreme. It will take the men of that day a long time to forget "Ed. Os- band," "Jim Hawley," "M. Tabor," "George W. Batchelder" and others. And we not only had Address of John F. Eberhakt. 45 banquets and book ag-ents but we sometimes had fun g'oing' and returning-. Once on our way down here we missed connections at Decatur and had to stay there in the one depot hotel of the place all nig-ht. And as there were not beds enoug-h to g-o round, some of the teachers — havdng- no beds — de- cided to divide the time with the teachers having- beds. Just how or when they chang^ed I have never learned! But it was a very noisy and jolly opera- tion and seemed to last all nig-ht. The landlord was much perplexed next morning- in making- out his bills, but finally decided he oug-ht to have dou- ble rates for the beds occupied by two sets! It is proper to say that our robust friend, E. A. Gastman, who is always equal to every occasion, was not in Decatur at that time, or he would no doubt have been able to solve this nois}^ problem of space and time /// no fijjic. On another occasion it took us nearly a whole week to g-et back to Chicag-o, and we were not drunk either — thoug-li perhaps not ronark- ahly sober all the way. When we left Spring-field the snow was two feet deep and the thermometer 25 degrees below zero. Some of us had had experience in winter travel in the west and had laid in a barrel of crackers, a g-ood stock of oysters and other edi- bles; and thus — with the aid of wooden fences — our valuable lives were preserved until at the end of 46 " OuK Pii.GKiM Fathers." three days we reached Pontiac, where the g^ood peo- ple took us in and housed, warmed and fed us; and where for their special benefit we held an adjourned session of the Association in the court house. It is well that no record was ever kept of this meet- ing". Your present speaker was chairman — and althoug"h somewhat experienced in parliamentary tactics — ^could not maintain decorum, confine the speakers to their topics, or limit the time devoted to applause! I will ask 3'our pardon while I give some personal reminiscences and activities. When I first saw the State of Illinois it seemed like a great, grand unfenced prairie. There were a few railroads in the state but thej were "hard roads to travel." The stations were eight or ten miles apart, the little clusters of houses, people and teams at each station looked very much alike. But the little school house was always in the back- ground. The reason I came to Illinois was because my doctors said I could no longer live and work in Pennsylvania, and they kindly sent me west to die. But after I had breathed the air and spirit of this country a while, and beheld the work to be done in my chosen field of labor, I did not want to die. It seemed like an inspiration to me, and not being- well enough to do regular duty in the school room. Address of John F. Eberhart. 47 I became a sort of missionary, an out-rider as it were ( thoug-h I often had to g-o a-foot ) in the great army of educators in the west. As soon as I was able I commenced adjunct work by delivering- courses of scientific lectures before some of the higher in- stitutions of learning. The first course of ten lec- tures was given before the Lee Center Academy over which Prof. Simeon W. Wright, one of the early leaders of this Association, presided. These lectures were an experiment intended to be popular and instructive and I was surprised at the interest they created — especially with the small amount of .apparatus I had at command. Whatever may have been the attendance at the first of these lectures, the last was always greater than the house could accommodate. But my health was not equal to the task. I then did some editorial work on country' and city papers, and afterwards edited and published the "Northwestern Home and School Journal." You see that the title of my paper was larg-e enough to fully cover the case and take in the whole county. My aim was to make a paper that would be at once a newsbearer, in its line, and an educator and in- structor in the family and school. It was not espe- cially intended for teachers — except incidentally. I had an ideal of a possible paper in the direction of 48 -'Our Pilgrim Fathers." ni}" effort; and in this I had the endorsement of such men as Henry Barnard — bj whom I was employed to hold teachers' institutes, and also afterwards offered work on his "Journal of Education" — of John G. Saxe, the poet, EHhu Burritt, the learned blacksmith, and Horace Mann, may I say, the g^reat- est of all American educators, whose friendship I valued g-reatly and whose very presence was an in- spiration. These were all contributors to my paper. And my friends, I still believe that such a journal, with a sufficient amount of brains, money and energ-y back of it could be made an eminent success in every way. Suffice it to say, that at the end of three years, when elected superintendent of the schools of Cook County, I was g'lad to donate all its valuable interests to the "Illinois Teacher." And it took several years of my salary to square accounts with the world. For sixteen years I attended every session of the legislature — and also the Constitutional Convention - — in the interest of educational leg^islation, usually as a member of a committee of the State Teachers' Association or other educational body, and some- times alone. First it was for the establishment of the Normal University, and then the various amend- ments to the school law in favor respectively of school libraries, g-raded schools, teachers' institutes. Address of John F. Eberhakt. 49 township liig-h schools, count}- supervision and count}- normal schools. Mj first reg-ular work in the State was to aid in the establishment of school libraries. The books were selected by the State Superintendent, Mr. Hovey, and myself. Prof. Wrig-ht, Prof. Wilkins and myself were appointed to select agents to intro- duce them. They had not much time and took the southern end of the State, while I having- all my time, had the central and northern part of the State. They soon g-ot discourag-ed and abandoned the v/ork — while I kept on until I had visited every county in my part of the State, and appointed about thirty ag-ents who introduced 90 per cent, of the libraries. There was no "boodle" in these libraries, but we were each paid SlOO a month and expenses for the time employed. The libraries were intended for the rural districts, and as such, were g-ood in their time and did g-ood work. My next work was to aid in the establishment of g-raded schools; and for which purpose I visited most of the northern cities of the State, conferring- with teachers and boards of education. I also worked in institutes and had the honor of holding- the first institute in many of the northern counties of the State. In this woik I had many rich and interesting- experiences, some of which I would like to relate if I had time. I will 50 "Our Pilgrim Fathers." mention two. I was invited by Rev. Mr. Cross, the School Commissioner of Putnam County, to hold an institute at Hennepin. It was to be held in the court chamber. When I g-ot there about 11 o'clock on the day it w^as to open I found only two lady teachers present. They reported that the Rev. Mr. Cross had broug-ht them in his carriage and had g-one off about twenty miles to marry a couple and would return next evening, and for me to go ahead with the institute! There were three schools in session in the place as thoug-h nothing had occurred. I took the ladies with me and we visited the schools. The teachers said the board had discussed the mat- ter and decided not to close the schools. I then visited the board, who had an idea that an institute was a scheme of the teachers to g^et more pay. But after some discussion they g^ave me an order to dis- miss the schools. I spent that afternoon in the schools and did some lively talking. I invited the larger children and their mothers especially to come and hear me talk in the evening-. A goodly number were out. I struck out right and left and hit as hard as I could and made something of a sensation. I again invited the larger pupils and the mothers to be with us the next day — and they were there. A few more teachers also arrived and the school com- missioner came in the evening. I then talked and ADDKES.S OF John F. Eberhakt. 51 taug-ht every day and lectured every nig-ht to audi- ences that the larg-est church could hardly contain and closed Friday nig-ht in a triumph of enthusiasm. The g-ood people then passed the hat for a collec- tion to pay me for my efforts, and g-ot $13, and as that covered my expenses we were all happy! There was much amusing- and pleasant detail about this institute which it would take hours to relate. About twenty teachers reported before we closed, and I felt that a g-ood work had been done. I also held an institute later at Belleville. It was the home of Georg-e Bunsen, who was School Com- missioner, and who had been a pupil of the g-reat Pestalozzi. Bunsen was a g-rand man and had as profound a conception of education as any man in the State. There were over 100 teachers present at the opening- and among- them a Methodist minister and a Catholic priest. I feared trouble as it was in a time of hot discussions on the use of the Bible in school. But the question had to be met, and I im- mediately stepped up to the Catholic priest and said, it was our custom to open with a few verses from the Bible and a short prayer, and invited him to officiate. I had noticed both a Catholic and Protestant Bible on the desk. He walked rig-ht up to the desk, picked up the Protestant Bible, read a few verses and offered an appropriate prayer. The 52 "OuK Pilgrim Fatheks." next morning- the Methodist minister used the Catholic version of the Bible; and we had a happ}' time all the way throug-h with lectures in the even- ing- by such disting-uished educators as Dr. Edwards, Dr. Bateman, Dr. Hoyt, of the Washing-ton Univer- sity, and last and least, your humble servant. And I want to add that two of the young- teachers who attended that institute afterwards became State Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State — Hon. James P. Slade and Hon. Henry Raub. Since coming- here your present State Superintendent, Hon. S. M. Ing-lis, has also informed me that he was once an official member of an institute that I attended. Three such incidents make a strong- case! When elected Superintendent of Schools of Cook County in the fall of 1859, I had to abandon much of my out-work as I had enoug-h home work. I served in that capacity ten years. I could not describe the condition of affairs in Cook County at that time if I had time. The schools had never had any supervision; certificates were issued indis- crimately to anyone who could arrang-e with directors to teach. Directors were of every character and nationalit}', as the lands in many of the districts were occupied by tenants and squatters. I have known two out of three of the directors in a district Address of John F. Ebekhakt. 53 to sig^n their names to a schedule by "making- their mark." In one district the daughter of one of the directors was paid $50.00 a month to teach — without a certificate, — the son was paid $5.00 a week as janitor, and the director himself was g-etting $50.00 a month for superintending the building- of a new frame school house of two rooms. Whether he ever g-ot to be an alderman or member of the legislature I am not advised. But I went to work with a will as best I could, visiting the schools, and teachers, meeting the boards, and holding two institutes a year. But qualitied teachers could not be had; and I immediately commenced the agitation in the Board of Supervisors for a County Normal School. After several 3'ears of personal effort and per- sonal visitation with each member of the Board of Supervisors — 54 in number — they were finally in- duced to appropriate money to make a trial of a Count}- Normal School in 1864. This was done before any State act had been passed for County Normal Schools. But after the school was estab- lished, Prof. D. S. Wentworth, the first principal, and myself, drew the act for County Normal Schools in the State, and I took it to Springfield and had no trouble in having it passed, as it was heartily endorsed by the State Superintendent, that g-reat and good man — the Horace Mann of the West — 54 "OuK PiLGKiM Fathers." Newton Bateman. Thus as I understand it. Cook County has the honor of establishing- the first County Normal School in the State, as well as in the United States, and also of g^raduating- last year the larg-est class — over 500 — ever graduated from any Normal School in the world. This Normal School is now called the Chicag^o Normal School as the land on which it was erected is now in the city. When it was built it was put eig-ht miles out from the center of Chicag-o, so that the city would never reach it. But Chicag-o has already covered it, and is now about eig-ht miles this side of it, and still coming- in this direction, and I g-ive Dr. Cook of the State Normal University this early notice that he may have his house in order when it arrives. Cook County also has the honor, I think, of establishing- the first hig-h school under the township hig-h school act. It is not possible for anyone, who has )iot lived throug-h the last fift}' years, and witnessed the mag-ic chang-es that have taken place, to have any true and realistic conception of the condition of life and effort before these chang-es. Then there were practically no railroads, no teleg-raphs and telephones, no electricity or steam power, and I mig-ht say practically no school books, or free schools in this western country. And one can Address of John F. Eberhart. 55 hardly realize that these chang-es have come slowly and with much labor and sacrifice. To one looking- backwards they seem rather like the quick and brilliant turn of the kaleidescope. When I was a boy my father living- in Pennsylvania had occa- sion to write a letter to a man in Ouincy, Illinois, and it took the letter three months to g-o and three months for the answer to return — making- six months — and the postage on each letter cost a dollar. As I have studied the work of this g-rand body of teachers, thinkers and philosophers I am naturally impressed with the chang-es that have taken place in educational affairs, from the crude to the better, from the less to the greater. But in everything- there has been an advance. The little strawberry of fifty years ag-o is now as larg-e and lucious as a peach, and the five or ten pound watermelon weig-hs 50 or 100 pounds, while the sing-le little house shrub blossom of by-g-one days is now the grand and gorgeous crysanthemum as large as a school teacher's head. Is it not meet, then, that the little school house should evolutionizc into the university, and this Association show like advancement, hav- ing greater parts and functions? And although something of a believer in Darwinian philosophy, I am sometimes at a loss to know which ouefht most 56 "Our Piix»kim Fathp:ks." to rejoice, the man that rose from a monkey, or the monkey that cvolut ionized into a man! And, m}' friends, we are not yet at the end of our discoveries. Some of us may think we know all that is comprehended in the word cdiicalioii. But who is bold enoug-h to say that some better methods may not come to develope the boy into the man, the still g-reater, g-rander, physical, moral and intellect- ual man. Your work is not completed. Our lang-uag-e is not perfect — especially in the expression and delineation of tine feeling- and hig-h idealities. Our written lang-uag^e, too, is still cumbersome, althoug-h stenog-raphy has broug-ht us some relief, while our modes of transmitting- thoug-ht orally, ar-e slow and heavy. You can all think much faster than I can talk. And while it is true that thought with gilded feet has learned to trip the live wire around the world at the rate of 10,000 miles a minute, and the ear can catch the tick of a watch 1,000 miles away, and the eye by means of the X-rays looks into the inner recesses of the human body, — is it not reasonable to believe that man has not yet reached the full limit of his power? Our sense perceptions may some day be projected yet farther out into the mysteries of nature and bring to our quickened understanding still more wonderful knowledge than we have yet acquired. Addkess of John F. Ebekhart. 57 And who can say that all these improvements and discoveries may not yet be superceded by something- better, and even the telescope which has done so much for science, be laid aside as a thing- of the past, while our brig-hter visions in some new way may reach the stars, and the "man in the moon" become a reality! My friends, the world /s inoviiig and the teacher to do honor to himself and his profession must not rest on his oars, but move on, have his colors fl^'ing-, and keep tread to the g-iant march of the world. And while I honor the names and lives of our g-reat local leaders, such as Bateman, Hovey, Edwards, and many others, who had the courag-e in early days, like Nansen's "Fram," to break their way throug-h the ice-crust of prejudice in search of g-reener fields; there is also a long- list of names in this State of the quiet, obscure and now almost forg-otten work- ers of the past — every one of which should be written in letters of g"old. They often labored when their work was not appreciated and under many discourag-ements, and with poor salaries. But they toiled on with a spirit of hope and enthusiasm that partook of inspiration. And when the g-reat leaders — the generals of the army — g-et their mede of praise, I always feel like taking- off my hat and making- my profoundest bow to the common soldiers. 58 " OuK Pii.GKiM Fatheks." the workers who have made it possible for g-enerals to be, and who really have done the fig-hting-, recov- ered the land, and planted the standard of free schools in every valley and on every hill-top of our gflorious State. God bless the teachers, who, with inspiration akin to divinity, spend the best days of their lives in making" men and women in the obscure schools of the land. It is said of Dr. Franklin that when near the end of his g-reat life he exclaimed, "I was born a hun- dred years t