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EIY st WMNGE § Jcheols of To-Day § They Aim to Create and Stimulate Usefuls é e ness by Up:to:Date Methods. g Q’ g Charles C. Johnson. L 1 mrmrtteon s o Comprormninan)y T 3 P adppaet s 2OW queer it would have seemed to the sturdy children who ;:—_‘: ,;-.;:.i kicked with bare feet against the rude benches of the dis z trict school a century ago to have heen told they were to z learn to cook, to make dresseg, to trim hats, to be boy car * penters, ete.! But that was long before the Old World com z menced to send us hundreds of thousands of her people s S every year. It is prineipally the children of those who come WM; to America from other countries who make the public schools of New York city the greatest in gize and most im portant in the world, In order to make these young people as useful as possible, there has been established in the public &chools of many of our large citics a course of work that seems to have little to do with gaining a school education as our parents used to Phink of it It has been found necessary, in order to help the young studenis’ minds to grow in the right way, that the boys and girls of the gchools should have what their teachers teimn “ethical training;” that is, the training which teaches duty to self and to others. Thege, among other things, are taught: Duties to parents, Liothers, sisters and playmates; to servants and other employes; 1o employers and all in authority; to the old, the poor, and the un fortunate. Conduct at Lome, at the table, at school, on the strebt, in public meetings, and in public conveyances. Regularity, punctuality, self-control, cheerfulness, neatness, purity, temperance, honesty truthfulness, obedience, industry and patriotism. 4 I peeped into a manual training work-room in a big public school of New York eity one day just to see how the boys behaved when by themselves, for no teacher was present, Each hand was ocenpied with the task of the mo ment, and each head was bent over it in a way that showed the keenest inter eet, Instead of looking for a chance to be mischievous, every boy seemed hent on doing the work assigned him as if his whole success in life depended upon the result. It was plain no one even thought of play. “You see,” said the teacher to me, when he came in, “each boy wants to do his very best. That is the spiiit we try to instil. The bhoy who really wants to learn the best way so perform whatever he may be asked to do is the boy who is certain to gain snccess in some degree.” This is just as true of girls as of boys, and-there are hundreds of girls—some home helpers and oth ers among the ranks of the wage-earners—who owe the pleasure they draw from life to the system in vogue in the public schools.—From St. Nicholas. 'The Vel g Faults of onmenv@ é By Beatrice Fairfax. é : @ HE editor of the magazine page says that, having dragged man over the coals, it is only faii that 1 shonld take a turn at my own sex, It's rather hard to pick out the faunlts of your own sex, B ol asked a few men what they considered woman’s worst faults, Jdne man said they hadn't any. That man should have ™ an article all to himself, and it should have been called “In ability to Tell the Truth.” The other men whom 1 congulted were ready enough with their criticisms. “Woman is vain,” said one. Granted, good sir. We'll talk about that vanity later., “She thinks too much of clothes and attention,” said another, Very good! We'll talk about that also. “Self-consciousness is one of womun's greatest drawbacks,” was the criti cism of the third, . : 5 Fickleness, selfishness, flightiness, fiirtiness! Deary me, but the criticisms came thick and fast, Man does not seem to think much of us, my dears, if all these accusations be true, However, “tit for tat” is but fair, and perhaps His Majesty is a little bit tore over some of his “deficiencies.” Remember that, no matter what I say about my own sex, I am absolutely true to it. Woman hag ker faults, of course, and some of them are very serious ones. But she is good, good, good all through, in spite of them all. So don't be touchy if the shoe oceasionally fitg, but put it on and make up your mind to cure yourself of your particular fault, Forget the faults of others for a while, and put all your energies and at tention on getting the better of your own, y Who knows but that some day you may almost reach the state of perfec tion that my friend gave us all eredit and be faultless ?-—New York American. QM AR Y Our Crying Need 2 ‘ of Foreign Labor < Frank P, Sargent, Commissioner:-General é c’,“.;‘:-uflp ; ofglmmigration. Ml}lé @oooooo¢ 04 DO not believe it true that undesirable immigrants come wholly from any one country. We do not want people from other countries who are criminals. Neither do we want peo ple who hecause of political beliefs want to let as much blood as they can, and we do not want people who are shift * less or diseased and who have no ambition to become good 08¢ 3 citizens. But these classes do not come from any particular m.m:i society, and it is because we must have labor that we are compelled to put up with a certain percent of had timber. Industrial prosperity in this country is directly reflected in Europe. An im mense amount of labor is needed in the United States. We've got to have la bor, and we must take ltalian labor. We cannot very well exclude all the Hunchakists and Black Hand people that come in with the labor,- Every Ital fan is not a Black Haud, any more than every Armenian is a Hunchakist, but we must have laws that will exclude such persons from the United States. Ital jans, Siciliang and all others who are honest, who want to own homes of their own and till the soil, give their children that which they had not—an educa tion-—-and who wish to become good citizens, should be given every opportun ity to come into the country, no matter what their race may be. - We Are Paying Too Much F -~ - - - or Civilization e S —— b S By Prof. Jelgersma, the Eminent Psych.atrist, of Berlin. ORE than two-hirds of the women who begin to study do not finish their course, and either break down physically or mentally, or turn to their natural destiny of wife and mother. M The more a woman devotes nierself to study, and the more she becomes a creature of modern civilization, the more is she unfitted for the duties of child-bearing and bringing up ehildren who will furn out useful members of society. We are in a transition stage, and the appalling thing about this stage is that the number of nervous and mentally sick persons is increasing at a rate which is not adequately shown by the sta tistics of our hospitals and madhouses. Every psychiatrist knows this and feels alarm, which he does not like to express. If the transition state shall merge into one of greater sanity it will be well but the prospects ave all th other way. We are paying too much for our civilization and eulture: we are paying for it with the deteriorating of the nervd®s of the human race. ® siissisesdtsasassenss, ..00000.000030000000 e bßeo e e ceecoe ease A eeze s paNTY seee oeeo 08 aesl eose HORRID evec 7ir eeen esee Geso (1134 :::: LITTLE es@eoraigve eece @eso (111} Sess FLIRT. gevs oue ssee .........0‘...1.“.....'!. 0:::::::..._‘.0.0.........0 ceeves by W. H TN S32EGOE 6000sCco0L0000GECEER0 “Yes, it's quite true, Dick—she's a lovely girl—and as charming in manner as in feature, I ecan’t de gcribe her to you——she's beyond de scription! But she's a horrid little flirt! It T were you I wouldn't go near the place! You take m¥ tip, old man.” ! Jack locked at his companign, a tall, slim young man, with jet black hair, and a handsome mustache of the same color; then he cast a glance in the mirror opposite, and beheld himself; his companion was much the handsomer man of the two, for Jack barely reached the middle height, he had light hair and a'very poor apology for a mustache, and, worst of all, it was straw colored! Then his eyes were bluey gray, and looked quite ordinary compared with his friend’'s fine dark orbs. ‘*Miss Harley surely couldn’t have resisted your charms?”’ he said, smil ing. I tell you she has broken the heart of a dozen fellows already— and mine among them,” said the oth er, trying to look melancholy. "*Well, I shall go and still hope to return heart free in spite of this si ren’s charms,” laughed Jack. But his companion shook his head at him sadly as he left the room,, | Mabel Harley was indeed all that | Jack's friend had said of her: her beautifully molded figure, her frust ful brown eyes, and her wavy ‘den hair all combined tc give her that peculiarly attractive uppearénce"that had led to the fascination and subse quent downfall of so many would-be lovers. ““Who is that blond young man op- | posite, who keeps looking this way?” Mabel asked of the lady who sat next her, fceling in her wicked little heart that she had already made an other conquest, v “Oh, that's Jack Ordry, studying, I believe, for the Bar. He is over for a visit at his uncle’s,” replied the lady addressed. £ “By Jove!” muttered Jack,’“;umler his breath. ‘“The fellow didn't ex aggerate in the least—she’s simply charming!”’ : % i After dinner Jack received a formal introduction to Mary Harley. 2{(. in vited her to dance, and Mabel com plied with a smile which was the more dangerous on account pl, its seeniing innocence, & After the dance the two strolled away together, and took a szat al most hidden from view by the spread ing leaves of a palm.- : s ~ *Are you fond cgusociet';m ¥ it ] Mabel queried, fixing her lovely eyes on him. » “Call me Jack, if you please, it is easier to remember, and sounds so much nicer from your lips,” Jack responded with one of his most slav ish looks. 5 Mable smiled winningly; so she had made another conquest already. She wished that fellows wouldn't lose their hearts quite so readily—it spoilt the fun. “With regard to society, I think it depends to a great extent upon the people one meets there. Sometimes I feel awfully bored, but I am en joying myself to-night immensely.” He cast at her another loving glance as he spoke. “Oh, for shame, Jack!” she cried, slapping him playfully on the back. “And now—" she continued with pretended gravity, “I am going to concede a point and allow you to call me Mabel.” His answer was a-surprise to her. “How delightful! Especially as there will be no danger!” “Danger of what?” she responded quickly. *Of us falling in love-—or any of that sort of nonsense. We shall be just like brother and sister togeth er.” : Then her conquest was not so com plete after all, and Mabel answered in momentary pique: ‘There cer tainly will be no danger as far as I am concerned!"” Jack answered with wonderful frankness: ‘“‘Nor as far as lam con cerned, either. I think thirty is guite young enough for that sort of thing, and how pleasant it will be to be able to talk naturally to each other without being misunderstood.” ‘ “What a horrid fellow!” Mabel cried, stamping her foot lmpatlently‘ on the carpeted floor of her room. “The very idea of talking to me like that! But I'll punish him—l'll make him fall in love with me, and then just tell him what 1 think of him." “‘So the duel has begun,” Jack so liloquized. | So Jack waited two days before he paid the Harleys a visit, Mrs. Har ley compelled him to take afternoon tea with them, and Jack confined his attentions almost entirely to the old couple; they were simply delighted with him, while Mabel thought his inattention to herself was positively rude. 3 However, Mabel schemed to get a few moments alone with Jack in the garden after tea, and then she com menced her pre-formed. plan of re venge with her utmost ability. For a time she thought she was succeed ing pretty well in her wicked plot, and at last felt emboldened to put the question: ‘‘Have you never been in love?” she asked. Jack treated this as some huge joke. ‘‘Good gracious, mno!” he laughed, If Mabel felt mortified at his an. swers she covered her-confusion ably | enough, and " her laughter never, | eounded merrier nor more unaffected !than as she led the way back to her parents, l “A very successful evening,” Jack !(-ommented, as he threw himself i dewn on the bed. “Pogitively detestable!” cried Ma bel, “I hate him!—and I know he [do.ns care for me—he couldn’t .help it i Jack’s visits were frequent after {this; he said there was nothing he Iliked better than a conversation with Mr. Harley, and one of Mrs. Harley’s | cups of tea. I Mabel's conduct toward Jack ! changed and she becamemore ‘‘stand offish.” Under these new tatics she felt sure she should draw him on. “I have it!” she cried, after hav ing lain awake for two whole hours plotting; *“I'll make him jealous!” Then she rolled over and went to sleep in less-than five minutes. Now there was in the neighbor hood a certain Colonel who showed undisguised admiration for Mabel. She went walks with the Colonel and generally conirived to drop ‘across Jack; that young gentleman, however, contrary to expectations, showed the utmost unconcern; he raised his hat and positively smiled when he first met them—to Mabel's great disgust. A week later the neighborhood was surprised by the announcement that Miss Harley and the Colonel were engaged to be married. ‘‘Now we | shall see!” Mabel said to herself tri ’ umphantly, i The next day Jack dropped in for |tea; Mabel met him with a smiling countenance. “I suppose you have heard the news?”’ “Yes,” he replied, cheerfully, “‘and have taken this early opportunity of calling to congratulate you.” He spoke so calmly, could it be possi ble that he didn’'t care after all. “The Colonel is a splendid fellow! So handsome! Everybody is fond ;of him—and though you perhaps ~could have done better—well, it's best to choose the one that we real ly love.” Then Jafk took his seat at the table, and talked away to the older couple, but the worst of it was he seemed unable to speak to Mabel without bringing the Colonel’'s name in every time; he seemed a good deal more pleased about the arrangements than Mabel herself. Why couldn’t he let the subject drop? | “And when is the marriage to take place, Mabel?”’ “I don't know!” She answered so shortly that both Mr. and Mrs. Har ley turned to look at her. Ounly Jack didn’t notice, and went on innocently: ‘‘Anyway, you'll invite me to the wedding—ll shall be back in town by - then, I expect, but you must write and let me know.” Jack returned home moody and dissatisfied. He was not at all sure of his ground, but he consoled him self by. the thought that if he had betrayed his love, she would only have treated him the same as the rest of them-—better that she should never know, The engagement with the Colonel only lasted a fortnight, then the re port was circulated over the town that the match was broken off. That afternoon Jack made another call. “*And how's the Colonel?’’ he queried. They were standing alone in the ‘garden together. “I don’t know,” she replied sul lenly. ‘‘Haven't you heard that the engagement has been broken off?”’ “I am extremely sorry,” cried Jack. ‘*‘Could I do anything to ex plain the misunderstanding—for I am sure it is only a misunderstand ing?” **No; it is quite irrevocable—l find that I do not care for him—l love another,” There was a look in her eyes that iconquered Jack all in a moment. He knew that he was a fool. He had ‘been forewarned what would happen —he went into the snare with his eyes open—simply because he could n't help it. ‘ ““Mabel,” he gaspefl, ‘““dare I hope that I am the one?” She looked at him unmoved, that fickle smile still upon her lips. “But, you know, you did not intend to be married until you were at least thir ty?" she cried, wickedly. ‘“Mabel,” he cried, passionately, “I have loved you all along!” -And he was pouring into her ear the tale of burning love. . So she had conquered, at last her revenge was consummated! Perhaps Jack saw something of tri umph in her eyes, for he broke cff in the midst of his appeal and cried fiercely: “I know that I am a fool to let you know!—l was told that you had no hea’i—you cannot love nor Kknow what love is! Well, you have heard my tale and added another conquest to your list! And now farewell for ever!” He turned abruptly and left her standing there. “Jack—Jack! Come back to me— I do love you!” And Jack turned to see her little hands stretched out toward him, while her wonderful beauty was en hanced ten-fold by the soft light ot love that shone from her eyes. “‘Ah!"” she sighed, her lovely head resting on his shoulder, and her arms encircling his neck, “I did not know what it was to be in love then—had I known I would never have led oth ers on!" Then she put her arm through his and they walked back very siowly toward the house.—New York News rEr - \Y re™ MANKIND NOT rgy gt Y »D™Y Y APT TO STARVE 'SUCH A “DIS.ASTER” HAS | BEEN PREDICTED. The Modern Prophet is Singu larly Unreliable, and in His ~ Latest Theory He Has Not l Taken Into Account | Methods of Scientific . ‘ Farming. ‘ Universal and overwhelming disas ters have been predicted so often and - with such exultant confidence, and have so invariably failed to come off, at least in modern times, that man kind should be rather immune from panic on this account, writes the Washington correspendent of the New York Post. Perhaps the Del uge is the single instance in which an expected cataclysm or general wind up has been realized ‘‘as advertised.” There have been ingenious calcu lations as to the end of the world, based on Biblical chronology and prophecies which were affirmed to be the result of direct inspiration; and in both cases the prophets and their trusting followers have given away or sold their substance, pui on their as censien rohbes, and, like Darius Green with his fiying machine, climbed to the roof for a good start toward the skies; bhut only to be disappointed. The calcalations were demonstrably correct, and the prophets were in no way to blame for the failure. Long-tailed comets have been a frequent source of widespread alarm and even despair. Not all the sa vants of the French Academy could convince the people of France, in cluding many of the clergy, that an especially brilliant comet in the early part of the present ceptury would not strike the earth and smash it into bits. Not even the solemn persons who are addicted to science are all above doing a little in the fortune telling line. No less a personage in that realm than Professor Piazzi Smith, astronomer royal of Scotland, fore cast to a day the world’'s end, basing'! his prediction on incontestihle meas- | urements of the pyramids. His read ings were far more ingenious and convincing than were those of Igna tius Donnelly on the Shakespeare- Bacon puzzle. Why the Astronomer \Was Wrong. Like those of Mr. Pancks in “Lit tle Dorrit,” the figures cf the astron omer were right. It was clear that the world had to end at the time he noted. Only some change whica con cerned the earth’s endurancs can ac count for thé existence of the pres- ' ent,generation of men, so long after depopulation and general destruction should have taken place. Another person of science in Europe was as sured that a great tidal wave would engulf New York and Hoboken soon after. the explosion of Mont Pelee. It did not. More scientific and far more seri ous was the prophecy of Sir William Crooks, president of the British As sociation for the Advancement of Science, who was backed by the great body of men versed in theologies. He declared that at a not distant period and in the course of a single genera tion the:entire human race would perish by starvation. He held this to be the inevitable result of the rap id exhaustion of nitrogen, the vital element of the soil. This served the novelist, H. G. Wells, as matter for a characteristic tale. He fancied that such a calamity, as stupendous as the great flood, should have its Noah— its wise man of foresight, who would construct a huge steel building with a reserve of nitrogen which would al low him to raise food enough to pre serve himselt and family from the general fate. Nobody challenged the melancholy conclusion of the eminent Sir Will iam. Nitrogen is produced in nature by processes infinitely slow, while multiplying and every hungry man consumes it in raising foodstuffs with steadily increasing rapidity. Until lately he has not thought of restoring it by any adequate means. It could be figured with some approach to accuracy how long the productiveness ~of the soil would be such as to main tain the life of the growing race. In the laboratory the chemist was at work on the problem of the artificial production of nitrogen, and happily he solved it. It can be done by the } use of electricity, and with a few falls ' like those of Niagara it would be practicable to obtain an incaleulable supply of that agent at a low price. So the fear of universal starvation became less distressing. Then it was discovered that nature has laboratories by which nitrogen is drawn from the air to enrich the soil. The agency in this case is beneficent bacteria. Alfalfa, red clover, the pea, bean and other legumes are such la r boratories and to their roots the jac= ‘ teria attach themselves. One of the i most interesting and important de velopments of scientific agriculture is that it is practicable to inoculate the legumes with bacteria and transfer ~them to poor and exhausted soils. Progress in Scientific Farming. The latest prophecy of Sir William Crooks does not seem to take account of the progress of scientific farming | in America. He affirmed that within | the near future the world would Le i faced by a grevious shortage in the wheat supply. He quoted Hyde, the American statistician, to the effect that by the year 1931 this country, with a population of 130,900,000, would not be able to spare a bushel of wheat, corn, oats nor a ton of hay, for export. Domestic consumption would demand all cotton and wool, fruit and vegetables, dairy and poul try products. The growth of acreage to population was already decreasing and the statistician could determine when no further acreage could be gained. - To meet these contentions there are diversified crops, irrigation, the introduction of new products, and, especially, scientific farming. . A paper recently issued by Karl F. Kel lermdn, physiologist in cHarge of soil bacteriology, contains some of the results of legume inoculation. Of about 8000 farmers who were supplied with cultures, more than wne-half have made reports. Success ful inoculation is indicated by the growth of nodules on the roots, from which the nitrogen drawn from the air is fed to the plant and to the surrounding soil. The effect is not ‘only to increase the crop of legumes ‘and in every way improve it, but ‘also to enrich the land for subse quent crops of different natures. Perhaps few facts could show more ‘impressively the revolution that is ltaking place in practical farming ‘than this process of inoculation. A better ided of the value of inocu lation can he obtained from the re ports of the farmers. Thus one who used alfalfa writes: “The inoculated crop did fine, while the uninoculated was a failure and always has been so far.” Another, using red -clover, says: ‘“lnoculated crop strong and healthy. All the seed of the unin oculated died in forty to sixty days, as did every uninoculated clover field in the vicinity.” One who planted the cowpea says: “In the inoculated field the increase of peas over the un inoculated was fully thiree to one. As to hay, about two and a half tons to the acre in favor of the inocu lated.” Still another writes: ““Three tons of hay from an acre of inocu lated seed, one-half ton on land not inoculated.” ' Scientific farming may prevent the realization of Sir William’'s doleful propheecy. It obviously means an enormous increase in the products of the land and probably insures a greater proportionate increase of breadstuffs than of population. Crusade Against the Billboard By H. G. H. TARR. Some years ago I made a mental resolve not to buy any commodity whatever or patromize any enterprise that was advertised upon a billboard, fence, barn or rock in the open coun try. T have just read an article in The Craftsman for January headed “To Boycott the Billboard.” The author gives a number of suggestions such as organizing societies with members pledged to this object, and tellsud of movements-in Great Brit ain and here having this in view. All of which has not so far and will never amount to a hil of beans. The rea son of this is that not enough people are sufficiently interested to take the trouble to attend meetings of an or ganized society, to say nothing of or ganizing and going about soliciting members. You can’t reach this crime against nature through legislation ar a man’s land is his own, as his house is his castle, and a law preventing his ex hibiting or permitting the exhibition of an unobjectionable sign thereby ‘would surely be unconstitutional. i So far as I know I have flocked alone in this heroic resolve, all the time trying to devise some plan whereby I can get on organized sup port without an organization. It has now occurred to me that the follow ing would be practicable, and if prop ‘erly launched could be™made effective and would put out of busiiiess every fence, billboard and rock artist in the country. At the first ncwspaper editors’ con vention (I understand they have an association in every State) let them be resolved that all shall insert in their columns a form of pledge which their readers are to be invited to sign, cut out and return to the paper. This will inspire editorial articles which will tend to shame the farmer and make it more difficult for the bill board man to hire the privilege. The action of one State associat®a, I venture to say, will be followed by a similar movement all over the country. Of course it will be met with the objection that newspapers could not afford valuable space in continued issues, for to be effective it must be kept up. The answer to this is that while doing a great good they are diverting a large amount of mon ey spent in advertising into a legiti mate channel, the columus of a news paper. Possibly in seime cases the infiu ence of the large advertiser would be too great, but I have observed that the billboard :lan seldom does much newspaper advertiging, so while sweeping from God's green country the soap, castor oil and baking pow der ads isn't it possible the newspaper man may be doing a very good stroke of business? Nuisance to Editovs. : One of the modern nuisances of editorial work rowadays is the volun teer information bureau, which out of pure love sends news of one sort or another to be published without: charge, declares the Hartford Cour ant. Nine times out of ten this is easily perceived to bhe the work of some-hired press agent, whose pur pose is to steer ‘““public opinion;” the tenth time you can guess the same thing. Why all this trouble, ufiess it is to effect some end which the guileless editor cannot suspect? :