T H E CHEM A WA AM ERICAN
The ŒEMAWA AMERICAN
Published W eekly at the Salem Indian Training School
Chemawa, Oregon, HARW OOD H A LL, Superintendent
Address all com m unications to R uthyn Turney, Manager
Entered at the Chemawa, Oregon, Postoffice as Second-
Class M ail M atter
25C ts P E R A N N U M
SU BSC R IPTIO N
PR O FA N IT Y
T h e follow ing splendid article on p ro fan ity is from
th e T u lalip B ulletin and was w riten by Dr. F ra n k
C ran e—read it carefully an d consider its im port:
T h e trouble w ith profanity is not so m uch th a t it is
w icked, b u t th a t it is ju st plain d irty .
It is not so m uch th a t you shock religious people, as
th a t you disgust decent people, th a t we object to it.
Sw earers are behind th e tim es. T h ey are hold-overs
from a form er cen tu ry . A h u n d red years ago or so
sw earing was a habit indulged in by all classes. H o s
tlers sw ore in th e stable, gentlem en sw ore in th e club,
l)oys sw ore in the street, and ladies sw ore in the p a r
lor. H usband and wife cursed each o th er across th e
b reak fast table.
.
.
In the stories of Sm ollet, for in stan ce, and in plays
of the tim e of Ben Jonson, you will find choice oaths
ripped out by the nicest people w hen th ey lose th eir
T h e w orld has grow n m ore decent since th en . A
gentlem an th a t w ould curse in th e presence of ladies
w ould be hustled aw ay, and never invited again.
A m ericans, in form er tim es, w ere so profane th a t
th e po rters of th e railw ay sta tio n s in F ra n ce or E g y p t,
on seeing an A m erican trav eler alig h t from a tra in ,
would sh o u t, “ R ig h t th is w ay, M r. G oddam !”
N ow adays anybody w ho sw ears is set dow n at once
as being coarse and v u lg ar.
T h e young m an who w ants to succeed needs to tak e
ad vantage of ev ery th in g th a t m ay help him on. A nd
sw earing will be a black m ark ag ain st him in any job
he m ay have.
.
,
A nd if he w ants to associate w ith th e rig h t sort of
g irls he m u st keep his talk clean.
N obody w an ts a sw earer in th e office, nor in th e
w orkshop, nor on th e tra in , nor in th e hotel. T h e
only place sw earing fits is th e saloon.
S w earing m eans you d o n ’t know how to talk . Y our
vocabulary is lim ited. It is th e sig n of ignorance.
MY T U R N N E X T
On S atu rd ay ev en in g , Decem ber 21, “ M r. R ober
so n ’s P lay ers” en tertain ed th e stu d e n t body and
others in th e au d ito riu m by th e ir p resen tatio n of the
farce. “ My T u rn N e x t.”
C harles W illiam s carried th e heaviest p a rt, T arax -
icum T w itte rs, w ith A n n a H o lst opposite as M rs.
B ro w n -G reen -W h ite-B lack -T w itters. Rose H am ilto n
as S ister L ydia and E lm er T h e rria u lt as T ra p , th e
salesm an, d id very creditable w ork. M ay Belle H eay
was especially good in her p a rt of P eggy, th e sullen
m aid-of-all-w ork. M r. R oberson, by lig h tn in g changes
of m ake-up, doubled as T im Bolus an d F arm er W heat.
As this little play w as originally in ten d ed for a v a
cation pastim e, th e com pany deserves m uch credit for
overcom ing all th e various obstacles of postponem ent
and never g iv in g up u n til a successful p ro d u ctio n w as
n p e n m n lish e d .
D A IL Y LESSO N P L A N S
Chief S upervisor L ipps in th e Chilocco Jo u rn al very
ap tly states th a t th e chief educatio n al value of any
sort of p roductive w ork lies in o rg an izin g and su p e r
vising th e w ork and in th e logical, definite, system
atic m ethod of giv in g th e class in stru c tio n . E x p e r
ience has dem onstrated th a t no teacher ever becomes
so proficient th a t definite lesson p lan s are n o t essen
tial to th e best results. T h e C ourse of S tudy for I n
dian Schools req u ires th a t all teachers, both academ ic
and in d u stria l, prepare daily lesson o u tlin es and fol
low them as closely as possible.
SYM BOLYZING TH E B IR T H OF CH RIST
A m ost im pressive and b eau tifu l, as well as satisfy
ing program , was given S unday n ig h t last by th e
school choir, sym bolizing th e b irth of C h rist. T h e
stage w as a m ass of greenery banked on th ree sides
w ith a cave in te rv e n in g in w hich th e M adonna sat
w atching the babe in th e m anger. A b rillian tly
sh in in g star (electrically lig h te d ) was overhead, th e
rest of th e stage being d arkened. T h e scenes th ro u g h
out w ere realistic and in sp irin g , w ith th e angels, sh e p
herds and wise men ap p earin g to give hom age to th e
new born K in g . T h e C hristm as carols or h y m n s sang
in cessantly d u rin g th e e n tire act, both on th e sta g e
and in th e distance, w ere beau tifu lly ren d ered . T h e
general effect and ren d itio n of th e exercises w ere
splendid and th e best of such n a tu re th a t th e w riter
has w itnessed at C hem aw a. M iss B rew er and M r.
T u rn e y handled the m usic an d Miss R oberts th e stage
se ttin g and co stum ing. T h e e n tire m em bership of
th e choir took p art and every one connected deserves
especial praise.
LOCAL
A bout 12 bushels of popcorn raised in th e school
garden were saved by th e g ard en er for C hristm as p u r
poses.
M r. Loos took a big job on his h an d s in pop p in g
all th e m any bushels of popcorn and m ak in g them
in to “ popcorn balls” for o u r 600 stu d e n ts, as well as
su p p ly in g m any b ushels for decorative purposes. H e
did it well.
V ictor Davis, w ho has been lin g erin g for som e tim e
w ith tuberculosis, passed aw ay on F rid a y . T h e re
m ains w ere in terred in th e school ce m etery , R e \ .
A vison of th e Salem M ethodist ch u rch co n d u ctin g th e
services at th e grave. T h e sy m p ath y of th e school is
w ith the fath er. T h is is th e fo u rth m em ber of his
fam ily w ho h as gone to th e great beyond w ithin th e
p ast few m o n th s. T h e m other and baby d au g h ter
succum bed to th e ravages ol influenza and an o th er
son w ith lu n g tro u b le, th e n V ictor on F rid a y last.
T w o sisters are stu d e n ts at C hem aw a