The Chemawa American, October 22, 1930, Page 3, Image 3

The CHEMAWA AMERICAN
Page 3
A FINE TESTIMONIAL
[F rom t h e Q uiver of J ean J acques R ousseau ]
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
Many a one believes himself master of others, and yet
he is a greater slave than they.
Where could Jesus learn, among his competitors,
th at pure and sublime morality , of which he only hath
given us both precept and example?
Man in his natural state is all for himself; he is the
numerical unit or the absolute integer, that refers
only to himself, or to his likeness. Man in the civil
state is a fractionary unit, who dépends on the de­
nominator, and whole value consists in his relation to
the integer, namely, the body politic.
In the present state of -things, man abandoned from
his birth to his own guidance, among the rest of socie­
ty, would be a monstrous animal. Prejudices, au­
thority, necessity, example, and all the social institu­
tions with which we are surrounded, would stifle the
voice of nature, and substitute nothing else in its
place. jg
We are all brought into the world feeble and weak,
yet we stand'igj needo/.strength; we are destitute of
everything, yet we want assistance;;-we are senseless
and stupid, yet we have'-occasion for judgment. All
that we have not,at our birth, and that we stand in
need of at the years of bur maturity, is the gift of ed­
ucation.
Plants are fashioned by culture, and men by educa­
tion. Were men to bë bom of full size and strength,
these would avail him nought, till,he learned to make
use of them; nay/, they would rather resound to his
prejudice, by preventing others from lending him
assistance; so that, being left to himself, he would
die miserably before he knew his wants.
Everythiug is perfect, coming from the hand of the
Creator; everything degenerates in the hands of man.
He forces a spot of ground to nourish the productions
of a foreign soil; or a fruit tree to bear fruit by the
insition of another; he mixes and confounds climates,
elements, seasons; he mutilates his dog, his horse,
his slave; he inverts the nature of things, only
to disfigure them; he is fond of deformity and mon­
strous productions; he is pleased with nothing, as
framed by nature, not even with man.
We are in receipt of a letter from Mr. O. P. West,
Boy Scout Executive for Cascade Area Council, in
which the writer pays high tribute to one of our fel­
low-employees, Mr. Decorah. We take pleasure in
giving space to the following paragraphs of the letter:
“ Mr. Grant G. Decorah, instructor of leathercraft
in the Chemawa'School, was an officer and head in­
structor at the Boy Scout Camp during the summer.
Mr. Decorah gave his time unstintingly to the boys
of the camp for four full weeks, and through his very
efficient leadership the Scouts received more know­
ledge in leathercraft, and leatherworking, woodcarv­
ing, and archery than from any leader we have ever
had in Our summer camp in the past ten years.
There were many tears in the eyes of the boys as Mr.
Decorah departed after his four weeks’ stay with us,
as the boys learned to love him and respect him, and
they each felt that they would never be able to repay
him for his patient way in giving them instruction in
the various crafts that he taught.
\. I often wonder if the faculty and the .boys and
giijs of the Chemawa Indian School are aware of the
fact that they have hid away in the dark recesses of
your harness shop, a man who has a heart like a moun­
tain, in size, kind, patient, brilliant and willing to sac­
rifice, his. àli to help his fellowman?”
LOCAL
Miss Bissell has issued a call for all girl students
(or female employees) interested in the formation of a
ladies’ orchestra to m eetàt Winona Hall at 7:ÒÒro’clock
this evening.
Mr, and Mrs. Ted Benson were visitors at the school
last week. Their home is in Metlakatla, Alaska, and
they were enroute to points' in California. Ted used
to be enrolled here arid for a short time was a member
of The American force.
Mr. Albert H. Gillett, who left Chemawa fourteen
years ago after having been in charge of our farm for
a number of years, paid the school a brief visit last
week. At present Mr. Gillett is principal of the high
school at Cresswell, Oregon, where he is getting along
nicely.
The Winona Ijterary Society held their first open
meeting at McBride Hall reception room last Friday
evening. A short program was given for the benefit
of the visitors. After the program a few songs and
yells were given and the old members were asked to
remain for the election of officers, which resulted as
follows: President, Christine Mueller; vice-president,
Thelma Norman; Secretary-Treasurer, Ethel Proctor;
sergeant-at-arms, Margarette Hoptowit and Josephine
Hughes; cheerleader, Gladys Parazoo; reporter, Grace
Marshall; critic, Ellenoire Sanderson.