CZ)
Tna Dalles Daily Ghrooieli
SUBSCRIPTION. KATES.
BY XIII, P08TA.eS rUPilD, IN ADVANCE.
Weekly, 1 year $ 1 GO
" 6 months. 0 75
" 8 " 0 50
Dil,lyear. 6 00
' 6 months 8 00
. per ", 0 60
Address all communication to " THE CHRON
ICLE." The Dalles, Oregon.
TUESDAY. - DECEMBER 18. 1894
tholt fext Book.
Editor Chronicle:
In your issue of the 15th inst. I note
this title on your editorial page : "No
Time to Swap Horses."
'Notwithstanding the warm support
which the good editor of The Chronicle
has given me in my school work, and
the many kind things which be has said
for and about me, I cannot help but
take issues with him in the general sen
timent expressed in the above-referred-to
article. The sentiment is, in effect,
that no chance should be made in the
present series of text books used in the
. common schools of this state. If there
is no need of a change now in some of
the school books used in this state, may
I aak when there ever will be need of a
change? If these.books are good enough
for the pupils and teachers of the schools
of Oregon for the present and for the
next six years, they are good enough
for all eternity, and by all means let the
state board of education enter into a
contract . with the publishers to that
effect. To re-adopt the present series
of books in use in the state is to handi
cap every progressive teacher in the
state, and inflict a wrong on every
pupil in our public schools. I will go a
step further and say that the re-adoption
of the present series of text books
will in many instances result in many of
our pupils leaving our schools with a
very imperfect knowledge of the branches
Studied. In fact the pupils are the in
jured parties directly, and indirectly the
parents of those pupils.
Let us draw a homely illustration :
Suppose a farmer to be feeding stock for
market and profit. After he has been
feeding his stock for some time, be finds
they are not thriving, and on investigat
ing he finds the food is at fanlt. Would
not that farmer be exceedingly unwise
if he did not at once substitute a differ- I
ent kind of food, even though the sub
stituted food cost a trifle more? If this
illustration is just and applicable' to
dumb brutes and the money-getting
side of life, how infinitely more should
it be true with regard to the mental
food which is given our bright boys and
girls of this state. You, kind Editor,
are doing your own bright lad an injus
tice when you argue for the retention of
certain of these books, or else you heap
on his teacher the task of supplying sup
plementary work for him in order that
the defectiveness of the text book may
be bridged over. And heaven knows
the teacher who has any pride in his
school-work can find enough to do in the
supplementary work line, even with the
best of text books, without having to
make up for a defective or antiquated
text.
You argue, Mr. Editor, that hard
times and the financial interests of par
ents demand the retention of these
present books. That is good and kind
in you, and I presume parents thank
you for it; but then, you must remem
bor, in the words of the New Testament,
"The poor we have with us adways,"
and it is hardly fair to presume that the
present financial stringency will remain
with us for the next six years ; whereas
if this present series of books is re-adopted,
we are "into it" for another six
years. ' Moreover, as I am informed, the
bids of different publishing houses run
all the way from an even exchange to
about one-third the retail price of the
present books in use. This being the
case, I cannot see that it will be a very
grievous burden to the parents. Be
sides, parents have from January 1st
prox. to next October to provide for this
change. And as regards the man with
a large family, referred to in the before
mentioned article, it often happens that
a majority of the said family are in the
lower grades of school, where the books
-used are fewest and least expensive.
As for the editorial sentiment ex
pressed by the newspapers, backed up
by testimonials of teachers, school
officers and parents, I must take issue
with that sentiment. Perhaps this last
may appear like self-conceit or bigotry,
but I hold that my simile is not over
drawn when I say that I might jast as
properly step into the editorial rooms of
the aforesaid newspapers and dictate to
the editor what were good for him to
speak of in his editorial columns, or to
go to the homes of the said parents and
direct them as to the best manner of
conducting their domestic affairs ; I say
it would be quite as proper as for those
persons to dictate to the teacher which
are good . text books and which are bad
ones. ,, The workman 'is the best judge
of his tools.. There is one person before
whose judgment of a text book I shall
always bow with respect, and that is the
earnest, pushing, progressive, modern
teacher, who has passed years in the
firey furnace of the class-room. As for
there being a unanimity of opinion
amoag teachers that the present series
of books is good enough, this, in so far
as my personal knowledge goes, I must
deny. Wherever I have spoken to in
telligent teachers, since becoming a
teacher in this state, concerning the
books in the schools, I have found a
greater or lees dissatisfaction.
I challenge any pera&ri to deny the
truth of this statement, namely : That
the language series in this state is re
garded in all the most progressive
schools as a lamentable failure. It con
sists of of three books the Barnes Lan
guage Lessons, which has some merit;
Sill's Grammar, which seems to have
been written without any definite aim,
a ship without a rudder in the language
sea; and last, Clark's Grammar, a
grammar of nearly fifty years ago; a
grammar all theory and no practice.
There is no connection whatever be
tween the books. This alone is a vital
defect. A state language series should
form one continuous chain from the
lowest work to the highest, if such a
thing is possible. Next in defectiveness
is the Watson Speller, details of which
need not be entered into, after which
come these ttiree books, in about the
order of their merit, Monteith's Geogra
phy, Barnes' National Series of readers,
and the Fish Arithmetic, the first men
tioned having least merit.
As to whether there is a unanimous
opinion, editorially and among leading
educators, as to whether there should or
should not be some change in text
books, I. refer you to the editorial page
of the Oregonian of December 8th. On
that page you will find an editorial, and
also an article from the pen of President
Van Scoy, both of which I should con-
sider very fair and very honest articles, j
In conclusion, it may be said .that no j
one book firm publishes the best set of
text books forming a series throughout, i
The American Book Company publishes j
better books than they are giving us
now, among which are the Appleton
readers, Appleton's or Harper's geogra
phies. The firm of Maynard & Merrill
E'S COMING!
SANTA OLATJS, in his "big far coat and his.
sleek reindeers, and a big load of toys for the
girls and boys.
For every cash purchase of One Dollar yon get
a Coupon, and Santa Clans -will call at the ad
dress on the coupon Christmas morning with
his big load of Toys, sleigh bells and all, and
leave the presents for the little ones.
Don't miss this chance to get your G-roceries
cheap and also a present for the little folks.
From now till Christmas at
J. B. CROSSEN'S GROCERY.
Fine Goods, Clean Store, Prompt Delivery.
Our Christmas Offering
We will give to every purchaser of One Dollar's worth of
Goods in any of our departments, a chance in the follow
ing three prizes :
One-hundred-piece China Dinner Set.
Elegant "Meteor" Banquet Lamp.
Beautiful French Dressed Doll.
The Draining to eome off on
REMEMBER WE ARE
Headquarters for Christmas Goods
- Also carry a full and complete line of :
FANCY AND STAPLE GROCERIES,
CROCKERY AND GLASSWARE, &c
publishes a language series, the Heed
and Kellogg, which has a" phenomenal
ran, and which seems to grow batter
with age. ' There is no belier text book
tor mental discipline than Brooks' Men
tal Arithmetic, published by Christo
pher Sower & Co. So we might go
through the whole list of school book
publishing firms in the Uniied States,
selecting one branch of text books here!
another there, till the list be filled.
This article appears in the interest of
no one, except the schools ot Oregon,
with their bright boys and girls, with
whom the writer has had to work fct
the past four or five years, and his own
personal interest as a teacher.
P. A. Snyder,
Principal Wasco School,
Wasco, Or.
PERSONAL MENTION.
Louis Davenport is up from Mosier.
J. C. Ward of Kingsley is in the city.
Lloyd Smith and Harry and A. D.
Hill are in from Moro.
Chris Fraley and T. M. Amen of
Kingsley are in the city.
J. A. Thomas, the popular White
Salmon merchant, is registered at the
Umatilla. '
Mr. F. M. Raymond, after' visiting
friends here, left for bis home near
Oregon City this morning.
Mrs. Sandrock and little daughter
Lena, left last night for Black water, Mo.,
to visit her sister, who is dangerously
ill. -
D. C. Herrin arrived home from Sher
man county last night. He reports
business good, roads bad, the musical
gathering a success, farmers busy, a little
snow and a rough cold trip home.
Captain McNulty has reeigned his
position on the Regulator. His many
friends regret this action on his part, lor
he has been so long on the river that it
does not seem right that a boat should
run without him.
Mr. W. F. Brock, editor of the Gar
den City Gazette of Walla Walla, was in
the city yesterday. Mr. Brock is one of
the brightest young men in the field of
Washington journalism. He was a vis
itor at the literary society last evening
and delivered a very pleasing address.
The Columbia Packing Co. are selling
trimmed pork shoulders at 5 cents per
pound for cash. decl3
Sauer kraut at W. A. Kirby's.
tf
Christmas Eve at 10 o'eloek.
Xj. ZEOZRODIETJSr &c GO.
SEE I SEE MtfiRT?
C. K. STEPHENS,
If you want anything in the shape of
O T H I N O;
For Man or Woman, Boy, Girl or Baby.
" Meesh-a-lavis
apachlapoo ta ish
. . FIRSTS
Grand lasqaef ade Ball,
-TO BE
WASCO TRIBE, NO. 16, I. 0. R. fl,
l ON NEW YEARS EYE,
At Wingate's Hal), The Dalles.
The following prizes will be given:
ONE FANCY FRUIT DISH Beet Sustained Lady Character.
ONE FANCY SHAVING SET Best Sustained Gentleman Character.
ONE MANICURE SET Most Comical Lady Character.
ONE FANCY CARVING SET Most Comical Gentleman Character.
ONE APPROPRIATE PRIZE Beet Represented Buck.
ONE APPROPRIATE PRIZE Best Represented Squaw.
Prizes on exhibition in L. Rorden's Show Window.
COMMITTEE ON
W. H. BUTTS,' J. J. WILEY, F. W. L. SKIBBE,
D. S. DUFUR, F. H. WAKEFIELD.
RECEPTION
JOHN M1CHELL, A. A. KELLER. F. W. L. SKIBBE, F. MENEFEE.
F. H. WAKEFIELD, A. W. BRANNER, T. J. DRIVER,
E. B. DUFUR, DR. O. C. HOLL1STER,
W. T. WISEMAN. H. H. RIDDELL, DR. J. SUTHERLAND.
HALL COMMITTEE:
S. J. FULTON, L. D. MILLER,
J. S. SCHOOLING, BEN
B. S. PAYNE. F.
floor committee:
J. J. WILEY, CHAS. N. TIBBETS,
A. M. KELSAY,
DOOR committee :
F. H. WAKEFIELD, L. N. BURHAM, L. A. BUNCH, F. LEMKE,
JOHN BLASER; J. HANNAN.
. T
B i o.lr rt.ty gftT C"y On sale in all the principal business houses,
and by members of the tribe. Positively no questionable characters admitted.
Grand March at 8:30 P. M.
Music by
JOHN
FINE SHOES ? RUBBERS.
Are You. in Need.
- OF
GROCERIES,
DRY GOODS,
GENTS' FURNISHINGS,
BOOTS AND SHOES?
A Fine Line of LADIES' CLOAKS to be closed out at once. Come early.
Also a Large Assortment of COMFORTERS from 75c up.
JOLES, COLLINS & CO.,
Telephone No.. 20.
slmma-lapaltic ka
adoo."
GIVEN BY-
: 31 st9 : 183,
ARRANGEMENTS I
COMMITTEE:
CHAS. MICHELBACH. L. NOLAN,
ULLRICH, NICK BLASER.
FURBER, R. FRANK.
CHAS. GRIEP, M. SHOREN,
W. H. BUTTS.
sharp.
Dufur Bros.' String Band.
C. HERTZ.
-
Opposite Moody's Warehouse.
GMIAWAY
for every Dollars worth of
goods bought from us during
the month of December we
will give you a chance in our
Holiday Drawing, viz: One
Earn on a Cook Stove with
Reservoir, one copper Tea
Kettle, one Columbia Gar
land, Jr., Stove, &c, oh exhib
ition at our Grocery Store.
Draining to take place at 9
o'clock, Seat Years Eve.
This is an opportunity for
everyone to get a chance in
our Holiday Drawing, as we
are selling Hardware, Grocer
ies, Heating aud Cook Stoves,
Steel Banges, Tinware, Gran
iteware, Rogers' Triple-plated
knives and forks Pocket cut
lery, Nickel-plated and Agate
Tea and Coffee Pots &c, at
prices to suit the times.
Call and be convinced.
MAIER & BENTON.
Ladies' and .
Gentlemen's
Gold and Silver
Watches.
Large selection for
Xmas Presents.
L C. Nickelsen's.
PROFESSIONAL.
H.
H. RIDDKL1, Attoknit-at-Law Offioa
Court Street, The Dalles, Oregon. '
a. B. DUFDB. FBANK. KIKIRl.
DUFUR, s MENEFEE ATTORNEYS AT
law Room 42 and 43, over Post
tfice Building, Entrance on Washington Street
"be Dalles, Oregon.
J. B. CONDON. J. W. CONDON.
CONDON & CONDON, ATVOBNEYB AT LAW
Office on Court street, opposite the old
court house, The Dalles, Or.
B. .HUNTINGTON. H. B. WILSON.
HUNTINGTON 4 WILSON Attobnbts-at-law
Offices, French's block over -,irst Na
tional Bank Dalles. Oregon.
vv
H. WILSON ATTOBNBT-AT-LAW Booms
. French 4e Co. '8- bank building. Second
itreec, rne uauee, Oregon.
J SUTHERLAND, M. D C. M. ; F. T. M. C.
M. C. P. and 8. O., Physician and Sur
geon. Rooms 3 and 4, Chapman block.
Residence Mrs. Thornbury's, west end of Second
street.
, tflDDALL Dbntist. Gas given for the
i painless extraction oi teem. Also teem
t on flowed aluminum plate. Booms:
Sign of
Golden Tooth. Second Street.
SiuDiing Greennousc
We wish to announce that
we have made a specialty of
Winter Blooming Bulbs.
HYACINTHS and LILIEES,
POTTED PLANTS of All Kinds.
We are prepared to famish
on short notice cat flowers 'p,
for all occasions ; also pot '
plants and wires.
Hyacinths in bloom A
beautiful holiday gift.
Get your Chrysanthemums
at once to send East. '
FRENCH & CO.,
BANKERS.
TRANSACT A GENERAL BANKING BU81NEBS
Letters of Credit leaned available in the
Eastern States.
Transfers sold on New York, Chicago, St.
Louis, San Francisco, Portland Oregon,
8eattle Wash., and various points in Or
egon and Washington.
Collections marie at all points on fay-
cable tprni ... 1 j -