PAGH MX.
DAILY EAST Or. GONIAN, PENDLETON, OREGON, RATIIRDAV, SFITKMnKR 22, 1908.
TEN PAGES.
BOISE PAPER FOR
P
LAIN
SPELLING
OREGON
'S HOME FOR FEEBLE
STATEMAN INDORSES
SIMPLIFIED METHODS.
Oldest rape In Idaho ReiirlnU a Fa
vorable Editorial ' From London
Truth and Warmly Commctida the
VUeranooi of tlw Great English
PaperAmerloah CliUdren Held
Back by SensoleM Style of. Spelling.
The Eat Oregonlan la delighted to
find the Boise Statesman, one of the
oldest and most conservative papers
In the Inland empire arrayed on the
nlde of simplified spelling;, t
In a recent Issue the Statesman re
printed an editorial from London
Truth, warmly commending; the sim
plified method of spelling;, and In
commenting; on the article from Truth
the Statesman gave Its personal ln-
dorsment of the system. The article
from the Statesman, Including the ex
tract rrom Truth, Is as follows:
There has been wide discussion In
jsngiand of the action of President
Roosevelt In adopting the simplified
spelling of a long list of words rec
ommended by the New York commit
tee. Expressions for and against the
program have appeared on every
hand, but those favoring it seem to
be most vigorous and pointed In their
comment. In London Truth, for In
stance, Henry Labouchere comments
In this manner:
"From my Individual point of view,
the thing la not very Important one
way or the other. But there Is one
point of view from which It Is very
Important Indeed, namely, that of the
rising generation.
"The great practical evil of the con
dition into which the spelling of the
English language has drifted is that
It takes boys and girls years arid years
of constant application to master its
Inscrutable eccentricities, and that
countless hours are thus wasted, of
ten In vain, which might be applied
to the acquisition of some knowledge
of practical value.
"I havel read somewhere that an
Italian child can be taught to read
and to apell correctly In Iras than a
year from the time It bcirlns to mom,
ami there In no reason why It should
not be so, for, when once the child
lian livnnl to appreciate at a glance
the vocal significance of each letter,
It ha nothing further to learn.
"Compare with this the years of
tedious drudgery which the English
child spends In committing to memory
there is no other method of master
ing It the Inconsistent nnd bewilder
ing 'orthography' of tens of thous
ands of words In his own lnnguage,
and then think of th educatlonnl
hnndlcap which Is thus laid upon him
In competition with the Italian or
Herman child.
"In the present day this Is a con
sideration which we cannot afford to
lose sight of not only becauze our
children have to compete in educa
tion with the children of all other na
tions, but also become public educa
tion Is a very heavy chnrge upon all
of us In our capacity of rate-payers
and taxpayers, and we do not want to
keep a child at school for seven years
learning, and even then only learn
ing Imperfectly, what, under a more
rational system, he might learn In
seven months. I believe I am right
In saying that this was the consider
ation which chiefly moved the Ger
man government in Instituting simpli
fication of German spelling."
Germans Are Prograsrive.
The statement that Germany has
simplified her spelling in the Interest
of educational progress will be news
to most readers. Mr. Labouchere gives
as his understanding that this was
done to enable the child to master
the spelling more quickly and thus
add to the success of educational sys
tem of the country'
That Is a most Important point.
The talented Englishman who has
been quoted In the foregoing calls at
tention to the fact that proficiency In
the spelling of words Is a labor of
memory. The child must become fa
miliar with each word and know all
Its peculiarities of pronunciation. This
must become Indelibly fotograft upon
his memory before he can be relied
upon to spell It correctly.
American Olilld Handicap!.
There con be no doubt that this Is
a great burden to the young and re
tards their advancment. Consequent
ly It curtails the edurntlonnl progress
of a grent majority. Most all our
people have to begin enrnlng their
own living at an enrly nge. They get
a few years n school, but must then
take up the tasks of life.
Therefore, If they be delnyed some
months nt the very outset, they must
fall to go so far as they otherwise
could In the limited time which they
can devote ' to acquiring knowledge,
and they are more or less handlcapt
thruout th.ir lives.
This constitutes a powerful argu
ment In favor of simplification. It Is
notorious that children taught the
purely fonetlo system, which Is very
little known to the general public,
master the language far more quickly
than others. They learn to read at
once, and their young minds easily
grasp that to which their attention Is
called by their reading. They get a
start quickly, while children laboring
with the Incongruities of our orthog
rafy are held back.
The state of Oregon Is to have on
institution for the feeble minded. It
is now advertising for a tract of land,
within 10 miles of Salem to be used
for a site for this 'Institution.
The hoi ie, or Bchool as one pleases
to call it, will be built on the. colony
plan, and when complete will be com
posod of a large number of separate
and distinct buildings.
The experience of other Btates
shows that this class of the public's
helpless wards, can be given better
cure at less expense, this way, than
In any other.
The feeble minded boys are especial
ly adapted to gardening, dairying and
farming, and of course are much hap
pier and contented when occupied In
these pursuits than confined In Idle
ness. The number of feeble minded Is
quite large, being almost as many as
the Insane, and their care will require
a very large Institution. It is estimated
that there are two feeble minded
persons to each 1000 of the popula
tion. Every community has one or two
such persons and It has been demon
strated that It is best for the state to
take them out of contact with the rest
of the population as the children born
to them usually become criminals,
paupers or Insane. Nearly every
northern state has made some pro
vision for this class and tho number
in Institutions has doubled since 1898.
There are now 33 Institutions sup
ported by the states for this class and
tho next year will add three or four
to the llHt, This Is not only a work of
humanity but is a protection to so
ciety nnd such an Important matter
should not be longer neglected by the
state. A search through tho records
of poor houses, prisons and asylums
should reveal enouKh to show beyond
any doubt tho great necessity of an
Institution of this kind.
One. family in this state, the mother
of which Is feeble minded, Is repre
sented In the reform school, the asy
lum and tho penitentiary of Oregon,
whllo another son Is said to be In the
Walla Walla penitentiary.
Citizens In the vicinity of Salem
will probably aid tho enterprise of the
state authorities and offer sites for
the new Institution. Tho state Is per
fectly willing to pay fair prices for
land but, of course, will object to pay
ing anything like an excessive sum. A
failure to get land nt reasonable fig
ures would delay the establishment of
the Institution and might call for an
amendment to the constitution which
would enable the authorities to go
elsewhere for a location.
PORTLAND REALTY
Fine new 2 story brick cement basement, foundation for 4 stories,
on north 5th street, near Glisan. Responsible tenant, has three
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on amount of cash necessary to handle it. You will have to
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advancing.
Have a choice list of investments
paying as high as 15 per cent net.
E. J. BALY
FAILING BUILDING
3rd and Washington Sts. PORTLAND, ORE.
When you have a cold It It well to
be very careful about using anything
that will cause oonstlpatlon. Be par
ticularly careful about preparations
containing opiates. Use Kennedy's
Laxative Honey and Tar, which stops
the cough and moves the bowels.
Sold by Tallman Co.
A farmer must not touch a deer,
no matter how much It may ba tram
pling and devouring his crops. He
may, however, drive It out of his fields
If he can do ao without hurting Its
feelings. Boatoii Transcript
ty& if TO)
If u w
oo
ms Fair
Welcome
Ladies and
Children
to our
FREE
Rest Rooms,
Reading Rooms
and
Toilet Rooms.
Up-stairs, opposite
Fair Pavilion.
Your Children,
Your Friends,
or
Your Lunch
and enjoy a
Quiet Time
Up the first stair
north of the
Fair Headquarters.
A Lady in Charge to Look After the Wants of
Women and Children.
T:'tffj'h"V
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Please,
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Wfflrf.HEnraTMIIIWI." Mil jyilll II iWll In HiMM I'iIIII"!
Pendleton
Oregon
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