At Edinburgh

At Edinburgh

Tis education forms 'the common mind: Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined.

The World Federation of Education Associations spent an animated week at Edinburgh, Scotland, reaffirming their belief that the proper inclination for trees (future citizens) of all countries is toward a condition of international affairs wherein armed hostilities shall be be rendered psychologically impossible through agencies vaguely known as "cosmopolitan culture," "international understanding," "human fellowship," "world literacy."

To a short-sighted man, this desired inclination toward what is commonly called "world peace" may seem a thing, like the tropism of green twigs toward sunlight, so natural and to-be-expected as to render its discussion and "promotion" rather vapid solemnities.

Not so the W. F. E. A. Unafraid that they would generalize their subject into thin air, they deployed last week in polyglot platoons to discuss international teaching of History ("banish war heroics"), Civics and Geography; establishment of standard courses, in the normal schools of all countries, on Internationalism; establishment of a world university and a universal library service; agreement upon a reciprocal arrangement concerning university degrees and credits, whereby students could migrate from one university to those of other countries without interrupting their studies. .

A plenary session of the Federation was called to hear the world peace plan written by Dr. David Starr Jordan, Chancellor-Emeritus of Leland Stanford University, which last year won a $25,000 contest conducted by Raphael Herman, Detroit manufacturer (TIME, Dec. 15, INTERNATIONAL). Dr. Jordan's plan would conscript the world's school teachers, represented by twelve cooperating committees, to work under the supervision of the W. F. E. A.

Said Dr. Augustus A. Thomas of Maine, W. F. E. A. President:

"It will be its [the Federation's] mission to comb out of the world civilization those virtues which lend themselves to happiness and progress, and foster and cultivate them, and to make determined war upon those elements which retard or misdirect and which are hangovers of primitive days."

Said King George V, through his deputy, Sir John Gilmour, Secretary for Scotland: "I follow with interest and sympathy. ..."

Eminent educators present: President Henry Noble MacCracken of Vassar College; Mrs. Cora Wilson Stewart (Frankfort, Ky.), foe of illiteracy; C. T. Wing, President of the National Union Of Teachers of England and Wales; Dr. P. Kuo, onetime President of South Eastern University (Nanking, China) ; Mrs. Laura Puffer Morgan of Washington, D. C., who arose and announced a World Hero Prize Competition (12 prizes, $100) open to the schoolchild essayists of the world. Any school might submit essays on twelve heroes. The competition would end on "World Goodwill Day" (May 18).

Before adjournment, Augustus O. Thomas of Maine was re-elected W. F. E. A. President.

Paternal

Secretary James J. Davis of the U. S. Department of Labor has departed for Europe (TIME, July 27, CABINET), but before he went U. S. parents had an intimate communication from his Department.

Secretary Hubert Work of the U. S. Department of the Interior has only recently (TIME, July 27, CABINET) returned to his desk at the Capital, but during his absence U. S. parents had intimate advice from his Department as well.

Folk who abhor paternalism in the Government must last week have leveled accusing fingers at both intimacies.

The Department of the Interior, through its Bureau of Education, allied itself with the National Congress of Parents and Teachers* in a "concerted" campaign to admonish the parents of schoolchildren to prepare their offspring, physically and mentally, during the summer, for school in the fall. This pre-schcol preparation was to be accomplislied by physical examinations, instruction in discipline, proper conduct in the home.

The Department of Labor, through its Children's Bureau, took the parental bull directly and single-handedly by the horns. Its Dr. I. A. Thom issued commandments on child management: "Don't bribe. Don't make promises which you know you cannot or do not intend to keep. Don't threaten a child in order to obtain control over him."

Among threats Dr. Thom doubtless had in mind: "Be good or the doctor will cut your tongue out." "The old man with a black bag picks up little girls who don't mind their mothers."

"Steal more jam and I'll whistle for the green-eared boogey man in the hall closet."

Dr. Thom's injunctions were accompanied by literature on the responsibilities of parenthood (including cheerfulness at mealtimes), upon the fostering of juvenile initiative (anti-apronstring), upon the manly ("battle of life") assets to be implanted by judicious denial of childish desires.