April 17, 1894. The measure applied only to Kingsville township, Ashtabula county, and reads as follows:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That any board of education in any township which by the federal census of 1890 had a population not less than 1,710 nor more than 1,715, of any county which by the same census had not less than 43,650 nor more than 43,660 inhabitants, may, at their discretion, appropriate funds, derived from the school tax levy of said township, for the conveyance of pupils in sub-districts from their homes to the high school of said township. Provided, such appropriation for any sub-district shall not exceed the amount necessary, in the judgment of the board, for the maintenance of a teacher in such sub-district, for the same period of time.

SEC. 2.

This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

You will perceive how intimately the high school was associated with this first bill providing for centralization. It is gratifying to note that the complete system thus installed has, in a measure, set the pace for many other districts of the state.

After ten years of successful experience it is also a pleasure to report that the people are thoroly satisfied, and still adhere to their original conception of graded instruction for the children and a course of study leading from a primary department to a high school under their own management and control.

In time the leaven spread. Other counties and townships of northeastern Ohio became interested, and in 1896, in the next succeeding general assembly, a second bill on centralization was passed, known as H. F. 830, and was for the relief of the counties of Stark, Ashtabula, and Portage. The wording of that measure is as follows:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That the board of education of any township district situated in the counties of Stark, Ashtabula, and Portage may, when in its opinion it will be for the best interest of the pupils in any sub-district, suspend the school in such sub-district and provide for the conveyance of said pupils to such other district or districts as may be convenient for them, the cost of such conveyance to be paid out of the contingent fund of said district; provided, the board of any special school district in any county mentioned above may provide for the conveyance of pupils out of contingent funds the same as township districts aforesaid. SEC. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Your attention is called to the provision of this bill which permits special districts, as well as township districts, to provide for conveyance of pupils out of the contingent funds at their disposal. You will notice also the provision whereby the board of education is to become the judge of the matter. It is not necessary to refer the question to the people for The board decides that question for the district.

a vote.

Another two-year period followed, and again the general assembly of Ohio was in session. Such was the success of the measure for the counties of northeastern Ohio that the demand was general for a law which would apply to the entire commonwealth.

Accordingly we find that the general assembly on April 5, 1898, passed a bill amending section 3921 of the Revised Statutes so as to give

to any township board the right to suspend any school where it was deemed necessary and provide transportation for the pupils. This very important law reads as follows:

SECTION 3921. A map of each township district shall be prepared by the board, as often as it may be necessary, in which shall be designated the numbers and boundaries of the sub-districts thereof; the board may at any regular session increase or diminish the number or change the boundaries of sub-districts, or may, when in its opinion it will be for the best interests of the pupils in any sub-district, suspend the school in such sub-district, and shall provide for the conveyance of said pupils to such other district or districts as may be most convenient for them, the cost of such conveyance to be paid out of the contingent fund of said district; and any such sub-district which may be established by act of the general assembly shall be governed by the provisions of this title, except that it cannot be changed or consolidated by the board within three years after its formation, unless the written consent of two-thirds of the electors residing in the territory affected by such change is obtained.

SEC. 2. That section 3921 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and this act shall take effect upon its passage.

Under the general provisions of this law twenty-three townships are reported as being centralized, and I am satisfied that many more are partially centralized-how many I am unable to say, owing to imperfect reports.

In the session of the general assembly of 1900 another general law bearing on centralization was passed. It does not in any way modify the section just quoted, but it permits a different style of centralization; and already several townships have taken advantage of its provisions.

In substance the law of 1900 defines "centralization" as being a system of schools in a township providing for the abolishment of all subdistricts and the conveyance of pupils to one or more central schools. By its terms it permits the township board of education to submit the question of centralization to a vote of the electors of the township, and upon the petition of one-fourth of the electors the board must submit the question to a vote. Methods for providing a new central school building are outlined, a graded course of study is required, and permission for a township high school is given. One of the noteworthy provisions is the abolition of the boards of sub-directors and the election of a township board of five persons elected at large, the township clerk and treasurer acting ex officio as clerk and treasurer.

This composition of the board will prevent deadlocks. In so far as applicable, the village school laws of the state are to govern the schools, and said laws by common consent are among the best we have on our statute books. Already several townships have arranged to place their schools under this new law, and inquiries recently sent out bring three replies, which follow:

1. We are very favorably impressed; we expect better schools. 2. It gives satisfaction.

3. It works very satisfactorily.

Now, in a general way let me summarize the conclusions reached by correspondence in Ohio and in other states. No attempt at accurate statistics is made. There is too much detail, and this is not the time or place to give figures. A committee of careful and judicious educators appointed by the National Educational Association can get much valuable information by compiling available material gathered from all the states of the union. Ohio will contribute its full share; so will Massachusetts, Indiana, and many other states.

The movement toward centralization is generally approved in farmers' conventions and by the Grange. The farmers of America wish their children to be well educated, and once thoroly convinced of the practicability of the new movement they will give it a fair trial and respond to all demands put upon them. In closing let me summarize :

1. Centralization encourages the growth of high schools, thereby giving the country boys and girls an equal opportunity of receiving advanced training with those that live in cities and villages.

2. Centralization encourages supervision and inspection of all work done, thereby encouraging definiteness of aim and securing full return for money spent.

3. It permits better grading and classification.

4. It encourages an enrichment of the work, often giving to the pupi's of the township music, drawing, and other special branches under special teachers elected by the township board of education.

5. It fosters township libraries and provides ready means for the distribution of good literature to both young and old.

6. It invariably insures better teaching, and generally it brings to the teacher more and longer terms of employment.

7. It invariably operates to keep the larger boys and girls in school, when otherwise they would be content with meager preparation for life.

8. It brings to the people of a township a certain community of feeling, a certain companionship and charity, which otherwise would hardly be possible. Sectarian and political differences are not so noticeable under the new as under the old régime. The people get better aquainted; and frequently the same wagons which transport the children to school in the daytime will at night transport their parents to lectures, concerts, and other social gatherings.

9. The improvement in apparatus, laboratories, charts, blackboards, desks, furniture, heating apparatus, toilet arrangements, and matters of like kind is quite apparent. The board of education having but one building to paint, or shingle, or repair, naturally also there is saved much current expense.

10. The school attendance is invariably much more regular, is of longer continuance, and teachers are very little annoyed with truancy and tardiness.

11. The cost of maintaining the school, including transportation, differs according to local conditions, and reports are made sometimes showing more expense than under the old plan, and sometimes less. One of my enthusiastic friends reports that he would rather have one month under the new conditions for his children than a year of the old. 12. The health and morals of the children usually are guarded better by the new method than by the old; the children are happier; they are better taught, and the people get larger returns for their money.

SCHOOLROOM Temperature aND HUMIDITY

WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE, EDITOR "AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL," MILWAUKEE, WIS.

We have reached a period where the schoolhouse has become more than a mere gathering center or a shelter against the elements. We have come to recognize that its very walls are a factor in the educational growth of the child. We regulate its appointments in order that they may bear the largest educative influence upon the inmates, and also protect their physical welfare as a prerequisite to intellectual advancement.

Until a few years ago the essentials of a schoolhouse were few. Today we discriminate among a variety of systems of heating devised by able engineers. Ventilation has been reduced to an exact science. Schoolroom lighting is thoroly understood and correctly applied.

In drawing comparisons between the old and the new schoolhouse some school-board members are apt to lapse into the belief that the crude structure of former days, with its meager equipment, will suffice for today. Others reason that the modern schoolhouse is too expensive.

One might as well argue that the wooden plowshare of ancient times. will serve as well as the steel plow of today, or that a tallow candle will shed as much radiance as an electric light. The boy of today requires a better mental equipment for the battle of life than did his forefathers. The general progress in all lines of human activity will make greater demands upon the young man of the future. Thus, not only the modern school, with its well-devised courses of study and educational methods, but the schoolhouse as well, is the result of advanced conditions.

One of the peculiar features which have developed in my inquiry on temperature regulation in schoolhouses is the tendency to confound it with another subject. It would seem unnecessary to explain that heat regulation pertains entirely to a system by which temperature is controlled against excessive heat or excessive cold. It would seem equally unnecessary to explain specifically that ventilation pertains to the induction of fresh air and the removal of foul air.

While everyone knows this, we find many school officials who do not

differentiate temperature regulation from ventilation. No doubt, if asked point blank to define the difference between temperature regulation and ventilation, a correct answer would be received in each instance. It is not ignorance, but thoughtlessness, that causes the misconception. It is one thing to provide a class-room constantly with fresh air; it is an entirely different thing so to regulate the air that it is neither too warm nor too cold. Thus, let us bear in mind the wide difference between ventilation and temperature regulation.

A discussion of the subject of temperature regulation can only result in beneficial results. If school officials have hitherto occupied their minds with the various kinds of heating systems to the exclusion of temperature regulation, it is because the latter has not been urged upon. them with any considerable pressure. Busy men- busy in their several vocations in life- do not always find it convenient to give the time necessary for a thoro study of all the things that ought to go into or about a schoolhouse.

In the modern schoolhouse artificial heat need no longer be measured out extravagantly or penuriously to discomfort or danger. It can be placed under automatic control by simple devices-insuring economy and protecting the health of the pupils.

An even temperature at a certain degree is conducive to the growth of plant and animal life. Vegetable and animal foods owe their prolonged preservation to an even temperature.

An apple picked in October of last year and found in fine flavor and juice in the month of June this year owes its wonderful preservation to nothing else than an even temperature. The qualities of the apple have been prolonged by the control of natural elements. In the same manner has the growth of the strawberry which reaches the market in the month of January been hastened by surrounding it with a temperate atmosphere. Temperature extremes hasten the death of both plant and animal life.

It may be claimed that a variation of temperature is conducive to hardihood. Under certain conditions, yes. A child may withstand extreme cold while engaged in healthful exercise. Under certain conditions extreme heat may be borne without injurious effects. When the body, however, is inactive, a variable temperature is harmful. Thus an overheated as well as an under-heated schoolroom may do incalculable injury to the child.

The automatic control of schoolroom temperature involves primarily the question of finance. The great majority of schoolhouses in the United States require artificial heating during seven months in the year. The fuel expense in cities and towns, where large buildings must constantly be kept warm, is a heavy one. The consumption of fuel is steady and constant during certain periods of the year-continuing year after