practice. It can, moreover, exercise a great influence on the development of educational doctrine, out of which the standards of educational practice are to proceed, by bringing together into direct and suggestive comparison the best formulations of educational doctrine which can be had.

The National Council of Education is at present concentrating its work on investigations which have been conducted or may be undertaken. It is believed equally important to follow up, year after year, any good report which has been made in order that salient points may be thoroughly assimilated, and to keep on the alert for promising subjects for further investigation in order that those of greatest promise shall be selected for well and widely considered inquiry.

It cannot be too often nor too forcibly said that this association must not let its investigations be less accurate, less painstaking, or less comprehensive than those of our universities, the scientific departments of the government, or the Bureau of Education. We must leave to others things that can be better done by others. In the investigation of facts as in contrast with the investigation of administrative policy or of educational opinion the Council or the committee appointed by the Council would do well to select one expert to investigate and report on a given topic. We cannot hope to have the contributions of this council given the same standing among scholars as the better contributions from other sources unless we have at least one man on every committee of investigation who is a recognized scholar and expert in the line of the subject of investigation.

It has been suggested that the work of investigation by this council might be well supplemented by the appointment of one or more traveling fellows or scholars. It would seem unwise for this council in any way to undertake to duplicate work done by the universities. But it would be entirely in harmony with the purpose of this body if funds can be provided to give a scholarship or fellowship to an expert in some line in which the Council desires some subject investigated, provided such expert could make investigation at home or abroad as the representative of the National Education Association or this Council to study definite problems and make a definite report to the Council. Such a representative might secure good results and broaden the work of this body.

There are two minor and obvious suggestions that occur to one in reading the constitution of the Council. The preamble to this document says that the Council shall prepare through its president an annual report to the National Education Association setting forth the questions considered by the Council during the previous year, placing before the association in succinct form the work accomplished. This appears to be a dead letter. Should it not therefore be eliminated from the preamble of the constitution by due process of amendment or ordered that it shall hereafter be fulfilled? In the second place, Art. 3 says in part: "There shall be a regular annual meeting of the Council held at the same place as the meeting of the National Education

Association at least two days previous to the meeting." It has been impracticable in recent years for the Council to meet two days before the general session of the National Education Association on account of the unwillingness of the railroads to grant rates long enough before the general session of the National Education Association for members of the Council to receive the benefits of the rates and arrive at the place of meeting two days previous to the meeting of the general association. Should not the constitution be changed by eliminating the phrase, "and at least two days previous to the meeting," found in lines 2 and 3, sec. 3?

At the meeting in Asbury Park, in 1905, there were six sessions and at Los Angeles in 1907 there were four sessions of this body. This year five sessions have been planned. The program for these sessions may be arranged under three heads:

First, The Report on the Educational Progress during the past year, which is made a part of our program by the constitution of the Council and is this year presented at the opening session of the National Education Association this afternoon.

Second, Reports of committees appointed for special investigation and a general discussion of the same. The Council asked its president to appoint six committees to make special investigation. A committee was appointed to continue the investigation of industrial education in rural schools. This committee has ready a printed report to submit to this Council for consideration and discussion. Four other committees are ready to present preliminary reports. They are as follows: (1) Committee on a System of Teaching Morals in the Public Schools of the United States; (2) Committee on the Scarcity of Teachers; (3) Committee on Provision for Exceptional Children in Public Schools; (4) Committee on the Culture Element in Education. The committees on Shortage of Teachers and Provision for Exceptional Children have printed preliminary reports. The sixth committee, on Co-operation with Educational Organizations in Other Countries, is presenting, instead of a report, three suggestive questions within the field of the work of the committee, which are open for discussion. The field of work open to this committee is very broad and may take years of thought and labor before the entire scope of its work shall appear. The work of several of the committees will necessarily continue beyond the present year. How many and what ones will continue their work will be for the Council to determine.

Third, the remaining topics are selected from a list of about fifty questions kindly furnished by members of the Council. The questions were real ones and worthy of a place on the program, did time permit. Some of these topics have been used by the general session and others by departments. My obligation to the members of the Council for their assistance is gratefully acknowledged. All the members of the Council not on the program for a longer paper or discussion have been asked to speak three minutes on a topic of their own choosing. Of the fifty-eight members, forty-five are on the program of this meeting. Five have written that unavoidable circumstances will prevent their presence at this time. Others are present who preferred not to have their names on the program.

I wish to ask the Council to help devise some plan by which at least abstracts of the papers and reports presented to the Council will be in the hands of those asked to lead in the discussion at least thirty days before the meeting of the Council. It is impossible to have thoro and adequate discussion without an opportunity on the part of the speakers to digest the subject-matter presented. I must confess to have failed to secure the copies desired thirty

days in advance. Though the request was made six months ago in most, cases, they were furnished not more than a week in advance. The feeling is widespread that the discussions are less valuable in recent years than formerly because those asked to discuss papers have no adequate opportunity to prepare themselves. I would suggest that no papers or reports be printed in the Proceedings after the present year unless at least three copies of the synopsis of the same are in the hands of the president of the Council at least thirty days before its annual meeting. If this should not be found effective then some more drastic action should be taken. The Council should take any action necessary to make the discussion a most vital and stimulating part of its work.

We are again saddened by the death of two of our friends and colleagues in this Council, Dr. F. Louis Soldan, superintendent of instruction, public schools, St. Louis, Mo., and Rufus H. Halsey, president of the State Normal School at Oshkosh, Wis. A suitable memorial for each of these will be presented. Each of these men has been an honor to the Council, to the profession of teaching, and to American education. Their faithful and fruitful service in the cause of public education should be a new inspiration and a new incentive to each of us to do what we can while it is yet day, for the night cometh when no man can work.

In closing I propose for consideration at the business meeting of the Council the following:

QUERIES

1. Shall the general plan of the program of this year be followed for next year? If not, with what modification?

2. Shall the Council recommend the establishment of one or more traveling fellowships? If so, under what conditions?

3. Does the Council favor an increase in membership? If so, to what number?

4. Should the Council take any action that will make more efficient its discussions? 5. Should the constitution of the Council be changed in either or both of the particulars suggested?

THE PROGRESS OF EDUCATION FOR THE YEAR CHARLES F. THWING, PRESIDENT OF WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY AND ADELBERT COLLEGE, CLEVELAND, 0.

I wish to interpret the progress of education for the year now closing under six relations:

First, in relation to the subject to be educated, the people; second, the educating force; third, the educating content or material; fourth, the educating tools or instruments; fifth, the educational conditions; and sixth, in respect to personality.

First, in relation to the subject to be educated, the people. The year offers intimation of a continuance of the increasing appreciation on the part of the people of education. Several bases for the betterment of humanity are worthily used; the financial, which Lord Cromer's career in Egypt. embodies; the social, which French civilization illustrates; the economic and

the educational, which England embodies. The American people have consciously or unconsciously adopted the educational basis as a special means and method of betterment. The people are coming to see with increasing clearness that the religious basis is in peril of narrowness of interpretation and of application, that the social is in peril of superficiality, that the economic is in danger of becoming sensualistic without imagination, and the financial materialistic without spiritual vision. The educational basis, it is seen, is broad-as broad as humanity without superficiality; deep-as deep as thought without narrowness, moving and inspiring without visionariness. All this the people are coming to see, to feel, to appreciate. The formal clauses of the constitutions of the different states commending education are becoming an integral part of the unconscious thinking, feeling, and conduct of the whole body of the people.

This increasing appreciation is made evident by laws passed by the legislatures of the several states in these last months. Among such laws and among movements growing out of such laws may be noted the progress of the study of agriculture in rural high schools. States as remote as Pennsylvania and Kansas, Arkansas and New Jersey are leading in such a movement. Michigan has established a chair of agricultural education in its school at Lansing. The endeavor, too, to put libraries into every public-school building progresses. The movement is a general one, taking on diverse forms in different states and in different schools of the same state. Several commonwealths, also, have established commissions either to study educational conditions or to codify school laws. Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Washington, and Pennsylvania are acting in this important relation. As a part of such improvement also, several states are proposing to make the supervision of educational interest more expert. In this endeavor Vermont has a large place. The enforcement of compulsory laws regarding attendance is receiving attention. With this enforcement is joined a more rigid inspection of factories which employ children, to insure that those under legal age are not employed. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Vermont especially represent this movement. Minimum salary acts still continue to be passed, as in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The movement or the transfer of the basis of taxation from the local district to the larger area, as the township, the county, the state, continues to gain force. As a financial movement and also a human one, the endeavor for the establishment of pension funds progresses. Intimations are that every state, as a state, and every large city in it, will presently have pension funds in working order. Among the cities Harrisburg has in this last year made rapid progress and among the states the movements in Massachusetts should be noted.

In this time the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. has entered into the third year of its service. This organization has already established for itself under wise leadership a great place in the American higher education. It has based itself upon the assurance that grants made by it

are not a largess, not a favor, but an attempt to give proper compensation to the college teacher. It has helped to make colleges less denominational without making them less Christian, as also it has helped to standardize conditions of admission and of graduation of the American college. That this Foundation has a great place is proved; that it will have a much greater one is also evident.

The movement for industrial and technical education continues with increasing emphasis and incentive. The world is becoming interpreted more and more as a material potency which it is the duty of men to develop. With the exception of the present small demand, caused by depressed industrial conditions, engineers of all types are in urgent demand. In America the call is akin to the call which is found in India and Egypt for irrigation engineers and in China for civil and for mining engineers. The demand for engineers of the highest intellectual type increases with greater force than for those of the clerical or imitative type. Engineers of the power of large thinking, of initiative, of general executive force are specially required. This increase in the demand and in the supply to meet the demand emerges in impressive contrast to the diminishing number of men entering schools of theology. This decline, however, seems to be characteristic of all nations.

Despite these principles, laws, and movements which represent the increasing force and volume of education, it cannot be denied that the number of pupils who persevere in following an educational course to its conclusion still remains small. A career of a class from the primary through the high school or the college is like the march of an army in retreat. It is distinguished by its losses.

The enhancement of the worth attributed to the higher education for women still continues. The desire of girls to go to college is quite as general as the desire of boys to become engineers. But the sentiment is risingrather a feeling than a conviction-that the higher education of women should be differentiated from the education of men. Women have proved that they can do the work of men. They are now, having made their calling and election sure, asking this question: "Is it worth while to try to do the work of men ?" The question is raised in some minds: "Should not the higher education of women still have for its primary intellectual interest and for its content studies which may specially relate to the calling to which at least one-half of the college graduates will devote themselves?" Such questioning, rather than questions, comes to move in the heart and mind of those who have especially to do with the higher education of girls.

Second, The educational force may be interpreted as administrative, personal, pedagogic, material. In administration the year emphasizes the continuance of the policy of centralization. In the higher education the enlarging place of the College Entrance Examination Board illustrates the general movement. In the middle education the progress made in abolishing the district system and establishing the town system, and also the progress