204 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



they had not been able to do before. You can see how this 

 idea may be extended to a great many fields, and how valuable 

 it is that men and organizations are willing to provide an oppor- 

 tunity to fit men for new conditions. 



A question of importance is : How far shall the public go 

 in supporting the education that trains for a vocation? In 

 other words, Is it a part of the business of the state to train 

 young people for a vocation? It has already been accepted as 

 the business of the state to train young people to read, write 

 and cipher, and do all the things that are now in the curriculum 

 of our schools. Such a question is worthy of our serious con- 

 sideration. We are already training at public expense for a 

 good many vocations. There are, in the city of Bangor, a 

 good many young men earning their living as book-keepers 

 who have got their training in the public schools. There are, 

 in the offices of business and professional men, a good many 

 young women stenographers who have learned the business of 

 stenography in the public schools. Probably all the teachers in 

 the schools of Maine learned their vocation at public expense. 

 It is already established that certain vocations are prepared 

 for at public expense. How far shall we carry this idea? I 

 do not know. It will be a development. Already there are 

 indications that the public will ultimately demand training for 

 many vocations. What shall these vocations be? Here are 

 some serious matters. Suppose that in a city as large as Bangor 

 the school committee should undertake to ofifer training in a 

 vocation, what vocations should be selected? There are a good 

 many vocations in the city of Bangor. What ones will you 

 select? You could find towns in Maine, with a population of 

 two or three thousand, where the vocations, of course, are lim- 

 ited. There would probably be agriculture and some textile 

 industry, and these might be practically the only ones. It 

 would be a comparatively simple matter there, provided the 

 population was stationary. But one of the peculiar things 

 about the American population is that it is not stationary. The 

 Mayor of Bangor was telling a little incident a while ago that 

 illustrates that. He said that after he had been in Maine a 

 little while it came time to vote. He went to the place of reg- 

 istration and as he answered the various questionsi, the regis- 

 tration officer said to him, "The second man before you was 



