20 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



There is another quahty that this citizenship must have, and 

 it is the virtue that I propose to name last, and that is the 

 quahty of service. We must have a useful citizenship. We 

 have happily come to that stage of our civilization when we 

 regard that man as in disgrace who does not contribute some- 

 thing to the welfare of society; whether it be the millionaire 

 at one end of the so-called social scale or the tramp at the 

 other, we rightly regard any man as in disgrace if he is not 

 doing something for the benefit of the world. Now, then, if 

 this public school system of ours is to make for service, we 

 must have in mind two things : First, the individuals who are 

 being trained, and second, the society for which those individ- 

 uals are being trained. I went into a little country high school 

 in our State about a year ago, and as I went in I noticed noth- 

 ing especially unusual about it, but after I had been in a little 

 while I noticed up on one side of the room a table fitted out 

 with various electrical apparatus ; and I was a good deal inter- 

 ested to note, as I examined the room more carefully, that a 

 system of electric bells had been installed, and I was very 

 much interested to find out how these things came to pass in 

 this common country high school and I asked the teacher about 

 it. The teacher said "I must introduce you to the boy who 

 will tell you about it," and he introduced me to one of the older 

 boys.. This boy had become so absorbed in this subject and he 

 had acquired so much information regarding it, that he was 

 able to organize a class in electricity in that high school, and 

 there was a class of boys, five or six of them, who were very 

 much interested in the subject. Now the point which I want 

 to make to you tonight is this, that if that boy had happened 

 to be interested especially in Latin, there are more than 220 

 institutions in this State supported by the people, in any one of 

 which he could have taken a four years' course in Latin. If 

 that boy had happened to have an interest in Greek, there are 

 more than 100 institutions in this State supported at public 

 expense wherein he could take a course of three years on that 

 subject. And if he had been interested in abstract science, or 

 in higher mathematics, or in ancient history, in any one of these 

 subjects he could take a full course of four years in any one 

 of more than 220 high schools. Now I am not going to say 

 that the courses offered in these 220 high schools are not wise, 



