No. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 433 



claim to raising the standard of home aud living conditions in the 

 community in which the school serves, it can only be because the 

 school itself represents a higher standard than the average home of 

 the community; otherwise, the influence of the school cannot be 

 that of raising the standard of the average home. 



My friends, this is a township high school (showing slide); more- 

 over, it is a joint township high school operated by two townships. It 

 is the type of school, my friends, which I believe we shall have to 

 establish throughout the rural districts if we are going to get second- 

 ary education of equal efficiency and value to that offered in the high 

 school of the city. You will note that there are 10,606 one-room rural 

 schoolhouses in this State, of which 886 have ten pupils or less and 

 592 of which have been closed during the past ten years, partly due 

 to the fact that many of our rural townships have actually lost in 

 rural population, as I stated a few moments ago. I believe that either 

 partial or total consolidation of schools will, in some measure^ help 

 us to solve the question of satisfactory, efficient rural education. I 

 believe those of us who are from the country — and I want you to 

 realize that in any remarks I make, I'm including myself — I think 

 those of us who have anything to do with life in the open country will 

 have to admit that we have come along just a little bit more slowly 

 in the country in educational development than they have done in 

 the city. It takes us a little bit longer to become open minded on 

 some things. Every farmer is from Missouri, he must be shown. I 

 believe that is a good thing ; we should not rush into those things, we 

 should examine any new feature of education, any new line of ac- 

 tivity, very carefully before making any very definite move toward 

 inaugurating any new system. 



May I call your attention to the fact that every slide I shaU show 

 you here this evening is a view of a Pennsylvania scene. I am 

 enough of a Pennsylvanian to believe most heartily in Pennsylvania. 

 I am so glad that our chief executive, his Excellency, the Governor, 

 is trying to propagate the idea all over this State that we must love 

 this great State of ours, that it is big enough that we can take ei 

 great pride in it. As Pennsylvanians I believe we have been rather 

 slow to boost it, if I may be permitted to use a slang phrase. This 

 slide shows a township high school out in the open country. In the 

 township adjoining this there is another consolidated school where 

 they operate fourteen or fifteen school wagons. I do not believe that 

 consolidation is possible in all the rural districts. Partial consolida- 

 tion will help us to solve some of the difficulties ; in other cases, total 

 consolidation. We have both in operation in Pennsylvania to-day. 

 We have made more progress along these and other lines than the 

 people of Pennsylvania are aware of. The reason is this: We are 

 not given to boasting quite so much in Pennsylvania ; just the moment 

 we think of an idea, we don't put it into the newspaper, we try to 

 work it out and let the works speak for themselves; that is why the 

 people of Pennsylvania sometimes point to other states for examples 

 in certain lines of work that have been carried on, certain educational 

 ideas that have been developed, when right within our own borders we 

 have had those same things for eight or ten or twelve years. I am 

 proud to say that the views we are using to-night a'-o all Pennsyl- 

 vanian. 



28—6—1915 



