126 



Turning now to tho othov side of this question, tlio land-jjrant rollPffPS need 

 to talu' an active part in the estahlisliuHMit ^li' elementary and secondary courses 

 in aj.M'i<ailture and mechanic arts in tlie i)nl)lic schools, because such courses 

 are nMiuired to direct students to these collect's, and to prepare them to enter 

 the c(ille,i,'e courses in these institutions. Many of the land-graut colleges are 

 already embarrassed by the rapidly growing influx of students not well pre- 

 l)ared to enter courses in agriculture and mechanic arts, if these courses are 

 of a grade strictly eiiual to those offered in the sciences and humanities. Thus 

 far the demand for industrial education in the land-grant colleges has been 

 largely met by preparatory and special courses of low grade or by keei)ing the 

 general requirements for admission down to a comparatively low level. This 

 has led to many emban-assments as regards funds, ecpiipment. teaching force, 

 degrees, etc Following the general course of devehtpment of American col- 

 leges and universities, the land-grant institutions are more and more endeavor- 

 ing to raise their entrance reipiirements and make the reciuirements for degrees 

 accord with the standards established by our oldest and best colleges. To do 

 this successfully the land-grant colleges need to have many secondary public 

 schools as feeders, and also to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for indus- 

 trial education of lower than college grade, which is even now causing so much 

 embarrassment to the colleges, and which in the near future they will not be 

 able to meet at all. 



In his recent inaugural address, President Janie*, of the University of Illi- 

 nois, called attention to this as related to the further progress of that univer- 

 sity, and used the college of agriculture as a specific illustration of this point. 

 Ten years ago the University of Illinois had in all its departments about COO 

 students, now it has 4,0((0. With the same rate of growth for another decade 

 it would have in 1915 over 2."),000 students. The college of agriculture in 1895 

 had less than a score of students, now it has over 400. With a i)opulation of, 

 perhaps, one and one-(iuarter millions in the farm homes of the State 5,000 

 or even 10,000 students may soon be clamoring for admission to the college of 

 agriculture of the University of Illinois, especially if its terms of admission 

 are kept as lil^eral as .-it i)resent. 



No wonder I'resident .lames is alarmed at such a prospect with the inq)Ossible 

 burdens which it would impose on the president and the agricultural faculty. 

 His remedy naturally is the raising of entrance requirements and the establisli- 

 nient in different parts of the State of secondary schools with agricultural 

 courses. Such schools, individually maintained without great expense, might 

 give the luiiversity properly ])repared agricidtural students and at the same 

 time turn back directly to the farms of Illinois thousands of young men and 

 women with an enthusiasm for country life and a hopeful outlook toward a pro- 

 gressive and profitable agriculture, because they had been brought into vital 

 touch with the great movement for the ap])lication of science to agriculture and 

 the domestic arts, and had obtained at the same time a better training in lan- 

 guage, inathematics, science, history, nmsic, and drawing than the common 

 schools afford. 



The trustees, i)residents. and faculties of land-grant colleges generally would 

 in my judgment do well to follow in the same line of thought and effort on this 

 matter as is IxMug ]>ursued by I'resident James and his associates, and I .judge 

 from what 1 have heard and observed of late at the land-grant colleges that 

 many of them are either working or planning to work in this direction. 



John Hamilton, of the Office of Experiment Stations, presented the following 

 paper : 



The "Open Door" for the LAxn-tJRAXT Uoi.leoe — The Farmers. 



THE LAND-GRANT COLLEGE — ITS COMMISSION. 



Its connnission is " to teach." Teach whom? Teach what? Including mili- 

 tary tactics, to teach the industrial classes such branches of learning as will 

 educate them liberally and practically for the inirsuit of agriculture in its 

 variims departments .-md of the mechanic arts. 



After having adeciuately i)rovid<>(l for instruction in these two classes of indus- 

 trial imrsuits, then if any funds derived from the land-grant act remain, or if 

 the instituticin has funds from other sources, such finals may be used for the 

 giving of instruction in "other scientific ;ind classical studies'" in order to fit 

 men for the " professions " in life. 



