18 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Promoting interest in public speaking. — Means of promoting greater interest 

 among students in public speaking was discussed in a paper by Dr. D. H. Hill, 

 of North Carolina, who deprecated all tendencies in modern platform work 

 toward elocutionary effects, and stressed the importance of studied efforts on 

 the part of the speaker to adapt himself to his hearers and to appeal rather 

 to their judgment than to their emotions. 



He recommended the establishment of chairs of public speaking, calling on 

 more students to take part in public college functions, encouraging all extem- 

 poraneous speaking in college societies and scientific clubs, efforts to galvanize 

 into life the old literary and debating societies, and cultivating the imaginative 

 faculties by making the students acquainted with the great imaginative writers. 



SECTION ON EXPERIMENT STATION WOEK. 



The subjects discussed in the section included the following: (1) Ethics of 

 station work, (a) as between institutions, (b) as between the institution and 

 the individual, and (c) as between individuals; (2) management of the busi- 

 ness affairs of the station; and (3) the station library. 



The first topic was treated in papers by President H. J. Waters, Director 

 R. W. Thatcher, and Dr. C. E. Marshall, which are reviewed editorially in 

 this issue. 



The question of publishing lists of the Adams fund projects for the informa- 

 tion of administrative oflicers and station workers was discussed by a number 

 of speakers, and the matter was to be referred to the committee on station 

 organization and policy for report at the next convention. 



Business management of the station. — In discussing the management of the 

 business affairs of the station, Director F. B. Mumford stated the ultimate aim 

 of good business administration to be to secure the maximum of research with 

 the funds available. He emphasized the importance of permanency of position 

 and definite income for investigation as factors in securing and retaining the 

 services of desirable men. 



As to the assignment of funds, it was held that " the net result in any 

 department will be greater if the men in charge know at the beginning of the 

 year that they can count on having a definite sum of money for investigational 

 work. It is not good business management to have 10 departments in the 

 station working on various projects the cost of each of which is unknown to 

 the investigators or to the director. If a definite apportionment is made each 

 year, the tendency will be to discourage expenditures which are not directly 

 beneficial to the particular projects in hand and the ultimate result wiU be 

 greater research values for each dollar expended. The amount of the appor- 

 tionment should be carefully considered in relation to the work actually accom- 

 plished and the projects proposed." 



He described the forms of vouchers and receipts in use at the Missouri 

 Station in handling the different funds, as well as the methods of classifying 

 the mailing list and the publications of the station to prevent unnecessary 

 distribution. 



Dr. J. L. HiUs, in discussing the same subject, also recommended an annual 

 budget, believing that " a careful advance plan as to probable expenditure is a 

 wise procedure." The method followed at the Vermont Station is to apportion 

 the funds in some detail at the beginning of the year, reserving an emergency 

 fund of 10 per cent. The budget is made out on three different bases, (1) the 

 18 schedules of the Office of Experiment Stations, (2) the station departmental 

 basis, and (3) on the basis of the several projects. 



