these people, but now, after forty years of existence, it has ceased to fulfill 

 that function and has become an organization of a single group. 

 I Closely connected with this is the problem of achieving a closer degree 

 of cooperation with the rest of the county. Friends are known as propogan- 

 dists and reformers, and have a reputation of being clannish. These two 

 things have made it hard for them to exert the influence which they 

 should exert upon the county. There is room for aggressive leadershi]:) 

 along many lines; better farming, more thorough cooperation, more 

 efficient organization and greater social compactness and continuity. 



Lastly we may mention the problem of self-preservation. We ha\e 

 already pointed out the source of this problem and we can hardly venture 

 an opinion as to its solution, but the indications are that it will be more 

 acute in fifty years than now. 



These are problems which the community must set itself to solve. 

 To aid it it has strong memories, a developed social pride, and a high 

 degree of social compactness, along with those prime necessities, a sound 

 economic policy and a developed and apparently permanent prosperity. 



EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS 



Some time during the current year the United States Bureau of Educa- 

 tion will probably publish a bulletin on the educational conditions in 

 Montgomery County which will contain in detail all the information 

 gathered by this survey, including a full discussion of all public and 

 private schools. In consequence, only the outstanding features of the 

 educational situation will be discussed here, and the reader is referred to 

 the Government bulletin for a detailed account. 



The Public School System 



The supervision of the public schools of the county is entrusted to a 

 county superintendent and a board of six commissioners, appointed by 

 the governor of the State for a term of years. Each school has its local 

 trustees, charged with the immediate oversight of its affairs and cooperat- 

 ing with the county board, which has complete control over the county 

 system. The appointment of teachers and all matters of policy and 

 administration rest with this board and the superintendent. This type 

 of organization has one great weakness, to which we have already 

 referred, which is, that thereby the schools arc put most distinctly into 

 politics. In the actual results produced, the fact that the superintendent 

 and the conimissioners owe their appointment to political influence may 

 or may not work detriment to the schools. In the present instance it so 

 happens that it does not. The men now filling these positions are all 

 highly efficient men, genuinely concerned for the welfare of the schools 

 and serving them faithfully and with marked ability. The record made 



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