THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 339 



sources of life. It is, therefore, an oasis capable of producing 

 the richest human fruitage. Selected fertilization, industrial, 

 educational, social, political and spiritual, is the supreme need. 

 Equipped and inspired leaders incarnate and communicate se- 

 lected fertilization. The state may, if she will, put such leaders 

 into the life of every rural community. 



The four inequalities in the state's provision for the intel- 

 lectual uprearing of her youth are : 



1. The collection and use of the public funds. 



2. The agencies instituted for the qualification of publicly em- 

 ployed teachers. 



3. The supervisory control of the schools. 



4. The years of instruction offered at public expense. 



Two groups of questions immediately suggest themselves to the 

 student of rural schools : 

 First group 



1. To what extent are these inequalities due to defects in the 

 statutes ? 



2. What amendments are necessary ? 

 Second group 



1. What inequalities are not due to defects in the statutes? 



2. How may these be reached and remedied? 



The answers to these questions, which the facts presented in 

 this report suggest, are : 



First group 



1. Inequalities 



(a) in the collection and use of the public funds, 



(b) in supervision, 



(c) in the years of free public instruction, 

 are due to inadequate statutory provisions. 



2. The amendments suggested are 



(a) the enlargement of the area unit for taxation pur- 

 poses from an ungraded district to a township: 

 this not necessarily to involve the centralization of 

 the schools, ample provision for which, when de- 

 sired, has already been made; 



(b) the provision of sufficient means for securing effi- 

 cient supervisory direction of all the schools; 



