778 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 779 



While in the public discussions leading 

 to the establishment of these colleges, agri- 

 culture received chief attention, yet when 

 they were organized few students applied 

 for instruction in this subject, and for 

 many years little impress was made upon 

 the farm practises of the country. It is, 

 in truth, only within the last decade that a 

 system of instruction and research has been 

 developed and perfected that is shaping 

 the policies and destinies of this, the oldest 

 and most important occupation of man. 



It was one of the most fortunate circum- 

 stances connected with the creation of these 

 colleges that the act of Congress bringing 

 them into existence was comprehensive 

 enough with respect to their purpose and 

 objects to admit of the teaching of a wide 

 range of subjects. The comprehensive 

 charter with which they were vested per- 

 mitted of extensive experimentation in 

 courses of study, a wide adaptation in sub- 

 jects taught, arrangement of courses, meth- 

 ods of instruction, etc. Untrammeled by 

 tradition, they were free to make experi- 

 ments in the subject matter taught, as well 

 as in the method of teaching it. 



Broadly speaking, there has been as- 

 signed to this class of colleges, in the nat- 

 ural division of labor, the great industrial 

 problems of our people, including the de- 

 velopment and conservation of the material 

 resources of the country, as well as the 

 great economic and sociological questions 

 affecting the industrial classes. 



As interesting as the history of the de- 

 velopment of these colleges is, and as rich 

 in history as this particular member of the 

 group is, on an occasion like this a glance 

 into the future is perhaps more appropri- 

 ate, for it is there that our problems lie. 



COMPETITION IN EDUCATION 



The American ambassador to Great 

 Britain recently facetiously referred to our 

 educational system as America's chief in- 



dustry. In other ways it is frequently 

 suggested that in this matter the rate of 

 growth has been out of proportion to our 

 development in other directions and beyond 

 our real needs. 



Of the eighteen million children in the 

 graded schools in the United States to-day, 

 less than a million, or less than one in 

 twenty, will ever matriculate in a high 

 school or an academy. Moreover, of the 

 nine hundred thousand pupils in the secon- 

 dary schools, only about two hundred 

 thousand will be enrolled in our colleges 

 and universities, or approximately one out 

 of every four. 



It requires, therefore, approximately 

 eighty pupils in the grades to supply one 

 college or university student. Less than 

 one in five of these college and university 

 matriculates graduates. Therefore, over 

 four hundred graded school pupils are re- 

 quired to furnish one college graduate. 



Of more significance than all this is the 

 fact that seven out of every eight of the 

 boys and girls of the United States leave 

 school between the fifth and sixth grades 

 and go out into a world of splendid oppor- 

 tunities without the training and intel- 

 lectual power to enable them to take ad- 

 vantage of these opportunities. 



It would not seem, in the light of these 

 facts, that there was much serious competi- 

 tion in education. In fact, it does not 

 appear that we are doing very much to 

 break down human ignorance and overcome 

 human prejudice. 



TAKE THE COLLEGE TO THE PEOPLE 



While it is of paramount importance 

 that the college give thoroughly sound in- 

 struction to the young men and young 

 women in residence, it is equally true that 

 its activity must not end here. More and 

 more must the college be carried to the 

 people. At best but a small proportion of 



