December 8, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



111 



various kinds not only as rendering a real 

 public service, but as an efficient means of 

 securing the public favor that insures gen- 

 erous support. It would be an interesting 

 problem, psychological, ethical or other- 

 wise, to determine in what proportions al- 

 truism and expediency enter into the mo- 

 tives that lie behind some of our agricul- 

 tural propaganda. 



But, setting aside the question of mo- 

 tives, there is every justification for declar- 

 ing that in so far as these popular efforts, 

 and secondary education within the college, 

 minimize academic efficiency through the 

 diversion or limitation of funds, through 

 their absorption of the time and energy of 

 teachers or through their reaction upon the 

 atmosphere of the college and its stand- 

 ards of instruction, in so far the lesser is 

 usurping the greater. It is fully recog- 

 nized that this assertion is antagonistic to 

 the view that extension work is a function 

 of the agricultural college coordinate with, 

 and of equal importance with, the train- 

 ing of young men and women, to be main- 

 tained on an equal footing as to develop- 

 ment and permanence, and it is so meant. 

 It may further be said that because of the 

 strong trend towards the popularization of 

 agricultural knowledge both within the col- 

 lege and station and without, because of 

 the sweep and strength of the agricultural 

 extension movement which is taking such 

 diverse forms and is so largely occupying 

 the thought and energy of college and sta- 

 tion leaders, there has never been a more 

 critical period in the life of the colleges 

 and stations or a time in which their effi- 

 ciency for the accomplishment of their 

 primal and fundamental purpose should 

 be more carefully guarded. 



The gravity of the situation is aug- 

 mented by the fact that the agricultural 

 and business interests of the country, alive 

 to the value of our worth, are now pro- 



posing to us what we shall do and are urg- 

 ing upon us not only efforts of our own, 

 but our active support of new efforts that 

 are outside our province, but to which we 

 are expected to sustain relations of advice 

 and aid. These suggestions, which some- 

 times are almost equivalent to demands, 

 are certainly made in the spirit of good- 

 will and helpfulness and are always 

 worthy of our most respectful and careful 

 consideration, but it is seriously to be 

 doubted whether popular conceptions of 

 the aims and methods of education and in- 

 quiry are a safe basis on which to estab- 

 lish the policy that shall dominate the work 

 and influence of either the college or sta- 

 tion. 



The chief reason that will here be ad- 

 vanced for directing the means and energy 

 of the land-grant colleges along the 

 higher ranges of educational effort is that 

 under the conditions now existing these 

 institutions will most fully promote public 

 welfare by devoting their resources mainly 

 to preparing men ai>d women for leader- 

 ship. Our social and vocational future 

 is largely a matter of leadership. He 

 is wildly Utopian who prophesies a day 

 when all the people, or even a major- 

 ity, will possess the knowledge and ability 

 necessary to a wise discrimination in civic 

 and economic affairs. It is equally fanci- 

 ful to hope that any large proportion of 

 actual farmers will ever be college-trained. 

 Secondary education must serve the needs 

 of the great majority of the occupants of 

 the land. In the past the reaction of the 

 agricultural college upon public welfare 

 has been largely through men who have be- 

 come investigators, teachers, publicists and 

 managers of large agricultural enterprises 

 rather than through the distribution of 

 practical farmers. 



What has been true of the past seems 

 likely to be increasingly the experience of 



