70 



field of the general and the abstract where the philosopher 

 revels. 



It is my opinion that the biological sciences can supply excellent 

 material for the development of citizenship and I propose to 

 offer some definite suggestions that show what we can contribute 

 to this work. A citizen is a person who is born in the United 

 States or who has been naturalized here, who owes allegiance to 

 Jiis country, his state, and his city, and who is entitled to their 

 protection. The opposite to a citizen is an alien. Our war has 

 emphasized the importance of eliminating the aliens and edu- 

 cating the citizens. 



Mention has been made that we teach the importance of 

 bacteria in relation to human welfare. Our pupils know the 

 danger of infection from milk, why unsanitary stables are a 

 menace and why the men working in the stables should not come 

 from homes where there are communicable diseases. They 

 know that milk should be subjected to a low temperature at once, 

 why it should be Pasteurized, and the care it should have while 

 on the way to the city. This is equally true of meats and vege- 

 tables. Our pupils know the danger from inattention to the 

 water supply. They appreciate the importance of clean streets. 

 Their knowledge of epidemic diseases will cause them to favor 

 and insist upon an efficient board of health. They have sane 

 reasons for supporting regulations relating to quarantine vacci- 

 nation and disinfection. They have a more intelligent interest 

 in the care of our parks and the trees of the city. Such educa- 

 tional institutions as the botanical gardens and the American 

 museums will get their hearty support for they appreciate what 

 these institutions stand for. They have a more intelligent 

 interest in, and a greater loyalty for their city. The}' are better 

 equipped to assume the duties of citizenship. 



It is possible that the advocates of general science, who by the 

 way, are chiefly teachers of physics and chemistry, will tell you 

 that their course does all this and' a great deal more. My answer 

 is that it would be better to have two years to do the work out- 

 lined in biology. When they give the biology work a minor 

 place in a year's course, they simply mutilate it. Pupils grasp 



