Popular Science Monthly/Volume 67/August 1905/The Progress of Science
THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.
The National Educational Association held one of its great assemblages on the New Jersey coast during the first week of July. No official report •of the registration was given out, but the attendance was estimated at 15,000, some newspapers placing it as high as 20,000. The association has been called an institute for the promotion of summer travel, and this is certainly one •of its functions. Favorable arrangements are made with the railways, and teachers with their relations and friends are thus enabled to enjoy a trip of which the meeting is only an incident. Under these conditions the attendance has increased in an extraordinary manner. The registration was only 625 at the Saratoga meeting •of 1885. At the previous Asbury Park meeting of 1894 it was 5,915. At the subsequent meetings it has been as follows. Denver, 11,297; Buffalo, 9,072 Milwaukee, 7,111; Washington, 10,533 Los Angeles, 13,056; Charleston, 4,641 Detroit, 10,182; Minneapolis, 10,350 Boston, 34,984; St. Louis, 8,109.
Asbury Park and Ocean Grove offered •an attractive place of meeting to those who wished to visit the cities, the seaside or the mountains of the Atlantic seaboard, and in addition to the usual features of the program, addresses were made by the mayor of New York City and the president of the United States. Dr. W. H. Maxwell delivered on the first day the presidential address, which we are able to print in advance of its publication in the proceedings. Dr. Maxwell, who came to this country from Ireland at the age of twenty-two, was assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Brooklyn schools, and has since 1898 been head of the public school system of Greater New York. This is the most responsible educational position in the country. There are in New York City nearly one million children of school age, and the annual budget for the public schools is about $30,000,000. Compared with the vast responsibility of administering this system, the presidency of Harvard University or the commissionership of education is comparatively unimportant. The responsibility is obviously increased by the political conditions and by the fact that in New York City are enormously emphasized the two increasing difficulties of education, to which Dr. Maxwell referred in his address—the crowding into cities and the quantity and quality of immigration.
In addition to addresses by the president of the association, by President Roosevelt and by Mayor McClellan, there were a number of papers presented before the general sessions. Dr. W. T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Education, without whom a meeting of the association would be incomplete, read a paper on 'The Future of Teachers' Salaries'; Dr. Andrew S. Draper, state commissioner of education, spoke of 'The Nation's Educational Purpose'; Mr. William Barclay Parsons, the eminent New York engineer, discussed 'The Practical Utility of Manual and Technical Training'; the question of child labor and compulsory education was treated by Mr. George H. Martin, secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, and by Dr. Franklin P. Giddings, professor of sociology at Columbia University, who considered the perplexing topic of the relation of compulsory education and the prohibition 
of child labor to the decrease of the birth rate.
In addition to the general sessions, there was the usual meeting of the National Council of Education, which consists of sixty of the more active members of the association and holds sessions of general interest. There are, further, departments of kindergarten education, elementary education, secondary education, higher education, normal schools, manual training, art training, musical training, business training, child-study, science instruction, physical education, school administration, library, special education and Indian education, all of which presented programs.
At the meetings of the National Educational Association there is a vast flood of platitudes annually poured out, but when there are practical questions to be discussed, the proceedings become at once more interesting and more scientific. The teachers are taking an increasing interest in all questions connected with administration, and perhaps more especially in those relating to salaries, tenure of office, pensions and the like. At the recent meeting President Carroll D. Wright, of Clark College, presented the report of the committee appointed to consider these questions, giving valuable statistics shortly to be published. There are in the United States nearly 600,000 teachers, and it appears not unlikely that the National Educational Association will develop into a trades union representing their interests. The average salary, including the highest paid for supervision and the like, is said to be $300 a year. President Roosevelt, in his address which is printed above, told his audience of 10,000 teachers that they were performing an incalculable service by the very fact that they believed ideals to be worth sacrifice and that they were eager to do non-remunerative work. The speaker prefaced these remarks with the statement that he believed in the movement to secure better remuneration for teachers. The rhetorical effect would have been better if the order of the sentiments had been reversed, for the audience cheered continuously for several minutes the first statement, while they listened to the latter in silence; and we are inclined to think that the teachers are right. The illustrations of men such as John Hay and Mr. Elihu Root, who were stated by the president to have sacrificed their material interests for the nation, can only carry a limited weight, when the teachers reflect on the great wealth acquired by these men, in part, at least, as the result of political affiliations.
The Rev. Dr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, state superintendent of public instruction in Pennsylvania, was elected president of the association, and it is expected that the place of meeting next year will be San Francisco. It is understood that in this case the group that manages the association was defeated; there is naturally a certain amount of politics in such an institution. Some complaints are heard that the association is not sufficiently democratic, and that the present methods of administration will be made permanent by the charter that it was voted to secure from congress. It is inevitable that an association of this character should be managed by a small group who maintain a permanent interest in the work, and it is also probable that one man will be dominant. So far as we are aware, the group in control has acted wisely, and the democratic character of the association is maintained so long as this group can be defeated or a new group placed in power, should this meet the wishes of the majority. The constitution, which it will be extremely difficult to alter if once adopted as a bill passed by congress, lodges the control in a board of directors, which consists of the officers, the past presidents, certain life-directors, who we believe purchased the position for $100, and one member elected from each state. These officers are nominated by a committee containing one representative from each state or territory, elected by the active members of each state. There is, however, at least one state with only two active members, and it does not seem entirely democratic to place such a state against the hundreds of members representing New York or Illinois. Further, if a member is not elected by the state, the appointment is made by the president, and hitherto the constitution of the nominating committee and of the board of directors has been dictated by a small group of men. A more democratic form of government would probably be secured if the active members elected their representatives by ballot, which could be sent through the mail, and if the number of representatives were proportionate to the number of active members in each state.
| Some Leading Members of the National Educational Association. |
| In the center of the group is Dr. W. H. Maxwell, president of the association; at his right, Dr. Irwin Shepard, secretary; on the left of the picture is Dr. F. Louis Soldan, superintendent of instruction, public schools, St. Louis, Mo.; on the right are Albert G. Lane, assistant superintendent of schools, Chicago, Ill. and Dr. James N. Green, principal of the State Normal School, Trenton, N. J.; standing on the left is Charles D. McIver, of the State Normal and Industrial College, Greensboro, N. C. and on the right, James W. Crabtree, president of the State Normal School at Peru, Nebr. |
THE COLLEGE COURSE.
That the question of the college course is not solved is proved by the changes continually being made in the programs of studies. The seven leading universities in the east are Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins. Harvard has consistently maintained the free elective system and Johns Hopkins the group system, but the other five institutions have recently revised their requirements for the undergraduate course and the bachelor's degree. Cornell has formed one college of arts and sciences and gives the A.B. degree to all students for a free elective course extending through four years. The ancient languages are not required either before or after entrance, and Cornell is thus more consistent than Harvard, where the A.B. degree means that Latin was studied in the preparatory school and the B.S. that it was not. Cornell requires sixty hours of work and insists on four years of residence; Harvard requires fifty-four hours and rather favors three years of residence; Harvard requires the bachelor's degree for entrance to its professional schools; Cornell permits students to take the fourth year of the college course as the first year in the medical or law course. Pennsylvania now confers the A.B. degree only on students who take both Latin and Greek for one year in college and the B.S. degree on the others. It requires sixty hours' attendance, which may be accomplished in three or four years. Of these hours twenty-two are required, eighteen are group studies and twenty are free electives. One half year of college work may be in the department of medicine. Like Pennsylvania, Yale has altered its program of studies in the direction of the group system. Students of the college must offer Latin at entrance, but need not continue its study. Sixty hours are required for the degree, and they must include two 'majors' and three 'minors.' One year of work may count for both the professional and college degrees, and the college course may be completed in three years. The Sheffield Scientific School offers both liberal and engineering courses. Curiously enough, Latin is required for entrance, the course is three years, and the degree of bachelor of philosophy is awarded.
Princeton has this year adopted an entirely new program of studies. A third degree, Litt.B., has been added. The arrangement is logical, in so far as candidates for the A.B. degree must take Latin and Greek for two years, candidates for the B.S. degree must specialize in science and candidates for the Litt.B. degree in languages, philosophy, history or art. Latin is required for entrance to all courses. The studies of the freshman year are completely, and those of the sophomore year are partly, prescribed, and the rest of the four years' course is arranged on a group system. The tutorial system of the English colleges is to be introduced. Princeton aims to return to the old-fashioned college, and may be congratulated on the fairly consistent methods that it has adopted. The experiment in one of our larger institutions will be followed with interest.
Columbia has also adopted a new program of studies. A B.S. degree has been established for students who enter without Latin, but no plans have been made for a course in the sciences. The B.S. students take one course in science in place of a course in Latin, but as nearly all A.B. students elect a course in science and very few of them elect any course in Latin or Greek, the only distinction between the A.B. candidates and the B.S. candidates is that the former have probably forgotten the small Latin they once learned, whereas the latter have probably never learned any Latin. An extreme form of the table d'hôte system is adopted in the first two years, all freshmen being required to take seven unrelated studies; while in the last two years an extreme form of the à la carte system is adopted, no groups being required except in the professional schools, even the graduation theses being abolished. Students may take the last two i years of the bachelor's course in the professional school, and as they may enter at mid-year and receive a credit of one half year on the entrance examinations, they may obtain the A.B. degree for a college residence of one and a half years. Students receive extra credits for high standing and deductions for low standing, the excellent system being thus introduced of letting quality of work as well as hours of attendance count for the degree.
The unstable equilibrium of the college course is doubtless an indication of progress. There is no reason why an institution such as Harvard or Columbia should not adopt the different programs which are supported by good educational authority and maintain them side by side. At the English universities, a student may take the 'poll' course or an honors course; he may specialize to any extent or elect freely; he may follow a fixed course of tuition or engage in research; he may receive the B.A. degree for work in medicine or engineering; he may be in residence three years or five. There is no obvious objection to maintaining in the same institution the free elective system of Harvard, the culture group system of Princeton, and the special group system of the Johns Hopkins.
THE CULTIVATION OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER ANIMALS IN JAPAN.
Professor Mitsukuri, of the Imperial University of Tokyo, presented before the International Congress of Arts and Science a paper on the cultivation of marine and freshwater animals in Japan, which has now been printed by the Bureau of Fisheries. Professor Mitsukuri calls attention to the fact that the cultivation of aquatic animals is not only a matter that will have increasing economic importance,
Lower left, wakin; lower right (group of three), deme, ryukin, ranchu; upper left (two), ranchu; upper middle and right, oranda shishigashira.
but also opens an opportunity for valuable scientific investigation. Dissection in the laboratory and histological examination can not tell us all that we need to know about animals. This we can easily realize if we consider what our knowledge of man I would be if it were confined to the re-1 suits of the dissecting room. Our bureau of fisheries is in many ways setting an example to other nations, but we shall probably find that in the near future Japan will surpass us and every other nation in the intensive breeding and rearing of animals living in the water. Indeed, in some ways they appear already to have accomplished this. For example, there are complaints of the disappearance of the diamond-back terrapin, but apparently no efforts are made to rear it. In Japan the soft shelled turtle is reared and sold in large numbers. The accompanying illustration shows the turtle farm of the Hattori family, near Tokyo. In 1866 the first large turtle was caught; by 1874 the number reached fifty, and in the following year breeding was begun.
Over one hundred young were hatched the first year, but nearly all of them were devoured by their parents. It thus became necessary to have separate ponds for the young of the first year and of the second year, while those of the third, fourth and fifth years might be mixed. Last year the farm raised about 70,000 turtles, and it is expected that about 60,000 of them will be reared. When three years old, they are sold in the markets of Tokyo for a price in the neighborhood of forty cents each.
Goldfish have for a long time been bred in Japan, being perhaps the most characteristic oriental fish. The accompanying illustration shows some of the types raised, as depicted by Japanese artists. The extreme plasticity of this fish and the types that are developed by selection are of very considerable scientific interest and would doubtless serve well for the study of Mendel's law and the mutations of de Vries. The monograph describes the breeding of the eel, the gray mullet, the oyster and other forms. As Professor Mitsukuri says: "While the pasturage of cattle and the cultivation of plants marked very early steps in man's advancement toward civilization, the raising of aquatic animals and plants, on any extensive scale at all events, seems to belong to much later stages of human development. In fact, the cultivation of some marine animals has been rendered possible only by utilizing the most recent discoveries and methods of science. I believe, however, the time is now fast approaching when the increase of population on the earth, and the question of food supply which must arise as a necessary consequence, will compel us to pay most serious attention to the utilization for this purpose of what has been termed the 'watery waste.' For man to overfish and then to wait for the bounty of nature to replenish, or, failing that, to seek new fishing grounds, is, it seems to me, an act to be put in the same category with the doings of nomadic peoples wandering from place to place in search of pastures. Hereafter, streams, rivers, lakes and seas will have, so to speak, to be pushed to a more efficient degree of cultivation and made to yield their utmost for us. It is, perhaps, superfluous for me to state this before an audience in America, for 1 think all candid persons will admit that the United States, with her Bureau of Fisheries, is leading other nations in bold scientific attempts in this direction."
SCIENTIFIC ITEMS.
We regret to record the death of Dr. Win. Thos. Blanford, F.R.S., the well-known British geologist, and of I Mr. Geo. H. Eldridge, geologist of the U. S. Geological Survey.
The Berlin municipality has appropriated $20,000 to erect a statue in honor of Rudolf Virchow, which will be placed on the Karlsplatz, close to the Charity Hospital.—The faculty and students of the medical and dental departments of the George Washington University have erected, in the main hall of the department of medicine, a bronze tablet to the memory of their late dean and professor of chemistry and toxicology, Dr. Emil Alexander de Schweinitz.
At a meeting of the General Education Board, held on June 30, a gift of ten million dollars was announced from Mr. John D. Rockefeller, as an endowment for higher education in the United States. The announcement of the gift was made in a letter from Mr. Frederick T. Gates, Mr. Rockefeller's representative, which reads as follows:
Mr. Rockefeller has also given one million dollars to Yale University.