Class L A ajA. Bonk _A_4 . REPORT THE COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND CONDITIONS OF VERMONT 1914 l^ 3^u h^ D. SF 0, NOV 23 J9U THE VERMONT PRINTING COMPANY, BRATTLEBORO •\^ CONTENTS FAOK I. Introduction 1 II. Summary 5 III. The Common Schools 9 1. Elementary SchooLs 14 2. Secondary Schools 21 3. The School Term 31 IV. Specially Incorporated Districts 33 V. County Grammar Schools and Grammar School Lands 34 VI. Vocational Education 35 VII. Training of Teachers and Supervision 43 VIII. Agencies for Administration 50 IX. University of Vermont and State Agricultural College 56 1. Its Character — Public or Private 56 2. Use of Federal Appropriations 91 3. The College of Medicine. 119 X. MiDDLEBURY CoLLEGE 123 XI. Norwich University 125 XII. Duplication 128 XIII. The State and Higher Education 132 XIV. Financial Support of Schools 137 1. History of State School Funds 137 2. Appropriations and Distribution of Expense. 140 I INTRODUCTION To His Excellency, Allen M. Fletcher, Governor of the State of Vermont: On the eighth day of November, 1912, by communications to the Senate and House of Representatives, Your Excellency submitted to their consideration cer- tain suggestions regarding public education and recommended the creation of an Educational Commission charged with the duty of making inquiry thereinto for the purpose of securing legislation for such reorganization of the elementary and secondary public schools of the state, in adjustment to the entire educational system of the state, as would promote the ends of economy, harmony and unity. In view of the constant requests of our institutions of higher learning for increas- ing state appropriations for their support and maintenance and the importance that the status of these institutions in their relations to the state should be clearly and speedily estaljlished, it \yas your further recommendation that such Educational Commission be required to report on the several necessities of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, Middlebury College and Norwich Uni- versity, with such suggestions as would prevent unnecessary duplication. Pursuant to your communications the General Assembly enacted the follow- ing joint resolution: — "Whereas, a doubt has arisen in the minds of many of those most intimately related to the secondary and elementary schools of the state as to the efSciency of our common school system, and "Whereas, a similar doubt prevails among many friends of higher education regarding the adequacy of the return which the state is getting from its appro- priations in aid thereof, and "Whereas, His Excellencj', the Governor, has recommended in a recent message the appointment of a commission to investigate and report on these matters; Therefore it is hereby "Resolved by the Seriate and Hovse of Representatives: That a commission of nine persons, at least two of whom shall be experts in or engaged in educational work, shall be appointed I)y the Governor to inquire into the entire educational system and condition of this state. This commission shall report at the earliest possible date on the several rights, duties and obligations of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, Middlebury College and Norwich Uni- versity with such recommendations as will prevent unnecessary duplication and consequent financial waste. 2 INTRODUCTION "Resolved, That as soon as practicable after reporting on the institutions of higher learning hereinbefore referred to, the said commission shall recommend, by bill or otherwise, such reorganization of our public elementary and secondary schools, in adjustment to the entire educational system of the state, as will pro- mote the ends of unity, harmony, economy and efficiency. "Resolved, That the members of said commission shall serve without pay, but they shall be paid by the state their necessary expenses on requisitions to be ap- proved by the Governor and chairman of said commission, and the Auditor of Ac- counts shall draw orders therefor. Said commission may employ expert assis- tance and include the expense thereof in said requisitions." This resolution was approved November 19, 1912. Later by section 14, of Number 83, of Laws of 1912, approved February 15, 1913, it was enacted that, "the several rights, duties and obligations of said col- leges shall be determined by said Commission." The undersigned, by your appointment members of the Commission to Investi- gate the Educational System and Conditions of Vermont, (herein styled "Commis- sion") created by said joint resolution, respectfully report as follows: The first meeting of the Commission was held Thursday, December 12, 1912, and an organization effected. George L. Hunt, of Montpelier, was chosen clerk of the Commission. Early in its work it became clear to the Commission that in the proper performance of its duties, the entire educational system and conditions of the state could receive adequate consideration only as a unit. It was clear, too, that just conclusions could be drawn only from right premises and that these pre- mises could be stated only after a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the facts relating to the state's educational system and conditions. By its resolution the General Assembly authorized the Commission to employ expert assistance and it seemed not only proper, but also necessary that a body of experts, and not merely individual expert investigators, be called upon to assist in assembling facts mater- ial and relevant to the problems submitted to the Commission. To this end, there- fore, the Commission, by a resolution adopted on the 24th day of February, 1913, authorized an educational survey of the state and appointed Dr. Henry S. Pritch- ett, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, to undertake this survey with .such assistance and cooperation as he might de- termine. It seemed essential, too, that those to make the survey should be en- tirely disinterested as between persons or institutions to be affected by its results. The Commission wanted the facts: to hew to the line and let the chips fall wlien they would in its seeking after the truth of the educational conditions of the state. At the outset Dr. Pritchett and his lieutenants in the survey were made aware of this requirement. The administrative and educational experience of Dr. Pritchett, who was for- merly President of the Mas.sachusetts Institute of Technology and before that Superintendent of the United States Coasl and Geodetic Survey, gave assurance INTRODUCTION 3 of a thorough-going and appreciative insight into our educational system and the choice by him of men well fitted by training and association to assist in the work of the survey. Dr. Clyde Furst, the Secretary of the Carnegie Foundation, was formerly a professor in and secretary of the faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University. Mr. Monell Sayre, a Harvard man and a graduate in law, is a spe- cialist in college charters, pensions, and in agricultural education. Dr. Alfred Z. Reed, a graduate of Harvard and a Doctor of Philosophy of Columbia Uni- versity, is an expert on the staff of the Carnegie Foundation. Professor Edward C. Elliott, who gave particular attention in the survey to the general organization of public education and to the training of teachers, is the head of the department of education in the University of Wisconsin and has been connected with educational surveys throughout the country. Professor Milo B. Hillegas, who studied particularly the elementary schools of the state, is a professor in the field of elementary education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and was formerly editor of the publications of the United States Bureau of Education. Dr. William S. Learned, who i)aid particular attention in the' survey to secondarj' education, a graduate of Brown UniAcrsity and a Doctor of Philosophy at Harvard, was formerly engaged in the experimental study of education conducted by Har- vard in connection with the schools of Newton, Massachusetts, and is now an expert on the regular staff of the Carnegie Foundation. Professor Edward N. Farrington, who has been giving particular attention to the study of agricultural education, is the head of the department of dairying at the University of Wiscon- sin, and has been the instrument of nuiltiplying the dairying in that state several fold. Professor George R. Olshausen, who directed his attention to the study of engineering education in the stale, has been professor of engineering in the Wor- cester Polytechnic Institute and in Washington University, Saint Louis. Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch Potter, a professor of medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, gave his attention to the study of medical education. Mr. William Leslie, head of the firm of Leslie & Company, chartered accountants of New York, studied the subject of school accounts and accounting. In the gathering of facts these men worked along the line of their particular subjects; in the assembling and corelation of the minutiae of fact thus obtained, they were collaborators in the work of the survey. At frequent conferences of those engaged in the survey, each was required to reconcile his views with the views of the others and to draw his conclusions from the findings of all. The result of their labors is set forth in the report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to the Commission hereto attached. Beyond the survey so provided, the Commission sought in divers ways to learn the facts relating to Vermont's educational system and conditions. In the further- ance of the work of the survey, by inquiries addressed to each teacher in the public schools and principals of secondary schools, it secured information respecting the teaching staff and the work of the elementary and secondary schools, and by as- 4 INTRODUCTION sembling the .scliool registers of the different towns and cities in the state it assisted in the study oi' school attendance. It sought and obtained from over two thousand citizens of the state — union and town superintendents of schools, principals and teachers, school directors, and men and women of standing in their respective com- munities in no way connected with the schools — their views concerning the edu- cational conditions of the state. On January 9, 1913, the Commission held a public meeting in Representatives' Hall, at which all present were given opportunity to speak on those matters submitted to it relating to the elementary and secon- dary schools. During the month of June, 1913, the Commis.sion visited the Uni- versity of Vermont and State Agricultural College, Middlebury College and Nor- wich University for the purpose of seeing what might be shown and hearing what might be said in addition to the matters and things set forth in briefs already re- ceived from them in response to the Commission's request therefor, by which each of these institutions was given an opportunity to show: (1) The functions, rights, duties, and obligations of the particular institution in any wise respecting or pertaining to the State of Vermont ; (2) The relation, if any, of these three insti- tutions to each other; (3) All facts, historical or otherwise, pertaining to said insti- tutions, or any of them, upon which the particular institution bases its claim to assistance from, or support by, the State of Vermont. The Commission also visi- ted at this time, and inspected, the State Normal Schools at Castleton and Johnson and the State Agricultural School at Randolph, and examined Mr. Vail's agricul- tural school at Lyndonville. On August 12, 1913, certain citizens and represen- tatives of organizations of Addison and Rutland counties interested in agricul- tural education met and addressed the Commission at Burlington on the question of the need of agricultural schools through the state. On March 6, 1914, the Com- mission extended a further hearing to the University of Vermont and State Agricul- tural College. President Guy Potter Benton, Dean Henry C. Tinkham, Treasurer C. P. Smith, Chief Justice George M. Powers, Honorable Robert Roberts and Honorable E. C. Mower, Trustees, appeared in behalf of that institution and the Commission was addressed by President Benton, Chief Justice Powers, Treasurer Smith and Mr. Roberts. On March 20, 1914, a like hearing was extended to Norwich University and Middlebury College. In behalf of the former. President Charles H. Spooner and Colonel Fred B. Thomas addressed the Commission. President John M. Thomas and Honorable Frank C. Partridge, Fellow, addressed the Com- mission in behalf of Middlebury College. Furthermore, members of the Commis- sion, by individual inquiry, have sought and obtained information respecting the state's educational conditions. Not alone upon the report of the Carnegie Foun- dation, therefore, but upon the knowledge and information obtained in the ways set forth, the Commission bases its conclusions and makes its recommendations. It is the i)urpose of the Commission in its report to deal with the educational policies of the state, including regulations nece.s.sary to their effecti\'e operation, and with details of fact as may be necessary to make plain the matters and things SUMIVIARY 5 recommended; and to deal with facts pertaining to the institutions of higher learn- ing only so far as such facts shall bear on recommendations to be made concerning them, or so far as shall be necessary to the determination of their several rights, duties, and obligations. II SUMMARY As a foreword, the Commission deems it wise to set forth briefly the following sunmiary of its conclusions and recommendations: Under our Constitution schools must be competent in number and in instruc- tion convenient for the youth, a sovereign duty of the commonwealth to all its youth, a duty always recognized by the judicial department of the government and in a large measure performed by the legislative department of the government. \\'ith the changes in the social and economic life of the people that have occurred since the founding of the state, these fundamental requirements of law respecting schools have been to some degree overlooked, and present defects in the system of public schools are due almost wholly to the failure to adapt such requirements to modern conditions. Elementary Schools In the elementary schools such a want of adaptation is especially apparent in the rural schools, not only in their distribution throughout the state but in the quality of their work. The Commission recommends that rural schools, so far as practicable, be consolidated and that their courses of study be revised to the end that the instructions given, not only in method but in content, may be suited to the daily life and environment of the youth. Secondary Schools Tliis lack of adaptation appears more prominentlj' in the state's secondary schools, due to the fact that the secondary schools are not closely' related to the elementary schools and that, for the benefit of about one-tenth of the youth of secondary- school age, they are chiefly preparatory schools for higher education and not, for the benefit of the remaining nine-tenths of the secondarj'-school youth, finishing schools for life. To restore the secondary- schools to their rightful place as a part of the public school system, closely related to the elementary schools, and agencies for the convenient instruction of all the youth of the state, the Commission recom- mends a change in the point of division between them and the elementary schools as follows: 6 SUMMARY (a) That there should be a junior high school maintained in everj' town in the state (unless by arrangement an academy in town is in effect the high school of the town) where the number of secondary-school youth to be conveniently accommodated shall reasonably warrant it, having (in the language of the Carnegie Foundation's report, page 109), "a four-year curriculum, elastic in administration, but limited in scope by the numbers and needs of the local boys and girls 12 to 16 years of age, covering the seventh and eighth grades of the present elementary school and the first two years of the present high school," with equipment appropriate to the curriculum presented; (b) That there should be as many central and readily accessible senior high schools, articulating directly with all the neighboring junior high schools, as the number of pupils desiring the advanced instruction given only in this class of schools, shall reasonably demand, the number and locations to be determined by the board of education. These should have: (a) A four-year junior curriculum as in the junior high schools, "but including special vocational opportunities, particularly in agriculture, for pupils from 12 to 16 years of age;" (b) A curriculum appropri- ate to the youth of 17 to 19 years of age, drawn from the surrounding districts, who are fitting for college, or are completing a course of general education. This class of schools should have adequate equipment for all purposes within the curricula. The Commission finds that by increasing the length of the school term to thirty- six weeks — about the average for the country — nearly two full school years of the present length will be added to the public schooling of the youth; and the Commis- sion recommends such an increase. The Commission also recommends that all specially incorporated school districts be dissolved and that such districts be brought under the operation of general laws common to all parts of the state. Vocational Education The Commission believes that the vocational needs of the state are mainly agricultural and that vocational education should be emphatically directed to the training of the youth of the state in scientifically practical agriculture. The Commission's recommendations respecting vocational education may be summarized as follows: — 1. The instruction in the public .schools to be of that character to educate the youth toward the occupations of the communities in which they live. 2. The establishment in the junior high schools of .semi-vocational courses offer- ing opportunities for instruction in commercial subjects, domestic science, manual SUMMARY 7 training, and agriculture, appropriate to the needs and environment of the partic- ular school. 3. The establishment in the senior high schools of high grade courses in agricul- ture, together with courses in manual training, commercial subjects and domestic science. 4. The strengthening of the equipment and teaching stafiF of the State Agricul- tural School and the increase of its appropriations; and the development therein of courses in manual training, incident to agricultural training, and in some measure fitting for the pursuit of the manual trades as vocations. 5. State appropriations, to be expended under an arrangement with the Uni- versity of Vermont and State Agricultural College, for the purpose of: (a) Train- ing teachers in agriculture for the high schools; (6) Cooperating with the Federal extension work in agriculture. Training of Teachers The discontinuance of the normal schools at Castleton and Johnson and the de- velopment of the training courses in the secondary schools, for the training of teachers for the elementary schools and the earlier years of the junior high schools, is recommended. By reason of the peculiar value to Vermont of secondary-school teachers trained in the state, the Commission recommends that provision for the training of such teachers be made through an arrangement by the state board of education with Middlebury College;and that provision for the training of secondary- school teachers of agriculture for the senior high schools and the State Agricultural School be made through an arrangement by the state board of education with the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. Administration The Commission recommends agencies for administration adequate to the op- eration of the public school system under the proposed reorganization. State Aid to Higher Education The Commission finds that all institutions of higher learning within the state are private institutions and not entitled of right to state aid. The Commis- sion finds that Vermont should not give financial aid to institutions of higher learning until it has performed its full constitutional duty to its public schools, and that all state aid to such institutions, for the present at least, should be extended only in return for the performance by such institutions of some specific service 8 SUMMARY needed by the state in the carrying out of its policies respecting the elementarj- and the secondary schools. The Commission finds that the state, in proportion to its property valuation, has been making appropriations to higher education far be- yond those made by any other of the New England states or by the state of New York. In proportion to its property valuation Vermont is appropriating to insti- tutions of higher education 1.7 times the appropriation of Maine, nearly three times the appropriation of Connecticut, more than four times the appropriation of New Hampshire, more than eight times the aj)propriation of Massachusetts, more than nine times the appropriation of Ehode Island, more than thirty-four times the appropriation of New York; and if appropriations in New York, by way of scholarships, provided by recent legislation, are included in the maximum amount provided by such legislation, still Vermont is appropriating more than twenty- eight times the appropriation of New York. The Commission finds that in so discontinuing state aid to higher education the state is in no way laying itself open to a charge of failure of duty to its youth and that a continuance of such appropriations in present amount would be a gross neglect of such duty under the Constitution. Use of Federal Appropriations by the University OF Vermont and State Agricultural College The Federal appropriations to land-grant colleges for instruction in agriculture and mechanic arts are owned by the state and have been expended by the Univer- sity of Vermont and State Agricultural College in the carrying out of the provisions of the trust imposed upon such appropriations. The Commission does not find that in the expenditure of the appropriations received under the first Morrill Act (1862), and the Acts of Congress pertaining to agricultural experiment stations, the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College has deviated from the course contemplated by those acts. The Commission finds, however, that in the expenditure of the appropriations received under the Acts of Congress of 1890 and 1907, the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College has departed from the true spirit, intent, and meaning of such trust, in this, that said institu- tion has not expended said funds in instruction in the branches named in said acts with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, as they exist in this state, and to the facilities for such instruction, as required, in that a dispropor- tionately small part thereof has been applied to agricidture, Vermont's predomina- ting industry of life. Ways and Means The financial support of schools is discussed and recommendations made. Ill THE COMMON SCHOOLS In an investigation of the entire educational system and conditions of the state, no one part of the system can be treated separate from the others. They are all parts of one structure and the foundation upon which it rests is the first and most important subject of investigation. Of what value is a superstructure reared upon sand? Towers and turrets must be broadly bedded in rock. Unquestionably that part of our educational system that pertains to the elementary schools is the foundation of the whole. It must first be made sound. This done, the upper reaches of the structure must be brought into harmony not only with the lower walls but with the environment in which it rests. As the environment of one state differs from that of another, so environment within the state varies. Al- though Vermont has no large cities, there is necessarily a difference between urban and rural environment within her borders, and her natural conformation is respon- sible for marked differences of environment in her rural sections. Some of the farming districts are more thickly settled and easily accessible, others are remote and sparsely populated. No particular section of the state can be considered alone. The state must be considered as a whole. Her educational system of organiza- tion is the town system. The Commission here undertakes to deal with that system, and by way of change in regulations, and a reorganization, to promote educational advantages throughout the state. That regulations can be had that wUl operate to the equal advantage of all, regardless of circumstances and condi- tions, is too much to expect. Yet such advantages can be afforded to an approxi- mate and reasonable degree by properly applying the just and fundamental prin- ciple that regard must be had to securing the greatest possible accommodation and advantage to the greatest number of inhabitants, though it may necessitate more exertion on the part of the smaller number to avail themselves of the oppor- tunities offered For a proper view of the educational system and conditions of Vermont regard must be had to the state's sovereign duties and obligations. The Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont, a part of the Constitution, declares that all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain natu- ral, inherent, and unaUenable rights, among which are the enjoying and defend- ing hfe, and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; that the people of the state, by the legal rep- resentatives, have the sole, exclusive, and inherent right of governing and regu- lating the internal police of the same; that government is or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation or community; and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single man, family, or set of men, who are a part only of that community; that frequent recurrence to fundamental principles, and a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance. 10 THE COMMON SCHOOLS industry and frugality, are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and keej) government free. In providing organic machinery for the application of these basic principles of law to the government of the state, the fathers of the constitution were well aware that the public good, the public welfare, and the public convenience were consid- erations of first importance, that the encouragement of virtue and the prevention of vice and immorality would go far toward securing an adequate regulation of the internal police of the state, and that for the gaining of these ends nothing was more potent than the proper instruction of the youth. The first Constitution of the State (1777). Chapter II, Section 40, reads: — "A School or Schools .shall be established in each town by the Legislature, for the convenient Instruction of Youth, with such Salaries to the masters, paid by each town, making proper Use of School-lands in each town, thereby to enable them to instruct Youth at low Prices: — One Grammar School in each County, and one University in this State, ought to be established by Direction of the Gen- eral Assembly." Section 41 reads: — "Laws for the Encouragement of Virtue, and Prevention of Vice and Immorality, shall be made, and kept constantly in force; and Provision shall be made for their due Execution: And all religious Societies, or bodies of men, that have, or may be hereafter united and incorporated, for the Advancement of Religion and Learn- ing, or for other pious and charitable Purposes, shall be encouraged and protected in the Enjoyment of the Privileges Immunities and Estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such Regulations as the General Assembly of this State shall direct." In the Constitution of 1786, some of the foregoing provisions were dropped out, and the two sections united into section 38, reading as follows: — "Laws for the encouragement of virtue, and prevention of vice and immorality, ought to be constantly kept in force, and duly executed : and a competent number of schools ought to be maintained in each town, for the convenient instruction of youth; and one or more grammar schools be incorporated, and properly supported, in each county in this State. And all religious societies, or bodies of men, that may be hereafter united or incorporated, for the advancement of religion and learn- ing, or for other pious and charitable purposes, shall be encouraged and protected, in the enjoyment of the privileges, immunities, and estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such regulations as the General Assembly of this State shall direct." Without change in substance, these provisions have hitherto remained a part of the organic law of the state. Whatever may have been the contemplated char- acter (public or private) of the grammar schools mentioned in the Constitution of 1777, it .seems clear that the grammar schools mentioned in the section quoted from the Constitution of 1786, to "be incorporated, and properly supported, in THE COMMON SCHOOLS 11 each county," were, in contemplation, like academies, simply private institutions. Within the succeeding twenty-five years, at least one of these county grammar schools in each county, except perhaps Grand Isle, was incorporated and supported by the state by way of the "Grammar School Lands" in the same county, granted to'it by the General Assembly to hold and lease for its use and benefit. There seems never to have been any statute giving such schools public support by way of tax- ation or otherwise, in addition to that derived from the "Grammar School Lands." These lands are more particularly noticed in another connection. The clause of the Constitution, then, essential to our consideration at this time is the one reading, "A competent number of schools ought to be maintained in each town, for the convenient instruction of youth." It will be noticed that by this clause of the Constitution schools must be com- petent in number, and in instruction must be convenient for the youth. In the judgment of the Commission, the word "competent" as there used, means "ade- quate, sufficient," and the word "convenient," as there used, means "affording accommodation, advantage." This is in accordance with the contemporaneous practical construction given by the legislature from the time of the adoption of the Constitution of 1786 to the time when the district system was abolished and the town system adopted in 1892, more than a century; a construction that has been acquiesced in and accepted as correct by the highest court of the state. Call- ing attention to the statutes and the declarations of the court, in this respect, should be quite sufficient to convince one of the accuracy of the construction here given. By statute passed March 3, 1787, towns that could not be conveniently accommodated by one school, were given power to divide into so many districts as they should find convenient. The Revision of 1797 (one of the revisors being Nathaniel Chipman, recently referred to by the late Chief Justice Rowell as "That great lawyer * * * who was prominently active in public affairs during the forma- tive period of the Constitution, and must have been imbued with its spirit and meaning"). Chapter LIV, Section 1, reads: "It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That each organized town in this state, shall keep and support a school or schools for the instruction of youth, in English reading, writing and arithmetic; and the inhabi- tants of such towns, in which the youth cannot conveniently be accommodated with one school, are hereby empowered at a legal meeting notified for that purpose, by vote or otherwise, to divide such towns into as many school districts as they shall judge most convenient, which districts may, in like manner, be altered from time to time, as occasion may require. * * * " And the statute (R. L. 499) relating to that subject, which was repealed at the time of the adoption of the town system, reads: "When the inhabitants of a town can not be conveniently accommodated in one district, such town shall, at a meeting warned for the purpose, divide the town into several districts and determine their limits." 12 THE COMMON SCHOOLS In 1860, the Supreme Court, (in Williams v. School District No. 6, in Newfane, 33 Vt. 271) speaking through Judge Luke P. Poland, said: "From the earliest period in this State, the proper education of all the children of its inhabitants has been regarded as a matter of vital interest to the State, a duty which devolved upon its govermnent, and which should be fulfilled at the public expense. "The constitution of the State especially enjoins upon the legislature the duty of passing laws to carry out this object, and declares that a competent number of schools ought to be maintained in each town, for the convenient instruction of youth. "The legislature of the State, in obedience to this injunction of the constitution, have from the first, taken this subject in hand, and provided by law for the support of schools at the public expense, and it has always been understood to be one of the first and highest duties of the government. "In order to attain and effectuate this wise and beneficial purpose, it was neces- sary that some system should be devised by which the State should be divided into such convenient territorial sub-divisions as would bring schools within reach of all its inhabitants. "It was therefore early provided by law, that each town should keep and maintain at least one school within its limits, and when all the inhabitants of any town could not conveniently be accommodated at one school, it was made the duty of such town to divide the town into such number of school districts as would be convenient for the inhabitants. "Without making further reference to the almost numberless acts of the legisla- ture, exhibiting the most active watchfulness and fostering care, for the cause of popular education, enough has already been stated to show that the whole subject of the maintenance and support of common schoo s has ever been regarded in this State as one not only oi public usefulness, but of public necessity, and one which the State in its sovereign character was bound to sustain." Again in 1894, that court, (in Town of Barre v. School District No. 13 in Barre, 67 Vt. 108) speaking through Chief Judge Ross, said that by the law of 1892, adopting the town system, the several school districts theretofore existing in the towns, ceased to exist, "except for the settlement of their pecuniary affairs," and each town was made into a single district for school purposes; that "It is still the policy of the state to educate all its youth. They are still its beneficiaries." If anything were necessary to lend emphasis to the policy thus declared to furnish an education to all the youth of the state, it may be had from the facts that in the charters of the towns, land, aggregating more than a hundred thousand acres, was reserved for the support of the town schools; that in 1794 the legislature THE COMMON SCHOOLS 13 passed an act declaring that the lands in the state theretofore granted by the British government "to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" (a British corporation), by reason of the "late Revolution" became vested in the state; and that "whereas it appears to this legislature, that said lands might be more useful, if granted for the purpose of education, than in any other way,"- — the said several rights of land were then granted severally to the respective towns in which such lands lie, to their respective uses forever, for school purposes; that in 1805 an act was passed, declaring the several glebe-rights in this state, granted by the British government to the Church of England, to be in the nature of public reserves, and that as such they became vested by the Revolution in the sovereignty of the state, by which act the said rights were severally granted to the respective towns in which the lands lie, to their respective use and uses forever, for school purposes; that in 1825 the amount of the avails accrued to the state from the "late Vermont State Bank" were by act of the legislature sequestered and granted to the respective towns in this state "for the benefit of common schools, and to no other use; to be managed as a school fund, agreeably to the provisions in this act, * * *" By the same act the amount of state's funds accruing from six per cent on the net profits of state banks, and accrued from licenses to peddlers should be sequestered and granted to the respective towns in the state for the same purpose, and to be managed in the same way — all these moneys to constitute a "state school fund" to be invested in the securities there stated, "in order that the same may be a productive and accumulating fund." It was therein further provided that this accumulating school fund should not be diminished, improved, or appropriated to the use of schools, until the amount of principal should increase to a sum suffi- cient to yield an annual profit and interest "adequate to defray the current expenses of keeping a good, free, common school in each district in the respective towns, for the period of two months in each and every year." It does not lessen the signifi- cance of these early statutes that in 1845, all of the laws respecting this "state school fund" were repealed and all the moneys, securities, etc., constituting "the state school fund," were transferred to and made the property of the state. The fact that the Constitution requires an opportunity for the instruction of youth in the common schools in each town, does not prevent the legislature from adopting regulations that will, in some circumstances, require at public expense their instruction in advanced studies outside the town. Legislation of this character was had as early as 1894 (No. 19), and laws to that effect have ever since existed. This is noticed more particularly further on, in connection with our discussion of high schools. For the better understanding of the essential elements entering into the regulations pertaining to the school system as we proceed, however, we deem it necessary to state here that the educational system of the state includes not only the proper instruction of the youth in pubUc elementary schools, but in public high schools also, when pupils are fitted therefor, and desire it; that a general classification distinguishing these two grades of in- 14 THE COMMON SCHOOLS struction has more or less broadly existed under the statute for more than seventy years; that at the present time the high schools are sub-classified; and that in this report such a general classification, and subclass divisions respecting both the elementary schools and the high schools, are made, as seem based upon reasonable grounds and requisite to more effective practical operation. 1. Elementary Schools No. 20, Acts of 1892, (making the town system compulsory), Section 5, reads: "Said board of school directors shall have the care of the school property of the town and the management of its schools, determine the number and location of its schools, * * *" Section 6 reads : "In every town there shall be kept for at least twenty-six weeks in each year, at the expense of said town, * * * a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all the children who may legally attend all the public schools therein; * * * "Said schools shall be within the limits of said town, and at such places, and held at such times as, in the judgment of the board of directors, will best subserve the interests of education and give all the scholars of the town as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable; and said school board may use a portion of the school money, not exceeding 25 per cent, thereof, for the purpose of conveying scholars to and from such schools." In the respects mentioned, the present statutory provisions are substantially the same, except that thirty weeks of school is required and the board of school directors is authorized to designate the school which shall be attended by the various pupils, and may, in its discretion, provide conveyance for pupils, or may pay a reasonable sum for their board while in attendence upon school. A careful examination of our statute law regulating public instruction under the present system seems to satisfy one that not much heed is given to the requirements of the Constitution, that a competent number of schools shall be had, affording convenient accommodation to the youth. These provisions are fundamental principles safeguarding the educational advantages of the children of the state. Formerly, their observance was by way of dividing the town into as many school districts as were necessary to effect the purpose, the maintenance of a school being required in each district. The town now being all in one school district, observance of those provisions must be had by the requisite number and the proper locations of separate schools in that district. By the terms of this statute, in the judgment of the Commission, the board of school directors may locate the schools upon a basis that does not include the constitutional element of convenience to the youth. By the constitutional pro- vision, to which reference has been made, the rule or standard is fixed by which the ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 15 number and the location of schools are to be determined, and thereby equal educa- tional advantages to the youth throughout the town, as far as the conditions and circumstances will reasonably permit, are guaranteed. The discretion of the board of school directors in these respects must be exercised within the bounds of reason, ever guided by the rule or standard so fixed. A statute, therefore, by the terms of which the location of schools may be made by the board of school direct- ors without the consideration of such rule or standard, leaves too much room for the play and action of power, purely personal and arbitrary. To say the least, it jeopardizes rights which should be guarded and held sacred as within the ever declared educational policy of the state. It should seem that the due observance of this right, and indeed the general welfare of the people, demand that by statute the elementary schools be suflBcient in number, and of such quality, and severally so located in the towns, as to furnish adequate and reasonably convenient opportunity for the children to receive such instruction in the fundamental branches as shall qualify them for entrance in the secondary schools, if study therein be contemplated, or together with subsequent vocational training (more particularly discussed under that head), shall give them to some appreciable degree a practical fit for their intended lives' work and for the proper performance, in the true sense, of the ordinary duties of American citizen- ship. And the furnishing of educational facilities being of state concern, the statute may well provide that in thus locating schools, town lines shall be deemed of secondary importance. It may be said that the locating of the elementary schools in accordance with the above recommendations works a substantial departure from the idea of cen- tralization, the one principle of the town system relied upon more than any other as tending to efficiency in instruction, and to economy in expense. True it is that centralization of elementary, as well as secondary schools, is desirable on both of the grounds mentioned, if not carried so far as, in practical operation, to work a sub- stantial violation of the guaranteed coordinated rights of competency in number and of convenience in educational advantages, or to prevent such a classification of the schools as is essential to the general welfare of the state, or to make the matter of expense of the schools, instead of their suitableness to the public need, the con- trolling element of consideration. A statute regulating the number and location of elementary schools in the several towns should not "leave room for the play and action of purely personal and arbitrary power." It was said long ago by one of the greatest jurists this country has produced, and quoted with approval by the highest court in the land (in Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U. S. 356), "That in all cases where the Constitution has conferred a political right or privilege, and where the Constitution has not particularly designated the manner in which that right is to be exercised, it is clearly within the just and constitutional limits of the legislative power, to adopt any reasonable and uniform regulations, in regard to the time and mode of exercising that right, which are designed to secure and facilitate the exer- 16 THE COMMON SCHOOLS cise of such right, in a prompt, orderly and convenient manner;" but "Such a construction would afford no warrant for such an exercise of legislative power as, under the pretense and color of regulating, should subvert or injuriously restrain the right itself." The reasons why the elementary schools should be located in accordance with the recommendations made above are cogent and, in the judgment of the Com- mission, so forcible as to exclude any other conclusion on reasonable grounds. By the statute, as before seen, public schools are divided into two classes, the elemen- tary and the secondary. No one can well say that such a classification (leaving the point of division to be discussed later) is not based upon a sufficient difference existing in the ages, needs, and acquirements of the youth, nor that the difference in requirements as to the number and location of the schools so classified, is not well founded in the large number of youth to be provided for in the schools of the one class and the comparatively small number to be provided for in the schools of the other class. It is a common principle that a classification may properly be made, and, for the practical and efficient operation of the educational system, should be made, when it is based upon some difference having a reasonable and just rela- tion to the object sought, in this instance, to the education of the youth, giving such reasonably convenient accommodations as the conditions and the circum- stances in the particular town may require, without unequal and unjust discrimina- tion, considering the location, conditions, and need of the inhabitants, in the advantages afforded. Speaking generally, the interests of the inhabitants in the rural sections pertain more particularly to agriculture. The children there are reared in an agricultural atmosphere, consequently nothing is more natural than that their ideas are so developed and their characters so molded as most likely to result in their lives' work being in the line of agricultural pursuits; while in the thickly settled centers of population the interests of the people are in character largely manufacturing, commercial, clerical, or professional. By the principle of adaptation, the development of a child is strikingly in accordance with the influence of his environment. The children in such centers of population are reared amid surroundings and conditions so different from those obtaining in the rural sections, that the tendencies there created are not toward the business of farming, but towards vocations so dissimilar to it as to require, outside of the ordinary funda- mental branches necessarily common to all, special preparations therefor. Weigh- ing these matters according to their importance, the one fair and just conclusion is that there should be in every town as many elementary schools, both rural and urban, as the number of children of the ages and acquirements necessitating their reasonably convenient accommodation shall require; with provisions, as above mentioned, permitting the location of schools, in certain circumstances, so as to afford convenient accommodation to youth from an adjoining town as well. It seems to the Commission that nothing short of this will fairly meet the contempla- tion of the provisions of the organic law of the state respecting this class of schools, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 17 and that nothing short of this will do approximately equal justice to all of the in- habitants of the towns, those of the rural communities as well as those of the thickly settled villages and cities. By Public Statutes (sec. 1027, as amended by Acts of 1910, No. 69, sec. 1), "The words 'legal pupils' shall include persons between the ages of five and eighteen years, but no person over five years of age shall be deprived of public school advan- tages on account of age." Under the present general classification mentioned above, the first eight years are within the elementary class, and all subsequent thereto are supposed to be within the secondary class. It appears from the facts reported to the Commission, that the number of children in the state within the school age thus fixed, is about 83,000, of which approximately 57,000 are attending the elementary schools; that "Taking the national census as a basis, and assuming the ages from 15 to 18, inclusive, to be the normal ages" of children for secondary schooling, approximately 77 per cent never receive instruc- tion in any school above the elementary; that 54 per cent of the children live in the country — outside the villages and cities, the large centers of population; that nearly 95 per cent of them are native born; and that comparatively few children enter school before six, and almost none remain in the elementary schools after sixteen years of age. It is the belief of the Commission that Vermont cannot at present, on any sound and reasonable basis, be considered otherwise than an agricultural state. Though true it is that manufacturing industries will probably increase as the water powers in the state are more and more developed and utilized through the application of modern agencies, naturally resulting in enlarging the centers of settlement, yet it may be said, without fear of successful contradiction, that with the school system reorganized in a way to afford suitable and reasonably convenient instruction to the youth within the atmosphere of their own environments, as it should be in order to meet the fundamental requirements, governing public education in this state, agriculture may fairly be expected to hold its own in the race for predominance for many years to come. It follows from the above, that the relative industrial importance of the agri- cultural interests as one class, and the other interests of the state as another class, is such that each of the two classes is entitled to thoughtful consideration in solving the problem particularly connected with the elementary schools. The boys and girls of today are the fathers and mothers of tomorrow, and upon them depend the future civic life, the prosperity, and the industrial standing of the state. Any educational regulation, therefore, the natural tendency of which is to draw the boys and girls, bred and born to the farm, permanently away from it, or the natural tendency of which is to draw the boys and girls, bred and born to other industrial pursuits, permanently away from them, instead of leaving them to their natural inclinations influenced by physical conditions surrounding them (using language of Professor W. J. Sutherland of Wisconsin), "to develop, dwell. 18 THE COMMON SCHOOLS and enter into the industrial pursuits of the neighborhood or locality in which they were born," is radically wrong, not in harmony with the best interests of the people, and some way should be devised to remedy it. In the instruction now provided in the elementary schools, stress is placed not upon the need of the pupil as a member of the society in which he lives, but rather upon the artificial educational requirements of the secondary schools. What the elementary school teaches should be given out by the teacher and taken in by the child as learning in itself and not merely as training for further learning. Todaj^ there is less danger of becoming satisfied with the doing of what is in hand to do and losing sight of the larger things ahead than of regarding the work of the moment of small importance except as it prepares for work to be done later. Again refer- ring to the report of the Carnegie Foundation, it appears, pages 64-65, that taking the last national census as a basis, and assuming the ages from 15 to 18, inclusive, to be the normal ages for secondary schooling, the state has approximately 25,000 children to educate in this way. The secondary schools of the state at present reach only about 23 per cent, of these children. Under the classification and improvement of secondary schools hereinafter recommended, children of the ages of 13 and 14 years are included in secondary-school age, and this increases the number for training in such schools to approximately 37,500; yet it may be taken as true that even too large a proportion of the children in the elementary schools will not enter the high schools. It is vital, therefore, that they take with them from the elementary schools knowledge that is real and useful in itself and acquire- ments that they can apply in their every-day life. Those, too, who go forward to a secondary .school should not be required to spend their time on subjects chiefly important in meeting high school entrance standards as required in the free tuition examinations. As suggested in the Foundation's report, with competent instruc- tion and supervision, a child should be passed from one division of the school system to another without examination. Clearly, a new course of study is needed and we adopt the following recommendations of the Carnegie Foundation (page 61), in this respect: "For this purpose experienced teachers and superintendents from all parts of the state should be organized into committees and brought together at an early date, in order that the general principles that shall govern the making of the course may be fully explained and illustrated. Not less than two years should be allowed these committees in which to prepare a tentative course, which should then be published and tried in the schools for a year, in order to remedy its defects before final adoption. There should be at least two separate courses, one for the rural schools and one for the graded schools. Much of the subject-matter in these two courses would be the same, but the suggestions and applications should vary greatly. The various cities and unions might add appropriate modifications. This method of making a course of study will require a careful consideration of all of the conditions surrounding the schools, and will result in courses adapted to the ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 19 needs of Vermont. Incidentally, it will greatly benefit all of those who take part in the work of their preparation." The need of a new course of study has long been apparent. The trouble has been chiefly in the manner of meeting it. Although the teaching of new subjects, rightly chosen, rather than new methods of teaching those already in the curriculum, will tend to awaken the child to a lively interest in his school, the advantage, for instance, of teaching agriculture and domestic science in a rural school by a teacher without instructional quahfications therefor, is questionable. The ^'ital problem of elementary rural school instruction rests, not in the subjects taught, although more emphasis well might be given to subjects other than the "three R's;" it rests rather in the failure to adapt the things taught to the daily experience and needs of the child. The Commission thinks it well said in the report of the Carnegie Foundation (page 38), in speaking of this class of schools: "1. Schools should recognize the varying abilities, experiences, and environment of the children. "2. Schools should recognize both the present and the future needs of the children. "3. The knowledge gained in school should be so organized that the children can use it. "4. In so far as the state assumes the responsibility for elementary education, the educational opportunities should be as nearly uniform throughout the state as conditions will permit." United States Commissioner of Education, Philander P. Claxton, in his report for the year ending June 30, 1913, (Volume I, page xxx) under the subdivision "Redirection of the work of the rural school," says: "Courses of study in country schools need reconstruction and their work needs redirection. As human beings and as citizens, men and women living in the country have the same interests in the humanities (the term is used in its broad sense) and the things pertaining to civic Ufe and citizen.ship that all other people have. But as farmers and farmers' wives, making their living from the soil and living in isolated country homes, their interests differ widely from those of men and women of the laboring and professional classes in the cities. However the case may have been in the past, it has now come about that farmers need a fuller, more extensive, more ^'aried and thorough knowledge, a more comprehensive grasp of fundamental principles, and a greater power of adjustment than men engaged in other professions. The same is true of the farmer's wife as compared with other women * * *. Their courses of study need to be remade on the basis of what the farmer needs to know, and their teaching must take into consideration the environment and the raw material of experience of the country boy and girl." One of the most important educational problems in the state is that of the con- solidation of elementary schools, involving the question of transportation of pupils. 20 THE COMMON SCHOOLS As pointed out in the Foundation's report, opposition to consolidation on economic grounds is unwarranted by the facts, and sentimental objections to closing the little school-house are more than offset by the increased instructional benefits enjoyed by the pupils. We are firm in the belief that here, as in other parts of the state's educational system, concentration and centralization within proper limitations is a sound policy. We believe, however, that the consolidation of schools as it exists in more or less instances, may be an encroachment on guaranteed rights and is developing wrong tendencies. As the environment and associations of children in the cities and large villages differ greatly from those of children in the rural sections, the same difference must necessarily obtain in their schools if their instruction is to be in harmony with their environment. Not that the subjects taught are materially different, but the manner in which the instruction is made plain to the minds of the children will vary as their experiences vary. It is not unnatural, but inevitable, that in some urban schools receiving pupils from the rural districts, the latter have come to feel in a class by themselves. They arrive at the school just in time in the morning and leave together at the close of the afternoon session. They are a body in themselves and in the circumstances cannot amalgamate with resident pupils either in the life of the school or in those outside associations that gather around it. This does not mean that the village children are exclusive nor that the country children lack the social instinct. It is simply an existent condition, and one that deprives the latter of a real school life to which they are as much entitled as the former. There needs to be such readjustment of the elementary schools as shall result, so far as practicable, in the consolidation of rural schools. This is in the line of much activity during the past year, says the United States Commissioner of Education, (Report for 1912-13, Vol. 1, page 175,) and it is "an indication of a prevailing opinion that consolidation will do much to remedy the present unsatis- factory conditions in rural education." Many schools, centrally located in the country, can have all the advantages of grades, teachers, and direct supervision now enjoyed by schools in cities and large villages. In the establishment of these central rural schools, town lines should give way to the requirements of topography. Rural schools of two, three, and even four towns, rightly located, might well be consolidated at a convenient cross-roads. The expense of building, if necessary, and maintenance, except as borne by the state, should be equitably shared by the different towns joining in such schools, and the managing board of directors should be composed of one or more, taken from the several boards of school directors in said towns. This effects the same purpose as did fractional school districts, formed of parts of adjoining towns, when the school district system obtained. Such centralized rural schools should be established by the state board of education. Their establishment would not only develop a real school life of the highest order for the children, but would crystallize rural society around the school as a center, an object everywhere deemed desirable. SECONDARY SCHOOLS 21 2, Secondaey Schools The statutes of this state have had provisions more or less looking toward secondary-school instruction since 1841, a law being passed that year providing for the associating together of two or more contiguous school districts to form a union district for the purpose of maintaining a union school, to be kept for the benefit of the older children of such districts. In 1844 an Act was passed, whereby a school district having children so numerous as to require more than one teacher, could have two or more schools; the teacher of the high or central school could be directed to teach any of the sciences or higher branches of a thorough education. In 1867 an Act was passed, authorizing a town to establish and maintain one or more central schools for the education of advanced pupils of the town. In 1878 the Act of 1867 was so amended as to read "one or more high or central schools." Thereafter, amendments were made by the legisla- ture, from time to time, looking more and more to secondary school opportunities. In 1904 the legislature defined a high school as being one maintained for thirty- three or more weeks in each year, taught by a teacher or teachers of competent ability, etc., having an established course or courses of study for four years, following a nine-years' elementary course, and providing instruction in subjects "such as the English language, literature, higher mathematics, history, the natural, political, social, moral, and industrial sciences, ancient and modern languages, art, music, and physical culture." And by the Public Statutes (1906), section 1016, high schools were classified as follows: "first class, a school of a four-years course or courses; second class, a school of a three-years course or courses; third class, a school of a two-years course or courses; fourth class, a school of a one-year course or courses." The course or courses in any one of the four classes to begin immedi- ately at the completion of an elementary course of nine years. Under the provisions of section 1021, of the Public Statutes, as amended by section 19 of No. 62, Acts of 1912, it is made the duty of the board of education to determine the classification and standard of high schools, and by section 20, of that Act, section 1016 of the Public Statutes was so amended as to exclude there- from all statutory classification, and to make the course of instruction in the high schools to begin immediately at the completion of the elementary course of not less than eight years. Acting under this Act of 1912, the board of education, deeming it wise to continue a similar classification of high schools as had previously existed, pending the report of this Commission, passed a resolution to that effect. Section 1017, of the Public Statutes reads: "A town shall maintain a high school or furnish higher instruction for its advanced pupils as follows: the board of school directors shall, at an expense not to exceed eight dollars a term or twenty-four dollars a year for each pupil, unless the board of school directors is authorized by vote of the town to pay a higher tuition, provide and arrange for the instruction of advanced pupils in a high school of an incorporated dis- 22 THE COMMON SCHOOLS trict or an academy within the town, or in the high schools or academies of other towns within or without the state. If a town does not maintain a high school of the first class, the board of school directors shall provide and arrange for the instruction of the advanced pupils of the town, for the remaining years, neces- sary to complete the course or courses of study in a high school of the first class, in a high school of an incorporated district or academy within the town, or in the high schools or academies of other towns within or without the state." It is further provided by statute that no person shall be deprived of such instruction by reason of age. That secondary schools have been steadily growing in public favor in this state, is evident from the foregoing course of legislative action; and that their importance is recognized as second only to that of the elementary schools is manifest from the mandatory provision that every town shall maintain such a school, or furnish higher instruction for its advanced pupils elsewhere. Yet in this respect Vermont is but keeping abreast of the present state of educa- tional facilities largely afforded in other states in this Union. We call attention to the 1912 report of the United States Commissioner of Education, and quote from Volume II, page 181: "The progress in secondary education continues with increasing rapidity. The report for 1911-12 shows 1,075 more high schools and 131,501 more high-school students than the report for the previous year. The increase in the number of high schools for the year is only a little less than 9 per cent; the increase in the number of high-school students is more than 12 per cent. The increase in high- school students for the year is nearly 50 per cent more than the average increase for four years previous and more than four times as great as the average increase of the preceding twenty years. The proportion of high-school students to the scholastic population was about three times as great as in 1890. It is estimated that about 23 per cent of the children of this generation in the United States re- ceive some education in the high schools;" and in his report for 1912-13, Volume I, page 67, the United States Commissioner of Education shows that this growth continues without interruption. In the study of this part of the state's educational system and conditions, it is essential to notice the twofold functional purpose of secondary schools: (1) To finish the schooling of one part of the state's youth; (2) To prepare the other part for higher schooling. Each part is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to acquire an education according to its needs. By constantly bearing in mind this twofold function to be fulfilled, we believe that a correct solution of the problems may be reached on basic principles. Ideally, the state has an equal educational duty toward both of these two classes of its school youth. In theory this duty is absolute; in practice it must, for the present at least, remain relative. On the one hand, it is understood that but a small number of the pupils contemplate a college course, and the requirements SECONDARY SCHOOLS 23 for entrance thereupon are known. As to such pupils, the aim of the high school is to qualify them to meet such requirements. On the other hand, it is known that in all probabihty a large number of the pupils will end their school-work in the high school, and as to them the aim of the school should not be circum- scribed by any fixed standard short of turning out each pupil at the end of his course as a finished product, fitted as far as may be to grapple with the problems of life. The facts that less then ten per cent of its secondary pupils go to college and that of those graduating from the high schools in 1912 only 17.1 per cent went forward to institutions of higher learning, make it clear that in the performance of this duty stress should and must be given to the education of those boys and girls who leave the secondary school to take up their life work. As the work of the higher elementary grades has been largely molded to fit the requirements of the secondary schools, these, in turn, have been fostered and domi- nated too much by the requirements of our colleges. This appears from the mani- fest disposition so far to disregard the real needs of the many pupils not intending a college education, as to allow their instruction to be influenced largely by the fixed types of training suited onb^ to the small fraction having a higher education in view. It is not, however, tiiat the colleges have actively dominated the secondary schools ; rather the secondary schools have failed to discriminate properly between the two classes in arranging curricula suitable to their respective needs, and there- by the many pupils have been made to suffer for the particular benefit of less than one-tenth of the entire number. This shows great inefficiency on the part of those who are responsible for it, and so long as such inefficiency continues unsatis- factory and unjust results must follow. That secondary education may properly perform its dual function of securing to nine-tenths of its pupils a preparation for life in the factory, in the office, in the home, or on the farm, without sacrificing the proportionate right of the remaining one-tenth to a preparation for the further pursuit of schooling in college, we believe some change is necessary. "In con- formity with this idea," well say the educational investigators (Report of Carnegie Foundation, page 97), "it is clear that the secondary school should be organized so as to deal with every normal child ; that it should provide widely varied opportunities for determining the central tendency of a child's abilities and dis- position; that its courses should include, not incidentally but treated with inten- sive thoroughness, those fields in which the youth of the community are likely to find their permanent careers; and finally that in the arrangement of curriculum and program, in the ordering of general school activities, in the training and spirit of the teaching staff, the central purpose should be to establish the child in the noblest mental and spiritual relations with life." The small per cent of youth of secondary-school age, who now actually receive secondary-school instruction, is a matter of grave public concern, and some prac- tical method should be devised, if possible, whereby it may be increased to a very considerable extent. It may be that the conditions in this respect will improve 24 THE COMMON SCHOOLS as time goes on, even should the point of division between the elementary school and the secondary school remain where it now is. But the degree of improvement that can reasonably be expected without some material change in the point of divi- sion, naturally tending in the right direction, is too small to be satisfactorily en- couraging. The remedy recommended by the Carnegie Foundation is to put the point of division at the end of the sixth year, and place six years in the high school. This means a six-year elementary course, followed by a six-year high-school course, divided, as will be seen later, into two parts. Such a classification constitutes what is known in educational circles as the "six-and-six" plan of organization. This plan has so much in its favor and so little against it, that in the judgment of the Commission, it should be adopted. In its practical operation, the pupils may be expected to complete the elementary course, ready to enter the high school at the age of twelve years — the time of change in the lives of youth when entering the adolescent period. School age has yet six years to run, of which years four are within the period of compulsory attendance, as now fixed by statute. The completion of elementary work thus regulated is at a time in the lives of the chil- dren, when, all things considered, they are in the best condition physically and temperamentally, and educationally, to enter upon a course of high-school work, and at a time when they are likely to be most inclined to do so. In this connection the position of the parents toward their children must not be overlooked. Fathers and mothers are rare and not within the common governing instincts of humanity, who are not interested in the well-being of their sons and daughters, and who do not take pride in watching their development, mentally as well as physically, in the right direction; and probably there is no time when such parental characteris- tic is more potent as an actuating force than when the child is passing into the years of adolescence. At that time, then, the parents are most likely to influence the child to active progress looking to a course of advanced instruction in the high school. Let such a course be once commenced, and no argument is needed to con- vince a person of fair mind that the pupil is more likely to complete the full four- year course, than he would be to take advanced instruction in the high school after an elementary course extending over the length of time now required, eight years. It will be recalled that the present classification of the high schools is by force of a resolution adopted by the board of education for temporary purposes, pending the action of this Commission. A classification is necessary, but to be effective as a part of the solution of the problem it must be based upon some difference having a just relation to the end to be attained. Without such a basis any classification that can be made is more likely to lead to complexity than to simplicity in the operation of the system. There can be no doubt that under the "six-and-six" plan of organization, a nmch larger per cent of the youth completing the elementary-school course than SECONDARY SCHOOLS £5 now will seek a higher instruction in the secondary schools; and there is no percep- tible reason why the per cent remaining there throughout a four-year course may be materially less, except as affected by causes beyond control. Speaking generally, the four-year course or courses in all the high schools of the state would probably be the same, varying only so far as necessary to meet the conditions, and it is highly probable that of those completing such a course but a comparatively small per cent would continue through a six-year course, either to fit for college, or to enlarge and broaden their secondary-school education. Yet for the benefit of the small per cent who may desire a full six-year course, an adequate and reasonably convenient opportunity to that end should be afforded. In view of the compara- tively small number of youth who are likely to desire such a course, the number of high schools in which the usual course or courses of four years need to be sup- plemented by two additional years, may be much less than the number of high schools of the other class and still afford reasonably convenient accommodations to those desiring to attend. Here then is a reasonable basis for the classification of the high schools into what may be called junior high schools, having a four-year course or courses, and senior high schools, having a six-year course or courses. Consequently in the judgment of the Commission, such a classification should be had to insure more efficient operation of the primary elements entering into the educational system of the state. The national bureau of education reports that in 1905 the department of secon- dary education of the National Education Association appointed a committee on six-year courses; that the reports received and adopted in 1907, 1908, and 1909, indicated that the sentiment for the "six-and-six" division was growing; that since the adoption of the 1909 report there is every evidence of a rapidly growing ten- dency toward a shorter elementary course and a high school course of six years divided into two parts. The report further says: "Under the 'six-and-six' plan a few of the present high-school subjects, such as the languages, algebra and elemen- tary science, are brought down into the seventh and eighth grades. It is pointed out that this arrangement will permit a pupil in the junior high school to prepare for any of the courses offered in the senior school, thus bridging the gap now existing between the eighth and the ninth grades. A pupil who in all probability will never go to college, would be given subjects leading to some vocational course in the senior high school, while the pupil who intends to enter college, would be given in the junior high school subjects preparing him for any one of the college preparatory courses in the senior school. A pupil would thus continue a subject long enough for it to be of some educational value. Algebra could be completed a year earlier, and the foundation for the study of physics and chemistry could be firmly laid. The claim is therefore made that the American boy would, under the 'six-and-six' plan, gain a year of two over the present arrangement." "The conclusion of this committee," says the United States Commissioner of Education (Report 1912-1913, Volume I, page 5,) "that at least two yeasr can 26 THE COMMON SCHOOLS be saved in the time now given to elementary instruction, is significant, not be- cause educators did not know it before, but because, coming from a conservative source, it represents the mature judgment of those actually engaged in teaching; a judgment, furthermore, reached only after the most painstaking consideration of all the circumstances, and confirmed by independent observers of conditions in other countries." At a very recent meeting of the Inland Empire Teachers' Association (which enrolls about 2,000 teachers from the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana,) a resolution was unanimously adopted favoring the "six-and-six" plan of school organization. At that meeting the United States Commissioner of Edu- cation, speaking with emphatic approval of this plan, said in part as follows : — "I know of no valid reason for the present plan of eight and four years of school. There should be si.x years of elementary school and six years of high school, the high school period being divided into two sections of three years each. "There are many reasons for the change. Children 12 and 13 years old are at the beginning of the transition period between childhood and youth — they should not be kept doing elementary work. At present the pupils in most school systems mark time to a large extent through the 7th and 8th grades. This is especially true where the methods of the elementary schools are carried through these and the children are taught by women grade teachers. With a six-year elementary school it would be easily possi!)le to promote the teachers with the children from grade to grade, thus gaining tli? large value that comes from teachers and children remaining together until the teacher knows the needs of the children, their strength, and their weakness, and can build intelligently on all the work of previous years. "Furthermore, to begin the high school with the seventh grade will make much easier the departmental work, which should begin at least this low down. It will also make it much easier to begin work in such high school subjects as foreign languages, constructive geometry, and real literature, at this point where they should be begun. The study of languages, especially of modern languages, should be begun in a practical way before children have passed the time when they can learn in this way. This plan will also make it possible to introduce manual training, domestic science, and various forms of vocational work two years earlier than they are now begun. "Our secondary school work is now at a great disadvantage as compared with the work done in the Gynasien and Realschulen in Germany, the Lycees of France, and the so-called public .schools of England. By giving six years to the high school, the boys and girls who go to college may easily have, on admission to college, a much larger amount of mathematics, languages, and other subjects than they now have. I feel quite sure that by an arrangement of this kind and a little more care in the preparation and selection of teachers you may gain for most children two years in the twelve. SECONDARY SCHOOLS 27 "The division of the high school into two sections of three years each will make easier a second differentiation of work at the end of the first three high-school years. "At present only about one-fourth of the children enter the high school. The compulsory school age in most states corresponds quite closely with the elementary school period. Parents and children are thereby confirmed in the idea that the elementary education is all that is needed. Besides, the break between the elemen- tary school and the high school at this time suggests leaving school and makes it easier. If the break came at 12 or 13 the great majority of children would be in the high school, doing high school work under high school conditions, and probably a much larger proportion of them would continue in school than under present conditions." It is seen that Dr. Claxton favors the division of the high schools under the six-and-six plan of organization, into three and three years, and such a division seems to be in accordance with the growing tendency. Yet in the belief of the Commission there are good and sufBcient reasons why the 3-3 division is less for the interest of the State of Vermont than the 4-2 division, here recommended: first, the 3-3 division would add but one year in the junior high school to the time now required in the elementary school, while with the 4-2 division, it seems highly probable that no less number of pupils would enter the junior high school, and that most of those entering may reasonably be expected to remain throughout a four- year course; and secondly, (the reason given in the report of the Carnegie Founda- tion, page 105), that "giving a junior school of four years and an additional cen- tral school course of two years, instead of devoting three years to each, * * * postpones home-leaving to the latest possible point, — a consideration of much importance where many are involved. This would not usually take place then Ijefore the age of seventeen, — an age of reasonable discretion, when supervision such as a high school staff could exercise would I>'.' effective." In this connection it should be stated that the age of compulsory attendance in this state is "between the ages of eight and sixteen years" unless the child is mentally or physically unable so to attend, "or has already acquired the branches required to be taught in the elementary schools, or is otherwise being furnished with the same education, or is legally excused from attending school." Should the schools be reorganized in accordance with the "six-and-six" plan, this law regarding compulsory attendance (section 1029 of the Public Statutes, as amended by section 1 of No. 75, Acts of 1912), should be amended by striking out the words, "or has already acquired the branches required to be taught in the elementary schools;" for with these words remaining in that section, it would in effect reduce compulsory school age by two years. This should not be. The compulsory attendance should continue into and through the usual age of pupils taking junior high-school courses. There are now in this state seventy-five public high schools. Averaged, this gives one high school to about three and one-fifth towns and cities. These schools 28 THE COMMON SCHOOLS are all closely similar in type, organized in about the same fashion, based upon the same fundamental traditions, and in general, having the same aims. "The curri- culum in each," says the Carnegie Report, page 67, "consists of the traditional college preparatory course, or its close deri\-ative, more or less enriched with semi- vocational opportunities in commercial subjects, domestic science, manual training, or agriculture. The method and the spirit of instruction, however vastly they may differ in their essential quality in different schools, are yet remarkably uniform in kind and reveal the same general source." The report (page 65) shows that in 1912, about 5,722 of the 25,000 children from 15 to 18 years in this state, actually received secondary instruction in schools organized for that purpose. If a reorgani- zation of the elementary and the secondary schools be had, according to the recom- mendations contained in this report, it is reasonably certain that more high schools of the junior class, properly distributed in location, will be needed to meet the requirements of the larger number of pupils seeking instruction therein. In some towns where approved academies are located and in operation, no high school has been established. Instead thereof the several towns have arranged yearly with the academy in town for secondary schooling at that institution at public expense. Such arrangements seem to be working well. To all intents and purposes, the academy is the public high school of the town. Arrangements of this kind, however, should be subject to the approval of the board of education. Except where the academy in town is thus made to answer the purposes of a high school, there should be a junior high school in every town in the state where the youth to attend are sufficient in number to warrant it. But if the number of such youth is too small to warrant the establishment of a high school, then arrange- ments should be made by the town, subject to the approval and supervision of the board of education, for secondary educational advantages to its youth, outside of the town, at public expense. In the junior high schools, pupils, whether contemplating a collegiate education or otherwise, should find a four-year course suited to their needs, and if in addition thereto a further two-year course be desired (as would be the case if preparing for college), it should be found in the senior high school, in each to be given by com- petent teachers. In these, the junior high schools, supplemented by the senior high schools, pupils contemplating a collegiate education should be furnished with convenient instruction suitable to the preparatory course required. Pupils, too, who desire a general six-year course with opportunities for semi-vocational training in commercial subjects, domestic science, manual training, or agriculture, should in like manner be aft'orded instruction suitable to the end sought. And pupils desiring a four-year course with lesser opportunities for the semi-vocational training such as is above described, should be afi^orded convenient instruction in the junior high schools. Under the present law not all high schools are schools of the first class, and it is only in schools of the first class that a four-year course, fitting for college or other- SECONDARY SCHOOLS 29 wise, can be had. Where the high schools are of the second, third, or fourth class, pupils taking a course therein must complete their course of study (if more be had) in some academy, or in some high school of the first class elsewhere. Provision is made therefor in section 1017 of the Public Statutes, quoted above. By the law of that section, if a town does not maintain a high school of the first class, the board of school directors shall provide and arrange for the instruction of the ad- vanced pupils of the town, for the remaining years necessary to complete the course or courses of study in a high school of the first class, in a high school of an incorporated district or academy of the town if there be such, or in the high schools or academies outside the town, and even outside the state. This law will work not less justly to pupils under the proposed reorganization. Believing a reorganization of the elementary and the secondary schools according to the "six-and-six" plan, to be for the best educational interests of the state, the Commission recommends: (a) That there should be a junior high school maintained in every town in the state (unless by arrangement an academy in town is in efi'ect the high school of the town) where the number of secondary-school youth to be conveniently accommodated shall reasonably warrant it, having (in the language of the Carnegie Foundation's report, page 109), "a four-year curriculum, elastic in administration, but limited in scope by the numbers and needs of the local boys and girls, 12 to 16 years of age, covering the seventh and eighth grades of the present elementary school and the first two years of the present high school," with equip- ment appropriate to the curriculum presented; (b) That there should be as many central and readily accessible senior high schools, articulating directly with all neighboring junior high schools, as the number of pupils desiring the advanced instruction given only in this class of schools, shall reasonably demand, the number and locations to be determined by the board of education. These should have: (a) A four-year junior curriculum as in the junior high schools, "but including special vocational opportunities, particularly in agriculture, for pupils from 12 to 16 years of age;" (6) A curriculum appropriate to the youth of 17 to 19 years of age, drawn from the surrounding districts, who are fitting for college, or are com- pleting a course of general education. This class of schools should have adequate equipment for all purposes within the curricula. Yet with secondary schools so classified and under the best of regulations, effi- cient results cannot be realized unless the teachers are specially qualified for the work they are called to perform. It may be said that under such a reorganization as is here recommended, the public schools of the state will be more expensive than at present. Undoubtedly this is so to some extent, more particularly consequent on the increased number of high schools, the quality of teachers, the larger salary demanded by them, and the better supervision. Yet to allow this as a controlling element against such reorgan- ization is to place the expense of schools as the controlling factor, and the quality of schools, the educational advantages of the children, and the general welfare of 30 THE COMMON SCHOOLS the state, as of secondary importance, a position which, in the judgment of the Commission, will be taken by so few people imbued with the true spirit of the Vermonter, and looking primarily to the general good of the people, as to be almost negligible. ''That regard be had to the public welfare, is the highest law." The expense of public schools should, however, more than ever before, be borne by the state at large, rather than by the several municipalities in which the schools are located. We endorse with emphasis the report of the Carnegie Foundation, wherein it says (page 144) : "It is essential, however, not to obscure the remaining fact that the state needs yet to provide both for a greater equalization of the burden of .school support among the communities of the state and for a further enlargement of the funds to be used for the elementary and secondary schools, if these schools are to be conducted on the high level requisite for the progressive welfare of the state. The urgencies of the educational situation revealed in the portions of this report dealing with the rural and the .secondary schools are such that additional expenditures on the part of the state must be resolutely faced. It is not a question of how much Vermont is expending per capita. It is a question of developing a school system equal to the needs of its people." In this connection let us remember that by the organic law, it is the bounden duty of the state to provide for its youth suitable opportunities for acquiring an elemen- tary and a secondary education. This being so, the state should perform this duty before it gives financial aid to institutions of higher learning, not a part of its public educational system. It may also be said that such a reorganization will not meet with the approval of towns now having efficient high schools of the first class (under present classifi- cation), on the ground that to supersede such high schools by junior high schools, thereby obliging pupils in order to complete their fitting for college or to take advanced studies in the senior high schools, to leave home earlier in age than is now necessary, will be more expensive to the parents of such pupils. This also may he true and not, by any sound course of reasoning, militate against the proposed new organization. It is an undoubted fact that but a very small per cent of children receive instruction beyond the elementary schools. Is it for the public good that this condition of things permanently remain? If it is, then the j)rinciple "let well enough alone" should be applied. But if it is not, then to refuse to take a step which in all probability will, to a very large degree, remedy that evil, simply because a small per cent of the youth will be discommoded to some extent in taking advanced courses in the senior high schools, is to say that the very few thus in- commoded are of more consequence than the ten or twenty times as many to be materially benefited thereby, a principle too irrational for serious consideration. The educational system should be so regulated as most to benefit all the people of the state, and the interest of the few should give way to that of the many. Let us recur to fundamental principles already noticed, "That government is, or ought THE SCHOOL TERM 31 to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single man, family, or set of men, who are a part only of that community; * * *" If provision be made by statute for a reorganization substantially in accordance with these recommendations, much will depend upon the board of education by itself and through its chief executive officer, to effect such changes as may be necessary to put the schools, both elementary and secondary, into workable shape under the new regulations, and ample time should willingly be allowed therefor. It cannot be accomplished in a monemt, and time commensurate with the work necessary to be done to bring about the change in an efficient manner, should be granted. In the meantime, the board of education should have discretionary powers broad enough to enable it to meet conditions peculiar to any particular town or locality in a manner most conducive to the educational advantage of the town or locality, and at the same time looking toward the operation of the new regulation.s as soon as shall be reasonably warrantable. 3. The School Term The school term in this state must by statute be at least 30 weeks. In the judg- ment of the Commission this is too short for the best results in a school age. It is true that the length of the school term varies in different states, some longer and some shorter than that of Vermont. It is said, however, by the United States Commissioner of Education in his report for the year ending June 30, 1912, (page xix,) that "surely an annual school term of 180 days, and an average attendance of 90 per cent of this time by all the children between the ages of 6 to 16, a total of 1620 days, can not be considered more than is necessary to prepare children for life and citizenship;" and he shows by tables the average length of school term in days of each of the several states in 1910-11, and the number of days that must be added to make an average term of 180 days, and the average number of days of schooling each child will get in the several states on the basis of attendance for 1910-11, and the number of days of increase necessary to give an average of 1620 days, or an average attendance of 90 per cent of 180 days each year by each child between the ages of 6 and 16. Regarding the states of New England and the state of New York the tables show that the school term in Maine is 163.8 days, in New Hampshire, 168.5 days, in Massachusetts, 185 days, in Connecticut, 184.9 days, in Rhode Island, 194 days, in New York, 186.9 days, in Vermont, 160 days. This makes Vermont's school term 20 days Icjs than 180, the school term mentioned by the United States Commissioner of Education. It also gives Vermont 1338 days as the total days of schooling for each child between the ages named, it being 282 days less than the total of 1620 days given if the school term is 180 days as there recommended. 32 THE COMMON SCHOOLS This is of great consequence to the state and especially to the children whose school education ends with the public schools. To lose two hundred eighty-two days of schooling is to lose the equivalent of nearly two years under present regu- lations, a loss which such children should not be obliged to suffer. The additional expense consequent on an increase of the length of the school term would be incon- siderable when compared with the benefits received. The Commission recommends that the length of the school term be increased to not less than thirty-six weeks. IV SPECIAI.LY INCORPORATED DISTRICTS There are in the state thirty specially incorporated school districts, which in some instances include the whole town. Very likely the reason for being so incor- porated was to get enlarged powers, or to secure the benefit of some fund or funds deemed not otherwise available. In the judgment of the Commission, the public schools of the state should be operated under general laws common to all parts of, and localities in, the state. By such laws no town, or district, should have special ■educational rights or privileges. In the proposed reorganization the general law should be made broad enough, if not so already, to give all such rights and privileges as are necessary to the effective operation of the educational policies of the state, and at the same time it should be sufficient to enable any school district to have the benefit of property now possessed by gift, bequest, or otherwise, from private sources. The Commission therefore recommends that the charters of all specially incor- porated school districts in the state be repealed, saving to the districts, however, by general statutory provisions, the same benefit of property now had by them respectively, by gift, bequest, or otherwise, from private sources. V COUNTY GRAMMAR SCHOOLS AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL LANDS Mention is made, in an earlier part of this report, of the county grammar schools incorporated as private institutions in nearly every county in the state, largely within a third of a century after the adoption of the Constitution of 1786, to some or all of which several corporations the General Assembly granted the lands situa- ted in the same county, reserved in town charters to the use of county grammar schools. Though this Commission does not deem matters relating particularly to these county grammar schools and the lands granted to them, to be within its province, yet it ventures to call attention to them. The Commission under- stands that most if not all of these county grammar schools ceased to operate years ago, though in some and perhaps in most instances the corporate entity still exists; and that by force of legislative enactments or otherwise, the income from the grammar school lands now goes to the use and benefit of other educational institutions, public or private. The Vermont school report made by the state superintendent of education in 1888, states that such lands in the state aggregate 23,853 acres, appraised at $173, 557, and that the rent received therefrom was then $2,800. Regarding the present rent and the use made of it, the Commission has no adequate information; nor has the Commission sufficient information upon which to base any opinion concerning the reserved power of the General Assembly, if any it has, to act in relation to the lands or the rents and profits derived there- from. It seems, however, that these lands and the use of them are of such con- sequence to the state, educationally, as to justify the appointment of a commission to investigate and report relative thereto, and relative to the county grammar schools to which the lands were granted, to the end that so far as it has power, the legislature may take action, looking to a more general distribution of the rents and profits to the public schools in the several counties in the state. VI VOCATIONAL EDUCATION When the founders of this state provided in its organic law that schools should be maintained "for the convenient instruction of youth," although they had no conception of public vocational training as now developed, they laid down an educational principle good for all time by the requirements of which vocational education justifies itself. They further asserted that "every freeman, to preserve his independence (if without a sufficient estate) ought to have some profession, calling, trade, or farm, whereby he may honestly subsist," thereby recognizing in a substantial form, the importance of vocational training. In those days the boy who aimed at the trades became an apprentice and the girl received in her home training in things domestic. With the great change in social and economic conditions that has since come about, such opportunities for vocational training have almost entirely disappeared, leaving an educational void, in which our youth have aimlessly floated about or wasted years in further training of little practical value. As already seen, convenient instruction is that affording accommodation and advantage, and we believe it beyond successful contradiction that, under the Constitution, a duty to bridge this educational gap for the accommodation and advantage of its youth, rests upon the state. Vocational training, although no longer in the class of uncertain experiments, still receives httle encouragement from those educators to whom culture and intellectuality are the end and aim of schooling. They "make a fetish of learning at the expense of education." This truth is well expressed by Prof. G. B. Meade whose statement is set forth in the latest report of the United States Commissioner of Education as follows: "Our schools are still in one respect medieval. They assume more or less con- sciously that they are called upon to indoctrinate their pupils, and that the doctrine which they have to instill — whether it be that of language, number, history, litera- ture, or elementary science — is guaranteed as subject matter for instruction by its own truth, its traditional position in the school curriculum, and finally by its relation to the rest of the ideas, points of view, artistic products, historic monu- ments, which together make up what we call our culture." Culture and intellectuality alone cannot do the world's work. The Commis- sioner of Education in Massachusetts has defined vocational education as "any education whose controlling purpose is to fit for a recognized occupation." It is far better that the great mass of our youth should be trained in the skillful per- formance of their lifework than receive a fragmentary intellectual development of little practical value. In a memorable speech on vocational education delivered in the Senate of the United States, June 5, 1912, the speaker, showing much thought and research, said: "... The curriculum of practically all our schools looks forward to the college 36 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION as the ultimate end of all school life. Every college-bred man regards it a great misfortune that our young men are not receiving a more generous cultural training, and so do I. "But, Mr. President, these men forget that only 1.71 per cent of our boys ever enter the college or university. They forget that only an additional 5.35 per cent ever enter the high school. They forget that only 25 per cent of the balance ever get as high as the eighth or upjjer grade of the elementary or grammar school. They forget that less than 50 per cent ever complete the seventh grade. "In brief, Mr. President, they predicate their plans for the school life of the boy upon what ought to be, rather than what is. They would have every boy thoroughly educated; so would I; but since this cannot be, let us be practical. Let us not forget that much as we would have it otherwise, the school life of the American boy must of necessity be so changed as to teach him how to get a living." The foregoing well expresses the views in this respect of the Commission. It has been said, in effect, that our schools should concern themselves with the cultural and intellectual education of the youth, that manufacturers prefer to train their own employees, that agricultural labor should be left to some lower order of workers typified by "The Man with the Hoe," and that Vermont should continue to send her brilliant sons beyond her borders and shine by their reflected glory. Such a policy is suicidal. In these days of conservation of natural resources, one who advocates the dissipation of the state's greatest natural resource, the brain and brawn of her own children, is totally out of touch with the signs of the times. Vermont's unequalled contribution to the development of other com- munities, by the emigration for more than a century of many of her best intellects, is and always will be a source of just pride. Today, however, the state through modern developments in manufacturing and agriculture, is face to face with opportunities nowhere excelled. She is no longer merely the "Old Home" state; she is the "At Home" state. Vermont's chief duty today is so to train her youth that they may .seize and develop these crying opportunities for their own certain private benefit as well as for her advancement as a soverign state. The United States Commissioner of Education in his latest report well says that "the demand is becoming more and more insistent that in the American democracy, a common- wealth where, in theory at least, to be a producer forms the first claim to citizenship, productional training shall be given to all children in the light of their aptitudes and needs and in the light of the requirements of society." For the performance of this duty, the Commission adojjts the recommendations of the Carnegie Foundation (page 133), as follows: "A wise program in the formation of vocational schools would seem to be, first, the reform of the pubUc school system so that the youth of Vermont may be educated toward the occupations of the comnmnities in which they live; secondly, the estab- lishment at each of the proposed regional (senior) high schools, in its four-year junior division, of a high grade vocational course in agriculture for boys from 12 to 16 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 37 years of age, and in its senior division of advanced courses for older pupils; * * * " It will be noticed that agriculture as a vocation is given emphasis in this pro- gram of vocational schools, and we think rightly so. It has been said that Ver- mont is not an agricultural state. Vermont is and always ought to be primarily an agricultural state. According to the Thirteenth Census of the United States, Vermont, compared with other states — the leading states of the country in the various departments of agriculture — more than holds her own. Vermont's dairying industry compares most favorably with that of Wisconsin, the leading dairying state. Assuming that Vermont had as many dairy cows in 1909 as she had in 1910, the value of all her dairy products for each dairy cow (excluding milk and cream used at home) was in the former year $45.68 as against $36.57 in Wisconsin; she produced from each dairy cow 431 gallons of milk as against 311 gallons in Wisconsin. The A'alue of Vermont's cereal crop in 1909, per acre of all cereal lands, was $19.70, while the same value in Illinois, the leading state in the production of cereals, was $17.99; her corn crop in 1909 was 40 bushels per acre of corn lands, of the value of $25.30, while the corn crop in Illinois, the largest corn-producing state, was only 39 bushels per acre, of the value of $19.74; she produced 21 bushels of wheat per acre of wheat lands, of the value of $21.06, while North Dakota the leading state in wheat production, had only 14 bushels of wheat per acre, of the value of $13.33;she produced 30 bushels of oats per acre of oat lands, of the value of $16.35, while Iowa, the leading state in the production of oats, had only 28 bushels of oats per acre, of the value of $10.53; she produced 27 bushels of barley per acre of barley lands, of the value of $21.33, while Minnesota, the leading state in the production of barley, had only 22 bushels of barley per acre, of the vahie of $11.00; she produced 15 bushels of rye per acre of rye lands, of the value of $13.03, while Michigan, the leading state in the production of rye, had only 14 bushels per acre, of the value of $9.41; she produced 23 bushels of buckwheat per acre of buck- wheat lands, of the value of $15.94, while New York, the leading state in the pro- duction of buckwheat, had only 20 bushels per acre, of the value of $12.53. Vermont's product of hay and forage, although less than that of Iowa, the lead- ing state in the production of that crop, exceeds in value per acre the hay and forage of Iowa, Iowa's crop per acre being valued at $11.76, Vermont's at $15.85. Furthermore, in the production of hay and forage Vermont's product per acre of grass lands exceeds that of any other New England state as well as the State of New York, the second largest producing state. Vermont raises 1.46 tons per acre of grass lands, while New York raises 1.40 tons per acre. New York, the largest producer of potatoes in the countrj% raises 123 bushels per acre of potato lands. Maine produces 210 bushels per acre. Of all the New England States and New York, Vermont, in the production of potatoes per acre of potato lands, is second only to the state of Maine. Vermont's product is 144 bushels per acre. 38 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Of the New England States, Vermont is second only to the State of Maine in the value of her forest products. Vermont produces 40,953 gallons of maple syrup and 7,726,817 pounds of maple sugar. In the production of maple syrup she ranks third among the states of the Union, and in the production of maple sugar she far outranks any other state, making 54.95 per cent of all the maple sugar made in the United States. When it is considered that Vermont's crops were grown from only 73.7 per cent of her improved farm lands, that from 1900 to 1910 these lands decreased to the extent of 492,659 acres, and that, in spite of such decrease in acreage of improved land, the value of her crops from 1899 to 1909 increased 51.1 per cent, it is clear that the opportunities for agricultural development are truly wonderful. Objection to the exploitation of Vermont as an agricultural state comes from those who maintain that the state is primarily industrial and that her greatest future prosperity lies in the development of manufacturing within her borders. The question is not academic but vitally practical in the adoption of a policy of vocational education. It is certain that the distant future can hardly be foreseen; it is equally certain that the vocational needs of the state are now mainly agricultural. For a proper comparison to determine whether the state is agricultural or indus- trial, several bases have been suggested. It is claimed that the number of persons engaged in the vocations of agriculture and manufacturing, compared, will show that Vermont is primarily industrial; but this is not a true basis, for while there may be more persons in the state who obtain a livelihood from indus- trial work than from agricultural work, it is the respective values of these two vocations to all the people of the state that should be considered. It is also claimed that the value of farm properties compared with the value of industrial properties, is determinative of the question. The inquiry on this basis, however, can be nothing but .speculative, for it involves on the one hand the value of Vermont's agricultural resources if fully developed and, on the other hand, the value of her natural resources of stone and mineral deposits and her undeveloped water powers. If the amount of investment in these respective vocations is a criterion, then our agricultural interests have an investment of $145,399,728, while $73,470,000 rep- resents the amount of our industrial investment; and recent statistics show that the amount of capital invested in manufacturing in Vermont increased, from 1904 to 1909, 17.5 per cent, while the capital invested in agriculture increased, from 1900 to 1910, 34.1 per cent. It seems clear that the one true basis of comparison is that disclosed by the value of the state's products in these respective vocations. In the industrial vocation this value appears in the amount of value added by the process of manufacture. The United States Census Bureau well says that this figure best represents the net wealth created by manufacturing operations; and it is the net wealth of a state in any development that counts. In agricul- ture the value of the products well represents the net wealth of agricultural acti\-i- VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 39 tics in the state. In manufacturing, however, a large part of the value of the product represents the value of the materials used, many of which have been pro- duced by agriculture. In agricultural operations, on the other hand, the product does not in any appreciable degree include the value of materials furnished by some other development, but represents something developed directly from the natural resources of the state. The net wealth of the state, thus created by its manufacturing operations in 1909, was $33,487,000. In compiling the value of agricultural products to be compared therewith, every product that can be said in any way to include the value of "materials" has been eliminated, as, for example, the value of poultry ($759,362), the value of domestic animals slaughtered on farms ($1,468,345), the value of domestic animals sold ($5,990,550), and the value of all forest products ($3,638,637). With such elimination, the value of Vermont's agricultural products in 1909, that is, the value resulting from agricultural processes, is as- follows- Value of dairy products (excluding all milk and cream used on the farm producing) $12,128,465 Value of wool products 192,002 Value of goathair or mohair products 136 Value of eggs 1,715,221 Value of honey 25,351 Value of wax 815 Value of crops (excluding forest products) 23,808,299 Total $37,870,289 The net wealth of the state created by manufacturing operations in 1909 was, as seen, $33,487,000, while the net wealth of the state created by its agricultural operations in that year was $37,870,289, a very material excess. Moreover in this comparison manufacturing is given an undue advantage, for its figures include $16,005,000 net wealth created by manufacturing in marble and stone, lumber and timber, and dairy and grist-mill products. Furthermore, in comparing the relative importance of manufacturing and agriculture, the common conception of manufacturing as an industry does not include such activities as the production of marble and stone, lumber and timber, and dairy and grist-mill products. Taken on this basis, it is apparent that agriculture and products taken out of the earth bring to the state not only a larger amount of net wealth than manufac- turing, but an overwhelming excess of wealth as compared to manufacturing. Here, then, is a present certainty. The state is agriculturally predominant and predominantly agricultural today. Where does her greatest future prosj)erity lie? Is it, as claimed, in the development of her water powers? She has a wonderful endowment of undeveloped water power resources, but their utilization will require 40 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION the investment of large amounts of capital in the construction of vast storage basins, and when, as now, water power generated into electric power is transmitted two hundred miles without appreciable loss, the development of these water powers does not necessarily mean the building and operation of manufacturing establish- ments. Vermont does not need large communities of industrial workers as mar- kets for her agricultural products. By the recent extension of the parcel post system, her farm produce and products will surely find an insatiable market beyond her own borders. In the light of present facts and future probabilities, the Com- mission believes that vocational education should be emphatically directed to the training of the youth of the state in scientifically practical agriculture. The statutory provision that "no person shall be deprived of public school advan- tages on account of age," is of special significance in the matter of vocational training in agricultural pursuits. It sanctions the undertaking of agricultural extension work as a part of our public educational system for the purpose of giving to the men and women actively engaged in farming the benefit of scientific research in agriculture. Under recent federal legislation, the State Agricultural College is enabled to carry on one form, at least, of such extension work, namely, by actual demonstrations on his own farm, or on some farm in his vicinity, to take to the farmer the results of the research work of the experiment station. The state may well undertake, as a part of vocational training in agriculture, to extend agricul- tural education to her farmers by appropriations to the State Agricultural College to be used, not only in the training of agricultural teachers for the senior high schools — discussed elswhere in this report — but in cooperation with the federal extension work. The importance of educational effort of this character can not be over estimated. The Special Report of the College of Agriculture of the Univer- sity of Maine for the Commissioner of Agricidture for the year 1913 well says: "The function of the College Extension Service is something more than the promo- tion of agriculture; it is the organization and developemnt of the industry. It aims not only to spread agricultural truths, but to set agricultural truths at work. It believes in the 'business' of farming and therefore deals with agriculture from the economic standpoint. Its slogan is, — 'Greater profits in farming'." That institution in 1!)13, in connection with extension work, inaugurated with markedly successful results its Farm Demonstration Work, of which the report says, "It appears to be one of the most practical and resultful plans thus far found, to spread and actually set at work fundamental truths in successful farming." In the prac- tical operation of such extension work the farmer learns what he himself can do by his own labor on his own land. It means better and consequently more profi- table results from his own labor on his own farm. Compared with vitally active extension work in agriculture, the establishment of so-called model or practice farms is of negligible importance. It is not what the farmer may learn by leaving his own acres and visiting an institutional farm, but what he observes of the results of his own efforts, under intelligent advice and supervision, upon his own acres. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 41 that is primarily important. Model or practice farms, however, may well be developed in connection with the vocational departments of the senior high schools, for the purposes of experiment and instruction. The report of the Carnegie Foundation recommends the establishment of special vocational schools in agriculture of the type of the State Agricultural School at Randolph. The Commission believes that the state should now direct its effort along this Hne, not to the establishment of other schools of this type, but to the improvement and enlargement of the school already established. In the Randolph school the state has laid the foundation for a school of practical agricultural and vocational training, and although its present equipment is inadequate, its work, to the extent of its appropriations, has been creditable. The predominance of agriculture among the industries of the state, however, requires that this school be adequately equipped and generously supported, so that under a competent staff of efficient instructors its work shall place it among schools of the first rank in practical agricultural training. Until this is accomplished, the state should take no measures toward the establishing of other schools of agriculture, thereby duplicating the work of the school at Randolph and conducting two or more only partly efficient schools. It would seem too clear to require argument that one wholly efficient school must first be had before others of the same class can reasona- bly be considered with favor. The training given should be practical. Its graduates should be fitted to operate a farm not as an exposition of scientific agriculture, but as a business of practical farming using the aids thereto furnished by the discoveries of science in the field of agriculture. In other days the farmer taught his boys on the farm — not always consciously — something about dairying, live-stock, rotating crops, and the like — information more or less inexact that he had picked up from observation and experience. In these days, however, modern science, practically applied, gives exact information in many matters of this sort, and in others, so approximately near as to be practical knowledge essential to successful farming. The graduates of this school should be able to tell what a given soil needs to make it most fertile and what crop is most suited to it; they should be able to identify noxious weeds, plant diseases, insect pests, and the common ills of live-stock, and to combat them successfully; they should be trained judges of breeds more commonly kept; they should know how to determine the cost of keeping and the value of dairy products of each dairy cow independent of milk and cream tests at the creamery; they should be able to determine the profit or loss of any given part of the business of farming as actually conducted; and, in short, to do skilfully everything on the farm that untrained farmers have hitherto done more or less unskilfully. To this end its equipment and teaching staff should be much increased and strengthened and its annual appropriations should be sufficient to meet the necessities of the institution. Its course should be emphatically agricultural and, at the same time, broadly 42 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION vocational in manual training. Today manufacturing operations are largely- made up of special mechanical work; and it requires little or no special training to operate the near-human machinery of modern industry. For the present, at least, public vocational education in the industries should be directed, not toward training in manufacturing industries of more or less speciaUzed operations, but toward making the youth skilful in manual work, and toward training them to fashion things by hand-craft, not to operate machinery. A boy trained in practical agriculture should, as incident thereto, be sufficiently trained in carpentry, in blacksmithing, in masonry including work in cement, and the like, to be able to meet the conditions on the farm when such work is required to be done economi- cally and without unnecessary delay. The Commission's recommendations respecting vocational education may be summarized as follows: 1. The instruction in the public schools to be of that character to educate the youth toward the occupations of the communities in which they live. 2. The establishment in the junior high schools of semi-vocational courses offer- ing opportunities for instruction in commercial subjects, domestic science, manual training, and agriculture, appropriate to the needs and environment of the particu- lar school. 3. The establishment in the senior high schools of high grade courses in agricul- ture, together with courses in manual training, commercial subjects and domestic science. 4. The strengthening of the equipment and teaching staff of the State Agricul- tural School and the increase of its appropriations; and the development therein of courses in manual training, incident to agricultural training, and in some measure fitting for the pursuit of the manual trades as vocations. 5. State appropriations to the State Agricultural College for the purpose of: («) Training teachers in agriculture for the high schools; (6) Cooperating with the federal extension work in agriculture. VII TRAINING OF TEACHERS AND SUPERVISION In the furtherance of the work of the survey of Vermont's educational system and conditions, the Commission requested over two thousand persons in the state to express their best judgment as to the essential matters that should first receive attention in order to enable the schools of the state to render the most effective service to the children and to the people of the state. Out of 940 replies received in response to these requests, 313 specified "better trained teachers," 156 specified "higher salaries for teachers," and 148 specified "more efficient supervision;" and these three expressions of judgment were the strongest numerically in the order named. It is clear, therefore, that the teacher is universally regarded as the key- stone of the educational arch. A survey of the educational system ultimately reveals the crucial importance of efficient teachers who, above schools, books, equipment and courses of study, are the source of right instructions. As already noticed, the vital problem of elementary-school instruction rests not in the subjects taught, but rather in the failure to adapt the things taught to the daily experiences and needs of the child. The solution of this problem demands a teaching staff sympathetically familiar with those experiences and needs and fitted by training to bring the child where he will automatically apply his instruction to them. To meet this demand the state now maintains two so-called normal schools and aids the teacher-training courses in the secondary schools. The most favorable view to be taken of this situation reveals a duplication of effort the correction of which is as important in the public schools as in institutions of higher learning. The Commission might review the discussion in the Carnegie Foundation's report and the very lucid and convincing statement contained in the last Vermont School Report made by the superintendent of education, relating to the deficiences of the normal schools in essential facilities for observation and practice and to the local instead of state-wide, character of their patronage, as ample reasons why these schools should no longer be continued. In all that the Commission heartily concurs. Above all other considerations, however, the practical question of how to secure a sufficient number of suitable teachers is now of first importance. The state needs about 400 new teachers annually for its elementary schools and the report of the Carnegie Foundation points out that the present normal schools have utterly failed to meet this need. The report says: "Where is Vermont to look each year for 400 new and well-trained teachers to conduct her elementary schools in decent fashion.'' * * * The solution of the problem has hitherto been sought in two directions. For nearly fifty years three, and more recently two, low-grade normal schools have been merely reviewing elementary school subjects; pupils directly from the elementary schools have formed the great bulk of attendance, and during the ten years 1903-12 the three schools together averaged 87 graduates annually from this 'lower course.' * * * 44 TRAINING OF TEACHERS From their 'higher course,' which alone deserves recognition here, the three schools have had during the same ten years an average combined annual output of eight, or, including regraduates and specials, fifteen! What are these among 400?" The report also shows that in 1913 Johnson and Castleton together graduated 72 teachers: 18 from the new two-year course for high-school graduates, 30 from the new "lower course" (equivalent to a four-year high school course), and 24 from courses still lower. Of the 72 graduates in 1913, the report says: "Of these practically all of the higher course graduates are teaching in graded schools; 49 of the 54 others are in rural schools." The lower courses are thus doing the same work as teacher-training courses in training teachers for the rural schools. That the tendency of the normal schools is not toward the training of teachers in advance of the training courses, but in competition therewith appears from their output in 1914, as follows: Castleton Johnson Total 84 Castleton Johnson Toto Graduates 36 48 Two-year course for high school graduates 8 7 15 Lower or elementary course 28 41 69 84 High .school graduates in lower course 26 30 56 Not high school graduates in lower course 2 11 13 69 The higher course graduates were 15 as compared with 18 in 1913, and the lower course graduates, who were graduates of high schools or academies at the time of taking the normal course, were 56 as compared with 30 graduates in 1913 from the course called equivalent to a four-year high school course, although in fact there were no graduates in 1913, who were graduates of high schools or academies, except the graduates from the higher course. In other words, the output of the higher course has decreased, while the output of the lower course in direct competition with, and duplication of, the work of the teacher-training courses in the high schools, has increased from 30 to 56. Despite this increase and without regard to the financial waste consequent upon such duplication, it may well be asked, what are those 55 among 400? If the normal schools were turning out a large number of teachers more highly trained for elementary school teaching than the graduates of the teacher-training courses, they might justify themselves, although they would not be meeting the crying need of the state for hundreds of teachers annually for the rural schools. But their tendency today is to attempt vainly to meet this need, when, in the light of the great success attending the training of teachers in high schools and academies (hereinafter discussed), the one work justifying their existence, namely, the training of a considerable number of teachers for elementary TRAINING OF TEACHERS 45 school teaching of a higher grade, is a work they are not doing and one which the state does not greatly require. The United States Commissioner of Education, in his report for 1913 says ; "A recent law in Vermont, by allowing recognition to training courses in high schools equal to that accorded to the two normal schools, apparently tends to lower the standard for teaching in that state." Such a tendency, however, is apparent only, and the appearance is due to the fact that the chief work of the normal schools has been of no higher standard than that more recently done in the training courses, and that the normal schools, upon the establishment of the training courses, have magnified the work of their lower course in direct competition with the work of the training courses, and have treated as of less importance the work of their higher course, w hich alone entitles them in any measure to the name of normal schools. The statement of the United States Commissioner of Education, in speaking of the different kinds of institutions called normal schools, that "There is a need, if not for some delimitation of function, certainly for some distinguishing standard with which to classify institutions so different, yet bearing alike the name of 'normal school,' " is particularly applicable to our own institutions at Caslleton and Johnson. Without more particular reference the Commission firmly believes that the dis- cussion of the report of the Carnegie Foundation respecting the normal schools is wholly sound. The Commission, therefore, recommends the discontinuance, as normal schools, of the two institutions now conducted at Johnson and Castleton. As early as 1876 the idea of educating school teachers by instructing them in the public schools was enacted into law. By No. 49 of the Acts of 1876, it was provided that any graded school, organized by special act and situated in a county where there was no normal school, might establish, in connection with such graded school, a training school department for the instruction and training of teachers. The state superintendent of education was empowered to arrange two courses of study, one to include instruction and practice in the science of teaching all branches required to be taught in the common schools, the other to include instruction and practice in higher branches to be prescribed by him, in addition to the branches of the first course. It was provided that certificates of graduation should be granted to all who should pass the required examinations in either course, the certificates of graduation from the first course and the second course to have the effect of licenses to teach in the common schools for five years and ten years respectively, such examinations to be conducted by the state superintendent of education and two other officials named, who were constituted a board to revoke the licenses upon cause shown. The trustees of the graded school district were required to make annual reports to the state superintendent of education of the number of students in the training school department, the number of certificates granted in each course, and "all matters pertaining to the regulations and government of said training school department." 46 TRAINING OF TEACHERS Here was the seed of legislation looking toward a supply of teachers for the common schools in connection with regular school activities. By the revision of the statutes in 1880, however, this seed was crowded out by the growth of normal school legislation. The two courses were treated conjunctly with the normal school course, and admission to the higher course was made dependent upon graduation from the lower course and a full exercise of the five-year license to teach then issued. It is clear that in this way the higher course in the training school was practically wiped out. By No. 9, Acts of 1888, that part of the Revised Laws, respecting licenses to teach issued to graduates of the training school, was repealed and no provision was made for issuing certificates to such graduates; and it was expressly enacted that no person should teach a public school without a certificate. In other words, the state continued its provision for training teachers in its public schools but forbade them to teach after being trained, until 1894 when the training- school graduates were made eligible to certification as formerly. Thus the law stood until repealed in 1906. To what extent the provisions of the Act of 1876 were taken advantage of through its unsteady career, it does not appear. Its legislative history indicates that it received no encouragement from the advocates of teacher-training in normal schools and that as a plan for supplying the state with teachers for the common schools, it was ineffective through failure of proper support. It aimed to train teachers for the schools of the state, as did the normal schools; but while the latter were sup- ported by the state and were provided with competent instructors, the former re- ceived no state aid and had no special instructors competent to train teachers. In 1910, the idea of training teachers in the public schools was re-enacted into law. It was provided that high schools and academies of the first class, in connec- tion with their regular work, might establish and maintain a teacher-training course under the direction and with the approval of the superintendent of education who should prescribe the curriculum and appoint the special teacher therefor. The element of practice teaching, provided by the Act of 1876 but immediately lost in the legislative shuffle, was recognized, it being required that no such course should be approved unless there were at least three elementary graded schools available for observation and practice purposes. That the legislation is of state concern, appears from the requirement that the students to be taught shall be willing to teach in the public schools of the state and from the provision for state aid to the extent of $800 whenever the high school or academy expends, in addition thereto, at least $200 in salary for such special teacher. In 1912 the law was materially broadened and strengthened. The teacher-training course in the secondary school, at first an experiment of doubtful value to many friends of education, has already proven its worth as a source of supply to meet the requirements of the elementary schools. Its graduates have the requisite training in the science of teaching and for the most part, have kept in touch with the rural environment. In the two years following its establishment it put 249 teachers in the field — 229 of them into rural TRAINING OF TEACHERS 47 schools, and respecting its work in 1912, the report of the Carnegie Foundation says : — "On the whole, the state certainly did vastly better for its purpose with its invest- ment of $8,600 in the 126 training-class graduates in 1912, than in the $20,000 that it put into the 14 'higher course' and 28 'lower course' graduates from the normal schools during the same year." The teacher-training course has proved the most efficient and the most economi- cal way of training teachers for the elementary schools. Of this the Commission is firmly convinced by information received, not only through the report of the Carnegie Foundation, but independently of it. After thirty-five years — years in which the normal schools, despite strong moral and financial support, have utterly failed to furnish an adequate supply of trained teachers — the idea of training teachers for the schools in the schools, formulated in suitable legislation, has developed into a successful fact. The Commission strongly advocates the imme- diate increase in the number of teacher-training classes with a two-year course, the establishment and development of which the Commission believes to be one of the most important functions of the secondary schools selected therefor. Given an adequate supply of trained teachers, the teacher's tenure of position is a consideration of great importance, for upon it depends the growth of that sub- conscious intercourse "between teacher and pupil, indispensable to good instruc- tion. To be successful, the teacher must know the minds and hearts of her pupils, and they must feel that they are known by her. It may not be an overstatement to say that the work of a teacher for a single term in a new school is almost valueless instructively, even though — as doubtless too often happens — she does not thresh over the dry straw left by her predecessor. Closely related to the matter of tenure of position is that of teachers' salaries. It is said that Vermont, of all the states of the Union, stands forty-third in the average annual salary of public school teachers and that the majority of rural teachers receive an annual salary of $250 to $350. The standard of the salary of elementary school teachers should be materially raised, especially in the rural sections. In these matters a very grave responsibility rests upon local boards of school directors, a responsibility not commonly met because, probably, not appreciated. The report of the Carnegie Foundation says that the amount of teachers' salaries and the manner of payment should be pre- scribed and guaranteed by the state, and that they should be subject to state in- spection and criticism. The Commission approves the suggestion that the state should prescribe the manner of payment and believes that the amount should be subject to state inspection and criticism. The fixing of the amount, however, should remain within the province of the local authorities, subject to the super- vision of the board of education. That "the elementary school teachers should work under conditions controlled by the state" is a recommendation which the Commission heartily endorses with respect to the teacher's tenure of position. School teachers, in either the elementary or secondary school, should be assured of 48 TRAINING OF TEACHERS their positions during good behavior and should not be permitted to change their locations in the state except to receive an increase of salary — and then only at the end of the school year; provided that by the sanction of regulations therefor, to be established by the board of education, teachers might be removed for cause shown not affecting their behavior and might change their locations in the state for cause shown, regardless of salary. Assured of reasonable compensation and stability of position, the work of the teacher will become more professional, and consequently more efficient. The report of the Carnegie Foundation treats the teacher-training courses as a source of supply of teachers for the rural elementary schools and recommends the establishment of a central training-school for teachers in the higher grades of urban schools in the junior high schools. The report also recognizes the fact that such a central training-school is not now indispensable. It says: "In Vermont it would, of course, be quite possible to continue as heretofore and allow the better positions in the state to be filled by a process of natural selection from merit in the lower grades or from material attracted from abroad." In its discussion of the normal schools the report says: "Vermont has tried in vain for fifty years to bring pupils to her training-.schools; when she takes the training-schools to the pupils there is response at once." Experience, therefore, cautions against the establishment of a special training-school. The Commission is strong in the belief that training of the character proposed for such a central training-school is the only kind of normal training the state should undertake, now or hereafter, in a special institution there- for, and that such training when given should be in a single, strong, well-equipped central institution. Without, however, in any way discouraging the establish- ment of such an institution whenever the needs of the state in this class of teachers require it, the Commission is of the opinion that the teacher-training courses in the secondary schools will amply meet the teaching requirements of the elementary schools, both rural and urban, and of the earlier years of the junior high schools, all of which are now within the class of elementary schools. If it be thought that the graduates of the teacher-training courses will not be equipped to teach in the junior high schools, it would appear to be entirely feasible to train teachers for the junior high schools — for the earlier years even — in the way recommended elsewhere for the training of teachers for the .secondary schools, for under the proposed new classification of schools, the junior high schools are secondary schools no less than the senior high schools. The training of secondary-school teachers is discussed under the title, "Middle- bury College." Supervision As respects the work of superintendence and supervision, it is interesting to note that Vermont was one of the pioneer states in the adoption of a state system of supervision. In 1845, the legislature, by a single enactment (No. 37, Acts of 1845), TRAINING OF TEACHERS 49 provided for a comprehensive and cooperating system of school supervision by town superintendents, appointed by the freemen of the towns at their annual March meeting, by county superintendents, appointed annually by the judges of the county courts, and by a state superintendent, appointed annually by the General Assembly. As this work requires a thorough appreciation by the superintendent of the per- sonality of the teachers, the importance of permanency of position is apparent. The Commission fully endorses the system of school unions for the improvement of instruction by union superintendence. Heretofore, the establishment of such unions has been optional with the school directors of neighboring towns, the towns not within a union having a town superintendent of schools as formerly. The efhciency of instruction, the general improvement in school buildings, surroundings and equipment, the arousing of a united interest among the teachers, in the schools of a union, are considerations that lead the Commission to recommend a compulsory unionization of schools. It seems likely that of about sixty towns now outside of school unions, most of them can conveniently become a part of unions already formed. So far as possible a center of population of a sufficient number of schools should be a union in itself. Uniformity of work in the schools of a union is desirable, and to this end the superintendent's tenure of office should be stable. We endorse what is said in this respect in the report of the Carnegie Foundation : "Superintendents who have shown acceptable ability should be assured per- manent tenure of office. In every case their dependence for office should be re- moved as far as possible from local influences." As representatives of the state board of education, their election and also their dismissal should be subject to governing regulations by that board. This is so now by statute. Acts of 1912, No. 62, Sec. 12. In addition to the system of superintendence by unions, and broadly supplement- ing it, we advocate a close state supervision by trained, capable supervisors em- ployed by the commissioner of education and responsible only to him and the super- intendent in whose union they may be engaged. Their work should not be con- fined to any particular section of the state; their field of oversight should be changed frequently. They should not be inspectors merely, but should "spend their time in the schools, assisting the teachers and demonstrating proper methods," and withal they should see that hj'giene regulations are properly observed, a matter requiring especial attention in the rural schools. VIII AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION To make the operation of the system of education consistent and uniform through- out the commonwealth, giving all the children of the state approximately equal advantages; and to maintain the system constantly and progressively as a function of government essential to the general welfare of the state, involves a provision for administrative agency and control. This administrative power should be com- mensurate with the educational regulations established. It should be free from all influences but those affecting the welfare of the state as a whole, and therefore competent to deal with school problems exclusively from the standpoint of the public educational provisions of the state. To be efficient in meeting all the needs of all the people, regulations should have due regard to the courses of study in the elementary, secondary, and vocational schools to adapt them to the life and con- ditions in the state; to the specific training of teachers to supply the demands of the elementary and the secondary schools; and to such thorough supervision of the entire public school work as will insure wise direction, proper counsel, true en- couragement, and correction of undesirable methods and results. These and other essentials to the efficient administrative direction and control of the educa- tional instrumentalities of the state, can be most surely achieved through a strong state board, supporting and cooperating with a scientific educator of ability and experience, as its chief executive officer. Throughout its whole history, Vermont has definitely committed itself to the suitable education of its children and youth for independent and responsible citizen- ship. From the start it recognized public education as a "fundamental social policy" and sovereign duty. In providing for a system of public education the school district was early made the unit of organization; and the administrative control was delegated by the state through its legislature to such restricted areas. This continued for many years to meet in reasonable degree local conditions and the needs of the children of the state, and was therefore satisfactory to the people; but with the changes in population, in the growth of centers of population, and in other conditions affecting social life, there arose demands for a larger unit of ad- ministration, looking to a greater equalization in educational advantages as well as in the burdens. To meet these demands the legislature of 1870 enacted laws permitting the present town systems; but it was not compulsory until 1892, since which time, by general law, the town has been the unit of organization for school affairs throughout the entire state. Yet, as seen, the real educational unit is the state, and the subject of the maintenance and support of common schools is one which the state in its sovereign character is bound to sustain. Though the state has always recognized the duty to give its children equal educa- tional opportunities, this has not always been the result of endeavors, because of physical conditions, the uneven distribution of the school population, and the un- AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION 51 equal valuations of assessable property in the several towns and cities. To meet and correct the inequalities arising from the various causes, the state has sought from time to time, in effect, to distribute the burden more evenly to cover the whole state, to the end that the children in towns financially unable to bear the entire burden of schools therein, which in number and quality would answer the require- ments of law, might have the educational advantages contemplated and to which they were entitled. This object has but partly been accomplished. In further- ance of the essential purpose to regulate the school system so as to afford all the children in the state as nearly equal educational advantages as circumstances will reasonably permit, regardless of the size or financial ability of the town or city in which they live, the state should take upon itself to a greater extent than ever before, the burden of the schools, and a more extended and more critical super- vision and control affecting every part of the state. The state is vitally concerned with the proper enlightenment of its children. Its integrity and progress can be insured only by a system of free public education that will reach all and train them to a knowledge of the life, conditions, and opportunities within the state. Those towns and cities where wealth is concentrated must, to a greater extent than heretofore, bear a just proportion of the burden of public educa- tion throughout the state, that educational facilities may be uniformly distributed. The original conception of duty, the historic tendencies, and the common needs of today all point clearly to greater state responsibility and larger state control in public school affairs. This brings us back to the fundamental right of every child to be adequately educated for life and its opportunities; and the inherent respon- sibility of the state to make sure provision for the due and proper education of all its children. Specific supervision of the common schools of Vermont was not undertaken until 1827 when the legislature created the first state board of commissioners for common schools. This board was discontinued in 1833. Twelve years without super- vision having elapsed, the oSice of state superintendent of common schools was estabHshed in 1845, it being filled by appointment of the legislature. In 1851 the legislature declined to appoint a state superintendent and for a period of five years the state again exercised no general supervision over its common schools; but in 1856 there was enacted a law creating the state board of education. This board continued to govern until 1874 when it was abolished and the office of state super- intendent of education was substituted for it. From 1874 to 1913, the superin- tendent of education, elected by the legislature, was the responsible power to define educational policies, formulate rules for their application and to supervise methods, check up results, and remedy errors in practice. The legislature of 1912-13 dis- continued this method and created the existing board of education. Vermont's experience in its administration and supervision of its common schools has been irregular and subject to frequent changes, tending to impair eflB- ciency and obscure the worth and importance of this necessary feature of an effec- 52 AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION tive public school system. This failure to assume definite and constant respon- sibility for inspecting and guiding the common schools as an essential instrument of public welfare, has in late years been recognized by many thoughtful citizens, and there has been an intelligent and persistent effort made to awaken public senti- ment to the needs of a positive and constructive state policy, that shall provide adequate organization for the administration, inspection, and helpful supervision of all common and special schools within the scope of the public educational system. In recent years the movement has been strong in many states, east and west, toward the centering of increased authority in state boards and trained educational officers. This is the response of the public to a quickened realization of state responsibility to foster educational interest and activity through right financial aid, in elementary, high, vocational, and special schools; and to exercise a wise and salutary supervision that shall contribute to more uniform conditions and better school advantages. As a part of this nation-wide search for greater efficiency and more equal oppor- tunity, the plan, once generally employed, of placing the public schools of the state under the general control of a superintendent of public instruction, elected by the people or chosen by the legislature, has given place to the plan that puts the public school organization under the general management of a small school board appointed by the governor, with or without legislative confirmation. Vermont has had ample experience in both methods. By enactment of its present legislature it is aligned with the most modern thought, and the administra- tion of its public school system is committed to a board of education composed of five members who are appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term, two for two years, two for four years, and one for six years, the board to appoint a superintendent of education whose term of oSice is three years and until his successor is appointed and qualified; but the partial and uncertain authority of this board over the different factors entering into the efficient opera- tion of the state's educational system, makes a well conceived, definitely formulated, and effectively executed state educational policy difficult if not impossible. This administrative board is the central and authoritative agent of all of the people of the state. It must be representative of the whole and not of a part. It must stand for the educational interests of all of the state's children; and for the welfare of every factor contributing to the educational integrity and progress of the state. Its powers should be sufficiently large and its responsibilities sufficiently great to meet the needs of the whole people within the law pertaining to public educational regulation and administration. Its members should be able, represen- tative, experienced in the affairs of life, familiar with conditions in Vermont, and free from other connections making for local, political, or institutional prejudice, or in any way opposed to public welfare in its widest educational sense; but not necessarily expert in educational principles and practice. This board should be made up of laymen of eminent fitness and standing, not AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION 53 otherwise employed in educational service, and who will not allow political con- siderations to enter into or influence the ofiicial actions. Its membership should not include persons connected with, or representatives of, educational institutions or other special educational interests, and there should be no ex officio member. The members should serve without compensation, except that they should be reim- bursed for their necessary expenses when engaged in the performance of the duties of the office. A central board of administration so constituted will embody the truest and wisest expression of personal service in behalf of public good and educational ad- vancement; it will command state-wide trust and confidence; and membership in it will be regarded by the public as evidence of eminent capacity for the services to be performed. Yet to make certain the high character of the board and to in- sure permanent effectiveness of its policies, plans, and activities, the members should be subject to removal by the Governor for cause, such as incompetency, failure to discharge duties, malfeasance, immorality, or other just cause inimical to the welfare of the public schools. Having created a board of education, composed of the type of persons and given the powers as herein indicated, the state should delegate to it the exclusive admin- istrative government and control of the entire public school system; and impose upon it the duty of administrating this trust in conformity to law, and to the true spirit, intent, and meaning of the educational policy of the state. The state should commit the administrative authority over the whole educational system to this central board, with the right to select and employ trained and skilful executive officers competent to be entrusted to formulate educational plans in broad outline and in detail; to supervise curricula for elementary, secondary, vocational, and special schools now existing or which may hereafter be established under the laws of the state; to prepare courses of instruction to be given in teacher-training classes in secondary schools, for the preparation of teachers for elementary schools; to prepare courses to be given in departments of institutions of higher learning, for the preparation of teachers for secondary schools or for the teaching of agriculture; and to administer, inspect, and supervise the entire educational organization and work, over which the state gives to the board general administrative authority. It should be the province of the board to supply sound judgments, to furnish wise counsel, and to stand as a firm protection to the whole educational organiza- tion against influences either within or without, harmful to its highest efficiency. It should be the right and duty of the board to act in all matters pertaining to the operation of the public school system upon conference with its chief executive officer; and to approve or disapprove recommendations made by him relating to administrative policy. The board should exercise reasonable diligence to know that its executive officers are discharging their duties in a true educational spirit and without bias or influence from other considerations. The effectiveness and final results of the educational system will depend largely 54 AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION upon the character and personnel of the board of education, and the skill, capacity, and adaptability of the executive officers chosen by that board to act under it. Hence the first and supreme function of the board will be to choose these officers of administration. The staff should consist of a commissioner of education and at least two competent deputies, who are experts in various phases of educational work, to be in constant touch with the superintendents and the teachers, for the purpose of inspection, advice, instruction, encouragement, and inspiration. The commissioner should be a man "of such special training, of such varied educa- tional experience," with such a record of successful achievement, and with such breadth of capacity as will qualify him, under the supervision and approval of the board, to formulate and execute the responsible duties connected with the operation of the school system, looking to the best results. He should be selected with an eye single to his fitness and capacity to render large and effective service to all the people, as the first executive officer of the board. He should serve for an indefinite term and be subject to dismissal only upon a four-fifths vote of the whole member- ship of the board; and there should be attached to the ofiice a salary to be determined by the board in such an amount as will secure and hold a skilful, efficient, and suc- cessful man. The expert deputies to assist the commissioner and needed to make the school organization efiicient, should be appointed by the board upon the nomina- tion of the commissioner and removed upon his motion formally presented and cause shown, and their salaries should be fixed by the board. The board, acting through the commissioner of education and his deputies, should have general administrative control of the whole educational system of the state, including schools, departments, or classes provided by the board for the training of teachers in any phases of the educational work. Such oversight should include the preparation of a budget for educational expenses; the enforcement of laws relating to the effective operation of the schools; the classification, unification, and separation of schools; "the establishment of uniform records and reports, the determination of the qualifications of teachers and their certification * * *, and the recognition of certificates and diplomas from other states;" the supervision of the expenditure of all state money for educational purposes; and the inspection of all institutions receiving state money and reporting upon their use of such funds. The board should establish a uniform system of supervision by reorganizing or discontinuing present supervision unions, or by creating new* unions, to the end that all towns shall be included in unions, and that the number of schools and amount of work to be performed in the various unions shall be approximately equal; and approve of union superintendents, determine their salaries, discontinue, trans- fer or promote them as circumstances may demand. "The board in cooperation with the state board of health," or on its approval, "should establish standards for the construction, arrangement, and sanitary equip- ment of school buildings and school sites; and should direct the medical inspection and study of public health as far as the schools are concerned." AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION 55 The board should adopt and provide for a method by which the people of the whole state may be informed as to the conditions and opportunities of all the schools within the scope of the system of public instruction; and such other educa- tional publicity as may, in the judgment of the board, contribute to the enlighten- ment and well-being of the citizens of the state. It should likewise make provi- sion for all proper educational gatherings, institutes, summer schools, etc., that the supervising and the teaching forces may have such opportunity for association, instruction, and inspiration as may be necessary for a healthy and progressive development of the state's educational interests. This Commission recommends, therefore, that the existing board of education be so reorganized as to provide a board of five members appointed by the Governor, one member for the term of five years, one for the term of four years, one for the term of three years, one for the term of two years, and one for the term of one year, and at the expiration of a term, the term of office should be five years; that the membership shall consist of laymen of the type herein suggested; that the board shall be given plenary administrative powers, within the law, over the whole educa- tional system and organization of the state, and be charged definitely with the responsibility of providing, through a commissioner of education and at least two deputies, for the effective administration of the educational policy of the state; that provision be made for such compensation to the commissioner and his deputies "as shall guarantee the service of a progressive educational leader" with competent assistants; that proper appropriations be made to enable the board of education to carry out the provisions of the law respecting the establishment and maintenance of elementary and secondary schools throughout the state, and respecting all other matters connected with, or essential to, the efficient operation of such schools, including the preparation of teachers, and supervision of schools; and for the pay- ment of salaries of all officers and of clerical assistance employed by said board in connection with the administrative work of, or under, the board, including the expenses of the board, and the members thereof; and since all items of cost can not be correctly estimated in advance, that a reasonable sum of money be placed at the disposal of the board at the outset to be accounted for subsequently in detail to the state. X UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 1. Its Chabacter — Public or Private It has been much urged on the part of the University of Vermont and State Agricul- tural College, that it is a state university, that is, a public, not a private, corporation, and therefore entitled as a matter of right to state support. This question so bears on the rights, duties, and obligations of that institution, which it is, by statute, the duty of this Commission to determine, as to require a careful examination of the character (that is, whether public or private) of the University of Vermont and the Vermont Agricultural College, two pre-existing corporations which united in form- ing the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, held by the Supreme Court of the state (in University of Vermont and State Agricultural College against Baxter's Estate, found in 42d of Vermont Reports, page 99,) to be a new corpora- tion. This constitutes our justification for the space given to these matters in this report. The president of the last named institution, delivering an address before the Commission, said: — "The University of Vermont has been from the beginning of its existence a State University. The facts of history are full and sufficient demonstration of this pro- position. The university is the only institution of this type in Vermont and, there- fore, claims its right as the culmination and consummation of the public school system to serve this state in the same way that institutions of similar character serve their several states." It should be here stated that a corporation is a creature of the state granting its charter, endowed with such faculties as the state bestows and subject to such con- ditions as the state imposes, and if the power to modify the charter is reserved, the reservation is a part of the contract; and the highest court in this state has said, "that such a reservation affects the entire relation between the state and the cor- poration, and places under legislative control all rights, privileges, and immunities derived by its charter directly from the state, including its very existence; but that rights and interests acquired by the corporation, not constituting a part of the con- tract of incorporation, and so not derived directly from the state, stand on a differ- ent footing, and are not thereby subjected to legislative contract." Lawrence v. Rutland Railroad Co., 80 Vt. 370. In connection with our discussion of the elementary and secondary schools, we quote sections 40 and 41 of chapter II of the Constitution of 1777, show ing that the former section, after requiring the establishment of a school or schools in each town by the legislature, declared that "One Grammar School in each County, and one University in this State, ought to be established by Direction of the General Assembly;" and the latter section, among other things, declares, "And all religious ITS CHARACTER 57 Societies, or bodies of men, that have, or may be hereafter united and incorporated, for the Advancement of Religion and Learning, or for other pious and charitable purposes, shall be encouraged and protected in the Enjoyment of the Privileges Immunities and Estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such Regula- tions as the General Assembly of this State shall direct." We also quote from the Constitution of 1786, showing that the provisions of the above mentioned sections 40 and 41, so far as retained, were united to form section 38, of chapter II, in the new Constitution; that said section 38, after the clause requiring the maintenance of schools in each town, declares: "and one or more grammar schools be incorporated, and properly supported, in each county in this State. And all religious societies, or bodies of men, that may be hereafter united or incorporated, for the advancement of religion and learning, or for other pious and charitable purposes, shall be en- couraged and protected, in the enjoyment of the privileges, immunities, and estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such regulations as the General Assembly of this State shall direct." Thus it is seen that the provision contained in the earlier Constitution that county grammar schools "ought to be established by Direction of the General Assembly," was changed so as to read that they "be incorporated, and properly supported." In other words, the public character of these schools contemplated by the provisions of the Constitution of 1777, was neither contemplated nor required by the provisions of the Constitution of 1786. The provision in the earlier Constitution that "one University in this State, ought to be established by Direction of the General Assembly," was not carried into the Constitution of 1786, and has not since the adoption of that Constitution been any part of the organic law of the state. This Constitution contained no provision looking to the establishment of a university by the state. The only declaration therein that can fairly be said to comprehend an institution of higher learning is, that "all religious societies, or bodies of men, that may be hereafter united or in- corporated, for the advancement of religion and learning, or for other pious and charitable purposes, shall be encouraged and protected, in the enjoyment of the privileges, immunities, and estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such regulations as the General Assembly of this State shall direct." The extent of this provision (so far as need be noticed) is, that institutions for the advancement of religion and learning "shall be encouraged and protected," as therein specified. Exclusive of the land specifically granted for the benefit of Dartmouth College, there were in nearly every town charter granted by the State of Vermont, rights reserved to several public uses therein named, one of which rights (quoting from what seems to be a typical charter in this respect) was "for the use of a seminary or college," and one "for the use of county grammar schools within said state," which said two rights "for the use of a seminary or college, and for the use of county grammar schools, as aforesaid, and the improvements, rents, interests, and profits arising therefrom, shall be under the control, order, direction and disposal of the General Assembly of said state, forever." 58 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT It is a matter of history that in 1785, EHjah Paine of Williamstown presented a memorial to the legislature, proposing the donation of two thousand pounds towards a college or university, on certain conditions, one of which was that said college or university be in the township of Williamstown. The matter of this offer ran along without receiving consideration by that body. At the session of the legis- lature in 1789, Ira Allen presented a memorial for a college, from which we quote the following : "Having Honorable views toward the Public, and having a desire to make the Place I have chosen for my residence Respectable by the establishment of Liberal Arts & Sciences, I therefore name Burlington for that purpose. "That so great an object may soon be affected, I offer to the Public four thousand pounds on the following conditions (viz) that the Legislature * * * Establish the place for erecting a College in this State at or within two miles of BurUngton Bay in the County of Chittenden and appoint Trustees for the same — "I bind myself my Heirs Executors and administrators firmly by these Presents, to pay to the Trustees of sd College the sd sum of four thousand Pounds, one Thousand of which is to be paid in a proper square of Lands sufficient to Erect all the Public buildings on, to form a handsome Green and convenient gardens for the officers of College, the Price of this tract of Land to be estimated by the major part of sd Trustees and the remaining part of sd Thousand pounds is to be paid to sd Trustees in provisions, materials and Labor in Erecting the Public Buildings, the remaining three Thousand pounds to be Paid to the sd Trustees in New Lands that will rent in produce, that is Wheat, Beef, Pork, Butter or Cheese Payable to the Trijstees of sd College for the annual Interest at six Percent of sd Three Thousand pounds — " In connection therewith he, Ira Allen, presented subscriptions from sundry other individuals for the same purpose, to the amount of one thousand six hundred fifty pounds, making a total of five thousand six hundred fifty pounds. It is said in a note to an Historical Discourse defivered by Rev. John W'heeler, D. D., President of the University of Vermont from 1833 to 1849, on the occasion of the Semi- centennial Anniversary of that institution, that these various subscriptions from other individuals "are in his (Ira Allen's) handwriting, and were all obtained by his active and personal attention to the business." Thereupon such steps were taken that an act incorporating the University of Vermont was passed November 3, 1791. This act declared that the Governor of this state, the speaker of the house of representatives for the time being, and the president of the university when elected, should be ex officio trustees, and together with the ten other men named, (one of whom was Ira Allen,) and such others as should be appointed in manner and to the ITS CHARACTER 59 number thereinafter directed, should form and constitute the board of trustees for the said institution, to be known by the name and style of the Corporation of the University of Vermont. The said corporation and their successors in office were constituted a body corporate and poUtic, with the usual corporate privileges and powers, including self perpetuation; and with full power to take by gift, grant, pur- chase, or devise, any estate whether real or personal, for the use of the said univer- sity, "and to take charge of, lease, rent, and improve to the best advantage, all such grants as have been already made by the authority of this state, for the use and benefit of a college," and also to receive and appropriate such donations as had been, or thereafter should be made, for the use of the institution. The charter as granted does not show that the University of Vermont, in its establishment, received any property from the state, beyond what arises, if any, from the phrase above quoted, fairly and properly construed. The facts show that the charter of that corporation was granted at the instance of Ira Allen, and that the public buildings of the institution were erected on land of his gift, and designated by him, as before seen, for that purpose. Who was the ferjicievt founder of this institution? is an important question. The circumstances previously existing are not only interesting, they are instructive in reaching right conclusions. When Elijah Paine made his offer aforementioned toward a college or university to be located at Wilhamstown, the Constitution of 1777, requiring one university to be established by direction of the General Assembly as a part of the public school system of the state, was in force. Thompson (in his History of Vermont, Part 2, page 145) says the subject of this offer was post- poned, "and the legislature could not be brought to take the matter into serious consideration till the October session in 1789." Whether the delay originally was in anticipation of a change in the Constitution, we need not conjecture. In the minds of some who have given the matter more or less study, the reason for the change seems enveloped in mystery. The reason is of little moment here, except as it may shed light upon subsequent actions and events. As viewed by the Com- mission, the most cogent reason is found in the conditions and the economic neces- sities of the people in the state. Under the Constitution of 1777, the public school system included town schools, county grammar schools, and a state university; The section relating thereto was entirely rewritten in the revision of the Constitu- tion in 1786, eliminating the element that seems to have placed upon each town the burden of maintaining the schools established therein, making proper use of school lands; leaving county grammar schools to be incorporated and properly supported, hke academies, as private institutions; and dropping out altogether the provision pertaining to the establishment of a state university. Only a little more than half of the five years immediately following the signing of the definitive treaty between Great Britain and the United States, (called by John Fiske in his book entitled, "The Critical Period of American History," page 55, "the most critical moment in all the history of the American people,") had elapsed. 60 UNIVERSITY OF VERiMONT Though Vermont was then an independent state, she had not only fought against the mother country in the Revolutionary War, but she was being sorely troubled by New York, a condition threatening the homes, property, and prosperity of her people, destined to continue for some time to come and to be the chief obstruction to her admission into the Union. She was not admitted until February 18, 1791 less than nine months before the charter of the University of Vermont. Let us quote from Thompson's History of Vermont: (Part 2, page 79). "The condition of Vermont at this period (years immediately following the end of the war), was much better than that of the confederated states. She had managed to pay her own troops during the war, by the avails of her public lands and other means, and having no connection with Congress, no part of the burden of the public debt of the United States rested on her. But she was not equally exempt from the other causes of dissatisfaction, which operated in the confeder- ated states. Many of the people, though possessed of houses and lands, were, in other respects, in low and straitened circumstances and so much incumbered with debts, that their immediate payment in the presents scarcity of money, would require the sacrifice of all they had, and reduce themselves and families to a state of penury and starvation. Thus situated, it is not surprising, that the spirit of opposition to the judicial authority, which had manifested itself in the neighboring states, should make its appearance in Vermont. "So early as the spring of 1784, a convention from several towns was assembled at Wells, by which sundry resolutions were passed in relation to the general suffer- ings and embarrassments of the people, and a liberal amount of execration was meted out to the lawyers and sheriffs, but no disposition was manifested in this state to oppose the collection of debts by force till the year 1786. During the summer of this year, the sufferings of the people becoming severe and their complaints loud, on account of the extreme scarcity of money. Governor Chittenden in the month of August published an address to the inhabitants of the state, which was evidently dictated by a paternal regard to their welfare and happiness. In this address he earnestly exhorts the people to be industrious and economical — to avoid as much as possible the purchase of foreign productions, and to give their attention to the raising of flax and wool, and the various necessaries for food and clothing; and he expresses the anxious hope that by their prudence and diligence — by their mutual forbearance and kindness — together with such assistance as the legislature should, at its next session, be able to afford, — their sufferings would be brought to a speedy termination, and themselves become a prosperous and happy people. "In October, the legislature met at Rutland, and measures, designed to relieve the pecuniary embarrassments of the people, occupied a large share of the session. * * * But these several acts and resolutions did not serve to quiet all the people; for there were many who did not intend to be compelled to pay their debts in any way, and they judged it the shortest method of avoiding payments to prevent the .sitting of the courts, in which judgments and executions might be obtained against ITS CHARACTER 61 them; and two attempts of this kind were made shortly after the session of the legislature at which the above acts and resolutions were passed, one in the county of Windsor, and the other in the county of Rutland." In speaking of the education of the early settlers of Vermont, Thompson says (Part 2, page 141): "Few of the early settlers of Vermont enjoyed any other ad- vantages of education than a few months' attendance at primary schools, as they existed in New England previous to the revolution. But these advantages had been so well improved, that nearly all of them were able to read, and write a legible hand, and had acquired sufficient knowledge of arithmetic for the transaction of ordinary business. They were, in general, men of strong and penetrating minds, and, clearly perceiving the numerous advantages, which education confers, they early directed their attention to the establishment of schools. But for many years there were obstacles, in addition to those incident to all new settlements, which prevented much being done for the cause of education. The controversies in which they were involved and the war of the revolution, both of which threatened the annihilation of Vermont as an independent state, and the ruin of many of the settlers by robbing them of their farms, employed nearly all their thoughts and all their energies, previous to their admission into the federal union." At the session of the legislature in October, 1781, an Act was passed enabling the inhabitants of the several towns within the state to levy on the lands therein such tax or taxes as they should agree to, not exceeding, in the whole, two pence per acre, for the purpose, among other things, of building school houses. This seems to have been the first enactment in this state authorizing the laying of taxes for purposes pertaining to public education. At the session of the legislature in October, 1782, a general law was passed, providing for the division of towns into convenient school districts, and for the appointment of trustees in each town for the general super- intendence of the schools, and to have charge of any property or funds held by the town for the purposes of town schools, and to render an account of their doings, to the town, as often as required. The Act further provided for the election of a prudential committee by the inhabitants of each district, which committee was empowered to raise one-half the money necessary for building and repairing a school house and supporting a school, by a tax assessed on the grand list, and the other half, either on the list or on the polls of the scholars, as should be directed by a vote of the district. By the same Act the judges of the county courts, in their respective counties, were empowered to appoint trustees of county schools, who should have the same powers in all matters relating to their trust, as trustees of town schools, and should in like manner, be accountable to the judges by whom they were respec- tively appointed. And said judges, calling to their assistance the justices of peace in their several counties, were given the power to lay a tax on the same "for the purpose of building a county school house. To be collected by warrant by the state treasurer in the same manner as state taxes are." Thompson says, (page 141) "The part of this plan relating to county schools 62 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT seems never to have been carried into effect; Init that in relation to town schools, was gradually introduced and improved, till schools, which may be called free, were established in all the organized towns in the state." An examination of the early statutes shows, that so much of the law of the said Act of 1782, as related to county schools and laying taxes for the purpose of building county school houses, continued in force until the rising of the February session of the legislature, 1787; that an Act establishing the Constitution of 1786 as the Con- stitution of Vermont, was passed March 3, 1787; and that "An Act for Appointing and Supporting Schools," was passed March 8, 1787, one clause of which reads, "And the Judges of the County Courts, in their respective counties, shall have power to appoint Trustees of countj' schools, who shall have the same powers, in all matters relating to their trust, as Trustees of town schools, and shall be in like manner accountable to the Judges by whom they were respectively appointed." But it did not authorize the laying of taxes for the purpose of building county school houses. The county schools referred to in the Act of 1782, and also in this Act of 1787, must have been the county grammar schools mentioned in the Constitution. What action on the part of the state, in addition to that of changing the Constitution itself, could be more indicative of a purpose to change the educational policy of the state than the facts, that during the existence of the first Constitution, when county grammar schools were a part of the public school system and there existed a statute permitting the assessment of a tax for the building of county school houses for such schools, the law was never carried into effect; that when the Constitution was changed, excluding from the public school system county grammar schools and a state university, the statute permitting the laying of a tax to build county school houses, was no longer retained in force; and that thereafter (the first, in October, 1787,) county grammar schools were incorporated in nearly or quite all of the differ- ent counties in the state, severally supported by grants from the legislature of the use and benefit of grammar school lands in counties where such lands exist — all, like academies, private institutions, for the maintenance of which, so far as the Commission is aware, there has never been a law permitting a tax to be laid. Is it not reasonable to say, therefore, that the change in the Constitution marked a change in public policy consequent on the conditions and economic necessities of the people? It is said by Mr. Justice Story in the great case of Dartmouth College against Woodward, reported in the 4th of Wheaton, page 518, that what is deemed a foundation, and who is the founder, cannot be stated with more brevity and exact- ness than in the language of Sir William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, and he quoted from Book 1, page 480, as follows: "The founder of all corporations, in the strictest and original sense, is the king alone, for he only can incorporate a society; and in civil incorporations, such as mayor and commonalty, etc., where there are no possessions or endowments ITS CHARACTER 63 given to the body, there is no other founder but the king; but in eleemosynary foundations such as colleges and hospitals, where there is an endowment of lands, the law distinguishes, and makes two species of foundation; the one fun datio inci- pieng, or the incorporation, in which sense the king is the general founder of all colleges, and hospitals; the other /wnc/a^jo perficiens, or the dotation of it, in which sense the first gift of the revenues is the foundation, and he who gives them is in law the founder: and it is in this last sense that we generally call a man the founder of a college or hospital." It has been held in England, by the Privy Council (In the Matter of the Endowed Schools Act, and In the Matter of the St. Leonard, Shoreditch, Parochial Schools, found in 10th Appeal Cases, page 304), that where a charity is established by subscriptions, the original subscribers alone are the founders; but that it is quite impossible to attribute this character to those who come after them, whether they contribute to the building fund or any other fund in aid of the existing charity or not; that it is reasonably plain that when a foun- dation be once started, though by small beginnings, everything afterwards added, which is not an endowment for a new and special purpose, must be taken to be upon the footing of the original foundation. At the time Ira Allen presented his memorial for a college at Burlington he was 38 years old. Since before the adoption of the Constitution of 1777 he had been preeminently active in civil, military, and diplomatic affairs of the state, and had become probably the wealthiest man in the state, having landed estate lying mostly along the lake of over 200,000 acres, some of which was in Burlington. Being thus prominent and financially able, it is not strange that he should think of founding a college in Burlington, the town of his future residence, and for that purpose offer to give four thousand pounds, specifying in the original instrument of endowment that one thousand of it "is to be paid in a proper square of Lands to Erect all the Public buildings on, to form a hand.some Green and convenient gardens for the officers of College, * * *" One comprehends the munificence of this gift when one considers that (in the language of Professor John Ellsworth Goodrich, in the "Centennial Oration," delivered Commencement Day, June 29, 1892, on "The Life and Public Services of General Ira Allen,") "Harvard College rests upon an original appropriation by the colony of but four hundred pounds, and its name is a magnificent monument to the man by whose will it received some eight hundred pounds and a small library"; and (in the language of Robert D. Benedict, in an oration delivered upon the Centennial Anniversary, June 24, 1891,) "The largest donation received by Harvard, up to 1836, was only half as large." In the same connection Mr. Benedict further says concerning the gift of Ira Allen and the University of Vermont: "His subscription was by far the largest part of all the subscriptions; and the subscriptions were substantially the only founda- tion of the university. The legislature in granting the charter did indeed give to u^ it the lands which had been reserved in the various township grants for the use and benefit of a college, which amounted to a little more than had been granted 64 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT to Dartmouth College. But these grants were of little avail for the expenses of beginning. * * * "As I have said, the legislative grant of lands was of little avail at first. It was stated in a report made by the trustees to the Legislature in 1804, that the total amount of money which they had actually received from these lands granted by the Legislature had been $79.42, or about $7 a year for the thirteen years which had passed since the charter was granted. "The university was, therefore, put in motion with funds contributed by indi- vidual citizens, and the subscription of Ira Allen may be well considered its corner stone. * * *" The views expressed by Mr. Goodrich, an honorable, able, and efficient pro- fessor in the university for many years, and now a professor emeritus, are even more emphatic in the same direction. In his oration, from which we have already quoted, he further said: "The founding of the University of Vermont was but an incident, albeit a most important one, in Allen's contribution toward the building of the State. His sagacious mind clearly discerned the true relations between education on the one hand, and patriotism and politics on the other. A complete intellectual inde- pendence would tend to strengthen and consolidate that moral and political inde- pendence which should characterize a self-governing community. "Allen selected as a location for the future University a lot of 50 acres, one of the sightliest in all the Champlain Valley. Portions of it were alienated in the early days from time to time for reasons which one can recall only with mingled sorrow and indignation, until only an acre and a half remained. "One of the reasons which in 1797 Allen urges for the speedy determination of his suit before the Admiralty Court, (in England,) was his desire to 'erect public buildings for the University of Vermont,' the materials for which he had already caused to be prepared. 'These are kept,' he says, 'in a state of ruinous suspense by my absence.' "If I venture to suggest to the honorable board of trustees the propriety of ordaining that from this time forward, the first of May, the natal day of Ira Allen, shall be set in the calendar of the University of Vermont as Founder's Day, to be observed as a holiday forever, significant at once of her origin, and of the new life pulsing continually in her veins of perennial and ever bourgeoning prime, I have small fear that any alumnus will enter his protest against the innovation, or that the under-graduate body will petition against such use of one day in the year in grateful recognition of our debt to our earliest benefactor." ITS CHARACTER 65 This suggestion of Professor Goodrich seems to have been acted upon by the board of trustees at their next annual meeting, June 27, 1893. The records of that meeting contain the following: "On motion it was voted that the faculty be instructed to arrange, in their discretion, for the due observance of Founder's Day." And the current number of its catalogue, the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College refers to Ira Allen as "the founder of the university." In addition thereto, the Commission understands that in accordance with the suggestion of Professor Goodrich and pursuant to said vote, "Founder's Day" has hitherto been annually observed. Notwithstanding this, it is said in a brief, presented to the Commission by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, that the offer of Ira Allen in his memorial is to give the sum named "to the public;" and that he under- stood that the university was to be a state institution, is thus established. A fair construction of the words named can be had only by viewing the whole instrument. In a previous paragraph. General Allen says: "Having Honorable views toward the Public, and having a desire to make the Place I have chosen for my residence Respectable by the establishment of Liberal Arts & Sciences, I therefore name Burlington for that purpose, * * * "That so great an object may soon be affected, I offer to the Public four thou- sand pounds on the following conditions * * * "I bind myself my Heirs Executors and administrators firmly by these Presents, to pay to the Trustees of sd College the sd sum of four thousand Pounds," etc. In the Dartmouth College case counsel for the defendant insisted that the bene- ficial interest in the property given to that institution was in the people of New Hampshire. There the charter runs thus: "Know ye therefore, that we, consider- ing the premises, and being willing to encourage the laudable and charitable design of spreading christian knowledge, * * * and also that the best means of education be established, in our province of New-Hampshire, for the benefit of said province, do of our special grace," etc. Thereupon Chief Justice Marshall said: "Do these expressions bestow on New-Hampshire any exclusive right to the property of the college, any exclusive interest in the labors of the professors? Or do they merely indicate a willingness, that New-Hampshire should enjoy those advantages, which result to all from the establishment of a seminary of learning in the neighborhood? On this point we think it impossible to entertain a serious doubt. The words themselves, unexplained by the context, indicate, that the 'benefit intended for the province' is that, which is derived from 'establishing the best means of educa- tion therein;' that is, from establishing in the province Dartmouth College, as con- stituted by the charter." The words "for the benefit of said province," there used, are stronger looking toward a jmblic institution in the legal sense than the words of Ira Allen, "to the public." It is very apparent that he used the word "public," as he did in the first paragraph quoted, in its popular sense, for the establishment of a college at 66 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Burlington, not as a strictly public institution, but as an institution which should inure to the public good, by the general promotion of learning. It is said by the Supreme Court of this state (in Franklin County Grammar School against Bailej', found in G'id of Vermont Reports, page 467, and quoting from the Dartmouth College case,) " 'The objects for which a corporation is created are universally such as the government wishes to promote. They are deemed beneficial to the country; and this constitutes the consideration of the grant.' " The obligation is contained in the next paragraph, and it is, "I bind myself * * *, to pay to the trustees of sd College, the sd sum," etc. It is further said in the same brief that by the charter of the University of Ver- mont, lands were granted by the state to that corporation, and hence the foundation was public, and the fact that Ira Allen contributed to the foundation does not affect its character; that "it was the established principle of the common law that if the King and a private individual joined in endowing a charitable corporation, the King alone was the founder thereof." This position taken in the brief requires careful examination along the lines there indicated. It will be called to mind that in the granting of the charter of the University of Vermont, that corporation was given full power "to take charge of, lease, rent, and improve to the best advantage, all such grants as have been already made by the authority of this state, for the use and benefit of a college." It con- tained no provision either expressly or impliedly giving that institution the right to appropriate to its own use and benefit said lands or the income therefrom. The power given was more in the nature of that of an agency to take charge of, lease, etc., said lands as there directed. Beyond that, the matter of these lands and the rents, interests, and profits arising therefrom, were yet under the control, order, direction, and disposal of the General Assembly. It is said by the Supreme Court of the United States (in the case of Newton against Board of County Commissioners of Mahoning County, found in the 100th of the United States Reports, page 548), that "No grant can be raised by mere inference or presumption, and the right granted must be clearly defined. * * * The rule of construction in this class of cases (public grants) is that it shall be most strongly against the corporation. Every reasonable doubt is to be resolved adversely. Nothing is to be taken as conceded but what is given in unmistakable terms or by an implication equally clear. The affirmative must be shown. Silence is negation, and doubt is fatal to the claim. This doctrine is vital to the public welfare." The same doctrine is discussed and applied by that Court in the recent case of Blair against Chicago, found in the 201st of the United States Reports, page 400. That the lands had not in terms been granted to the use and benefit of the Univer- sity of Vermont, seems to have been understood, for on November 10, 1802, an Act was passed, entitled "An act in addition to, and explanation of an act, entitled 'an act for the purpose of founding a University at Burlington,' passed the third day of November, A. D. one thousand seven hundred and ninety one." ITS CHARACTER 67 The preamble and section 1 of this Act of 1802, read : — "Whereas doubts have arisen, whether the corporation of the University of Vermont, have a right to appropriate, to the use and benefit of said university, the rents and profits of all such lands as have been already granted and reserved, by the authority of this state, for the use and benefit of a college, or for the use and benefit of a seminary or college. And, Whereas it is thought necessary, that further additions be made to said act for said university — Therefore, SECTION I "It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That the cor- poration of the University of Vermont, is hereby vested with full power, right and authority to take charge of, lease, rent, and appropriate to the use and benefit of the University of Vermont, all such lands as have been already granted and reserved, by the authority of this state, for the use and benefit of a college, or for the use and benefit of a seminary or college; and the same to continue, until the further order of the legislature." It will be observed that the legislature did not, by this Act, undertake to declare the construction of the provision of the charter empowering the University of Vermont "to take charge of, lease, rent, and improve to the best advantage, all such grants as have been already made by the authority of this state, for the use and benefit of a college." Without saying anything about the construction of the charter as it existed in this respect, the legislature enacted an amendment thereto in terms materially different from the original charter. The words "and improve to the best advantage, all such lands," etc., are changed to read, "and appropriate to the use and benefit of the University of Vermont, all such lands," etc., thus, in a distinct manner, in terms, changing the pre-existing provision; nor was this all: there were added the words of limitation, "and the same to continue, until the further order of the legislature." As thus amended, the charter remained until an Act was passed on November 2, 1810, by which the corporation was vested with full power, right, and authority, to take charge of, etc., and appropriate all such lands to the use and benefit of said university /orei.'er, the same Act expressly repeal- ing section 1 of the Act of 1802, quoted above. In view of the said provision of the original charter, and the provisions in the said amendatory Acts, relating to the same subject-matter, it is not apparent to the Commission how it can be said from a legal standpoint, that in the original charter power was granted to appropriate said lands, or the rents and profits therefrom, to the use and benefit of the University of Vermont. Lest it be said, however, that in granting the charter of that corporation, the intention of the General Assembly was to include within the power vested the right to appropriate said lands to the use and benefit of that institution, and that it was always so treated before the passage of the said Act of 1802, and that it should be 68 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT so treated now, we assume all this to be true and discuss the matter from that point of view. Concerning the principle of law invoked in the brief of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, that if the King and a private individual join in endowing a charitable corporation, the King alone is the founder, Mr. Serjeant Stephen, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. 3, page 26, states as follows : "And if the sovereign and a private man join in endowing an eleemosynary foundation, the sovereign alone shall be the founder of it; for here the royal pre- rogative prevails." This same principle is stated by Sir William Blackstone, in his Commentaries, Vol. 1, page 481. Mr. Serjeant Stephen further says (Vol. 2, page 465), "By the word prerogative w*e are to understand the character and power which the sovereign hath over and above all other persons, in right of his regal dignity; and which, though part of the common law of the country, is out of its ordinary course. This is expressed in its very name, for it signifies, in its etymology, some- thing that is required or demanded, before, or in preference to, all others; and, accordingly. Finch lays it down as a maxim, that the prerogative is that law in case of the king, which is law in no case of the subject." Jacob's Law Dictionary defines the word "prerogative" as follows: "By the word Prerogative is usually understood, that special pre-eminence, which the King hath over and above all other persons, and out of the ordinary course of the common law, in right of his regal dignity. It signifies, in its etymology from prae and rogo, something that is required or demanded before, or in preference to all others. And hence it follows, that it must be in its nature singular and eccentrical; that it can only be applied to those rights and capacities, which the King enjoys alone in con- tradiction to others; and not to those which he enjoys in common with anj' of his Subjects : for if once any prerogative of the Crown could be held in common with any subject, it would cease to be i)rerogative any longer. Finch, therefore, lays it down as a maxim, that the prerogative is that law in case of the King, which is law in no case of the subject. Finch, L. 85. "Prerogatives are either direct or incidental. The direct are such positi\'e sub- stantial parts of the royal character and authority, as are rooted in, and spring from, the King's political person, and of which we are about to state the law at some length. But such prerogatives as are incidential bear always a relation to some- thing else, distinct from the King's person, and are indeed only exceptions in favour of the Crown, to the general rules establLshed for"the rest of the community; * * * Other incidental i)rerogatives are, that where the title of the King and a common person concur, the King's title shall be preferred. 1 Inst. 30." "* * * it hath been established as a rule, that all prerogatives must be for the advantage of the people, otherwise they ought not to be allowed by law. Moor 672; Show. P. C. 75." Though .so much of the common law of England as is applicable to our local situation and circumstances, and is not repugnant to the Constitution or the laws, ITS CHARACTER 69 is the law in this state, yet in the judgment of the Commission this principle of the King's prerogative, which is out of the ordinary course of the common law and places the sovereign before, or in preference to, all others in this respect, is not appli- cable to our local situation and circumstances, and therefore it is not a part of the common law of this state. IMoreover, it seems that this law of prerogative (in- voked in the brief) is not recognized in this country. In the case of The Bank of the United States against The Planters' Bank of Georgia, in 9th of Wheaton, 904, the action was brought on promissory notes; one question was, whether the circumstance that the State of Georgia and certain individuals were members of the defendant bank, brings the cause within the clause of the Federal Constitution giving jurisdiction to the Supreme Court where the state is a party. The opinion by Chief Justice Marshall contains the following: "It is, we think, a sound principle, that when a gos-ernment becomes a partner in any trading company, it devests itself, so far as concerns the transactions of that company, of its sovereign character, and takes that of a private citizen. Instead of communicating to the company its privileges and its prerogatives, it descends to a level with those with whom it associates itself, and takes the character which belongs to its associates, and to the business which is to be transacted." In the case of Downing against the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, decided by the highest court of the State of Indiana, found in the 12th of Lawyers' Reports, Annotated, page 664, the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, a body corporate with perpetual succession, having as ex officio members the president of each county agricultural society, and held to be in a sense an educational institution, received part of its funds from the state, but for the most part its funds were received from private citizens, railroad companies, etc. The question of whether the corporation was private in character was presented, the court stating that it must be determined by the construction of the Act of incorporation. Citing the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the aforementioned case of the Bank of the United States against The Planters' Bank of Georgia, and other authorities, to the effect that if the whole interest does not belong to the government, that is, if a corpora- tion is founded in part by private benefaction and part by funds derived from the bounty of the government itself, the corporation is private, it was held that the Indiana State Board of Agriculture was a private, not a public, corporation. In the case of Thomas against The Industrial University, found in 71st of Illinois Reports, page 310, the corporation was held to be a state institution and not subject to mechanics lien law. The Court said: "The officers of the incorporation are paid, either directly or indirectly, from funds belonging to the state. All of the interest derived from the funds invested, from rents from real estate, and for tuition paid by pupils or otherwise, belongs to the state, and hence there can be no pretence that the institution is private, or is to be governed by laws relating to private persons or corporations. "liad this body been mixed in its character, and a part had been held by private 70 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT individuals, and another part held by the state, then the rule would, no doubt be different. It has been held, that, where the state enters into trade or business with private individuals associated together in a corporate capacity, then such organ- ization may be subjected to all of the legal remedies which apply to private corpora- tions. * * * " And in the case of Regents of the University of Maryland against Williams, found in 9th of Gill and Johnson's Reports, page 365, and in 31 of American Decis- ions, page 72, the highest court in Maryland said: "And all the authorities agree that colleges and academies established for the promotion of learning and piety, and endowed with property by public and private donations, are, in a legal sense, equally with hospitals for the relief of the poor, sick, etc., considered and treated as private eleemosynary corporations." It will be remembered that the subscriptions presented by Ira Allen in addition to his personal offer, were obtained by his own efforts and were in his own hand- writing. Is it too much to say that the sums so subscribed were contributions made upon his solicitation to swell the fund of his charity? If it is not, then the total fund should be considered his charity; but if this cannot justly be said, then every subscriber or contributor to that original fund should be considered a founder. This is in accordance with the doctrine laid down in the Matter of the Endowed Schools Act and in the Matter of the St. Leonard, Shoreditch, Parochial Schools, to which we have already made reference. Whichever of these two ways be correct, it seems clear to the Commission, upon the facts and the law, that the Corporation of the University of Vermont was made to rest upon a private foundation, and that Ira Allen (in case the total fund by him presented is to be considered as his charity) was the perficient founder; but if his charity was confined to his personal gift, than all of those whose sub- scriptions or contributions entered into the original fund were the perficient founders, the principal of whom was Ira Allen. The act of incorporation did not grant political power; nor did it create a civil in.stitution to be employed in the administration of the government; nor were its trustees, excepting the governor of this state, and the speaker of the house of representatives for the time being, who were ex officio members, public officers exercising powers conferred by the public for public objects; nor were the funds of the university public property; nor was the State of Vermont, as a government, alone interested in the transactions of the university, — so that the legislature of the state could act according to its own judgment, without restraint by limitation of power imposed by the Constitution of the United States prohibiting the impair- ment of the obligations of contract, without regard to reserved power in the act of incorporation. On the other hand the institution was endowed with a capacity to take real or personal property by gift, grant, purchase, or devise, for the use of the university — objects unconnected with state government; to appoint, elect, support and re- ITS CHARACTER 71 move all such officers and servants as they should find necessary; to direct the studies of youth; to establish professorships and professors, and provide for their support; to make and establish rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the university, not repugnant to the Constitution and laws of the state, nor tend- ing to religious preference; to grant and confer all such degrees, literary titles, honors and distinctions as other universities, colleges, and seminaries have done, or may of right do; to increase the number of trustees, as they should think proper, the whole not to exceed a number stated. Further review of the charter is unnec- essary. We will call attention to the law laid down by courts in cases involving the same question. In the case of Regents of the University of Maryland against Williams, to which reference is made above, one question was whether the "Regents of the University" was a public or a private corporation. Thereon the court of last resort in Maryland said : "A public corporation is one that is created for political purposes, with poHti- cal powers, to be exercised for purposes connected with the public good in the administration of civil government; an instrument of the government subject to the control of the legislature, and its members officers of the government, for the administration or discharge of public duties, as in the cases of cities, towns, etc.; so where a bank is created by the government for its own uses, and the stock belongs exclusively to the government, it is a public corporation; and so of a hospital created and endowed by the government for general purposes of charity. "The corporation of the university has none of the characteristics of a public corporation. It is not a municipal corporation. It was not created for political purposes, and is invested with no political powers. It is not an instrument of the government created for its own uses, nor are its members officers of the govern- ment, or subject to its control in the due management of its affairs, and none of its property or funds belong to the government. The state was not the founder, in the sense of that term, as apphed to corporations. It was the creator only, by means of the act of incorporation, and may be called the incipient, not the perficient founder. It gave to it in its creation the capacity to acquire and to hold property, but made to it no donation; and whatever property the corporation has, is its own, to be managed and disposed of by the regents for the uses of the institution, in such manner as they may judge most promotive of its interests, and not for the uses of the government, nor in the exercise of any political powers, but as the trus- tees merely for the university. It is said there have been subsequent endowments by the state. If it be so, that cannot affect the character of this corporation. If eleemosynary and private at first, no subsequent endowment of it bj' the state could change its character, and make it public." The elements essential to the determination of the character of the University of Vermont, as originally chartered, are not materially different from those per- taining to Dartmouth College, as shown in the Dartmouth College case, upon 72 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT which that college was held by the Supreme Court of the United States to a be private eleemosynary institution. One of the questions involved was, whether "The Trustees of Dartmouth College," was a private corporation as contended by the plaintiff, or a public corporation as contended by the defendant. Therein Mr. Justice Story said: "Public corporations are generally esteemed such as exist for public political purposes only, such as towns, cities, parishes, and counties; and in many respects they are so, although they inv'olve some private interests; but strictly speaking, public corporations are such only as are founded by the government for public purposes, where the whole interests belong also to the government. If, therefore, the foundation be private, though under the charter of the government, the corpora- tion is private, however extensive the uses may be to which it is devoted, either by the bounty of the founder or the nature and objects of the institution. * * * "A hospital founded by a private benefactor is, in point of law, a private corpora- tion, although dedicated by its charter to general charity. So a college, founded and endowed in the same manner, although, being for the promotion of learning and piety, it may extend its charity to scholars from every class in the community, and thus acquire the character of a public institution. This is the unequivocal doctrine of the authorities, and cannot be shaken but by undermining the most solid foundations of the common law." In Allen against McKeen, found in 1 of Sumner's Reports, page 276, the same question was before the court respecting the character of Bowdoin College, whether it is a private or a public corporation. In determining the question there, Mr. Justice Story also said : "That a college, merely because it receives a charter from the government, though founded by private benefactors, is not thereby constituted a public corpora- tion, controllable by the government, is clear beyond any reasonable doubt. So the law was understood by Lord Holt, in his celebrated judgments in Phillips v. Bury, (1 Ld. Raym. R. 8; S. C. 2 T. R. 346.) * * *. Nor does it make any dif- ference, that the funds have been generally derived from the bounty of the govern- ment itself. The government may as well bestow its bounty upon a private cor- poration for charity, as upon a public corporation; and its funds once bestowed upon the former become irrevocable, precisely in the same manner, and to the same extent, as if they had been bestowed upon an individual. The government cannot resume a gift, once absolutely made to a private person ; neither can it resume a like gift to a private corporation. It is true, that the government may reserve such a power in granting a charter, if it chooses so to do;" It was held that Bowdoin College was a private and not a public corporation, as "It answers the very descrip- tion of a private college, as laid down by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall," in the Dart- mouth College case. Nor did the fact that the state granted to the University of Vermont, to be leased for its use and benefit, lands reserved to the use and benefit of a college or ITS CHARACTER 73 seminary, (if the fair and proper construction of the charter, as originally granted, should be in law to this effect,) operate to make the character of the corporation public. It is said by Chancellor Kent (2 Kent's Commentaries, marginal page 276), "A charity may be public, though administered by a private corporation. A devise to the poor of a parish is a public charity. The charity of almost every hospital and college is public, while the corporations are private. To hold a corpora- tion to be public, because the charity was public, would be to confound the popular with the strictly legal sense of terms, and to jar with the whole current of decisions since the time of Lord Coke." And it appears from what is said in the case of Downing against Indiana State Board of Agriculture, (to which reference has been made,) that a college founded and endowed by private benefaction, though for the general promotion of learning, is private; and that a college, merely because it received a charter from the government, if founded by private benefactors, is not thereby constituted a public corporation controllable by the go\'ernment; nor does it make any difference that the funds have generally been derived from the bounty of the government. It is further said in the brief mentioned that most of these reservations in the town charters were made prior to the change in the Constitution, "and the lands so reserved were obviously reserved to the use of the college called for by the Con- stitution, — which would be, as noted, a public institution;" and that there is nothing to indicate that the reservations in the grants made after the adoption of the Con- stitution of 1786 were for an institution different in character. The fallacy of this position is obvious. It will be remembered that, in connection with rights reserved in charters of towns, for the use of a seminary or college, are rights reserved for the use of county grammar schools, and that the two rights so reserved were, in the same sentence and in the same terms, to be under the control, order, direction, and disposal of the General Assembly of the state, forever. Regarding such lands, the Supreme Court (in the case of the Trustees of Caledonia County Grammar School against Burt, found in the 11th of Vermont Reports, page 632,) said: "Over these two rights, the legislature had an absolute and entire control and disposal, for the use and purposes for which they were reserved. Of the one for the use of grammar schools, it had the power to grant it to any one or more, and upon such limitations and conditions as the legislature chose to express, or without any condition what- ever, in which case it would have only the implied condition that the use must ever be applied to the purpose of the grant." And in Orleans County Grammar School against Parker, (found in 25th of Vermont Reports, page 696,) it was held that the General Assembly could divide such lands between two grammar schools in the same county. What the General Assembly could do in this respect with the county grammar school lands, it could do with respect to the lands reserved to the use of a seminary or college, for the power in the General Assembly regarding them is exactly the same. Of course this must not be understood as giving the legislature the power to violate the obligation of a grant of such lands once made to a private 74 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT corporation, without reserved power giving the right of future legislation respecting them. Does the grant of such grammar school lands to the trustees of countj' grammar schools in the Act of incorporation operate to make the corporation public? This question was answered by the highest judicial tribunal in the state in the Caledonia County Grammar School case, cited above, and also in a later case presently to be mentioned. Referring to the former, the town of Lyndon, in the county of Cale- donia was chartered in 1780, the charter reserving one-seventieth part for the use of a college, and one-se\'cntieth part for the use of county grammar schools, "which two-seventieth parts for the use of a seminary or college, and for the use of county grammar schools, as aforesaid, and the improvements, rents, interests, and profits arising thereupon, shall be under the control, order, direction and disposal of the General Assembly of said state forever." By an Act passed in 1795, the persons therein named and their successors were declared to be a body corporate and politic in law, to be called and known as "The Trustees of Caledonia County Grammar School," for the purpose of sustaining a grammar school at Peacham, and were authorized and empowered to hold and lease for the use and benefit of said institu- tion, the lands lying within that county, granted for the use and benefit of a county grammar school, the legislature reserving no right to alter, modify, or repeal the charter. In 1831, the legislature incorporated a second county grammar school in that county, at Lyndon. In 1836, the legislature passed an Act authorizing the trustees of this second school to take possession of the grammar-school lands in Lyndon and in certain other towns in the county, and to hold the same; and if the same had been leased, the tenants were directed to attorn to these trustees. The Supreme Court, holding that the grant by the state to the Grammar School at Peacham vested an indefeasible title and was a contract which the state had no power to impair by subsequent legislation, and that the subsequent grant of a part of said lands to the grammar school at Lyndon was an impairment of the obligation of a contract, contrary to the Constitution of the United States and void, said, "That the trustees of a college, grammar-school or seminary of learning is such a corporation as cannot, without their own consent, be modified, vacated or con- trolled by act of the legislature, as may be done with counties, towns or other muni- cipal or civil corporations, is fully decided in Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wlieaton, 518." This in effect was a holding that the Caledonia County Grammar School at Peacham was a prixate corjjoration. The same holding was had in the essentially similar case of Franklin County Grammar School against Bailey, to which reference has been made. It follows that the granting of such lands to county grammar schools in Acts of incorporation passed after the adoption of the Constitution of 1786, did not operate to make those corporations public in character, even though the lands so granted were reserved in town charters for the use of county grammar schools at a time when the Constitution of 1777 was in force, and by it county grammar schools were to be established as part of the public ITS CHARACTER 75 school system of the state. This being so, how can it be said that the grant of the power to take charge of, lease, rent, and improve the lands reserved to the use of a seminary or college, to the University of Vermont, had the effect to make that cor- poration public in character? The charter states that "it shall not be lawful for the said corporation to hold in lands, lying within this state, to a greater quantity than seventy thousand acres; unless by consent of the legislature of this state, by a law obtained for that purpose; anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding." This provision restricting the quantity of lands in the state which the corporation might hold, except by special consent of the legislature, was wisely inserted to guard against too great accumulation of such property in the hands of this corporate body authorized to acquire and hold property for corporate purposes, and having an indefinite existence. But there was no reason for such a restriction if the corporation was public and consequently of state control. The charter further provided, that the said trustees, when required by the legis- lature, lay before them the state and conditions of the funds of the university, together with all appropriations by them made, and the by-laws, rules and regula- tions for the government of said institution, for their examination, approbation, and revision. This was not the reservation of visitatorial powers as they exist at common law. Regarding such powers Chancellor Kent (in 2 Kent's Commen- taries, marginal page 300) says: "To eleemosynary corporations, a visitatorial power is attached as a necessary incident. * * * If the corporation be public, in the strict sense, the government has the sole right, as trustee of the public interest, to inspect, regulate, control, and direct the corporation, and its funds and franchises, because the whole interest and franchises are given for the public use and advantage. Such corporations are to be governed according to the laws of the land. * * * But private and particular cor- porations, founded and endowed by individuals for charitable purposes, are subject to the private government of those who are the efficient patrons and founders. If there be no visitor appointed by the founder, the law appoints the founder himself, and his heirs, to be the visitors. * * * This power is judicial and supreme, but not legislative. He is to judge according to the statutes and rules of the college or hospital," and the decision of the visitor is final and without appeal. "In most cases of eleemosynary establishments, the founders do not retain this visitatorial power in themselves, but assign or vest it in favor of some certain specified trustees or governors of the institution. It may even be inferred, from the nature of the duties to be performed by the corporation or trustees for the persons interested in the bounty, that the founders or donors of the charity meant to vest the power of visitation in such trustees. This was the case with Dartmouth College, according to the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Dartmouth College v. Woodward. Where governors or trustees are appointed by a charter, according to the will of the founder, to manage a charity, (as is usually the case in 76 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT colleges and hospitals,) the visitatorial power is deemed to belong to the trustees in their corporate character." The trustees named in the charter were incorporated and given power to make and establish all necessary rules, regulations, and by-laws (not repugant to the Constitution and laws of the state), "and to do any other thing which shall be found necessary for the government and welfare of such an institution." In law trustees so incorporated are deemed to have visitatorial power, and particularly so in this instance, since Ira Allen was one of the trustees and consequently a visitor of his own charity. It was said by Daniel Webster in arguing the Dartmouth College case before the Supreme Court of the United States, that in New England, and perhaps throughout the United States, eleemosynary corporations have been generally established by incorporating governours, or trustees, and vesting in them the right of visitation. Further saying: "Small variations may have been in some instances adopted; as in the case of Harvard College, where some power of inspection is given to the overseers, but not strictly speaking, a visitatorial power, which still belongs, it is apprehended to the fellows, or members of the corporation. In general, there are many donors. A charter is obtained, comprising them all, or some of them, and such others as they choose to include, with the right of appoint- ing their successors. They are thus the visitors of their own charity and appoint others, such as they may see fit, to exercise the same office in time to come. All such corporations are private." It was said by Mr. Justice Story in the same case, that "where trustees or governours are incorporated to manage the charity, the visitatorial power is deemed to belong to them in their corporate character." The power of the legislature to require of the trustees a report of the funds of the university, together with the appropriations made by them, and the by-laws, rules and regulations of the institution, for their examination, approbation, and revision, falls far short of visitatorial powers under the common law. The powers thus reserved are not greater than the legislature might well require respecting such corporation of its creation having the powers and the limitations of the charter, in- cluding that of taking charge of, leasing, renting, and improving the lands reserved by the authority of the state to the use of a seminary or college. The provision in this respect was a condition imposed by the state in granting the charter. Further discussion hardly seems necessary to satisfy any one of the character of the University of Vermont. In the judgment of the Commission, the corporation of the University of Vermont, as originally chartered, was not a public corporation, but it was a private eleemosynary institution. By the last section of the Act of 1791, the Governor of the State was empowered and requested to issue to the trustees named therein and to their successors a charter of incorporation, made in due form of law, in accordance with that act. It appears that no such charter was in fact ever issued by the Governor. However, in the opinion of the Commission, this is of no material consequence, (except as it may form a part of the conditions at the time of the passage of the Act of 1810, herein- ITS CHARACTER 77 after noticed,) for, if such a charter had been issued, in legal effect it would be as broad and no broader than the act of the legislature directing it. So, in this in- stance, and in any other instance coming before the Commission, the act creating the corporation is deemed its charter and is referred to as such; and any legislative amendment thereto is considered an amendment to the charter. It appears from the records of the corporation that, during the session of the legis- lature in October, 1810, the trustees of the University of Vermont met at Mont- pelier and asked the legislature to appoint a committee "to advise with the corpora- tion in relation of the interests of the University of Vermont, and to devise the best mode to promote the same"; that such a committee was appointed, resulting in the passing of an act, November 2, 1810, in amendment of the charter. By that act the filling of vacancies in the board of trustees was placed upon the legislature, the tenure of office was fixed, and the trustees were to be commissioned by the Go\ernor of the state and sworn as was "by law required with regard to other state officers"; and it was made the duty of the Governor to issue a charter to the trustees, "con- firming to them and their successors, to be chosen from time to time, according to the provisions of this act, all the rights and immunities belonging to the said Cor- poration of the University of Vermont, by the provisions of this act, or of that to which this is an addition." It was claimed before this Commission that the pro- visions of this act, requiring the trustees to be thus elected and sworn, show that the University of Vermont was a state institution. It had then been about twenty years since the act of incorporation was passed, and no formal charter had been issued by the Governor, as therein directed. Hence the reason why the amendatory act directed a charter to be issued confirming to the trustees and their successors all rights and immunities belonging to the corporation by provisions of that act and by the act of incorporation. "A confirmation," says Lord Comyns, "gives nothing but the right to that which he to whom the confirma- tion is made had before." The provision requiring the trustees to be commissioned and sworn did not have the effect of making the corporation public. The legislature had the power to insert such a condition, as well as the one requiring reports con- cerning the funds of the university, etc., to the legislature for their consideration, but under the authorities cited above, the insertion of such conditions was not by any means a controlling element as to the character of the institution. No other alteration of the provisions of the charter, material to notice here, was there made. There was no surrender of the charter. The corporation was not founded afresh. Tlie only change effected respecting the funds or the property of the corporation, related to the lands granted by the state for the use and benefit of the university, making the grant "forever" instead of "until the further order of the legislature," as under the amendment of 1802. Moreover, in August, 1828, the corporation passed a resolution in part, that a proper application be made to the legislature for amendments to the charter so as to provide for an appointment by the legislature of "a board of visitors to attend the 78 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT annual examinations and report the state of the institution to the legislature"; and also so as to empower the board of trustees to fill all future vacancies occurring in that board; and that a committee be appointed to present a petition to the legisla- ture for such purpose. The legislature of that year (presumably in compliance with an application so made), passed an act, section 1 of which provided that all vacancies in the board of trustees should be filled by that body, and that so much of the Act of 1810 as prescribed the number of trustees, the term of office, and the mode of election, should be thereby repealed. Section 3 of the Act of 1828 pro- vided for the appointment annually of "three commissioners" by the Governor and Council, to be present at the annual examination of the students each year, for the .purpose of inquiring into the regulations and by-laws, state of funds, and the gen- eral execution of the provisions of the charter; and to make report of their proceed- ings to the legislature. So much of the Act of 1810 as required a report to the legislature from the board of trustees was thereby repealed; and by an Act passed November 5, 1845, so much of section 3 of the Act of 1828 as provided for the ap- pointment of a board of commissioners, was repealed. Thereafter the legislature had no power to fill vacancies in the board of trustees, and there was no provision in the charter for the appointment of commissioners to be present at any of the functions of the institution, nor was there any, requiring the trustees to make a report to the legislature, on request or otherwise, — all such matters were exclusively with the trustees, the self-perpetuating body. We have already quoted from an address delivered before this commission by the President of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, as follows: "The University of Vermont has been from the beginning of its existence a state university. The facts of history are a full and sufficient demonstration of this proposition." In view of this statement it may not be considered as going afield if we mention some unequivocal acts showing that during the operative existence of the University of Vermont it was considered by the trustees as a pri- vate institution, and that it acted as such. All of its buildings were erected by private endowments or money raised through the efforts of the trustees by private suljscription for such purpose, including one in 1824 to take the place of one de- stroyed by fire, and including two in 1825. In 1821, the affairs of the university becoming embarrassed in consequence of judgments against it which it could not pay, the faculty were authorized to suspend instruction at their own discretion, and the operation of the institution would have been suspended indefinitely had it not been for the timely encouragement and assistance of its friends among pri- vate individuals. It is a matter of history that during the War of 1812, large quantities of arms belonging to the United States were deposited in the university building without the consent of the corporation, and that in March, 1814, the commanding general applied to the corporation to rent the building for the use of the American army, intimating that if consent were not given, forcible possession would be taken of it; and thereupon a committee of the corporation entered into ITS CHARACTER 79 an arranf^ement with the agents of the government whereby the rent was fixed at a certain sum per year, the building being thus occupied until the return of peace in 1815, when it was evacuated by the army. The records of the University of Vermont show that on March 23, 1814, a resolution was adopted stating that a committee, appointed at a previous meeting of the corporation, had leased to the United States the college edifice for the term of one year, for the rent and upon the conditions recited in the lease, and ratifying the acts of the committee in that behalf; further resolving that the treasurer adjusts the claims of the corporation against the United States for the storage of the army therein, and receive the sum agreed upon as due therefor, and execute proper receipts for the same. The records further show that after such occupancy ceased, claim was made by the corporation for damages done to the college premises and property, and a committee was appointed by it to adjust the same with the United States government, and to receive compensation therefor to the use of the corporation, the matter being concluded in 1817. The corporate records clearly show that these transactions were between the United States on the one hand, and the Corporation of the University of Vermont on the other hand, and they do not show that the state of Vermont participated therein, nor that it in any way concerned itself therewith. All of the aforementioned events were within the period when the filling of vacancies in the board of trustees was with the legislature and reports were required from the trustees to that body. In 1840, the Corporation of the University of Vermont presented its petition to the legislature, praying for a loan (not a donation), tender- ing security by way of a mortgage on lands on which they proposed to erect buildings with a part of the loan asked for. On a yea and nay vote the petition was refused. If the corporation were public in character, here was the anomalous position of the state's trying to borrow money of itself and tendering to itself, as security therefor, a mortgage on real estate owned by itself. Can any one imagine a series of acts by a university more consistent with what might be expected from a private corporation, and more inconsistent with what might be expected from such an institution of learning, public in character, with the sovereign state financially behind it? In 1840, Rev. Dr. John Wheeler, then president of the University of Vermont, had a list in Burlington on which he was assessed a tax in March, 1841. On his refusal to pay the tax, his cow was taken by the collector of taxes and regularly sold in satisfaction thereof. A suit in trespass for taking the cow was brought by President Wheeler against the collector (Wheeler v. Lane, 15th of Vermont Reports, page 26.) Therein the plaintiff was represented by Lyman and Marsh, attorneys. By the charter of the University of Vermont, the persons of all officers, servants and students belonging to the university were exempted from taxation, and by the Act of 1802, amending the charter, "the persons, families, and estates of the jjresident and professors, lying and being within the town of Burlington, to the value of one thousand dollars to each of said officers," were exempted from 80 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT taxation. The reported case shows the collector claimed that all exemptions in favor of college officers had been repealed, and that such repeal was within the power of the legislature because the University of Vermont was a public corpora- tion. President Wheeler, through his attorneys, claimed that the exemption was a franchise to a private corporation, the University of Vermont, and, therefore, irrevocable. His brief presented says in its second point, "2. The corporation, created by the act of 1791 — Sal. Comp. L. 581 — and the several additional acts, is a private corporation, and, therefore, all legislative grants to it, whether of funds or franchises, are irrevocable," citing in support of this position the Dartmouth College case, the case of Allen against McKeen, and the case of the Trustees of Caledonia County Grammar School against Burt, — three cases already noticed herein. Although the court found it unnecessary, for the decision of the case, to pass upon the question thus raised, the fact that the president of the university, in the course of this litigation, for the purpose of maintaining his right as an officer of that institution, unequivocally took the position that the university was a private corporation, is of particular significance, because this position of the president was in full accord with the acts of the corporation itself, mentioned above. Nothing further need be said to show that even if a change in character be possi- ble during the existence of a corporation, no such change took place as to the Cor- poration of the University of Vermont. In 1864, November 22, an act to establish the Vermont Agricultural College was passed. By it, Justin S. Morrill and thirteen other men named, their asso- ciates and successors, were constituted a body corporate under that name, "the leading object of which shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the mechanic arts, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." By it, the corporators were made the trustees, their terms of office fixed, the filling of vacancies to be by the legislature. The governor of the state and the president of the faculty were made ex officio members of the corporation. The trustees were given power to elect all officers of the corporation and to declare their duties and terms of office; to elect a president of the college, professors, instructors and other officers, and determine their duties, salaries, responsibilities, and terms of office. The corporation was authorized to make rules, orders, and by-laws, for the government of the college and for the regulation of their own body; to take and hold in fee simple or any less estate, by gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise, any land, tenements, or other estate, real or personal. The board of trustees was given the power to determine the location of the college, and in their discretion to obtain by gift, grant, purchase, or other means, a tract of land not to exceed one hundred acres, to be used as an experimental farm, so as best to promote the objects of the institution; and one-tenth of all the moneys received by the state treasurer ITS CHARACTER 81 from the sale of land scrip by virtue of the provisions of the Act of Congress (Morrill Act of 1862), mentioned therein, and of the laws of the state, could be appropriated toward the purchase of such site or farm; provided, the trustees should determine to purchase such farm; and provided further, that the college should first secure by valid subscription, or otherwise, the further sum of not less than one hundred thousand dollars, for the purpose of erecting suitable buildings thereon, providing libraries and apparatus, and defraying the necessary expenses of the college; and the corporation should cease to exist at a specified time (November 15, 1865), unless it had then obtained valid and solvent subscriptions to the amount of that sum, to be applied to the endowment or other uses of the college. When duly organized, located, and established, as and for the purposes specified in the act, the college was to receive each year the annual interest or income from the Federal fund. "The clear rents and profits of all the estate" of which the corporation should be seized and possessed, were to be appropriated to the use of the college, and in event of dissolution of the corporation, the estate belonging to it was to revert and belong to the state, to be held and disposed of by it in the advancement of education in agriculture and the mechanic arts. The legislature in terms reserved the power to grant further powers to the corporation, or to alter, limit, annul, or restrain any of those vested by the act of incorporation, as should be found necessary to promote the best interests of the college, "and may appoint overseers or visitors of said college, with all necessary powers for the better aid, preservation and government thereof; and the said corporation shall make an annual report of its condition, financial and otherwise to the Legislature at the opening of its session." From the foregoing review of the salient features of the charter it is apparent that this corporation was created solely and expressly to enable the state to have the benefit of the appropriation under the Morrill Act of 1862. By accepting the provisions of that act the state became the owner of the fund arising from the sale of its allotment of land scrip, and the interest thereon, in trust, however, for the purposes named in the act. The state could authorize the expenditure of only one- tenth of the fund itself, and that only for the purchase of a site or farm. Beyond this, only the interest received could be used. Except as to the said one-tenth, the capital of the fund is to remain forever undiminished, and if any portion thereof, or of the interest thereon, be diminished or lost, it must be replaced by the state. By the act of incorporation the Vermont Agricultural College was created as an ^ instrumentality of the state for the better and more efficient administration of the trust. In the sense that "the first gift of the revenues is the foundation, and he who gives them is in law the founder," the state was the founder. The fact that by the charter the expenditure of said one-tenth of the principal fund towards the purchase of a site or farm, was with the proviso that the trustees should determine to procure such farm, and with the further proviso that the college should first secure, by sub- 82 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT scription or otherwise, the further sum of not less than one hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting buildings thereon, etc., did not operate to make tlie foundation different. The act fairly contemplated that the trustees might not determine to procure such farm, in which event no authority was given for the expenditure of any part of the principal fund, and the second proviso would not become active. Nor did the provision in the charter that "This act shall be in operation until said corporation shall have procured valid and solvent subscriptions, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, to be applied to the endowment or other uses of said college; and said corporation shall cease to exist on the 15th day of November, 1865, unless the foregoing subscription shall have been obtained," make the foundation different. Thereby the act was in force and the corporation in existence for nearly a year, but it should cease at the specified time unless the thing should have been done, — a condition subsequent, not affecting the original foundation, but a contribution for the purpose of it. All of the property seized and possessed by the corporation was to be held in trust for, and to be appropriated to, the use of the institution in such manner as should most effectually promote the declared objects thereof, and in event of the dissolution of the corporation, it was to revert and belong to the state, for the same purpose in effect that the funds from the general government are owned by the state. Yet this revertive provision, except as to real estate, does not materially differ from the general doctrine pertaining to public or charitable corporations. "As to these," says the Supreme Court of the United States in Late Corporations of Latter-Day Saints against United States, 186th of the United States Reports, 1,. "the ancient and established rule prevails, namely: that when a corporation is dis- solved, its personal property, like that of a man dying without heirs, ceases to be the subject of private ownership, and becomes subject to the disposal of the sovereign authority; whilst its real estate reverts or escheats to the grantor or donor, unless some other course of devolution has been directed by positive law, though still subject, * * * to the charitable use." Under the terms of the charter, the visitatorial powers in the state are broad enough to give her, as at common law in the case of public eleemosynary corpora- tions, the sole right to inspect, regidate, control, and direct the corporation, and its funds and franchises. The charter also contains elements more particularly indicating that the corpora- tion is private in character, and authorities are found supporting this view, yet on the whole the Commission is inclined to the opinion that this corporation is public, and it is so treated in the consideration of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, which follows. In November, 1865, the University of Vermont and the Vermont Agricultural College consolidated in the formation of a new corporation by the name of the "University of Vermont and State Agricultural College," under an Act of the General Assembly, approved November 9, 1865, "for the purpo.se of carrying out ITS CHARACTER 83 the objects contemplated in their respective charters," and as such to be and remain a body corporate forever, with power to hold and convey real and personal estate, to have a common seal, and all the rights and powers incident to corporations. The trustees of each of the constituent corporations, before a given day, were to elect nine of their number, who, with their successors, should thereafter constitute a part of the board of trustees, and likewise constitute a part of the board of trustees of the new corporation, and all the trustees so elected, together with the governor of the state and the president, ex officio members, were made to constitute the entire board of trustees of that corporation, who should have the entire management and control of its property and affairs, and in all things relating thereto, except in the elections to fill vacancies, act together jointly, as one entire board of trustees. It was made the duty of the said nine trustees of the University of Vermont to elect successors to fill any vacancy occurring among their number. The nine trustees of the said Agricultural College were to be divided into three classes, of three mem- bers each, the terms of office by classes being two, four, and six years, respectively, all vacancies therein, by expiration of the term or otherwise, to be filled by the legislature, the term of office to continue six years. The board of trustees of the consolidated corporation was vested with power to confer honors and degrees; to elect all officers, including president, secretary, treasurer, professors and instructors, and prescribe their duties, salaries, and terms of office; to make by-laws and regula- tions for the government of themselves and others connected with the institution, not inconsistent with the provisions of the consolidating act. By that Act the property of each of the constituent corporations became the property of the new corporation, and thus combined, constituted its entire property, to use, control, sell, or dispose of, subject to the payment of existing debts of the constituent corpora- tions, and subject to any trust, duties, and obligations connected therewith; and the new corporation was given the same rights in respect to the college lands in this state, and to the rents, uses and benefits thereof, as the University of Vermont previously had. The trustees of the new corporation were empowered to obtain by gift, grant, or otherwise, a tract of land, which, together with the land then owned by the Univer- sity of Vermont, should amount to at least one hundred acres, to be used as an ex- perimental farm; and in case said land should be procured, as aforesaid, a sum not exceeding one-tenth of the money received for the sale of the land scrip by the state treasurer, in pursuance of the Act of Congress authorizing the same, was to be paid to said board of trustees for the purposes aforesaid; with a proviso not here material. And whenever the new corporation should have been duly organized, there was to be appropriated and paid to its treasurer annually, for the purposes mentioned in that act, the interest or the income received from the fund created under and by virtue of said Act of Congress. The consolidation statute was to take effect whenever the two constituent cor- ^ porations should vote to accept the same, and to surrender and relinquish to the 84 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT coqioration thereby created "all the property belonging to them, whether real or personal, and all the rents, profits and income therefrom arising, including said proceeds from the sale of said land scrip, for the purpose, and subject to all the rights, trusts and conditions as in this act provided." By it a copy of the record of the vote of acceptance by each of the constituent corporations was to be recorded in the office of the Secretary of State; "whereupon, by virtue of such votes, such property, rents, profits and income, shall become the property of the corporation hereby created, for the purposes, and subject to the rights, trusts and conditions aforesaid, and said property, and the property hereafter acquired by the corpor- ation hereby created, shall be subject to all the conditions, immunities and exemp- tions now pertaining to the property now held by said University of Vermont"; and by it all provisions inconsistent therewith, contained in the act establishing the Vermont Agricultural College, were repealed. All votes were taken and records made that were essential to the taking effect of the Act of consolidation, and to the vesting of the property, rents, profits, and income of the constituent corporations, in the new corporation, for the purposes, and subject to the rights, trusts, and conditions before named. The new corporation was to make annual reports to the legislature of their con- dition, financial and otherwise, and make and distribute the reports required by the Act of Congress therein referred to; and the legislature reserved the right to appoint annually "a board of visitors, who may annually examine the affairs of said corporation." The Act of consolidation further j)rovides, in effect, that in case the new corpora- tion shall be dissolved, the Supreme Court may order and decree that the income thereafter to be derived from the proceeds of the sale of said land scrip, together with such amount as may have been paid over by the state treasurer for the purpose of an experimental farm, shall revert to the Vermont Agricultural College, and the property and effects which belonged to the University of Vermont at the time of the union, shall revert to, and be the property of, that institution; and any property or funds thereafter acquired by the new corporation, shall be awarded and dis- tributed to the constituent corporations in such manner as the court shall deem just and equitable, having reference to the manner the same was acquired, and to any specific trusts, or expressed intention of any donors, then made; and for such and all other purposes the constituent corporations shall be deemed and treated as having continued in life. As before seen, the corporation of the Vermont Agricultural College by its charter would cease to exist on November 15, 1865, unless it had then procured valid and solvent subscriptions to the amount of $100,000, to be applied to the endowment or other uses of the college. On November 9, 1865, six days before the expiration of the time thus allowed, the consolidation Act was passed. Notwithstanding that corporation had made great effort to comply with the provision of its charter in is respect, they secured by pledge only $17,000. It hardly seems necessary to ITS CHARACTER 85 mention in this connection the fact that no part of the principal of the Federal fund, nor of the income thereof, ever went into the hands of that institution — it remained with the treasurer of the State of Vermont. A report of the trustees of the Ver- mont Agricultural College under date of October 19, 1865, to the governor of the state, recommending consolidation with the University of Vermont, contains a statement showing the property of the University of Vermont at that time, "as represented by its Treasurer, and by others whose judgment may be relied upon," to be in the aggregate $167,500, with an indebtedness of $16,183, leaving $151,317, of which about $13,000 was held in trust for purposes of specific instruction. Considering the $17,000 pledged by subscription to the Vermont Agricultural College as available under the consolidation, the property owned by the constituent corporations, and which under the Act of consolidation became the property of the new corporation, was as follows : the University of Vermont (deducting for indebted- ness), $151,317; the Vermont Agricultural College, $17,000, with the provision that it should receive the benefit of the Federal fund in case of compliance with the conditions of its charter in that respect. Whether there was a likelihood of such a compliance, it is unnecessary to consider; for treating that corporation as public in character (which we have before indicated would be done), it was but the State of Vermont acting through its instrumentality — its agent expressly created, as before seen — to enable the state to have the benefit of the Federal appropriation. Such being the character and the purpose of that corporation, the consolidation was of two corporations, namely, the University of Vermont, a private institution, and the Vermont Agricultural College, a public institution and the instrumentality of the state. This position is emphasized by the fact that by the Act of consolida- tion, instead of the new corporation being left to take the benefit of the Federal funds through the constituent corporation, the Vermont Agricultural College, pro- visions were inserted whereby the new corporation should receive the benefit of those funds by virtue of its own charter, from the state direct, and provisions con- tained in the charter of the Vermont Agricultural College inconsistent with the Act of consolidation, were by the latter expressly repealed. Such being in law the character of the two constituent corporations and the status of their respective properties, the consolidation Act was to enable the University of Vermont and the State of Vermont to carry out the arrangement made between them by organizing a new corporation, the foundation of which should consist of the combined properties of the University of Vermont and of the State of Vermont, as represented by its instrumentality, the Vermont Agricultural College. This brings the matter well within the principle laid down by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of The Bank of the United States against The Planters' Bank of Georgia, (in 9th of Wheaton, page 907,) before noticed. That the doctrine there enunciated may be clearly in mind, we venture to quote again the following from the opinion of Chief Justice Marshall : 86 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT "It is, we think, a sound principle, that when a government becomes a partner in any trading company, it devests itself, so far as concerns the transactions of that company, of its sovereign character, and takes that of a private citizen. Instead of communicating to the company its privileges and its prerogatives, it descends to a level with those with whom it associates itself, and takes the character which belongs to its associates, and to the business which is to be transacted." Also from the case of Regents of the University of Maryland against "WiUiams, (in 9 of Gill and Johnson, page 365, and in 31 of American Decisions, page 72,) : "And all the authori- ties agree that colleges and academies established for the promotion of learning and piety, and endowed with property by public and private donations, are, in a legal sense, equally with hospitals for the relief of the poor, sick, etc., considered and treated as private eleemosynary corporations." It will be recalled that the same principle was applied in the case of Downing against the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, held by the highest court of Indiana to be in a sense an educational institution; and that it was recognized as sound in the case of Thomas against the Industrial University, an educational institution, though not there applicable, — to both of which cases attention was called in our discussion of the University of Vermont. Applying this law, there can be no doubt of the character of the foundation of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. Notwithstanding it was mixed, in that it came in part from a private source, the University of Vermont, and in part from a public source, the state, therein the state takes the character which belongs to its private associate, the University of Vermont. The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, then, as respects its foundation, is a private corporation. This .seems to be as contemplated by the consolidation Act, for therein it is provided, regarding the property, rents, profits, and income derived by the new corporation from the constituent corporations, and the property thereafter acquired l)y it, that it "shall be subject to all the conditions, immunities and exemptions now pertaining to the property now held by said University of Vermont" — thus putting all the property of the new institution, whether derived from the public, or from the private, constituent corporation, or from future acquisitions, in the same position as to conditions, immunities, and exemptions, as the property held by the private constituent corporation, rather than as the property held by the public constituent corporation. In addition to this, the disposition of the property to be made in ca.se of a dis- .solution of the new corporation, is indicative in the .same direction — it shows that of the property at the time of the consolidation, only the trust funds received by the state from the general government revert to the Vermont Agricultural College, in effect, to the state. The provision in the charter, that "the Legislature may annually ap])oint a board of visitors, who may annually examine the affairs of said corporation," amounts to ITS CHARACTER 87 no more than giving the right of inspection, which in law is very different from, and falls far short of, visitatorial powers at common law. This is shown clearly by the case of Guthrie against Harkness, found in 199th of United States Reports, page 148. There, Harkness, the defendant in error, was the owner of a part of the capital stock of a certain national bank. As such shareholder he applied for leave to inspect the books, accounts, and loans of the bank, which was refused him. He sought such inspection for the purpose of ascertaining the true financial condition of the bank, and also for the purpose of ascertaining the value of his stock in said bank, and also for the purpose of ascertaining whether the business affairs of the bank had been conducted according to law. It was argued on the part of the directors of the bank that such right of inspection was cut off by a certain section of the United States statute, providing that "no association shall be subject to any visitorial powers other than such as are authorized by this title, or are vested in the courts of justice." The Supreme Court of the United States said there could be no question that the decisive weight of American authority recognizes the common-law right of the shareholder, for proper purposes and under reasonable regulations as to place and time, to inspect the books of the corporation of which he is a member, quoting from a work on private corporations, which says, "How- ever, in the United States the prevailing doctrine appears to be that the individual shareholders in a corporation have the same right as the members of an ordinary partnership to examine their company's books, although they have no power to interfere with the company's management." After defining and discussing visita- tion in law, the court said: "In no case or authority that we have been able to find has there been a defini- tion of this right which would include the private right of the shareholder to have an examination of the business in which he is interested, and the right of discovery of the methods and means by which the agents of the corporation are conducting its affairs." It was held that the shareholder was wrongfully denied an inspection of the books and accounts of the bank. It cannot well be said that in law this board of visitors has other powers than that stated in the provision quoted from the Act of consolidation; for the legal maxim here applicable is, that "the express mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another." By the Act of consolidation, visitatorial powers are vested in the trustees: they are given "the entire management and control of its property and affairs." Is that Act a grant of political power? Other than the governor, who is made ex officio trustee, the trustees of the new corporation are not political officers vested with any portion of political power, to be exercised for purposes connected with the public good in the administration of civil government, nor do they perform duties which flow from, or in any way pertain to, the sovereign authority. Neither their services, nor the services of the professors, are paid for by the state. The 88 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT property of the corporation is not public property. So far as it was given by the state, it cannot be resumed, except as such right may be reserved in the charter. The state alone is not interested in the transactions of the institution. And the corporation is given a capacity to take, hold, and convey real and personal estate for objects not connected with the government. Professor John F. Dillon (in his work on Municipal Corporations, section 54,) says, "Corporations are public only when, in the language of Chief Justice Marshall, 'the ivhole interests and fran- chises are the exclusive property and domain of the government itself.' " It is said, however, that nine of the trustees are elected by the joint assembly; and that since the governor and the president are ex officio trustees, (the latter being elected by the board,) the control of the institution is always with the state. Granting that, considering numbers alone, such a conclusion may be reached, no argument is needed to convince any unprejudiced mind that in practical opera- tion the control of the institution is not with the state. In the opinion of the Com- mission, the fact that under the Act of consolidation this institution is given the power to take charge of, lease, rent, and appropriate to its u.se and benefit, the college lands, granted under the authority of the state for specified purposes, and the fact that the institution is given, by the state, the benefit of funds owned and held by the state, under appropriations from the general government, in trust for the purposes named in the Act of appropriation, for the safeguarding of which the state is responsible, constitute a good and sufficient reason for the method adopted in making up the board of trustees in the first instance, and in filling subsequent vacancies therein, and for requiring annual reports from the corpora- tion of their condition to the legislature, and for the distribution of reports as re- quired by the Act of Congress, and for the reservation of jjower to appoint "a board of visitors," having the limited power before discussed. We call attention to a decision much in point, by the highest court of the State of Illinois, (in Board of Education against Greenebaum and Sons, found in 39 of Illinois Reports, page 609,) involving the character of an institution of learning in that state. There the legislature passed an Act, the preamble of which recites a compact between the state and the United States, by which a certain percentage of the proceeds of the sale of public lands lying in the state, were set apart to the state to be appropriated by the legislature for the encouragement of learning, of which one-sixth was to be bestowed exclusively upon the college or university. It then speaks more particularly regarding the amount of that fund and the interest on it up to a certain date; and for the purpose of carrying out the intention of Congress and the understanding of the people, the legislature passed the Act estab- lishing the "Normal University," the governor of the state being required to issue stock to the amount named, (a part of the interest of this fund,) payable to the board of education for the use of the Normal University. From this legislation the board of education insisted that the property of the Normal University was the property of the state, in which the corporation had no interest; that it was ITS CHARACTER 89 created for certain public purposes in which the whole state had an interest, and certain rights accrued to each county in the state; that the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appointed the trustees who composed the corporation ; that the superintendent of public instruction was ex officio a member of the board and secretary thereof, whose duty it was to report to the legislature the condition and expenditures of the university; that the corporation was a mere trustee or agent of the state to carry out the wishes and intention of the legislature and its property could only be used for corporate purposes. The Normal Univer- sity was held to be a private corporation; and regarding the method of appoint- ing trustees and the requirement for reports to the legislature, the court said: "The reason that the legislature reserved the appointment of the trustees was, doubtless, because it had placed in their keeping a fund of which the state was but a trustee, and merely responsible for its proper application, and over it a special custodian was placed, in the person of the superintendent of public instruction, whose duty it was to make reports to the legislature of the condition and expendi- tures of the university, and as some equivalent for this deposit of trust money, the state claimed and receives the gratuitous instruction of two pupils from each county, and for as many more as the whole number of representatives in the legis- lature might amount to, in the several representative districts. These pupils, it is understood, defray all their expenses, except for tuition, and are in no sense charity scholars, fed and provided at the expense of the state." By No. 105, Acts of 1892, it was enacted: "No trustee, director or supervisor of any state institution, except the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, shall be employed in any capacity in such institution; and in case any such officer shall accept employment in a state institution of which he is a trustee, director or supervisor, his office shall be vacant." And it is claimed by those representing the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College before this Commission, that thereby the legislature in effect declared that corporation to be a state institution. But such a legislative declaration (if it can properly be so characterized) can have no force in determining the character of the institution. On February 28, 1867, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois passed an Act declaring "The State Normal University," an institution in that state, then ten years in existence, to be a state institution, and the property in the hands and standing in the name of the Board of Education of the State of Illinois, to be the property of, and by said board held in trust for, the state. In the case of The Board of Education of the State of Illinois against Bakewell, found in Vol. 122 of Illinois Reports, page 339, the court of last resort in that state said: "What appellant indeed was, in the respect of being a state institution or a private corporation, depended upon what the charter of its creation made it to be, and not what the lef:islature may have, at some time afterward, considered it to be. * * * The declaration of the Act of 1867, that the State Normal University was a state institution, and that the property of appellant was the property of the 90 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT State of Illinois, stood a mere harmless declaration upon the statute book, having no effect." i In 1886 the case of Willard against Pike (found in 59 of Vermont Reports, page ^02,) came before the Supreme Court of this state. The judges who sat in the case were Homer E. Royce, Ciiief Judge, H. Henry Powers, Wheelock G. Veazey, Russell S. Taft, John W. Rowell. and William H. Walker, Assistant Judges. The opinion in the case was written by Judge Veazey. There the question was as to the validity of a tax assessed in St. Johnsbury, against the plaintiff. It appeared that the St. Johnsbury Academy owned a large boarding house, the rent or income of which was used for general expenses of the academy; that it owned a "club house," partly rented and partly occupied by a club of scholars; that it owned also a house on Main Street known as "Warner House," which had brought the academy no rent, but was kept as a part of the academy property. The county court ruled that the Warner House, the club house, and the boarding house were properly omitted from the list, and that they were exempt, as matter of law, from taxation. The plaintiff contended that this was error, because the St. Johnsbury Academy was a private, and not a public, corporation. The statute provided that "Real or personal estate granted, sequestered, or used for public, pious or charitable uses; * * * and lands owned or leased by colleges, academies, or other public schools," should be exempt from taxation. Counsel for the plaintiff' made the point in their brief presented to the Supreme Court, that the academy, boarding house, club house, etc., were not exempt from taxation, because the corporation was purely a private one, and in no sense public. The question being thus presented in argument, the court said : "We do not think the words 'or other public schools' were intended to be restric- tive of what precedes. Colleges and academies are, in popular understanding, public institutions, although not public in the sense as applied to our common schools, which are supported by public taxation and are free to the public without charge to the pupils. "The word 'public' in this statute, we hold, is not to be construed in the latter .sense, but in the sense in which academies are regarded as public institutions. It is not restrictive of what precedes, but is explained thereby; that is, public in the sense in which colleges and academies are public. "No colleges or academies in this state are yet free to the public like our public schools; neither are they public corporations; therefore if the legislature intended by the.phrase, 'lands owned or leased by colleges, academies, or other public schools,' only such colleges and academies as were free to the public without charge for tuition, or as were purely and technically public corporations like municipalities, the legislation was simply idle * * *. When a college or academy is incorporated wholly for the puri)oscs of general education, and is so operated without any capital stock or purpose of i)rof]t, and tuition is charged only for its maintenance, then it is devoted to public use." FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 91 It is clear that the court in that case draws a distinction between the property of a private corporation being devoted to a public use, and the corporation itself being public. No one will seriously question but that the property of the Univer- sity of Vermont and State Agricultural College is to the extent mentioned in this opinion, devoted to a public use, but none the less the corporation remains private. This distinction is the same as appears between the holding in the Dartmouth College case, as first decided by the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, and as subsequently decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, the former holding that the use of the property being public, the corporation was public; the latter holding that the use, although public, was not determinative of the character of the corporation; and if a corporation is pubUc, it is so in the strict legal sense, and not merely in the popular sense. The case of Scott against St. Johnsbury Academy and Trustees, (decided in 1912, and found in the 86th of Vermont Reports, page 172,) was an action brought to collect taxes assessed on certain real estate belonging to the St. Johnsbury Academy. Some of the property taxed was the same as that involved in the case of Willard against Pike, above noticed. Regarding it, the court said: "We cannot hold this property to be taxable, without rejecting the conclusions of that case, — which we are unwilling to do." Without pursuing the discussion of the question further, the Commission is clearly of the opinion that the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College is a private, not a public, corporation, and it so determines. 2. Use of Federal Appropriations Some question has arisen whether disbursement of the annual appropriations from the general government received by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, has been in accordance with the rights, duties, and obliga- tions of that institution, and it is one of the matters presented to this Commission. The answer thereto depends upon whether the expenditures have been only for the purposes contemplated in the trusts, and have conformed to the provisions of the trusts in their true spirit, intent, and meaning. This question is one of great im- portance to the people of the State of Vermont, and it requires consideration of the Federal Acts of appropriation and of the charter under which the institution was organized and is acting, in the light of such aids as can reasonably be said to have a bearing thereon. Under the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, known as the "Morrill Act of 1862," this state received as proceeds of the sale of land scrip, $135,500 to be applied to the uses and purposes prescribed in that Act, "and for no other use or purpose whatsoever." All expense incurred in the management and disbursement of the moneys so received is to be paid by the state out of its treasury, so that the whole 92 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT sum, without diminution, shall be applied to the purposes named therein. These moneys were to be invested in stocks yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of the stocks, and the moneys so invested constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished, except, if authorized by the state, one-tenth thereof could be expended for the purchase of land for a site or experimental farm. No portion of this fund nor the interest thereon, could be applied to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings. The interest "shall be inviolably appropriated, by each state which may take and claim the benefit of this Act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance of, at least, one college, where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scien- tific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and pro- fessions in life." In plain language, so far as this Federal Act is concerned, the "leading object' of the college shall be to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts; and the fact that these branches are to be taught "in such manner as the legislatures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life," seems to make it quite clear that discretionary power was vested in each state, ever keeping within the confines of the Act, to lay down a rule of action, guiding and directing the expenditure of the moneys by the college receiving it, in a manner intended to promote the liberal and practical educa- tion of the industrial classes of the particular state. The charter of the Vermont Agricultural College states the "leading object" of the institution in terms like those of the Federal Act of appropriation. The charter of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College provides that there shall at all times be maintained in the institution thereby created, "such instruction, in the various branches of learning, as is contemplated in the several charters of each of the institutions hereby united; and more particularly including a four years' course of studies, similar to such as are generally taught in other colleges, and not inferior to that recently taught in said University of Vermont, and in addition to that which is usually taught in other colleges, the instruction in this institution shall include such enlarged facilities, and extended scope and variety in the study of those branches which relate to military tactics, agriculture and the mechanic arts, as shall render the whole instruction in conformity with said act of Congress, as well as with the several charters aforesaid." Thus the purpose of the University of Vermont, as declared in its charter, and the purpose of the Vermont Agricultural College, as declared in its charter, are the coordinating purposes of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, as declared in its charter. It is only the coordinate relating to agriculture and the mechanic arts that falls particularly FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 93 within the contemplated field of this Commission. In this connection we may notice with profit an address delivered by W. O. Thompson, president of Ohio State University, before the Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, on "The Mission of the Land-Grant Colleges." This address was sufficiently accurate and of such impor- tance that the United States Department of Agriculture reprinted it and gave it circulation as Bulletin 142. Therein discussing the "Morrill Act of 1862" and undertaking to interpret it in the light of the debate in Congress which led to its enactment. President Thompson said: "Second. This statute was intended to introduce new lines of education. It was intended to provide what was not already provided. It was to meet the need that had existed but hitherto had been unrecognized. This statute recognizes the industrial classes in the field of agriculture and mechanic arts as substantially unprovided for beyond the opportunities in the public schools. It is worthy of note, however, that at the date of this statute the public school system was a long way from its present efficiency. It was generally conceded that the wealthy classes and the favored classes were able to take care of themselves. The older institutions were somewhat aristocratic in their original conception. They appealed largely to the favored classes and by easy processes neglected the large masses of the people. This statute was a distinct effort to extend a form of higher education to a class of people hitherto unreached. "Fourth. There can be no doubt that this statute means exactly what it says, that the leading object of these colleges shall be agriculture and the mechanic arts. Precedence is always to be given to these subjects. My understanding of this is that they were to be chiefly schools of applied science. The existing conditions of the country demand, of course, that foundations shall be laid with this end in view. The sciences related to agriculture and the sciences related to mechanic arts are to be the chief subjects of instruction and investigation. Underlying the whole conception of this statute and running through the entire argument that was made for it was the doctrine that the pursuits of agriculture and mechanic arts demanded specific training in order to bring about the highest development of efficiency in the industrial classes and the promotion of these great interests in the country. The statute does not lose sight of the importance of other forms of industry or of labor, but it keeps in full view the importance of these fundamental industries. It emphasizes in these colleges, as it is emphasized nowhere else, the importance of this type of education. "Fifth. In my judgment a subordinate place is given in this statute to military tactics. This does not mean that the subject is to be treated unfairly or with little respect; but that the organization of these institutions is primarily in the interest of industry and not of war. They are a preparation for a peaceful life rather than 94 UNR^RSITY OF VERMONT for strife. I understand it, therefore, to be the duty or the mission, if we prefer that expression, of these colleges to keep faith with the Government in both par- ticulars. We are primarily educational institutions of the industrial sort rather than of a military type. We recognize to the fullest extent the importance of military tactics, but the precedence of these institutions is not given to military tactics. My own interpretation of the statute is that general science, classical studies, and military tactics are on substantially the same level. They occupy a position of honor. No discredit may be attached to any of them. They are right- fully in these schools, but they may not take precedence over the others." It is equally instructive to notice an address delivered by W. J. Kerr, president of the Agricultural College of Utah, before the American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, the proceedings of which were printed by the United States Department of Agriculture and issued as Bulletin No. 164. Therein President Kerr said : "At the time of the passage of the Morrill land-grant act in 1862 the accepted type of higher education was the four years' course of the old classical college. The conventional courses in classics, literature, and philosophy were the leading features of college work. The State universities were expected to be, as it was declared in the organic act that they should be, literary institutions. They were confined for the most part to the traditional courses of the time, and differed little, if at all, from the old classical institutions. "During the years immediately preceding the passage of this act, extending over a period of about two decades, great progress was made in the development of the country, and there was an increasing consequent demand for trained men for responsible positions in the different industries. As stated by President Dabney, 'great railroads were to be built, but with the exception of the Military Academy at West Point, there was no school to train the engineers to survey them. Mines of coal and iron were to be opened, but miners had to be imported to open them. Factories needed to be built, but engineers had to be brought over from England or Holland to build them. Ironworks and many other important industries were calling loudly for chemists, who had to be obtained from Germany or France.' Moreover, the impairment of the natural productiveness of the soil, the deprecia- tion of farm crops, and the resultant general deterioration of farm properties were earnestly calling for the remedial applications of scientific methods in agriculture. It became evident, therefore, that the old college was not meeting the new demands. A new type of education was required, an education bearing more directly upon the arts of life. "It was to meet these particular needs of the people in the development of a new and rapidly growing country that the Morrill Act of 1862 was passed. Under this act nearly 11,000,000 acres of lands were granted to the different States for the en- dowment of colleges, the leading objects of which should be 'to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and pro- FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 95 fessions of life.' As explained by Senator Morrill, 'the fundamental idea was to offer an opportunity in every State for a liberal and larger education to larger numbers, not merely to those destined to sedentary professions, but to those much needing higher instruction for the world's business, for the industrial pursuits and professions of life.' It is clearly evident from the provisions of the Morrill Act, and from all the speeches delivered in Congress relating thereto, that the object was to provide for a new type of institutions, occupying a distinctive field as scien- tific, technical colleges, adapted to the needs of the great laboring classes in the development of the industries and resources of the country. But it is also to be observed that a liberal as well as a technical education was contemplated — an education for skill and efficiency, but for culture as well. The purpose, therefore, in the establishment of the land-grant colleges was to provide an education, to quote again from Senator Morrill, which 'should prove useful in building up a great nation — great in its resources of wealth and power, but greatest of all in the aggre- gate of its intelligence and virtue.' " It seems to the Commission that the addresses of President Thompson and President Kerr, from which the above quotations are made, show much good sense and voice the right spirit respecting the Morrill Act of 18C'2, and the manner (wholesome indeed) in which the trust should be administered by institutions receiving the benefit of the funds arising under it. It appears that the interest received annually by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College under the Federal Grant of 1862, is $8,130. It further appears that of this money, $3,260 is used in the support of the university treasurer's oflBce, and that the remaining $4,870 is used under the policy of the trustees for the benefit of the general educational development of the University. Under its charter the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College has coordinate leading objects, one being (quoting from the charter of the Vermont Agricultural College) "to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agricul- ture and the Mechanic arts, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." With no more definiteness in either the Federal Act of appropriation or the charter of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College as to the manner of admin- istering this trust, there is a chance for much liberty of action. One of the leading objects of the institution being as stated above, the Commission can not say that the use made of the interest received from the grant named was not in substantial compliance with the provisions of the trust. By an Act of Congress, passed in 1887, there was established under direction of the college or colleges or agricultural departments of colleges in each state or terri- tory, established under the "Morrill Act of 1862," a department to be known and designated as an "Agricultural Experiment Station." The object and duty of experiment stations so established, is to conduct original researches or verify ex- periments on the subjects pertaining to agriculture, named in the Act, "and such 96 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT other researches or experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of the United States as may in each case be deemed advisable, having due regard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective States or Territories." This Act carried to each state an appropriation of $15,000 per annum. In 1906 an Act was passed for the further endowment of such Agricultural Experi- ment Stations, carrying an appropriation and an annual increase of the amount thereof for five years, with the annual amount thereafter to be paid to each state and territory of $30,000. The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College receives under this Act of 1906, $30,000 annually for the purposes specified therein. The Commission believes as the presumption is, nothing appearing to the contrary, that this money has been and is being expended by the institution in accordance with the contemplation of the Acts of appropriation. By an Act of Congress approved May 8, 1914, an appropriation was made of $10,000 to be paid annually to each state which shall assent to the provisions of that Act, and also an additional sum for each fiscal year following that in which the foregoing appropriation first becomes available — all as, and upon the conditions, in said Act specified — for cooperative agricultural extension work, which "shall consist of the giving of instruction and practical demonstration in agriculture and home economics to persons not attending or resident in said colleges in the several communities, and imparting to such persons information on said subjects through field demonstrations, publications, and otherwise; and this work shall be carried on in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary of Agricul- ture and the State agricultural college or colleges receiving the benefits of this Act." The Act further provides "that no payment out of the additional appropriations herein provided shall be made in any year to any State until an equal sum has been appropriated for that year by the legislature of such State, or provided by State, county, college, local authority, or individual contributions from within the State, for the maintenance of the cooperative agricultural extension work provided for in this Act." The legislature of 1912 passed an Act of appropriation (No. 84) to meet such a contingency, but whether it amply meets the conditions of this Federal Act, we do not pretend to say. There is no danger of overvaluing such extension work to the agricultural industry of the state. Reference to this class of work is made in our discussion of vocational education. By Act of Congress, approved August 30, 1890, known as the " Morrill Act of 1890," it was provided that there should be appropriated to be paid to each state and territory, "for the more complete endowment and maintenance of col- leges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts" then established, or which might thereafter be established, in accordance with the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, the sum of $15,000 for the year ending June 30, 1890, and FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS »7 an annual increase of the amount of such appropriation thereafter for ten years by an additional sum of $1,000 over the preceding year, and the sum of $25,000 annually thereafter, "to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural and economic science, with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction." And by Act of Congress approved March 4, 1907, known as the "Nelson Act," there was annually appro- priated, to each state and territory, "for the more complete endowment and main- tenance of agricultural colleges" then established, or which might thereafter be established, in accordance with the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and Act of Congress approved August 30, 1890, the sum of $5,000 in addition to the sums named in the said act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, and an annual in- crease of the amount of said appropriation thereafter for four years by an addition- al sum of $5,000 over the preceding year, and the annual sum of $50,000 to be paid thereafter to each state and territory, "to be applied only for the purposes of the agricultural colleges as defined and limited in the Act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the Act of Congress approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, * * * and the expenditure of the said money shall be governed in all respects by the provisions of said Act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the said Act of Congress ap- proved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety : Provided, That said colleges may use a portion of this money for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts." The Morrill Act of 1890 and the "Nelson Act" (1907) explicitly state that the appropriations thereunder (constituting the $50,000), shall "be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural and economic science, with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction." Under this provision, simply applying the money to instruc- tion in the several branches named would hardly seem to meet the requirement. It must be applied to instruction in those branches, how? "With special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction." While the italics are ours, the word "special," as used in this phrase, shows that intended emphasis is placed upon this part of the requirement. In one state mining may be the predominating industry, in another, the manu- facturing of different commercial products, in another agriculture, as in Vermont. The intention of Congress was to specify particularly the different branches to which this fund should be applied, at the same time requiring the application to be made to those branches with special reference to their applications in the indus- tries of life, in the several states, respectively, thereby giving each state the most practical benefit in the line of its greatest industries. That this is in accordance with the true construction as recognized by the United States Department of !)8 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Agriculture, seems manifest from Bulletins Nos. 142 and 164, issued by that Depart- ment and to which reference has already been made in this report: thus it was said by President Thompson in his address above noticed, (in Bulletin No. 142, page 92), referring to the provision of the Morrill Act of 1890, specifying the branches of instruction to which the funds of that appropriation could be applied and the required manner of application, that the debate in Congress leading up to this provision made clear the fact that the United States intended the money to be applied as there set forth; and that there was manifestly a feeling that some of the land-grant colleges had not kept strictly within the limits of the Act of 1862. It was said by President Kerr in his address, to which attention has been called (in Bulletin No. 164, page 123), that "In the land-grant colleges special emphasis should be placed upon the applications of science. Scientific investigations should be encouraged, but with the view of their practical value rather than for the purpose merely of extending the borders of knowledge. These colleges are primarily schools of technology, in which agriculture, the mechanic arts, domestic economy, and commerce may be regarded as distinctive features, the extent to which each institution should develop courses along these different lines varying with the conditions in the several states." He further said, "The work of the college should be that which relates most directly to the development of the resources and industries of each State, such, for example, as the irrigation enterprises so important in the reclamation of the arid and semi-arid regions, or certain manu- facturing interests in other sections of the country." And John Hamilton of the Office of Experiment Stations, in a paper entitled "The Open Door for the Land-grant College — The Farmers," also printed in Bulletin No. 164, page 126, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, said: "The supplemental Morrill bill of 1890 directs that the funds received under its provisions shall 'be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science, ivith special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction.' "This act not only cuts out all language studies except English, but it also emphasizes the important fact that such mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science studies as are taught shall be taught, not after the old traditional manner, but in an entirely new way, with 'special reference to their applications to the industries.' What industries? "The title of the bill indicates the 'industries' intended to be included. It declares the purpose to be "to apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment of the colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts' It does not say 'and for the other industries and professions in life,' but stops with the two great industries that were to be the leading objects of education, as indicated in the act of 1862. FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 99 "This act of 1890, coming as it does twenty-eight years after the founding of the land-grant colleges, is in the nature of a definition or declaration of purpose of the act to which it is a supplement. Some of the colleges had used the funds of the original grant to teach mathematics, physical, natural, and economic science, together with language studies, in a way that directed men into professional life, or at least that did not lead them into industrial pursuits. This act of 1890 dis- tinctly prohibits such use of its funds, and by inference applies the same restric- tion to the original act, at least until the two leading industries — 'agriculture' and the 'mechanic arts' — have been fully provided for. "But why refer to this that ought to be, and doubtless is, familiar to every land-grant college officer.'' Simply by way of reminder of the fact that a 'door', wide and open to agriculture, was provided for by both of these national laws, and was directed to be swung in the front portal of every institution that accepted the grants which these two acts of Congress bestowed. "However much they (land-grant colleges) may have done in the past or may in the future do for the aid and elevation of men in their several pursuits and professions in life, they have signally failed of the main purpose of their creation if they have neglected to do for farming people not all that farming people need but all that modern knowledge in agricultural science has made it possible for them to do." Under date of November 26, 1900, a formal order regarding the classification of subjects under the various headings to be included in the reports of treasurers of colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts under the Morrill Act of 1890, and the Nelson Act of 1907, was issued by the Department at Washington, and the classi- fication in that circular is exactly like that in a pamphlet of rulings and instructions relative to those two Acts, approved by the United States Bureau of Education November 2, 1911. Sections 7, 8, and 9 of that pamphlet are as follows: 7. No part of the funds received under the provisions of the acts of 1890 and 1907 may be used for any form of extension work, and all instruction must be given at the institutions receiving these funds, except that a reasonable portion of the funds provided by the act of 1907 may be used for the instruction of teachers in agriculture, mechanic arts, and domestic science at summer schools, teachers' institutes, and by correspondence, and in supervising and directing work in these subjects in high schools. 8. All or a part of the funds provided by the act of March 4, 1907, may be used "for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and mechanic arts." It is held that this language authorizes expenditures for instruction in the history of agriculture and industrial education, in methods of teaching agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics, and also for special aid and supervision given to teachers actively engaged in teaching 100 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics in public schools. It does not authorize expenditures for general courses in pedagogy, psychology, history of education, and methods of teaching. 9. In order that greater uniformity in the reports of treasurers may be obtained in the future, the following classification of subjects that may be included under the several schedules has been prepared, such classification to be adhered to by the treasurers of the various institutions in the preparation of their annual reports: Scliedule A. — Instruction in agriculture. 1. Agriculture. 6. Dairying. 2. Horticulture. 7. Veterinary science. 3. Forestry. 8. Poultry industry. 4. Agronomy. 9. Apiculture. 5. Animal husbandry. Schedule B. — Instruction in mechanic arts. 1. Mechanical engineering. 10. Architecture. 2. Civil engineering. 11. Machine design. 3. Electrical engineering. 12. Mechanical drawing. 4. Irrigation engineering. 13. Ceramics. 5. Mining engineering. 14. Stenography. 6. Marine engineering. 15. Typewriting. 7. Railway engineering. 16. Telegraphy. 8. Experimental engineering. 17. Printing. 0. Textile industry. 18. Shopwork. Schedule C. — Instruction in English language. 1. English language. 4. Rhetoric. 2. English literature. 5. Oratory. 3. Composition. Schedule D. — Instruction in mathematical sciences. 1. Mathematics. 3. Astronomy. 2. Bookkeeping. Schedule R. — Instruction in natural and physical sciences. 1. Chemistrj. 8. Metallurgy. 2. Physics. 9. Entomology. 3. Biology. 10. Physiology. 4. Botany. 11. Bacteriology. 5. Zoology. 12. Pharmacy. 6. Geology. 13. Physical geography. 7. Mineralogy. 14. Meteorology. Schedule V . — Instruction in economic sciences. 1. Political economy. 3. Commercial geography. "i. Home economics. FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 101 Schedule G. — Special preparation of teachers. 1. History of industrial education (with special reference to agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics). i. Methods of teaching agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics. S. Special instruction to persons teaching agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics. This classification is not construed by the Commission as intending that colleges shall be restricted in the expenditure of funds received from the Federal government to the subjects included in the classification, (if other subjects are fairly within the specifications of the grants,) nor as intending that colleges shall expend funds for all the subjects included in said classification. In an address before the Commission respecting the proposition that the trustees of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, in the expen- diture of the Federal moneys, have diverted the funds of the agricultural depart- ment to the other departments, a representative of that institution said: "If we had been inclined to do it (divert the fund that was given to us by the appropriation of the United States Government,) we couldn't have done it, because every dollar that comes from the government of the United States is, by the law, to be expended upon that campus — every dollar has been expended upon that campus; every dollar of it has been submitted to the government before they O. K.'ed it; every dollar has been O. K.'ed and approved by the government." In other words, the government's approval of the expenditure of these moneys is cited as a conclusive answer to the criticism made respecting their expenditure. To what extent such governmental approval is a bar to thj criticism, however, must be determined by the scope of the government's requirements and the inspec- tion upon which its approval is based, and whether the measure of its inspection is such as in practical operation to include the element which is more particularly of state concern, namely, that the expenditure shall be applied to instruction in the branches named, ivith special reference to their applications in the industries of life in the several states, and to the facilities for such instruction, varying according as the resources and the peculiar industries of the states may vary. By section 2 of the Morrill Act of 1890, the treasurers of colleges or other insti- tutions, entitled to receive sums of money thereunder, are "required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before the first day of September of each year, a detailed statement of the amount so received and of its disbursement." By the regulations of the Department of the Interior such reports require a separate statement with respect to the money expended for salaries of instructors and for facilities in each of the several branches named in the statute, each branch being separately reported by schedules designated by the letters "A", "B", "C", and so forth. From 1891 to and including 1913, the form of the reports varies slightly, but throughout, the general scheme of reports by 102 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT schedules remained. To these reports a statement, signed by the treasurer, appears as follows: "7 Hereby Certify that the above account is correct and true, and, together with the schedules hereunto attached, truly represents the details of expenditures for the period and by the institution named; that said expenditures were applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science, with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction; and that no part of these funds was expended for the erection, preser- vation, or repair of any building or buildings." After the passage of the Nelson Act of 1907, permitting the use of a portion of the money for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and mechanic arts, this certificate was changed by inserting after the words, "industiies of life," the following: "to the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts." It is clear that, beyond said certificate, the Federal government received by these reports nothing upon which to base an approval that the expenditures reported were applied to the several branches of instruction "with special reference to their applications in the industries of life." The Commission deems it of importance to set forth the following summaries of said reports: Report for 1891. Received, Dec. 18, 1890, $15,000.00 March 16, 1891, 16,000.00 Disbursed for instruction and facilities In agriculture, $ 3,537.59 In mechanic arts, 4,210.39 In English language, 1,803.93 In mathematical science, 1,841.74 In physical science, 1,761.39 In economic science, 1,504.63 Balance unexpended, 14.514.76 $31,000.00 $31,000.00 Report for 1S9S. Balance from 1891, $14,514.76 Received, 17,000.00 Disbursed for instruction and facilities In agriculture, $ 6,750.05 In mechanic arts, 14,267.18 FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 103 In English language 1,750.00 In mathematical science. 2,550.00 In physical science, 1,750.00 In natural science, 2,346.00 In economic science. 1,500.00 Balance unexpended. 601.53 $31,514.76 $31,514.76 Report for 1893. Balance from 1892, $ 601.53 Received, 18,000.00 Disbursed for instruction and facilities In agriculture. $ 3,376.53 In mechanic arts. 3,500.00 In English language. 1,750.00 In mathematical science. 2,750.00 In physical science, 3,500.00 In natural science. 1,500.00 $18,601.53 $18,601.53 Report for 189 Jt. Received, $19,000.00 Disbursed for instruction and facilities In agriculture. $"3,360.00 In civil engineering. '3,500.00 In rhetoric and English literature. 1,750.00 In mathematics. 2,750.00 In physics and electrical engineering. 5,390.00 In political economy. 2,250.00 $19,000.00 $19,000.00 Report for 1895. Received, $20,000.00 Disbursed: Mathematics and English in Agricultural depart ■- ment, agricultural chemistry, botany, agricul 1- ture and horticulture, dairying. $ 3,044.75 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. 10,704 07 Rhetoric and literature. 2,000.00 Mathematics and physics, 2,000.00 Chemistry, 1,251.18 Political economy, 1,000.00 $20,000.00 $20,000.00 104 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Report for 1896. Received, $21,000.00 Disbursed: Mathematics and English in agricultural depart- ment, agricultural chemistry, botany and horticulture. $ 3,400.00 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. 8,100.00 Rhetoric and literature. 3.000.00 Mathematics and physics. 3,500.00 Chemistry, 2,000.00 Political economy, 1,000.00 $21,000.00 $21,000.00 Report for 1897. Received, $22,000.00 Disbursed: Mathematics and English in agricultural depart- ment, agricultural chemistry, botany and horticulture. $ 3,450.00 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. 8,300.00 Rhetoric and literature, 1,750.00 Mathematics and physics. 3,750.00 Chemistry and natural history. 3.750.00 Political economy. 1,000.00 $22,000.00 $22,000.00 Report for 1S9S. Received, $23,000.00 Disbursed: English and mathematics in agricultural depart- ment, agricultural chemistry, botany and horticulture, $ 3,450.00 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. 8,300.00 Rhetoric, literature and elocution, 2,750.00 Mathematics and physics. 3,750.00 Chemistry and natural history. 3,750.00 Political economy. 1,000.00 $23,000.00 $23,000.00 Report for 1899. Received, $24,000.00 Disbursed: English and mathematics in agricultural depart- ment, chemistry, botany and horticulture. $ 3,650.00 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. 8,700.00 FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 105 Rhetoric, literature and elocution, 2,900.00 Mathematics and phy.sics, 3,850.00 Chemistry and natural history, 3,900.00 Political economy. 1,000.00 $24,000.00 $24,000.00 Re-port jor 1900. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed : English and mathematics in asricultural depart- ment, chemistry, botany and horticulture, $ 4,074.98 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, 8,900.00 Rhetoric, literature and elocution, 3,100.00 Mathematics and physics, 3,925.02 Chemistry and natural history, 3.900.00 Political economy. 1,100 00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 1901. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed: English and mathematics, chemistry, botany and horticulture. $ 3,624.98 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, 9,350.00 Rhetoric, literature and elocution. 3.100.00 Mathematics and physics. 3,925.02 Chemistry and natural history. 3,900.00 Political economy. 1,100.00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 1902. Received, $25,000.00 'isbursed: Horticulture, Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, English, rhetoric, literature and elocution. Mathematics, Chemistry, natural history, biology, botany and physics. Political economy. $ 875.00 7,800.00 4,225.00 3,100.02 7,899.98 1,100.00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 106 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Report for 1903. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed : Horticulture, $ 743 75 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, 7,931.25 English, rhetoric, literature and elocution. 4,225.00 Mathematics, 3,100.02 Chemistry, natural liistory, biology, botany and physics, 7,899.98 Political economy. 1,100.00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 190i. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed: Horticulture, $ 737.50 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, 8,600.00 English, rhetoric, literature and elocution, 4,825.00 Mathematics, 2,375.00 Chemistry, natural history, biology, botany and physics, 7,849.98 Political economy, 612.52 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 1905. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed: Chemistry in agricultural department and horti- culture, $ 1,500.00 Civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, 7,800.00 Enplish, elocution, rhetoric and oratory, 3,875.00 Mathematics, 2,875.00 Chemistry, geology, zoology, biology, botany and physics, 7,850.00 Political economy, 1,100.00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 1906. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed : Agriculture, dairying, horticulture, agronomy and veterinary science, $ 2,500.00 Civil, electrical, mechanical and railway engi- neering and machuie drawing, 7,400.00 FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 107 English language, literature, composition, rheto- ric and oratory, 2,500.00 Mathematics, astronomy and book-keeping, 3,250.00 Chemistry, geology, zoology, entomology, botany, physics and mineralogy. 7,850.00 Political economy, 1,500.00 $25,000.00 $25,000 00 Report for 1907. Received, $25,000.00 Disbursed: Agriculture, $ 2,500.00 Mechanic arts. 7,400.00 English language, 2,500.00 Mathematical science. 3,250.00 Natural or physical science. 7,850.00 Economic science. 1,500.00 $25,000.00 $25,000.00 Report for 1908. Received, $30,000.00 Disbursed: Agriculture, $ 6,000.00 Mechanic arts, 7,400.00 English language. 2,900.00 Mathematical gpience. 3,250.00 Natural or physical science. 8,950.00 Economic science, 1,500.00 $30,000,00 $30,000.00 Report for 1909 Received, Disbursed : $35,000.00 Agriculture, $ 1,466.00 Mechanic arts, 11,434.00 English language. 3,900.00 Mathematical science. 5,700.00 Natural or physical science, 12,500.00 $35,000.00 $35,000.00 Report for 1910 Received, $40,000.00 Disbursed : Agriculture, $ 3,893.59 Mechanic arts. 12,974.65 108 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT English language, 3,180.95 Mathematical science, 4,450.00 Natural or physical science, 12,225.81 Economic science, 3,125.00 Training of teachers of elementary agriculture and mechanic arts, 150.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00 Refortjor 1911. Received, $45,000.00 'isDurseQ I Agriculture, $ 4,288.14 Mechanic arts, 11,736.60 English language. 3,290.63 Mathematical science. 4.950.02 Natural or physical science. 16,877.23 Economic science. 3,557.38 Training of teachers of elementary agriculture and mechanic arts, 300.00 $45,000.00 $45,000.00 Report for 1912. Received, $50,000.00 Di-sbursed : Agriculture, $ 5,481.39 Mechanic arts, ^ 13,202.34 English language, 4,122.92 Mathematical science, 5,240.00 Natural or physical science, 1 6,905 .45 Economic science, 4,697.90 Training of teachers of elementary agriculture and mechanic arts. $50,000.00 $50,000.00 Re/port for 1913. Received, $50,000.00 Disbursed : Agriculture, $ 6.687.11 Mechanic arts, 14,519.77 English language, 5,166.32 Mathematical science, 3,000.00 Natural or physical science. 15,468.46 Economic science, 4,633.34 Training of teachers of elementary agriculture and mechanic arts, 525.00 $50,000.00 $50,000.00 FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 109 It will be noticed that beginning with the year 1895 and continuing through the report for 1906, the several subdivisions of disbursements are not designated by the words of the statute as in the reports prior to 1895 and since 1906. It seems apparent, however, that the seven subdivisions, referring to their respective schedules, were intended to preserve in the reports the separation of branches desig- nated in the statute. The report of the Carnegie Foundation, respecting the expenditure of the Federal appropriation in 1912, says: "In other words, of the total sum of $50,000 received by the trustees from the United States government because of the presence of the Agricultural College, only $5,481 are spent otherwise than would be the case if the Agricultural College existed elsewhere." The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, as an institution of higher learning, has made prominent the instruction it offers in the liberal arts — instruction of a purely cul- tural type. It is, therefore, somewhat surprising to learn that its largest activi- ties are due to the fact that it is the State Agricultural College, by virtue of which it receives the Federal appropriation. Many of its courses of instruction, neces- sarily a part of a college of liberal arts merely, and required by it of all its academic students, are sustained either wholly, or nearly so, by the expenditure of this appro- priation. This is particularly true of English and mathematics as disclosed by these reports and the several catalogues of the institution. It is true that the Federal statute expressly authorizes the expenditure of the appropriation for in- struction in these subjects; but the Commission believes that the expenditure of the Federal funds for instructing classical and literary-scientific students in those subjects, as long as anything remains to be done to advance instruction in the more practical branches of agriculture and the mechanic arts, is not applying such ex- penditures to instruction required by the statute "with special reference to their applications in the industries of life." Taking the amount shown by the foregoing summaries to have been expended each year from 1891 to 1913, inclusive, as a basis of computation, it gives the per- centum expended for agriculture as follows: 1891 21.45% 1892 21.83% 1893 18.15% 1894 17.68% 1895 15.22% 1896 16.19% 1897 15.68% 1898 15. % 1899 15.2 % 1900 15.89% 1901 14.49% 1902 3.5 % 1903 2.97% 110 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 1904 2.95% 1905 6. % 1906 . 10. % 1907 10. % 1908 20. % 1909 4.18% 1910 9.73% 1911 9.5 % 1912 10.96% 1913 13.37% In this connection it is important to notice not only the facts reported by the Carnegie Foundation respecting the disbursement of Federal funds under the Morrill Act of 1890 and the Nelson Act of 1907, by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, but also facts and statistics in the hands of the Commission, from other sources, showing the disbursement of Federal funds under the provisions of the same Acts of Congress, by institutions, known as "agricultural and mechanical colleges," in other states. It appears (from the report of the Carnegie Foundation, page 168), that the $50,000 received annually by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, from the United States Treasury, under the grants of 1890 and 1907, is spent, according to the University's report, as follows: Engineering (or Mechanic Arts) $13,302 Natural and Physical Sciences ($11 ,246 ) ^ „ (. „„ Botany and Zoology ( 5,660 [ ^°'^"° Agriculture 5,481 Mathematics 5,240 Economic Science 4,697 English 4,122 Sundries 252 Total $50,000 The foregoing tabulated statement, after including the subjects of Botany and Zoology under the head of Natural and Physical Sciences, as is done by the United States Commissioner of Education, in Vol. II, page 362, of his report for the year ending June 30, 1912, shows a percentage of appropriation expended for instruction in the various subjects as follows: — Subjects Per Cent Engineering (Mechanic Arts) 26.60% Natural and Physical Science 33.81 % Agriculture 10.96% Mathematics 10.48% Economic Science 9.39% English 8.24% Sundries .5 % FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 111 The United States Commissioner of Education, in the same volume, on pages 361-363, gives a tabulated statement of disbursement of funds received under the Morrill Act of 1890, and the Nelson Act of 1907, by colleges of agriculture and me- chanic arts in all of the states of the Union, for the j^ear ending June 30, 1912. Computing the per centum from that statement, it appears that those appropria- tions (aggregating the $50,000), were expended by the colleges receiving them in the six New England States and in New York, (we include New York because it is an adjoining state,) respectively, for instruction in agriculture, as follows: Con- necticut, 57.17 %, Maine, 20.7 %, Massachusetts, 35.26 %, New Hampshire, 27.76 %, New York, 27.25 %, Rhode Island, 25.8 %, Vermont, 10.96 %. Thus Vermont is shown to have expended for that purpose in per centum a trifle more than one half the sum expended by Maine, less than two fifths the sum expended by New Hampshire, a trifle more than two fifths the sum expended by New York, less than one half the sum expended by Rhode Island, less than one third the sum expended by Massa- chusetts, and less than one fifth the sum expended by Connecticut. We quote from page 336 of the same volume of the Report of the United States Commissioner, regarding the average percentage of the appropriation from the general government, expended for instruction in the various subjects, beginning with the year 1904 and ending with the year 1912, as follows: "The total appropriated for the year ending June 30, 1912, from the United States Treasury in aid of the land-grant colleges under the provisions of the acts of August 30, 1890, and March 4, 1907, was $2,500,000, each State receiving $25,000 under the Morrill Act of 1890 and $25,000 under the Nelson Act of 1907. Sums from this amount were expended for instruction in the various subjects in the proportion shown in the table following : " Percentage of appropriation expended for instruction in various subjects. Subjects 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 Agriculture 16.8 16.8 17.6 17.7 19.3 21.2 20.1 22.5 22.0 Mechanic Arts 29.5 29.6 30.5 30.9 27.8 26.9 27.9 26.7 26.3 Eng. Language 12.3 12.4 11.7 10.9 10.7 10.1 10.0 10.1 8.9 Math. Science 11.8 11.8 11.6 11.6 11.0 10.7 9.4 9.3 10.0 Nat. & Phy. Sci. 23.4 23.2 22.7 23.2 24.9 23.2 23.8 23.7 26.5 Economic Sci. 6.2 6.2 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.9 5.4 Train, of Teacher of El. Agri. & Mech. .7 2.2 3.3 1.8 .9 Arts " In connection therewith the facts show that in 1893 when this appropriation stood at $18,000 the trustees allotted $3,376 to distinctly agricultural education. Thereafter these appropriations increased to the extent of $1,000 a year up to the year 1900 when it amounted to $25,000. The annual appropriation stood at that 112 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT sum until the year 1908 when it was $30,000, increasing thereafter annually by $5,000 until the year 1912 when it was $50,000, at which sum annually it has since remained. Adverting to the tabulated statement of the per cent expended annually for agriculture by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, (shown on pp 109-10,) it is seen that after the year 1893 the per cent thus expended in the majority of the years grew less until in 1901 it was 14.49 %; that thereafter for four con.secutive years it was 3.5 %, 2.97 %, 2.95 %, and 6 %, respectively; that in the next three years it was increased to 10 % in each of the first two years and to 20% in the third, which was 1908; that in 1909 it was 4.18%, in 1910 it was 9.73%, in 1911 it was 9.5%, in 1912 it was 10.96%, and in 1913 it was 13.37%. The average annually during the last twelve years being 8.59 %. It appears that before money was received from the general government under the Morrill Act of 1890, complaints were made by the State Grange that the Feder- al appropriation received by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College was not being expended by it with due respect for agriculture; that inves- tigations concerning it were made by persons representing the State Grange, by persons representing the state legislature, and by a person representing the gen- eral government; that reports based upon such investigations were made against the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College by those persons so representing the State Grange, and in favor of it by those persons representing the legislature, and by the person so representing the general government; and that addresses were delivered by men high in civil life, having knowledge of the matter, explaining the object of the Morrill Act of 1862, and commending the course of the University relative thereto. Yet so far as these things were prior to the Morrill Act of 1890, they can have no bearing on questions pertaining to the expen- diture of moneys under the specific provisions of that grant. At a hearing before the Commission, the President of the University quoted from an address delivered by Senator Justin S. Morrill at the Commencement of the University on the 28th of June, 1893, in which he spoke at considerable length of that institution as a land-grant college, and commended its work in carrying out the purpose of the Federal grants. Yet it should be remembered that this address was delivered the third year after the enactment of the second Morrill Act which was approved on August 30, 1890. It appears that no money was received under this grant until December 18, 1890, so that when Sena- tor Morrill delivered the address mentioned, the institution had had the benefit of that appropriation for three years. In those three years the portion of that money expended for instruction and facilities in agriculture was as follows: In 1891, 21.45%, in 1892, 21.83%,; and in 1893, 18.15%. Senator Morrill died (in 1898) before the annual sum of that appropriation reached the full $25,000, and more than eight years before the Nelson Act of 1907. increasing the Federal appro- priation so that four years thenceforth it should amount to $50,000, was passed. When he spoke in 1893, he had been a trustee of the Universitj' of Vermont and FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 113 State Agricultural College a long time, and presumably was conversant with the way the funds received under the Morrill Act of 1890 had been distributed up to that time. The percentage was afterwards decreased within his lifetime to 15 %, but how he looked upon such decrease, or whether he gave the matter any attention in the last years of his life, the Commission has no information. What Senator Morrill would say today, were he alive with knowledge of what has taken place in these respects since the time of his death, no one can tell. But with common knowledge of his great services to the State of Vermont, of his unceasing labors in the interest of the industries of the state and particularly that of agriculture, what can one imagine he would say to know that in lOO^, within four years after his death, but 3.5 % was expended on agriculture by the land- grant college in Vermont; that in 1903, but 2.97% was so expended by that insti- tution; that in 1904 when the average expenditure for such purpose by the land- grant colleges in this country, from the same appropriation, was 16.8 %, in Vermont it was but 2.95 %; that in 1905 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 16.8%, in Vermont it was but 6%; that in 1906 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 17.6 %, in Vermont it was but 10 %; that in 1907 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 17.7%, in Vermont it was but 10%; that in 1908 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 19.3 %, in Vermont it was raised to 20%; that in 1909 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 21.2%, in Vermont it was lowered to but 4.18 %; that in 1910 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 21.1 %, in Vermont it was but 9.73 %; that in 1911 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 22.5%, in Vermont it was but 9.5%; that in 1912 when the average expenditure by such colleges was 22 %, in Vermont it was but 10.96 %; and that in Vermont the annual average during the last twelve years was but 8.59%. Certainly one should note the change of circumstances and consider pretty carefully before applying what Senator Morrill said in 1893 to the conditions of things as they have existed since his death, and before considering what he said on that occasion, as approving the course that has been pursued in this respect by that institution since his death. Furthermore it has been suggested that there has been a tacit approval of the University's construction of these Acts of appropriation and of its use of the funds, but such suggestion is without force for two or three reasons, though we need mention but one, namely, that not since the passage of the Morrill Act of 1890 have the people of this state had knowledge of the material facts as to the manner in which the funds therein appropriated were being applied distributively, and nothing is more firmly settled as a legal or equitable principle than that there can be no acquiescence without knowledge of all the material facts. "And a cestui que trust" it is said in Volume 2, of Leading Cases in Equity, notes, page 1789, "will not be affected with constructive knowledge of a breach of trust merely because he might by inquiries have discovered it." 114 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT It can not be said that the funds received under the Morrill Act of 1890 and under the Nelson Act of 1907, have been expended for purposes unauthorized by the Acts of appropriation; and it is true that the treasurer's reports have been approved by the Department at Washington. Yet is this a full answer to the complaint that these funds are being used by this institution without showing that degree of respect for the leading industry of the state, fairly contemplated by the Acts of appropriation? Considering the superlative importance of agriculture among the industries of life in this state, is it not a matter for serious reflection, whether the distribu- tive expenditure of said annual fund in a way to apply only the small varying per cent shown within the last dozen years, with an average of only 8.59 %, to distinctively agricultural education, is applying that fund to instruction in the branches named in the Acts of appropriation "with special reference to their applica- tions in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction" as they have been and are known to exist in this state? The phrase quoted is an important part of the law. It was manifestly inserted in the interests of the several states. It may be disregarded in the expenditure of the funds, and yet the reports of treasurers be approved by the Department, because the expenditures reported were for purposes authorized. This is as far as the general government would be likely to interest itself, and as far as its approval of the treasurer's reports has much significance or bearing on the question under consideration. Whether the requirement of that phrase be observed by the insti- tution receiving the funds, is a matter peculiarly of state concern. It is in the interest of the public welfare that the institution develop courses of instruction along the line of the state's leading industries; and so to do, amounts to no more on the part of the institution than the faithful performance of its duties toward the people of the state, the real beneficaries of the trust. Faithful performance in this respect requires not only that the expenditure be authorized by the Acts of appropriation, but that it conform to the provisions of the trust in their true spirit, intent, and meaning. It is said by Mr. Pomeroy, in his work on Equity Jurisprudence, Vol. 2, Sec. 1062, that trustees are bound in the first place, "to conform strictly to the directions of the trust." And that, "A trustee can use the property only for the purposes contemplated in the trust, and must conform to the provisions of the trust in their true spirit, intent, and meaning, and not merely in their letter." In the matter of Tappan's Appeal, found in the 52d of Connecticut Reports, page 412, the testatrix suggested four different modes for the administration and dispensation of the public charity there in question, and declared her preference for the first mode named "if the same be made practical and legal for the purpose;" but if for any reason the first named mode could not be legally carried into effect, then she declared her preference for the second mode suggested; in like manner for the third and fourth modes in their order. It was held that the appellent was in error when .she claimed that the trustees had the discretionary power to select FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 115 either of the modes prescribed for administration of the trust; that they had no discretion in the matter; that they must take the first, if that mode should be found to be practicable and legal; but if not, then they must resort to the second, and that must be the mode, if legal for the purpose, and so on with the third and fourth modes stated. In the opinion of the Commission, the phrase quoted above from the Morrill Act of 1890, considered in its relation to the entire provision of which it is a part, was intended to prescribe, and does prescribe with reasonable certainty, the course to be pursued in making the annual distributive allotment of the appropriation under that Act to the branches named therein, and this course must be substan- tially followed in order to effect a performance of the trust in a manner that shall properly respect the state's leading industries of life; and, except as to such portion as may be used in the special preparation of instructors for teaching agriculture and the mechanic arts, the same course was prescribed to be followed in the expen- diture of the moneys appropriated under the Nelson Act of 1907. The Commission is of the further opinion that, owing to the policy of the trustees of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, this course has not been substantially followed in the expenditure of the moneys received under these two acts of appro- priation, and consequently that that institution has failed to perform its duties and obligations in conformity with the true spirit, intent, and meaning of the provi- sions of the trust, and it is so determined. It is manifest that as to agriculture, efScient work and satisfactory results can not be had in this institution without a change in the policy of the trustees. Moreover it appears that the agricultural equipment of the institution is meager — too meager for the kind and the quality of work which should be done. This meager- ness may fairly be assigned, first, to the fact that the moneys under the Federal appropriations have, to so disproportionately small extent, been applied to agricul- ture and to facilities for instructions therein; and secondly, to inadequate aid by way of specific state appropriations; — to the former, more than to the latter. The report of the Carnegie Foundation under the subdivision of "The State Agricultural College," pages 164-172, should be carefully studied. We quote with approval therefrom: "To sum up the situation with respect to the College of Agriculture, it may be said that its courses are not based upon a consistent educational policy, that the equipment for teaching is meager, that on their practical side the courses seriously lack equipment, and that by reason of these conditions the College of Agriculture is not adapted to serve well either the needs of the boy who desires to be a practical farmer or those of the youth who looks toward a scientific training in agriculture, and finally, that this whole situation has lent itself to a regime under which the college has a very slender connection with the agricultural industries of the state. It does not help or guide these industries in any such way as should be expected of an eflScient agricultural college. 116 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT "These statements are not made with any desire to criticize the professors in the Agricultural College. These professors are excellent men, and they have done admirably with the means that they have had at their command. The situa- tion in which the College of Agriculture finds itself — the lack of equipment, the empirical quality of its courses, and the failure to connect itself with the industries of the state — is the result of a policy of administration for which the trustees are responsible. This consists in the expenditure that the trustees make of the generous annual gift that the state receives from the United States government. * * * "The most practical and definite obligation of the state at the present time in higher education is to see that a clear policy is entered upon as to the function of the Agricultural College, and that then, in the second place, the college shall be adequately supported. " * * * By every consideration of efficiency and of state pride the commonwealth should insist that a fair proportion of the United States annual grant shall go into agricultural instruction, and it should supplement this income by such means as are necessary to effect the contact between the agricultural school and the agricul- tural industries, a cause which is not within the provisions of the grants made by the general government. "In addition to giving to the Agricultural College an adequate support, it is also clearly the duty of the trustees to set the Agricultural Experiment Station free to bend its efforts directly and energetically to the investigation of those problems who.se solution means so much to the individual farmer and dairyman. There is an enormous field in Vermont for the Agricultural College and the Agricultural Experiment Station, but in order that these agencies may do their work, there must be a clear conception of what that work ought to be, a suitable organization for carrying it out, and a use of the money now in hand for the purposes of agricul- ture rather than for the purposes of general instruction." It is not the purpose of the Commission to belittle any other branches of educa- tion, nor does the Commission recommend the taking from such other branches, or any of them, any portion of the money received under the Federal grants, which, under the proper administration of the trust connected with those grants, should be applied to such other branches. To do that would be as much a deviation from the proper course as it is to deprive agriculture of the portion to which it is entitled. By giving emphasis to agricultural education in the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, the Commission is not to be understood as in any sense FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS 117 narrowing education. As already seen, agriculture is Vermont's predominating industry of life and it is the duty of this Commission to make recommendations looking to the proper application of the money allotted to that institution under legislation requiring such money to be expended by it with special reference to the relative prominence of the state's industries. The Commission believes that a change in policy by the trustees may be looked for, whereby agriculture will receive proper consideration in the annual distribu- tive expenditure of the Federal appropriations. This belief is based particularly upon what was said at a hearing before the Commission by one of the prominent trustees. He was asked by one of the Commissioners if he thought that they had expended the Federal agricultural appropriation wisely and well from the stand- point of the purpose for which it was made. Protesting that there had been no misuse of the Federal funds, he answered in substance that he thought the time has come when the policy of the institution towards the agricultural appropriation is wrong; that from now on they have, and perhaps from a time that dates back possibly eight or ten years they had, the opportunity to make better use of that Federal appropriation ; and that if the policy was wrong it should have been corrected before, but certainly should be corrected now, — adding that he had previously taken this position on the board of trustees. With a change effected in this direction, so as fairly, and reasonably, and sym- pathetically to conform to the provisions of the trust in their true spirit, intent, and meaning, the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College may be looked to for efficient training in scientific agriculture; but in the judgment of the Commission its agricultural function should not include training in practical voca- tional farming at the institution, beyond what may be essential to the efficient performance of its function to develop scientific agriculture, or what may be nec- essary there in carrying out the extension work under the Acts of Congress. The teaching of practical vocational farming and the incidents thereto constitute the function of the State Agricultural School at Randolph. The Commission believes that neither of these institutions can efficiently perform the functions of the other, and that neither should, in any real sense, attempt to encroach upon or duplicate the work of the other. As to the proper function of the Agricultural College we call attention to the report of the Carnegie Foundation (page 171) : "Shall the function of the Agricultural College be to train farm boys in the tech- nique of their vocation in some such way as they are trained in the agricultural school at Lyndonville, or shall its function be to develop scientific agriculture in Vermont? Either one of these functions is defensible, but they cannot both be carried on simultaneously. Our experience of fifty years in agricultural education goes to show that a trade school will not grow in a university atmosphere, and that the real function of a university college of agriculture is the promotion of scientific agriculture and the maintenance at the same time of right relations to elementary agricultural training-schools. The second, and in some ways the greatest, function 118 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT of a technical college of agriculture is the development of a fruitful and stimulating relation with the farming industries of the state in which it stands. To be in close touch with the agricultural problems of the state, to deal with these problems by the best means that science affords, and to put the fruits of these investigations by simple, direct, and feasible methods into the hands of the farmers themselves, is the greatest function that such an agency can perform." In this connection, it should further be said by way of emphasizing the impor- tance of this class of instruction, that, in order for efficient work in the high schools of the state along the lines of agriculture, it is essential that teachers be had, who are c|ualified therefor, and to the University of Vermont and State Agri- cultural College, the state must largely look for the training of such teachers. It is said in the report of the United States Commissioner of Education, for the year ending June 30, 1913, (of which volume I only is out,) page 212: "The increase in the number of students in the agricultural colleges was greater in 1912-13 than ever before, and the increase was well distributed throughout the United States. A large part of this increase is due to the demand for teachers of agriculture and for county demonstration agents. "According to the most reliable information obtainable, there were about 2,300 high schools in the United States teaching agriculture in 1912-13. This indicates an increase of about 300 over the previous year. * * * "Agriculture is more and more coming to be considered a fit subject of study for the elementary school, but at the same time the need of trained teachers is widely recognized as a serious hindrance." In the passage of the Nelson Act of 1907, the Congress of the United States, in an unqualified manner, recognized the importance of having specially trained teachers, by authorizing the use of a portion of the money thereby appropriated in "providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts." And in the ruHngs and instruc- tions approved by the United States Bureau of Education November 2, 1911, section 8 reads: "8. All or a part of the funds provided by the act of March 4, 1907, may be used 'for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and mechanic arts.' It is held that this language authorizes expenditures for instruction in the history of agriculture and industrial education, in methods of teaching agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics, and also for special aid and supervision gi\-en to teachers actively engaged in teach- ing agriculture, mechanic arts, and home economics in public schools. It does not authorize expenditures for general courses in pedagogy, psychology, history of education, and methods of teaching." COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 119 The national policy thus shown voices a sentiment that should touch a respon- sive chord throughout this domain. In the mind of the Commission, the state, acting in the special interest of her great agricultural industry, proper assurances being had, may well lend such aid as shall be reasonably necessary to the suitable equipment of the agricultural depart- ment of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College; and believing that henceforward there will be an increasing need of trained teachers qualified to teach agriculture in the secondary schools of the state, and consequently that the production of such teachers by the L^niversity of Vermont and State Agricultural College will be for the special interest of the state, the Commission recommends that the board of education be authorized to make suitable arrangements with that institution for the training of this class of teachers, if it can be done upon a reason- able basis without duplication as discussed in the chapter on Duplication, and that money be appropriated to enable the board, under its supervision, to carry out the arrangements so made, and that the work under this arrangement should be done in such a manner as shall make the department, to all intents and purposes though not in law, relate to the state. 3. University of Vermont — College of Medicine In support of the claim that the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College is not a private but a public corporation and therefore entitled as a matter of right to state support, representatives of that institution have said little respecting the exact relationship existing between the College of Medicine and the state. After a century of existence of merely a nominal connection with the University of Vermont, the College of Medicine was made, in 1899, "a coordinating department of the university under the control of the board of trustees." In 1911, according to the catalogue, it was "made a part of the university system," and no claim has been made before the Commission that it was in character, that is, public or private, different from the institution of which it thus forms a part. The Commission has signally failed in its purpose if it has not made clear the principle upon which, in its judgment, state appropriations to higher education, for the present at least, may legitimately and properly be based. That principle measures the state's duty and obligation to higher education by the specific and needed service it performs for the state. The only question, therefore, material here, is: Does the College of Medicine perform such a service? That its service — the training of physicians and surgeons — is specific, is unquestionable. Whether it is needed by the state is to be determined by the service rendered and likely to be rendered, and the cost thereof. There is one standard only governing the practice of medicine and surgery, eflBciency, and that standard is uniform in all states. In recommending a state appropriation for the support of a school of pedagogy in Middlebury College the 120 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Commission is influenced thereto by the fact that those who are to teach the youth of Vermont can do more efficient work when prepared therefor in the en- vironment in which they are to teach, and this, as pointed out in our discussion of the elementary and secondary schools, because environment is such an important element in instruction. The state needs teachers trained in the state. She needs the best and the highest trained physicians and surgeons; but unlike teachers, that they receive their training in Vermont is of no importance in determining their qualifications to practice here. This uniformity of standard is well shown by the work of the American Medical Association. This body "representing the organized medical profession of this countrj', was organized in 1846 for the express purpose of improving medical education." In 1904 the governing body of the association created a permanent committee, the Council on Medical Education, whose function was "to collect and publish reliable information regarding medical education, and to do what it could to secure the adoption of better educational standards." Through the work of the council, an "ideal standard" of entrance requirements to medical schools was fixed, a standard that included the requirement of one year of work de\oted to college courses in physics, chemistry and biology, in addition to the completion of a standard four-year high school course. Medical institutions meeting this requirement are rated by the association as Class A, and the Commission understands that medical schools of a still higher rank, having an entrance requirement of two years of college work, are rated by the association as Class A+. In 1900, only two medical schools required any preliminary training beyond a high school course; and this require- ment was largely nominal. Through the work of the association, however, the number of medical schools has been reduced since 1906 from 162 to 106, 31 of which are in Class A+ and 21 in Class A. Extended mention of this work of the American Medical Association is here made because there have been current suggestions of a nation-wide conspiracy having for its object the elimination of the smaller medical schools — the establishment of a trust in medical education — a criticism levelled in some degree at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, due doubtless to the fact that at the time the American Medical Association published its second classification in 1910, the Carnegie Foundation published its report on medical education in the United States and Canada. The conspiracy— if that be a proper term — is one of good. Of this work the United States Commissioner of Education, in his report for 1913, of which volume I is just received, says, "As may be surmised, the marked reduction in the number of medical colleges has not been to the detriment of medical education but has been to its advantage; it has not lessened the opportunities for students to study medicine, but has provided them with greater opportunities in better-equipped colleges." The College of Medicine itself makes no complaint of this so-called conspiracy. Rather it has voluntarily adopted the standards set up by the American Medical Association, for in the fall of 1912, the Vermont institution raised its entrance requirements to those of Class A. COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 121 Throughout the state, in ahiiost every city and village, graduates of the Univer- sity of Vermont College of Medicine by efficient practice of their profession give testimony to the good training received by them at that institution. It is but natural that they should champion the continued existence of their professional Alma. Mater. The question before this Commission, however, is not one of senti- ment but of justice. It has been urged that without the College of Medicine there will be no source to supply competent practitioners for the state. The experience of other states, however, that are without medical schools and that are nevertheless adequately served in this respect, deprives this argument of any force. As well might it be said that Vermont's churches must close their doors for want of clergy- men because the state has no school of theology, or that the laws of the state can not be properly interpreted and the rights of her people thereunder protected, without a school of law. Granting, however, that the service rendered to the state by the College of Medicine is of a character to justify the state in sustaining it by appropriation of the public money, the question then becomes a relative one, namely. Should the state continue to grant a subsidy to the College of Medicine at Burlington — a grant in no way related to the state's policy of public instruction — and fail to meet fully its consitutional obligation to furnish to all the youth of the state an adequate pre- paration for everyday life? In 1909 the state appropriated to the College of Medicine, $10,000, and this appropriation was increased for the year 1913 tp $23,500. The admissions declined from 55 in 1909 to 40 in 1911, and in 1912, when the new entrance requirements, by which the college entered Class A, were adopted, only 12 students were admitted, of which only 3 were from Vermont. In the enter- ing class of 1913 of 18, 8 were from Vermont. The report of the Carnegie Founda- tion refers this decline in student attendance to the increased entrance require- ments voluntarily and rightly adopted by the college. The result, however, indi- cates that if the college is to maintain a proper standing among medical institutions, it does not offer sufficient inducement to attract students in numbers sufficient to warrant its continuance by state support or otherwise. Indeed, the dean of the institution has been frank to say that in order to maintain the standing of the College of Medicine, enlarged clinical facilities must be had. Respecting this matter, the United States Commissioner of Education in his report referred to, says "Another marked development in medical education is the provision for more adequate clinical facilities by a larger number of medical colleges, either through securing hospitals both owned and controlled by the medical school or through contract relationships with large ho.spitals whereby the medical college has been given more liberal control of the clinical facilities. This is an exceedingly important matter in medical education. If young physicians are to go forth prop- erly qualified to recognize and treat the various complex disorders that affect mankind, it is necessary that during their medical course they have the opportunity, under proper supervision, to study sick patients at the bedside in the hospital." 122 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT In an address before the Merchants' Association, in Burlington, on March 10, 1914, Dean Henry C. Tinkham referred particularly to the inadequate clinical facilities of the College of Medicine. He said in substance that there should be hospital facilities aggregating 200 beds, or 100 beds in addition to those now available; and that this need could be met in two ways : either by additions to the Mary Fletcher and Fanny Allen hospitals, or by the college itself erecting a hospital. Doctor Tinkham regards the first plan as the more feasible one and believes that it could be carried out at a cost of about $50,000 or $75,000. His conclusion is squarely in agreement with that reached by the Carnegie Foundation in its report, which says, "Somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000 will be needed to conduct in Bur- lington a school upon a university basis and capable of giving a medical education adequate to the demands of present-day teaching." Of this money, Doctor Tink- ham believes that the state should appropriate something less than $50,000, but more than its present appropriation of $23,500. The urgency of this need of in- creased appropriations by the state is apparent from Dean Tinkham's statement that unless the conditions in the College of Medicine, particularly in regard to hospital facilities, are improved by February of next year — at the biennial rating of medical schools by the American Medical Association — the institution will be reduced in rating to Class B. In brief, the head of the College of Medicine frankly announces that unless the state immediately increases its appropriation, the institution will be lacking in those facilities required by institutions of the rank now held by it and necessarily attract fewer students than now. This Commission, in the performance of its duty toward the elementary and the secondary schools of the state, has been compelled to recommend the withdrawal of existing state appropriations to higher education in general. How, then, can it be reasonably expected that the state should not only continue, but also increase, its present appropriation to an institution not situated to perform any specific service for the state more than other institutions in providing education, not of a character beneficial to a general student body, but to a few students seeking special professional training.-' X MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE MiDDLEBURY College is a private institution, chartered under the name of The President and Fellows of Middlebury College. In 1908 the legislature appropriated to that college $8,400, of which $6,000 annually was "for the establishment and maintenance of a department of pedagogy for the education and training of high school teachers in said institution." It was provided by the same Act that the fellows of the college should make an annual report to the governor of the work done in behalf of the department of pedagogy, together with a statement in detail of all expenditures made in its promotion. In 1910 the legislature appropriated to that college $16,000, of which $13,600 annually was "for the establishment and maintenance of a department of pedagogy for the education and training of high school teachers in said institution, and to provide instruction in forestry and other subjects relating to the industries of Vermont." In 1912 the legislature appro- priated to that college $12,800, of which $10,400 "shall be annually expended by such institution in providing instruction in subjects essential for students prepar- ing to teach in Vermont high schools and academies." It has been urged before this Commission by the President and Fellows of Middlebury College that the department of pedagogy should be continued for the training of high school teachers, so that the high schools may be supplied largely with teachers who have received such special training in the state, and consequently that state aid should be given. We have already recommended teacher-training classes in selected high schools to meet the demand for well-trained teachers in the elementary schools. We discuss above the importance of having teachers in the high schools specially qualified to give instruction along the lines of agricul- tural training, and make recommendations looking to the training of such teachers by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. It is also essential to efficient work in the high schools and to satisfactory results, that professionally trained teachers be had for the work, other than that pertaining more particularly to agriculture, to the end that the whole problem of secondary instruction may be solved in a manner most for the public good. There seems to be no lack of appli- cants for positions as teachers in the secondary schools. But is the state reasonably sure of obtaining teachers of the efficiency necessary for the class of work desired unless the state interests herself in the training of such teachers? Other things equal, a teacher professionally trained in the state's atmosphere, conscious of, and in sympathy with, the lives and needs of the state's youth is better equipped for educational work in the state's secondary schools than a teacher from without the state, not imbued with the spirit of success according to the state's needs and progressive educational aim. It is said by President A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard University, in his work on The Government of England, Vol. 2, page 329, "The growing interest in secondary education gave rise to another royal commis- 124 MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE sion, appointed in 1894, with Mr. (James) Bryce (author of the American Common- wealth) at its head. Like its predecessor thirty years before, it made an elaborate inquiry, and added one more to the great reports on English education." And on page 338, note 3, the author, referring to that commission, says, "The lack of pro- fessionally trained teachers for the secondary schools themselves was one of the matters on which the commission of 1894 laid stress." In the report of the Carnegie Foundation, page 11, it is said: "It may be added that the teachers necessary for the secondary schools are already supplied in sufficient numbers by the colleges, but the examination that has been made shows that the quality of these teachers, so far as their knowledge of theoretical and practical teaching is concerned, leaves much to be desired. It is clear that if the colleges are to supply a teacher equal to the work of the secondary school, they must give these teachers a far more practical training in teaching than has hitherto been the case." The United States Commissioner of Education (in his report, page 25, for the year ending June 30, 1913, of which volume I only is out), states that "The State of Rhode Island, through its legislature, has entered into cooperation with Brown University for the professional education of college graduates desiring to prepare for positions as high-school teachers or principals." A course not materially unlike the one here recommended, has been pursued in England, for substantially the same purpose. Thus President Lowell (in his work on the Government of England, Vol. 2, page 350), speaking concerning public aid to provincial universities and universitj' colleges, says, "The grants from the national government are given partly by the Education Department, on account of scientific courses and the training of teachers; sometimes partly by the Agricul- tural Department also, on account of instruction in farming; * * * " Should the public schools be reorganized as recommended in this report, more high-school teachers will be needed in this state than ever before. The Commission is therefore of the opinion, that it is for the special interest of the state to have teachers of this class professionally trained in the state for work in the secondary schools, and that to this end, the department of pedagogy at Middlebury should be continued; that this should be done in such a manner as to make it, to all intents and purposes though not in law, a state department; that the state board of education should be authorized by law to make arrangements with Middlebury College for that purpose on reasonable terms and conditions, to the extent necessary to fulfil the purpose of the law in such behalf, all under the super- vision and control of said board, without duplication as discussed in the chapter on Duplication. The work of the department of pedagogy, limited as above indicated, being for the special interest of the state, appropriations should be made to enable the state board of education to carry out, in spirit and meaning, the arrangements made by said board in this respect. XI NORWICH UNIVERSITY Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge and was chartered by the legislature in 1834. Captain Partridge was a former superin- tendent of West Point and instruction in military science seems not only to have been the fundamental purpose of the establishment of this institution but has ever since remained its controlling influence. Here things military are not an incident to the collegiate work: they are the principal; and while a measure of instruction in military science is undoubtedly of value to the youth by way of inculcating due regard for authority, the measure of militarism that pervades the curriculum at Norwich University goes far beyond any reasonable requirements in that respect. The military training given at Norwich University is of a class second only to that given at West Point. The Commission is informed that actually more time is devoted to things military at Norwich than at West Point, a singular fact since the avowed purpose of training at West Point is the preparation of young men for the profession of arms while that of Norwich is the preparation of young men for civil life with opportunities for a select few to enter military life. In the military training given, Norwich is ranked by the government as a "dis- tinguished" institution. As an institution of higher learning, aside from the military instruction given, it is, so far as the evidence before the Commission discloses, an institution of no special distinction and inferior in educational facilities to the state's other institutions of higher learning. Norwich University has sent forth into life men who have made history in the army and in the navy of the country, and in civil life. Its record is a proud one. But these things alone do not warrant the Commission in extending to it particular consideration, for the same is true of the state's other institutions of higher learning. What is there, then, respecting Norwich University that entitles it to state assistance? The Commission is firmly convinced, and throughout this report has frequently announced, that there is one rule only by which the duty and obligation of the state to institutions of higher learning can be measured, that is, that until the state's elementary and secondary schools are placed upon a firm foundation with a system reorganized and amply maintained in accordance with the recommendations herein made, no duty or obligation rests upon the state to assist institutions of higher learning other than such assistance as may naturally result from the performance by such institutions of some specific work for the state and required by the state in the carrying out of its policy for the proper development and maintenance of its elementary and secondary schools. Measured by this rule, by what does Norwich University justify its claim for assistance by the state? The notable record of the institution, and of its many illustrious graduates, is a source of just pride to every Vermonter. It is gratifying to know that the state has within her borders a military school, one of a class of 126 NORWICH UNIVERSITY 16 institutions throughout the country ranking not far below West Point. But in these days of peace, when there is an urgent need for unhmited state support of the common schools, whereby every boy and girl may receive the best possible equipment to meet the ordinary duties and responsibilities of life, where is the justification for lending support to an institution whose principal work is training for the profession of arms? The state has been increasingly generous to this institution for more than half a century. In 1852 it received a liberal portion of the school fund; in 1884 the legis- lature appropriated $1,500 annually, to be used in the payment of tuitions and room rent of thirty cadets, this appropriation being raised in 1892 to $2,400 annually; in 1898 the amount was further increased to $6,000, of which $3,600 per year was given "for carrying out the provisions and purposes of the charter;" in 1904 the appropriation was again raised to $11,000, the sum of $5,000 being granted for the period of ten years "to increase the efficiency of the engineering department;" in 1913 the legislature amended the scholarship provisions of 1892 and 1904, confirmed the annual appropriation of $11,000, and increased the aggregate appropriation by $9,000 annually for the term of two years, making a total of $20,000 per annum, all of which, except $2,400 for scholarships, was given "to be expended in carrying out the provisions of the charter of said institution." This increase in appropriations, it is apparent, is one manifestation of the tendency which has developed in recent years respecting all the institutions of higher learning within the state; and it is to be particularly noticed that by such appropriations the state has not undertaken specifically to aid the development of military instruction at the institution, and that the increase made has been in duplication of educational effort, a matter specifically submitted to this Commission for investigation and obviation. It is true that Norwich University has been called by the legislature the Military College of the State of Vermont but, as pointed out in our discussion of the claim of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, that the legislative declara- tion that it was a state institution made it such, the legislative recognition of Norwich University as the military college of the state did not make it a state institution, that is, a public corporation, nor in any wise affect the duty or the obligation of the state respecting it. The Commission might well repeat what is said in the report of the Carnegie Foundation respecting the inadequate facilities of Norwich University for education in engineering and the small and decreasing per cent of Vermont students attending it — a decrease from 77% in 1902-3 to 42% in 1912-13. These matters, however, are fully treated in that report and, in the judgment of the Commission, furnish such evidence as would create a grave doubt in the mind of the Commission respect- ing state aid to the institution even though the work performed by it were of a character justifying state support by the rule above referred to. Sentiment and personal inclination may advocate continued financial support by the state of an institution whose record in its particular field of work has been as NORWICH UNIVERSITY 127 creditable as that of Norwich University. A proper regard, however, for the entire educational system and conditions of the state — and that is the scope of the matters submitted to the determination of this Commission — compels the conclusion that the educational conditions of Vermont, respecting the elementary and the secondary schools, require a recommendation from this Commission withdrawing state appro- priations from Norwich University. On any fair and just view of the rights, duties and obligations of that institution and of the duty and obligation of the state to it, the Commission is unable to escape the following conclusion reached by the Carnegie Foundation: "That the State of Vermont should tax itself to support a school whose facilities for engineering are so meager, whose chief function is military instruction, the majority of whose students are drawn from outside the state, is a use of money that can not be defended upon any educational grounds, or upon the grounds of the state's duty to the system of elementary and secondary schools." XII DUPLICATION By the joint resolution creating it, this Commission is required to make such recommendations respecting the state's institutions of higher learning "as will prevent unnecessary duplication and consequent financial waste." In a narrow sense the performance of this duty may be said to relate only to duplication of work supported by state subsidies. In a larger and truer sense, however, the duplication referred to may relate to the entire activities of these institutions, although in some circumstances there may be duplication that is both necessary and justifiable. Time was — and not long ago — when competition was regarded as the most im- portant thing in any development. More recently, however, this notion has come to be thought only partly true. Efficiency of effort, whether prosecuted under competitive conditions or otherwise, is the end to be attained; and while competi- tion may make for efiiciency in business and mercantile activities, where success is measured in dollars and cents, in educational effort it breeds an unwholesome rivalry destructive of efficiency, which is there measured by the degree of attain- ment to an ideal. As already pointed out, the state is justified in aiding institutions of higher learning only for value received in the performance for the state of some distinctive service. Institutional rivalry, however, may so far inevitably affect the character of that service that the state should not assist any institution competing therein. In return for aid by the state, the institution aided does not meet its obligation in the performance merely of the distinctive service by which the assistance given is justified. Plain principles of justice and fair dealing impose upon that institution the duty to refrain from activities naturally tending to make ineffective the state- aided work of other institutions. The history of recent state appropriations to higher learning shows that out of institutional rivalry has grown duplication of effort. By No. 50, Acts of 1908, $16,000 was annually appropriated to the University of Vermont and State Agri- cultural College, $3,600 of which should be expended "in providing instruction in branches relating to the industrial arts." By the same Act, $8,400 was annually appropriated to Middlebury College, $6,000 of which should be expended "for the establishment and maintenance of a department of pedagogy for the education and training of high school teachers." In 1910, however, by No. 75, Acts of 1910, the University of Vermont obtained an annual appropriation of $16,000, of which $13,600 should be expended, among other things including branches relating to the industrial sciences, "in providing instruction in the principles and methods of teaching;" and Middlebury College obtained an annual appropriation of $16,000, of which $13,600 should be expended, in addition to the purpose of establishing and maintaining a department of pedagogy as provided in the Act of 1908, for the further purpose of providing "instruction in forestry and other subjects related to DUPLICATION 129 the industries of Vermont"- — a provision broad enough to include every department of agricultural education. By the legislation of 1908, the state was definitely assisting the University of Vermont in providing instruction in branches relating to the industrial arts, yet in 1910 Middlebury College received an appropriation for instruction in forestry and other subjects related to the state's industries. On the other hand, in 1908, the state definitely assisted Middlebury College to establish and maintain a department of pedagogy for a distinctive service to the state, namely, the education and training of high school teachers, yet in 1910 the University of Vermont obtained an appropriation to be expended in providing instruction in the principles and methods of teaching. The legislature of 1912, by an Act passed February 15, 1913 (No. 83, Acts of 1912), in appropriating money to the state's institutions of higher learning, to some extent avoided duplication, no doubt because the matter of "unnecessary duplica- tion" was specifically mentioned in the joint resolution creating this Commission, previously enacted. The sum of $26,300 was appropriated to the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. Of this appropriation, $13,500 was "for the exclusive use of the College of Medicine," $4,800 was "for the exclusive use of the College of Agriculture" in the payment of tuition charges of Vermont students, and $8,000 was "for the exclusive use of the College of Agriculture" to be expended solely for work in agricultural extension. The sum of $12,800 was appropriated to Middlebury College, of which $2,400 was allotted to the payment of tuition charges, and $10,400 in "providing instruction in subjects essential for students preparing to teach in Vermont high schools and academies." The sum of $20,000 was appropriated to Norwich University to be used "in carrying out the provisions of the charter of said institution through the payment of salaries of its instructional force and suitably providing for additions to and for the maintenance of laboratories and equipment for its work in engineering, in the natural sciences and in physical culture." Yet in these appropriations, it appears that the state is giving Norwich University extensive assistance in its engineering work and at the same time is sustaining the work in engineering at the University of Vermont through the Federal appropriations allotted to that institution by state legislation. Every institution of learning in the liberal arts necessarily ofi'ers courses more or less alike, for example, courses in the languages, mathematics, and the natural, physical and economic sciences. To style this as unnecessary duplication would amount to saying that all but one of such institutions have no reason for existence — a matter to be determined only by time and their own internal development. The Commission construes "unnecessary duplication" to mean competitive effort in technical education in the arts, sciences or professions; and technical education is none the less such although offered as "the stimulus to liberal thought and service- able effort that is so necessary to true culture and to useful living." The "Middlebury College Bulletin" for July, 1914, is devoted to an exposition of its Department of Engineering. It announces that two classes, at least, of its 130 DUPLICATION students demand certain courses in engineering : those who intend to pursue a tech- nical education beyond college and those who need such courses for cultural pur- poses. The engineering courses offered to meet this alleged demand are, in the opinion of the Commission, a clear illustration of unnecessary duplication. Through state legislation the Federal appropriations to land-grant colleges have, in Vermont, tor many years been allotted to the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, whereby there has been developed at Burlington a school of civil, mechani- cal and electrical engineering which "in the character of the instruction and the opportunity for laboratory work * * * compares well with similar schools of engineering in other institutions." The Bulletin says respecting the engineering department at Middlebury College: "Such a department does not purport to be, and it should not be misunderstood to attempt the work of, a technical institution or an advanced school of engineering, nor does it assume the character of a college of engineering in a university." And yet the value of its courses in a purely technical education is advocated by the announcement that their graduates "may enter the Junior year of the best technical schools without examination," an arrangement already concluded by Middlebury College with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University. In other words this department, which does not purport to be, and should not be misunderstood to attempt the work of, a technical institution, furnishes its students an education equivalent to that given in the first two years of the foremost technical schools in this part of the country. The train- ing offered is clearly that of a technical institution and just as clearly a duplication of the training given at Burlington. It is suggested, however, that duplication can not be predicated upon the state's use of the Federal appropriations, on the ground that such appropriations are not the property of the state but of the institution receiving them, and that the state is a channel merely through which the Federal aid flows. Such a position is untenable. Although the state holos these funds in trust for the purposes named in the Acts of Congress, it nevertheless owns them. The Supreme Court of the United States in State of Wyoming, e.x rel. Wyoming Agricultural College et al. v. Irvine, Treasurer of the State of Wyoming, 206 U. S. 278, 51 L. ed. 1063, says it is obvious that these appro])riations are made to the state, and not to any institutions within the state, and that both the fund and its interest and the annual appropriations are the property of the state, and not of any institution within it. As long as Middlebury College, by such duplication, engages in a competition with the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College in technical educa- tion in the mechanic arts, the Commission believes that such competition may engender a spirit of institutional rivalry that will make inadvisable the education there, at public expense, of the state's secondary-school teachers, for the School of Pedagogy in Middlebury College (discussed elsewhere in this report), even though safeguarded by a close state administration and control, may become so far imbued DUPLICATION 131 with such a spirit as to place its graduates, through their prestige and influence, in command of the secondary schools of the state. Nor should Middlebury College continue its courses in those branches of instruction peculiarly appropriate to educa- tion in agriculture, specially the province of the State Agricultural School at Randolph and of the State Agricultural College in the use of the Federal appropria- tions. The United States Bureau of Education has made the following classification of subjects to be included in instruction in agriculture: (1) Agriculture; (2) Horti- culture; (3) Forestry; (4) Agronomy; (5) Animal husbandry; (6) Dairying; (7) Veterinary science; (8) Poultry industry; (9) Apiculture. If the state is to support courses of instruction for training teachers of agriculture in the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, as elsewhere recom- mended, that institution by parity of reasoning should not unjustifiably continue its courses in pedagogy in competition with Middlebury College. Inasmuch as many forms of duplication are wholly justifiable and necessary, and inasmuch as forms of duplication that are injurious and, therefore, undesirable can sometimes be fairly determined only as the concrete occasion arises, it is only just to the state that no institution receiving aid from the state by way of funds owned by it, either absolutely or in trust, shall undertake work in aid of which such funds are elsewhere being provided, without the knowledge and the full concurrence of the board of education. These institutions should not be rivals, but co-workers, each doing its own general work in cultural education and non-competing work in technical education. XIII THE STATE AND HIGHER EDUCATION It is made the duty of the Commission to inquire into and determine the several rights, duties, and obligations of the three colleges in the state, and to report thereon with such recommendations as will prevent unnecessary duplication and consequent financial waste. Further than is necessary to the proper performance of this duty, the Commission does not consider it within its province to discuss the question of higher education nor the question of colleges of art, large or small. It wishes to con- fine its function to the public educational system and conditions of the state, and to the reorganization of the public elementary and secondary schools in such a manner as to result in the establishment of an efficient and comprehensive system of elementary and secondary education for the state, and the means of providing efficient, competent, and a sufficient number of teachers for these schools. Its recommendations are intended to cover this, and also to cover, directly or indirectly, the use of money owned by the state either absolutely or in trust, so far as it is applied by, appropriated to or to the use of, existing colleges, private in character. As to the other work of the colleges, the Commission recommends restrictions only so far as may be reasonably necessary to prevent imjust interference with the use of such state moneys. From what has been said, it is seen that the Commission bases its recommen- dations for state aid to institutions of higher learning upon the fact that some special benefit is to be derived by the state in connection with the efficient operation and administration of its public schools, in so doing. The state has made the mainte- nance of public schools a provision in its Constitution. From the foundation of the state, it has been a steady and governing principle that it was the right and duty of government to provide, at public expense, for the instruction of all the youth in common schools. No such duty is imposed upon the state respecting higher edu- cation, nor respecting instructions in institutions of higher learning, not a part of the public school system. Though appropriations may be and are often made by the legislature in aid of such institutions, yet such an appropriation is a gift of the sum appropriated. It is a common saying based upon much good sense, that "a man should be just before he is generous." This applies as well to the state regarding such appropriations. It should require no argument to convince any person of fair mind that the first and all important duty of the state is to perform its full obligation to the common schools before giving money to any institution of higher learning — justice to the youth of the state, as well as the public welfare, demand it. This same principle was stated and endorsed with emphasis by the president of Middlebury College and also by one of the prominent fellows of that institution at a hearing before this Commission. Thus President Thomas said: "I accept further the principle that the primary and supreme duty of the State in educational matters is to its elementary and secondary schools. The education of the HIGHER EDUCATION 133 mass of the people must always be the first concern of the people. Money that is needed for efiicient administration of a State educational system and for proper stimulation of local support of both elementary and secondary schools should not be diverted to higher education. The college must not be a competitor for resources that are needed by the little children of Vermont. The proposition to expend upon higher education what is justly required for the lower schools is not only unjustifiable morally and from the standpoint of public policy, but it is against the interest of the college itself, since the college can flourish only on the foundation of efficient general education and broad public prosperity." Honorable Frank C. Partridge, Fellow of Middlebury College, when delivering an address before the Commission on the same occasion, being asked by the chair- man of the Commission whether he stood with President Thomas as to the state's first duty being to the elementary and the secondary schools, answered: "I have had no question about that. 1 will go further, I think the duty first is the primary schools. I think if you want to analyze it thoroughly, you must determine first if you have any money left after that for the secondary schools, and after that I think you must determine whether there is any money left for any- thing else. The lower down you are in the educational field, the more you must look after it. You won't have any secondary schools without primary schools." It is said, however, in behalf of all three of the institutions of higher learning, that in other states of the Union private institutions of higher learning receive aid from the state and hence there is no good reason why the colleges in Vermont should not receive aid from the state; indeed that the state should continue to treat the colleges within her borders the same as similar institutions are treated in other states. By reason of this argument the Commission has taken pains to ascertain what is being done in this respect in each of the New England states, also in New York, and we present in connection herewith the following tabulated statement showing the total assessed valuation and the appropriations for higher education with the percentage computed in each of the states named: State Total Assessed Appropriations for Percentage Valuation Higher Education Vt. $ 222,989,343 $ 52,300.00 Univ. Vt. .00044 (1913) 28,800.00 Mid'y Coll. 20,000.00 Norw. Univ. $100,100.00 (1913-14) ConB. 948,339,019 $ 145,787.05 St. Agric. Coll. .000153 (1911) (1912-13) Me. 430,025,462 $ 115,000.00 Univ. Me. (1912-13) (1912) .000267 134 HIGHER EDUCATION Mass. N.H. R.I. N.Y. 5,479,279.693 (1912) (for 10 yrs. only) 398,714,464 (1912-13) 618,834,569 (1912) 11,131,778,919 (1913) 146,800.00 Agric. Coll. 100,000.00 Ma.ss. Inst. Tech. 50,000.00 Wore. Polyt. Inst. $ 296,800.00 (1912-13) $ 20,000.00 Dart. Coll. 20,544.88 Agri. Coll. $ 40,544.88 (1912-13) $ 29,889.63 Agri. Coll. (1911-12) $ 943,428.80 Corn. Univ. (Agrie.) 70,000.00 Corn. Univ. (Vet.) 71.000.00 Alfred Univ. (Agric. & Ceramics) 42,572.15 St. Law. Univ. (Agric.) 300,000.00 Syr. Univ. (Forestry) .0000542 .000101 .0000483 .0000128 $1,427,000.95 (1912-13)* The percentages are only approximate since it is, in general, almost impossible to obtain figures for valuations and appropriations in the same year. The above tabulated statement of appropriations is believed to include all sums appropriated to colleges in the states named, whether the institutions are in character public or private, and whether under state control or otherwise. In so far, however, as these institutions are public in character and entitled of right to state support, or are under state control, the per cent of Vermont's appropriations, as compared with appropriations to the private institutions of the other states, is materially increased. That a better understanding of the relative per cent appropriated by these states may be had, the Commission has caused the following chart to be made, showing the size of per cent appropriated by Vermont as com- pared with the per cent appropriated by each one of the other states named. It is hardly necessary to say in this connection that the appropriation made by a state, when compared with appropriations made by other states, is to be adjudged upon the basis of the assessed valuation of the states in which the compared appro- priations were made. No other compari-son would be fair. What would be a large appropriation for a state of small assessed valuation might be a mere pittance for a state of large assessed valuation, or, to state it in another way, a small appro- priation in per cent of a state of large valuation, might amount to a sum so large as to be beyond anything that could possibly be expected from a state of small valuation. Referring to the chart and to the per cent given by each state, marked thereon, it will be seen that Vermont is appropriating nearly 1.7 times the per •From January 1914 from $75,000 to $300,000 is appropriated annually for scholarships. .00005^ .0000483 ■ i I I N. Y. N. J. Mass. N. H. Conn. Maine Vt. 136 HIGHER EDUCATION cent appropriated by Maine, nearly three times the per cent appropriated by Connecticut, more than four times the per cent appropriated by New Hampshire, more than eight times the per cent appropriated by Massachusetts, more than nine times the per cent appropriated by Rhode Island, and more than thirty-four times the per cent appropriated by New York in 1912-13. If we add to $1,427,- 000.95, the sum appropriated in those years, $300,000, the greatest sum appropria- ted annually for scholarships from January, 1914, it makes total appropriations from January, 1914, $1,727,000.95. Computing the per cent this sum is of the assessed valuation given for 1913 (and saying nothing about any increase in assessed valuation for the year 1914), it gives .0000155, and the per cent appropriated by Vermont is still more than twenty-eight times the per cent now being appropriated by New York. With this information in hand together with the knowledge we have concern- ing the elementary and secondary schools, can there be any reasonable doubt that the institutions of higher learning in this state have been and are receiving more by way of appropriations from the state than in justice to the elementary and the secondary .schools they ought to ask or receive? Without discussing the question as to whether appropriations to such institutions without state control can or can not be reasonably justified, they can not be reasonably justified to an extent which is to the injury of those schools established and maintained for the benefit of all of the people of the state. The Commission can not urge too strongly the importance to the public-school children of the state, and consequently the importance to the general welfare of the state, that no appropriations, by way of scholarships or otherwise, be made by the state to the colleges until the elementary and the secon- dary schools are established and in efficient operation throughout the state, in conformity to the recommendations contained in this report. When these public schools are so established and in efficient operation, if it he then a state policy that state appropriations to private institutions of higher learning are, without state control, reasonably justified — a matter not now requiring consideration — , we may fairly assume that serious objection will not be made to such appropriations to a percentage of the assessed valuation of property in the state, in keeping with the amount of the appropriations made to similar institutions in other states with which comparisons may fairly be made. It should be added, however, that even then there should be no appropriations in the form of scholarships as now assigned. The Commission believes that such scholarships are so objectionable in their tendencies as to leave nothing substantial in their favor. There may be some question as to the advisability of ever making appropriations by way of scholar- ships, but if so made the assignment of scholarships should be under the control of the board of education and based upon merit and pecuniary need. Very likely in any event justice to the colleges may require that all state aid be not cut off at once, but rather that reasonable opportunity be allowed them in which to arrange their budgets. XIV FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS I. History of State School Funds By a law passed November 17, 1825, "the amount of the avails accrued to this state by the late Vermont State Bank, the amount of this state's funds accruing from the six per cent on the net profits of the respective banks chartered by this state" and the amount received "from licences to peddlars" were "sequestered and granted to the respective towns in the State, for the benefit of the common schools and to no other purpose." It was further enacted that "the accumulating school fund contemplated shall not be diminished, improved or appropriated to the use of schools, until the amount of principal of said fund shall increase to a sum suffi- cient to yield an annual profit and interest adequate to defray the current expenses of keeping a good, free, common school in each district in the respective towns, for the period of two months in each and every year." These funds were at first invested in productive securities, but, in 1833, further loaning was prohibited by the General Assembly. Interest was allowed on the fund and it was "considered as borrowed from the fund" so that on September 10, 1845, the principal and interest amounted to $234,900.44. On November 5, of the same year, it was covered into the state treasury. In 1832, provision was made for a new capitol building and work on the same was commenced and com- pleted in 1838. For the construction of this building, the state borrowed from the state school fund $224,000. In 1841 the General Assembly passed a resolution to the effect that no part of the school fund should be loaned so long as "the State may be owing individuals or corporations." The state paid for its new capitol building by repudiating its debt to the school fund. From 1845 until 1890 the state had no school fund apart from the United States deposit money and the Huntington fund. At the session of 1890 the legislature enacted a law providing for the first state school tax of five cents on the dollar which was collected upon the list of the polls and ratable estate of the inhabitants of the state for the support of common schools and re-apportioned by the state treasurer among the towns, cities and unorganized towns and gores in proportion to the number of legal schools sustained. This tax was afterward increased to eight cents on the dollar, and from time to time the method of the re-apportionment has been changed. In 1906 the permanent school fund was created consisting of the sum of $240,000 returned by the national government to the state in settlement of all Civil War claims, the Huntington fund, the United States deposit money and such other additions as were thereafter made to this fund; and the fund was to be held intact and in reserve as a public school fund. A board of trustees was created in whom was fixed the power of investment and the further power of receiving gifts, be- quests or additions to such permanent school fund. 138 STATE SCHOOL FUNDS II. Appropriations and Distribution of Expense In the opinion of the Commission, state school funds should be appropriated as follows : 1. For the purposes of equalizing school opportunities and the assessments for the maintenance of schools. 2. For the purposes of paying all overhead, extraordinary and incidental ex- penses incurred in the maintenance of the school system. Neither the parent nor the town should be deprived of or relieved from partici- pating in the education of the child. A fair and equitable distribution of the expense of the child's education should be as follows: (a) The parent should feed, clothe and care for the child. (6) To a large degree, the town should furnish the school plant, provide for its equipment, maintenance and care, bear the expense of the wage of the teacher and of the cost of books, equipment and supplies. (c) The state should pay: 1. For supervision, because the superintendents are the agents of the state in carrying out its educational policy. 2. For the training of the teacher, because the several towns can not perform this service for themselves and because uniformity of training is desirable in order that there may be uniformity in the quality of the teaching. 3. For medical inspection, because diseases and epidemics do not recognize town lines. 4. For the transportation of the child, because this is an unusual and not a com- mon expense, .such as teaching and .supplies, though frequently necessary to school efficiency, and because it usuallj' falls most heavily upon the town the least able to bear the expense and is one of the features of school administration that can not be handled economically and satisfactorily by the town. 5. For a portion of the net wage of the teacher, in order to insure the employ- ment of trained teachers, and to some degree equalize the expense thereof. This payment should be considered with reference to the net wage of the teacher because the gross wage involves the factor of board which \aries in Vermont from nothing to $6.00 per week. 6. For a large portion of the cost of the emjiloyment of teachers for instruction in vocational subjects, because it is a matter of state concern that its inhabitants be self-supporting in life. 7. For incidental expenses, such as supplies and equipment which the town can not adequately furnish itself. 8. For the general means of education, such as educational meetings, summer schools, reports, statistics, courses of study, bulletins, circulars and manuals. 9. For such portion of the expenses of the school .system as will enable the sev- eral towns to have schools that will, as nearly as possible, be uniform in quality, duration and expense. FINANCIAL SUPPORT i;«) In considering these several subjects the Commission recommends: 1. That in lieu of the present eight per cent tax, a state tax of ten per cent be levied upon the grand list of the state for school purposes. 2. That a direct appropriation be made from the state treasury of at least $450,000. 3. That the income of the permanent school fund be used as now for the purposes of carrying out the educational system. These three funds brought together give substantially $750,000. The Com- mission further recommends that this sum be apportioned at present as follows: 1. For general administration and office purposes, including expenses of the board of education, and the salaries and expenses of the executive officers of the board of educa- tion, $ 20,000 2. For union supervision, 125,000 3. For vocational education, 10,000 4. For teacher training courses, 40,000 5. For summer schools and educational meetings, 3,000 6. For the transportation of pupils of all classes, 125,000 7. For the instruction of secondary school teachers, 15,000 8. For agricultural extension instruction, 15,000 9. For medical inspection of schools, 7,000 10. For advanced instruction in the several classes of high schools, 60,000 11. For payment of teachers' wages, 100,000 12. For equalizing opportunities and rates of expenditure, 230,000 Some question may arise concerning the appropriation of so large a sum as $450,000, and it may very properly be stated that a large portion of this sum is already appropriated by the state from its general revenues and was paid during the fiscal year 1913-14, for the following purposes: Superintendent of Education and Board of Education, $ 9,135.71 Normal schools, 20,000.00 Union supervision, 63,350.00 Manual training, 950.00 Teacher training courses, 10,750.00 Summer schools, 1,000.00 Educational meetings, 594.71 University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, 52,300.00 Norwich University, 20,000.00 Middlebury College, 28,800.00 Transportation, year ending June 30, 1913, 20,000.00 General appropriation, 50,000.00 Making a total of $276,880.42 140 APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENSE Thus the increase in the appropriation from the general funds of the state will be only $175,000. In return for this, the several towns, on the payment of an ad- ditional tax of two per cent of the grand list, will receive the benefits which they are already receiving, but these benefits will be increased twofold along the lines of supervision, trained teachers, teachers' wages, vocational education and transpor- tation, and, in addition to this, a fund of $230,000 will be in the hands of the board of education to aid in equalizing school opportunities and in the reduction of rates of expenditure in those towns where this aid at the present time is sorely needed. All of which is respectfully submitted this 17th day of July, A. D. 1914. John H. Watson Nicholas Murray Butler Theo. N. Vail Peecival W. Clement Horace F. Graham Frank H. Brooks Eli H. Porter James B. Estee Allison E. Tuttle CoTninissi(>)ierii. George L. Hunt Clerk. INDEX INDEX Academies, as secondary schools, 28 Administration : Agencies for, recommended, 7, 55. Commissioner of Education, 54. History of, 51. State Board of Education. 52-55. Supervisors, 49. Age: Pupils of junior high schools, 6, 29. Pupils of senior high schools, 6, 29. School advantages, no bar to, 40. Agricultural schools: Hearing at Burlington respecting. 4. Recommendation respecting, 41. Agriculture : Crops, comparative statistics of, 37. Experiment station, 95, 96. Extension work, 7, 40, 42, 96. Federal appropriations for, percent used, 109. Instruction in, what is, 131. Model farms, 40, 41. State Agricultural School, fimction of, 41, 42. Teachers, 7, 40, 118, 119. University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, function of, 11.5-117, 119. Use of Federal appropriations, 8, 91. Vermont an agricultural state. 17, 37, 39, 114. Vocational education in, necessary, 37-40. American Medical Association, 120. Appropriations ; Agricultural extension, 7, 40, 96. Agricultural teachers, 40, 118. Apportionment of, for schools, 139. College of Medicine, 121. Colleges, 7, 30, 119. 125. 127, 128, 132. Duplication in, 128, 129. Federal, Act of 1862, conclusion respecting use of, 95. Federal, Act of 1890, conclusion respecting use of, 115. Federal, Act of 1907, conclusion respecting use of, 115. Federal, for agricultural extension, 40, 96. Federal, use of by University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, 8, 91 . Federal, use of. comparative percentages, 111, 112. Institutions of higher learning, 7, 30, 119, 125, 127, 128, 132. Middlebury College, 123, 124, 128, 129. Norwich University, 126, 129. School funds, recommendation respecting, 138 State Agricultural School, 7, 41. State, control of, 54. University of Vermont and State Agricultural CoUege,7, 119, 128, 129. [l36. Vermont's, compared with other states, 133- UoAHD of Education: Appropriation for, 55. Appropriations, control of, 54. Duplication, duly respecting, 119, 124, 131. Health regulations, 54. Instruction outside town, 28. Membership, requisites of, 52. Powers and duties, 52-54. Re-organization of schools, 31. Scholarships, 136. Staff, 54. Teachers of agriculture, 119. Teachers for secondary schools, 7, 124. Term of office, 55. Budget of educational expenses, 54. CiARNEGiE Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Expert assistance by, 3. Men employed by, 2, 3. Methods of work, 3. Report to Commission, 3. Children : Attending elementaiy schools, 17. Attending secondary schools, 18, 22. Compulsory attendance, 27. Importance of, 17. [30. Not reached by secondary schools, 17, 23, 27, Classification of schools, 13-16, 21, 24, 25, 54. College of Medicine: Appropriations to, 121. Attendance, 121. Clinical facihties, 121, 122. Conclusion respecting, 122. Dean Tinkham's statement respecting, 122. Relation to University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. 119. 11.4 INDEX State's duty to, discussed, 119, lii. Standing of, 120-122. Supply of practitioners, unnecessary for. l!21. Colleges : Appropriations compared, Vermont and other states, 13a-136. Function of Commission respecting, 4, 122, 132, 136. Relation of secondary schools to, 23, 30, 35, 36. State's duty respectmg, 7, 30, 119, 125, 127, 128, 132. Commercial subjects, 6, 7, 28, 4.2. Commissioner of Education: -Assistants for, 54, 55. Qualifications, 54, 55. Salary, 54, 55. Term of ofSce, 54. Compulsory attendance, 27. Consolidation of rural schools, 5, 19, 20. Constitution : Duties respecting schools imposed by, 5,9, 11, 14, 15,30,31. Rights imder, how exercised, 15. Schools, parents' duty respecting, 30. Schools, state's duty respecting, 5, 9, 30, 50, 51, 132. Vocational education, relation to, 35. County grammar .schools, 11, 34, 62, 73, 74. Course of study : Elementary schools. 18, 19. Riu-al schools, 5, 19, 20. Secondary schools, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29. Crops, comparative statistics of, 37. Curriculum: Elementary schools, 5, 18, 19, 20. Junior high schools, 6, 28, 29. Senior high schools, 6, 28, 29. State Agricidtural School, 41. Distribution of expense, 138 Districts. Specially incorporated, 33. Domestic science, 6, 7, 28, 35, 42. Duplication : Board of Education, duty of, 119, 124, 131. Effect of, 128. Illustrated, 41, 43, 128, 129. Scope of, 128. Unnecessary, bar to state aid, 131. Unnecessary, what is, 129. Ji/Di'CATioNAi. Commission: Colleges, function of, respecting, 4, 122, 132, 136. Conclusions of, not based wholly on Carnegie Report, 4. Expert assistance for, 2. Hearings before, 4. Higher education, function of, respecting. 4, 116, 117, 122, 132. 136. Institutions visited, 4. Joint Resolution creating, 1. Organization of, 2. Purpose of report, 2, 4, 5, 9, 132. Work of, 3, 4, 43. Educational survey: Authorized by Commission, 2. Men engaged in, 2. Methods, 3. Report to Commission, 3. Elementary schools: Attendance, 17, 18. Curricula, 18, 19, 25, 26. Instruction in, purpose of, 18, 19. Location of, 14. Number required, 16. Place in the system, 9, 132, 133, 136. Rural schools, 5, 19, 20. Rural schools, consolidation of, 19, 20. School term, 31. Teachers, certification, 54. Teachers, number. 43. Teachers, salary, 47, 138. Teachers, tenure of position, 47. Emmigration, relation to schools, 36. Environment, relation to schools, 9, 16, 17, 19 , 20, 23, 25, 36, 43. Equalization of expense, 30, 50, 51, 137, 140. Expense of schools: Equalization of, 30, 50, 51, 137, 140. Parents' duty respecting, 30, 138. Secondary consideration, 29, 30. State money, expenditure and control of, 54 . Experiment station, 95, 96, 116. Extension work in agriculture, 7, 40, 42, 96. r EDERAL appropriations: Agriculture, percent used for, 109. Approval of U. S. government respecting use, 101,114. [llT Change in policy, respecting use, looked for. INDEX 145 Extension work, 96. State Grange, complaint by, 112. Use of , comparative percentages. 111, 112. Use of by University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. 91. Use of, reports required, 99-101. Use of, reports respecting. 102. Use of, imder Act of 1862, conclusion respect- ing, 95. Use of, mider Acts of 1890 and 1907, conclu- sion respecting, 115. [96. Federal extension work in agriculture, 7, 40, 4i8, Financial support, 30, 50, 51, 137, 140. '.J Foundation: [70. University of Vermont, conclusion respecting. University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, conclusion respecting, 86. Founder's Day, at University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, 64, 65. [27. "Four-and-Two" division of secondary schools, VIENERAI. Assembly, communications by Gov- ernor, 1 Glebe-rights, 13. [biy, 1. Governor, communications to General Assera- Grammar school lands. 11, 62, 73. 74. Grammar schools lands, investigation re.specting, recommended, 34. Grammar school lands, quantity and^value, 34, 73, 74. rrioHEH education: Appropriations compared, Vermont and other states, 133-136. Function of Commission respecting, 4, 116, 117, 122, 132, 136. Institutions of, all private, 7. Institutions of, purpose of report respecting. 5, 132. Institutions of, state aid to, 7, 119, 125, 127, 128, 132. Scholarships, 136. State's duty respectmg, 7, 30, 119, 125, 127. 128, 132. High schools: see secondary schools. Huntington fund, 137. Hygiene, 49, 54. Increase of school term, 6, 31 Institutes, 55. Junior high schools: Curriculum, 6, 28, 29. Equipment, 6, 28, 29. Xumber, 27, 28. Recommendations respecting, 6, 25, 28, 29. Teachers for, 48. Vocational education in, 6, 28, 42. JjENGTH of school term, 6, 31 Lyndonville, Mr. Vail's school visited by Com- mission, 4. IVIanuai. training: Generally, 6, 7, 28, 42. State Agricultural School, 7, 41. 42. Manufacturing, compared with agriculture. 17, 37-40. Memorial of Elijah Paine, 58. Memorial of Ira Allen, 58, 65. Middlebury College: Appropriation for proposed, 124. Appropriations, 123, 124, 128, 129. Brief by, 4. Commission's \-isit to, 4. Duplication in, 128-131. Hearing before Commission, 4, 132, 133. Teacher-training, 7. 123. 124. Model farms, 40, 41 . Morrill Act of 1862: [use of, 8, 95. Appropriations under, conclusion respecting Morrill Act of 1890: Appropriations under, conclusion respecting use of, 8, 115. Appropriatioife under, reports of use of, 102. Appropriations under, use of, comparative per- centages, 111, 112. Appropriations, reports of use required, form of, 99, 100, 101. Morrill. Senator Justin S., his attitude respect- ing use of Federal appropriations, 112, 113. Nelson Act of 1907: Appropriations under, conclusion respecting use of, 8, 115. Appropriations under, use of, comparative percentages. 111, 112. Normal Schools: Attendance, 44. Commission's visit to, 4. Duplication of teacher-training courses, 43. 146 INDEX Kind required, if any, 48. Recommendation respecting, 7, 45. Supply of teachers, as source of, 44. Norwich University : Appropriations to, 126, 129. Attendance, 126. Brief by, 4. Character — not a state institution, 126. Commission's visit to, 4. Conclusion respecting, 127. Hearing before Commission, 4. Military training, 12.5. "rerogative, 68 Publicity, 55. JtvANDOLPH Agricultural School: see State Agricultural School Records and reports, 54. Reports of use of Federal appropriations, 102. Rural schools: Consolidation of, 5, 19, 20. Course of study, 5, 19, 20. OCHOLARSHIPS, 136 School funds: Appropriated how, 138. Board of Education to control, 54. History of, 13, 137. School lands, 11, 13, ,34, 62, 73, 74. School term, 6, 31. Schools : Classification, 13-16, 54. Consolidation, 5, 19, 20. Constitutional requirements respecting, 5, 9. 11, 14,15,30,31. Defects in, reason for, 5. Directors, location by, 14. Division of, 5, 24-29. Expense of, equalized, 30, 50, 51, 137, 140. Instruction, character of recommended, 6. Location, 14, 15, 16. Parents' duty respecting, 30, 138. Relation to colleges, 9, 132, 133, 136. State's duty respecting, 5, 9, 30, 50, 51. 132. Supreme Court decisions respecting, 12. Sustained how, 30, 50, 51, 137, 140. Town system retained, 9. Union of, 20, 49, 54. Vocational education in, 6, 35. Secondary schools: Academies as high schools, 28. Attendance, 17, IS. 22, 23, 28. Classification of, 14, 21, 24, 25. Colleges, relation to, 23, 30, 35, 36. Compulsory attendance, 27. Curriculum, 23, 28, 29, 42. Development, 22, 23. Division, change in point, 24-27, 29. "Four-and-Two" division, 27. Function of, 5, 22, 23. History of legislation respecting. 21. Instruction outside town, 13, 28. Junior high schools, 6, 25, 27-29, 42. Relation to elementary schools, 5, 18. Senior high schools, 6, 16, 29, 30. "SLx-and-Six" plan, 24-29. Teachers for, training of, 7. 119, 123. Teachers for, agriculture, 7, 119. Teacher-training courses, 46. 47. Senior high schools : Agriculture, teachers of, 7, 40, 119. Cmriculum, 6, 28, 29. Equipment, 6, 29. Recommendation respecting. 6, 29. Vocational education, 6, 7, 29, 41. 42. "Six-and-Six" plan, 24-29. Specially incorporated districts, 6, 33. State, must be considered as a whole education- ally, 9, 30. State Agricultural School: Agricultural training, function in, 41. 42. Equipment, 7, 41, 42. Visited by Commission, 4. Instruction in, 41, 42. Teachers. 7, 41. State Grange, complaint re use of Federal appro- priations, 112. Summer schools, 55. Supervision : History of, 48. State supervisors, 49. System of, 54. Supreme Court, decisions respecting schools, 12. 1 EACHERS: Agriculture, training of. 7. 40. 118, 119. Certification. 54. Importance of. 43, 47. Qualification. 54. INDEX 147 Salary, -47. 138. Secondary schools, training of, 7, 119, 123. Tenure of position, 47. Training courses, history of, IS. Training courses, increase recomnienilcd. -17. Transportation, 19, 20, 138. Union of schools; Benefits of, 20, 49. Recommended compulsory, 49. Re-organization of unions, 54. Union superintendents, 49, 34. U. S. deposit money, 137. University of Vermont: Buildings as barracks, 78. Buildings burned and restored, 78. Character — public or private, 56, 76. Character — shown by history, 78-80. Charter, 58, 75. Foundation, conclusion respecting, 70. Founder of, 59, 65, 70. Founder's Day, 64, 65. Lands, grant of, 64, 66, 72. Loan from state, 79. Private corporation, claimed to be, in 1840, 79. State's contribution to foundation, 59. Trustees, oath to, effect of, 77. United States, dealt with, independent of state, 79. Visitatorial power respecting, 75, 76. University of Vermont and State Agricultural College: Agricultural extension, 7, 40, 42, 96. [ll9. Agricultural training, its function in, 115-117, Appropriation for, proposed, 119. Appropriations to, 128, 129. Briefs, 4, 65, 66, 73. Character, conclusion respecting, 91. Charter, 82. Commission's visit to, 4. Experiment station, 95, 96, 116. Federal appropriations, use of, government approval, 101, 114. Federal appropriations, percent used for agriculture, 109. Federal appropriations, percentages compared, 111,112. Federal appropriations, reports respecting use, 102. [use, 117. Federal appropriations, change looked for in Federal appropriations, under Act of 1862, conclusion respecting use of. 95. Federal appropriations, under Acts of 1890 and 1907, conclusion respecting use of, 115. Foundation, conclusion respecting, 86. Founder's Day, 64, 65. Hearings before Commission, 4, 56, 77, 78, 101,117. Teachers of agriculture, training of, 7, 40, 118. 119. Trustees, election by General Assembly, effect of, 88. Visitatorial power respecting, 86, 87. Vocational training, its place in, 40. Ver.mont: AgriciUtural state, 7, 37, 39, 114. Agricultural statistics respecting, 37-39. An educational unit, 9, 30. Appropriations to higher education compared with other states, 133-136. Manufacturing and agriculture compared, 38-40. Vermont Agricultural College: Character, conclusion respecting, 82. Charter, 80. Relation to state, 81. Report of trustees, 85. Visitatorial power, 75, 76, 86, 87. Vocational Education: Agriculture, importance of, 37-40. Commercial subjects, 6, 7, 28, 42. Defined, 35. Domestic science, 6, 7, 28, 35, 42. Elementary schools, 42. Emmigration, relation of, 36. Extension work in agricultiu-e, 7, 40, 42, 96. Junior high schools, 6, 28, 36, 42. Manual training, 6, 7, 28, 41, 42. Model farms, 40, 41. Recommendations respecting, 6, 42. Senior high schools, 6, 7, 29, 36, 41, 42. State Agricultural School, 41, 42. NAMES Allen, Ira. 58, 63, 65, 70. Benedict, Robert D., 63. Benton, President Guy Potter, 4, 56, 112. Blackstone, Sir William, 62. Brooks, Frank H., 140. 148 INDEX Butler, Nicholas Murray, HO. Chipman, Nathaniel, 11. Claxton, Philander P., 19. Clement. Percival W., 140. Comyns, Lord, 77. Dillon, John F., 88. Elliott, Profe.s.sor Edward C. 3. Estee, James B., 140. Farrington, Profe.s.sor Edward N. .S. Fiske, John, 59. Fletcher, Allen M., Governor, 1. Furst, Doctor Clyde, 3. Goodrich, Professor John Ellsworth, 63. Graham, Horace F., 140. Hamilton, John, 98. Hillegas, Professor Milo B., 3, Hunt, George L., 2, 140. Kent, Chancellor, 75. Kerr, W. J., 94, 95, 98. Learned, Doctor William S., 3. Leslie, William, 3. Lowell, President A. Lawrence. 123. Marshall, Chief Justice, 65, 69, 85. Meade. Professor G. B., 35. Morrill, Justin S., 80, 112, 113. Mower, E. C, 4. Olshausen, Professor George R., 3. Paine, Elijah, 58. Partridge, Captain Alden, 125. Partridge, Frank C, 4. 133. Poland, Judge Luke P., 12 Pomeroy, John M., 114. Porter, Eli H., 140. Potter, Doctor Nathaniel Bowditch, 3. Powers, Chief Justice George M.. 4 Powers, Judge H. Henry, 90. Pritchett, Doctor Henry S., 2. R«ed, Doctor Alfred 7,., 3. Roberts, Robert, 4. Ross, Chief Judge, 12. Rowell, Chief Justice, 11, 90. Royce, Chief Judge, 90. Sayre, Monell, 3. Smith, Treasurer C. P., 4. Spooner, President Charles H., 4. Stephen, Serjeant, 68. Story. Justice, 62, 72, 76. Sutherland, Professor W. J.. 17. Taft, Judge Russell S., 90. Thomas, Colonel Fred B., 4. Thomas, President John M., 4, 123, 132. Thompson, W. O., 93, 95, 98. Tinkham, Dean Henry C, 4, 122. Tuttle, Allison E., 140. Vail, Theodore N., 4, 140. Veazey. Judge Wheelock G., 90. Walker, Judge William H., 90. Watson, John H., 140. Webster, Daniel, 76. Wheeler, Rev. John, 58, 79, 80. QUOTATIONS AND CITATIONS Allen, Ira Memorial of, 58. Allen V. McKeen, 1 Sum. 276; 72. Bank of U. S. v. Planters' Bank of Georgia, 9 Wheat. 904; 69,85. Benedict, Herbert D., Oration by, 63. Benton, President Guy Potter, Address before Commission, 56, 112. Blackstone's Commentaries, 62. Blair v. Chicago, 201 U. S. 400; 66. Board of Education v. Greenebaum & Sons, 39 111.609; 88. Carnegie Report: Appropriation for teacher training, 47. College of Medicine, 122. Course of study in elementary schools. 18. Curriculum in junior high schools, 29. Curriculum in secondary schools, 28, 29. Federal appropriations, expenditure of, 109, 110. Function of secondary schools, 23 Junior high schools, 6. Norwich University, 127. School attendance, 17, 18. Schools, expense of, 30. Secondary-school teachers, 124. Secondary schools, attendance, 28. Senior high schools, 6. State Agricultural College, 115. Teachers, supply of, 43. Union superintendents, 49. Vocational education, 36. Charter of University of Vermont, 58. Constitution of 1777, 10, 56. Constitution of 1786, 10, 57. Constitution, Revision of 1797, 11. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wlieat. 518, 62, 65, 72. Dillion on Municipal Corporations, 88. INDEX 149 Downing v. Indian , with such assistance and cooperation as the President of the Foundation might determine to be necessary. The report which follows is made in response to this invitation. II THE METHOD OF THE ENQUIRY The most characteristic feature of contemporary economic and civic life in America is the sentiment, widespread throughout the body of citizenship, that the prevailing order no longer suffices. Educational institutions, along with other social agencies, are being subjected to-day to such complex forces of unrest. There is a feeling, whether well founded or not, that the relationship between the common schools and the needs of the communities in which they stand is not of the best. Pai"t of the public, at least, has been taught to believe within the last decade that the public school system is inert and unresponsive to the changing and advancing life of our democratic civilization. This sentiment — for it is a sentiment rather than a conviction — has found expres- sion in two widely different ways. On the one hand, an effort has been made to render the public schools responsive to what have been assumed to be present day needs, by the addition of a large number of new subjects to the school curriculum ; on the other hand, there is going on a cautious endeavor to submit our existing educational sys- tem to a critical, scientific examination, with the idea that the conclusions drawn from this examination should form the basis for a wise and economic reorganization of the school system. The school enquiry, or as it is more generallv known, the " school survey," represents the latter movement. Surveys have come to be so frequent in educa- tional and civic movements that some doubt has already arisen as to the thoroughness of their procedure and as to the trustworthiness of their results. There can be no (|ues- tion that such studies have in a measure partaken of the very superficiality for which they arraign the school svstem itself. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the method THE METHOD OF THE ENQUIRY 5 of a thoughtful enquiry into existing educational machinery must form the only sound basis for viltiniate improvement and advancement, and what is still more signi- ficant, it must form the only method by which a clear understanding on the part of the whole people concerning the school system can be secured. For in the last analysis the worth and progress of the public schools depend upon a well-informed public opinion. The present enquiry represents the first comprehensive effort on the part of a state of the Union to study its school system as a whole from the elementary school to the university. It starts out with the assumption that educational institutions in Ver- mont are not unrelated agencies, but form parts of one educational system, whether controlled by the state or not. The enquiry is not in the ordinary sense an investigation. It is not undertaken with the desire to criticize the work or to find the mistakes of any men or set of men. Its attitude toward the past is in the main negative, except in so far as an historical perspective is necessary. What the enquiry has tried to do has been to set before the Educational Commission of Vermont and the people of the state their school system as it exists and is operated to-day, and to give such constructive suggestions as this examination shows to be feasible. It has sought to answer the questions: What is the system of schools to-day trying to do.'' What are its limitations.'' and What are its possibilities.? In the prosecution of such an enquiry care has to be taken not only to obtain the necessary data upon which to form a sound judgment, but what is still more diffi- cult, to present the material collected and to offer the conclusions which have been reached in a clear and simple form. Printed reports of educational studies are gen- erally weighted down with so many statistics and with such an amount of detail that the intelligent layman cannot find his way through the mass. In pi-eparing this report an enormous amount of material has been brought to- gether, nearly ail of which is of great interest to the student of education, but printed in a report would, by its very bulk, cloud tlie important and fundamental issues. It has been sought, therefore, to present the facts without burdening the pages of the report with too great an amount of statistics. The important statistics are given in Part III. In collecting the necessary information cliief reliance has been placed upon exten- sive and detailed studies on the ground. The effort has been made to minimize the factors of individual judgment and to record observations in objective terms. The aim has not been to make a microscopic examination of the school system; on the contrary, the enquiry has attempted to place before the people of the state those essential facts and relationships that determine the economy and the performance of the school system as a whole. It is necessary in such a study to concentrate upon sti'ategic factors and those tliat have significance. No outside group of men, how- ever thoroughly they may study the educational problems of a state or of a region, 6 EDUCATION IN VERMONT can transform the school system. That must be done by the agency which is charged with the conduct and oversight of the schools themselves. The best that an outside critic can do is to suggest the form of organization adapted to administer tlie school system and the general underlying principles upon which it should act. The actual development and improvement of the schools will in the end rest with those who direct and conduct the schools. Throughout the report the effort is made to avoid both the attitude of flattery and that of mere fault-finding, and to give the result of an honest and sincere study clearly, frankly, and sympathetically. The most distinctive and important characteristic of the whole work lies in the fact that it is a first-hand study of education in Vermont made from the standpoint of one organism, embracing the whole educational system from elementary school to university. In this respect it is in marked contrast to former studies, in which sep- arate schools or groups of schools have been considered as unrelated agencies. The commission itself is charged with the duty of viewing education in Vermont from this broader standpoint, and those to whom the commission entrusted the duty of this study have tried to keep consistently in mind the f;ict that there was desired for the state of Vermont a conception of education as a single thing. It is from the consistency of this point of view that the study possesses whatever significance it may have attained. A word should be said concerning the personnel and methods of work of those responsible for the report. This study was committed to the charge of the Carnegie Foundation. It has occupied for a number of months a large share of the time and energy of the President, the Secretary, and other members of the staff; and other experts in various fields have shared in planning and carrying out the work. Professor Edward C. Elliott of the University of Wisconsin was at the beginning invited to take part in the study, and to give to the planning of the work the benefit of his experience in such surveys. In addition. Professor Elliott made special studies of the normal schools and the state system of educational administration and expendi- ture. The detailed examination of the elementary schools was committed to Professor Milo B. Hillegas of Teachei-s College, Columbia University, and that of the secondary schools to Dr. William S. Learned of the Harvard School of Education. Throughout, the utmost independence has been given to the individual investigator, but all of the material brought together has been submitted to the scrutiny and suggestion of all the men composing this group. The report, therefore, represents not the detached opinions of individuals, but a coordinated whole. Two of the sections are essentially monographs, that on the elementary schools hav- ing been prepared by Dr. Hillegas and that on the secondary schools by Dr. Learned. These two studies, forming as they do the backbone of the educational enquiry, required the presence in the state of these two men for many weeks, and represent the result of months of study. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7 In addition to the group just mentioned, the Foundation has availed itself wher- ever possible of expert service in special fields. Professor Edward H. Farrington of the College of Agriculture of the University of Wisconsin made a study of the ag- ricultural college and its relations to the farming industries ; Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch Potter, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Columbia University, of the medical school; Dr. George R. Olshausen of the United States Bureau of Standards, of the three engineering schools ; Miss L. E. Stearns, Cliief of the Traveling Library Department of the Wisconsin Free Library, of library facilities in relation to the public schools ; and Mr. William Leslie, public accountant, of the system of accounts and financial statements in use in the school system. It should be added that, in accordance with the wishes of the commission, an effort was made to complete this study in a shorter time. The experience of those engaged in the work has gone to show that a considerable period of study and of reexamination is a necessary part of a work of this character. It has seemed impossible to go faster. Those responsible for this study desire to express their appreciation of the attitude of the governor of the state and of the Educational Commission, as well as of the boards of trustees and presidents of the higher educational institutions, the super- intendent of education, the state board of education, and the school officials and teachers. The governor and the commission have simply said to those charged with the enquiry : Find the facts and report them to us ; tell us the truth about education in Vermont. In the same excellent spirit those connected with colleges and schools have lent themselves to the furnishing of all information which either the commission or those engaged in this study have desired. It has been an inspiration to serve a commission which asked only to know the truth; it has been equally pleasant to deal with school officials and teachers so willing to submit their entire educational machinery to an outside critic. Ill CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The second part of this report describes in detail the condition, operation, educational relations, and the financial support of the various classes of schools and higher insti- tutions in the state of Vermont. The primary purpose of the study is to place in the hands of the Educational Com- mission the essential facts which will enable them to form conclusions, to make recom- mendations, and to propose legislation. The recommendations to the state and to the legislature belong to the commission and not to the group of men associated with the Carnegie Foundation and engaged in this study. It seems, however, desirable to col- lect into a summary, for the use both of the commission and of the citizens of Ver- 8 EDUCATION IN VEKMONT mont, the conclusions to which this united group of students has been led. These results and conclusions are, therefore, here stated in brief form. A necessary prerequisite to an appreciation of the report is some knowledge of the industrial, social, and financial characteristics of the state. As compared with most states of the American Union, Vermont is small, having a population of some 350,000. Its total annual income is not larger than the sum annually expended by some of the great western states upon their state universities. Vermont is thei-efore financially unable to enter upon many of the projects of education that a rich and populous state can undertake. Furthermore, the chief industry is agriculture, and the state is likely to remain — at least for some generations — predominantly agricultural. Finally, it is to be remembered that Vermont, in larger measure than other states, has sent its young people away from home into the industrial occupations of other communities. Its population has remained practically stationary for nearly half a century. Its young people liave gone to the other New England states, to New York, to the west. With this migration there is no question that the system of education hitherto pursued has had something to do. One conclusion stands out as the fundamental and important outcome of this study. It is that the chief problem with which the state is concerned is the care and development of its elementary and secondary schools. No one whose vision is tiiie would seek to belittle the problem of higher education, but in rural communities such as prevail in Vermont, the problem of the common scliool overshadows all others. So overwhelming is its importance that it is not too much to say that if the state develops an efficient and fruitful system of elementai-y and secondary schools and makes sure of an effective source from which teachers for the elementary and second- ary schools may be drawn, the essential problem of education for Vermont is solved. The detailed studies that foUow show that of the nearly 1700 schoolhouses in the state, nearly 1400 are one-room school buildings — nearly all of these rural schools. Of the 83,000 children between the ages of five and seventeen, 57,000 are attending the elementary scliools. Few of these children enter the school before six years of age, and practically none remain after sixteen. For these elementary schools there are required about 2400 teachers, whose pav is between $8 and S9 weekly. The future of Vermont and her citizens is to be wi-ought out in these schools and by these teachers. In a similar way the detailed study elsewhere presented shows that the problem of secondary education in Vermont has the rural situation as its essential factor. To make these two agencies, the elementary school and the secondary school, eflfective in forming the lives of the children is the fundamental problem which confronts the state. A study of the detailed reports wiU make it clear that, notwithstanding the great amount of devotion put into the separate schools, and notwithstanding also the intel- ligence applied by this or that supervisor, the elementary and secondary schools of CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 9 Vermont have for years been conducted upon a curriculum whose tendency is to draw children away from the homes in which they were born. Notwithstanding certain improvements, the school still fails to interest them directly and efficiently in the life about them. This condition is dealt with in the two sections relating to the elemen- tary and secondary schools. These sections carefully discuss the fundamental ques- tions, What is the elementary school for.'' What sort of school can serve fruitfully and efficiently the aspirations, the needs, and the vocational wants of a rural popu- lation.? Whether the answers to these questions have been completely worked out or not, it seems clear that at least four things must be done in order to bring the ele- mentary and secondary school system of Vermont to the point where, as an agency of civilization, it will meet the requirements of its people. First, there must be adopted in the elementary school, and later in the high school, a course of study related to the life of the child. This does not mean that the strong intellectual motive of the elementary school must be abandoned. The value of studies like the mother tongue and elementary mathematics can never be questioned, but it is clear that the domination of the college and of preparation for college has had an undue effect upon the courses of study and the methods of instruction even in the ele- mentary schools, ninety-five per cent of whose children are never to enter college. The difficulty arises partly out of the fundamental conception of education and partly out of a failure to accomplish practically the result aimed at. That human being is educated who has been so trained as to make the best out of the place in life in which he finds himself, taking into account his full capacity — spiritual, intellectual, eco- nomic. Education is therefore a relative, not an absolute term. The school as the agency of education is founded upon this conception, but traditional school methods tend constantly to obscure it and to harden into specifics unrelated to the life experience of the children. As a minimum the school should do at least three things for the child — teach him self-discipline, teach him to think, and strengtiien his relations to the social and industrial interests of his community. It is not too much to say that not alone in Vermont, but throughout our states, in the country-side schools the children are put through the grades under a regime which gives them little self- discipline, dulls their minds with artificial repetitions and routine tasks, and, so far as it educates them at all, educates them away from the life in which they have grown up. Any form of school that weakens the chiWs interest in the life of his community is deficient in the elemental requisite of the school as an agency of civilization. Some- thing is radically wrong with a school in an agricultural community that develops motormen, stenographers, and tvpewriters, and fails to develop farmers, dairymen, and gardeners. A course of study prepared with the view of correcting this condition is the first step in reform. Secondly, there should be provided for the school system of Vermont an educational administration that shall supervise the schools as a whole, and that shall bring to every high school and to every elementary school genuine, sympathetic educational 10 EDUCATION IN VERMONT advice. It has been pathetic to see the eagerness with which the rural school teacher reaches out for educational help. One^s respect for womankind (the typical rural teacher is a young woman of twenty-two or twenty-three) and one's respect for the rural school deepen when one sees the devotion, the energy, and oftentimes the great natural teaching ability that are displayed by a rural elementary school teacher. Any system of educational administration that is to be successful must provide the means by which these isolated teachers may be visited by experts who can sympathetically, intelligently, and skilfully help them to correct mistakes and to strengthen their own good qualities. This means adequate administrative organization at the top. In the third place, and equally necessary, is the condition that the educational ad- ministration, whatever it may be, which is to scrutinize, to assist, and to inspire, shall be free from political entanglement. In Vermont, as in all other states, education is to- dav mingled with local politics. The unique political organization of the state, under which each town has equal representation in the House of Representatives, lends itself to such a confusion. It is a part of human nature that under such circumstances the local representative will interfere either for his own interest or for the supposed in- terest of the schools in his region. A form of administration must be devised under which the inspection and scrutiny and development of the schools shall be inde- pendent of politics, and this is no less in the interest of those who hold office than in the interest of the schools and of the scholars. In many instances — perhaps in most instances — the intentions of the political representative who interferes are good. The difficulty is that whatever his intentions are, he is almost sure to interfere from the local and personal point of view, and the success of the administration depends upon delivering the school system from local and personal interference. Freedom from political pressure must be had before the school can do its work with an eye single to the good of all the people of its region. Finally, agencies must be provided by which the requisite number of trained teachers can be obtained for the elementary schools — teachers who shall have had some train- ing not only in arithmetic and in geography and in English, but shall have had a train- ing also in the social point of view from which they must approach their work. The future of Vermont lies in the hands of these teachers, and no single act that the state government can perform is more important than that which seeks to provide the means for training in the right way an adequate supply of teachers for the elementary rural schools. As a practical matter this means that a twenty-two-year-old young woman, paid at present at the low rate of about eight and a half dollars a week, must be fitted for this task, and that her education for the teacher's calling must be had within easy reach of her home. In the sections on elementary, secondary, and normal schools, plans are outlined for the training of a large number of elementary school teachers. Experience shows that for the next generation, at least, the school teacher is to be the country girl of the neighborhood, and that she must ol)tain a considerable part of her j)reliminary CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 11 education and her training as a teacher near her home. The country girl transplanted to a city and given a college education seldom comes back to the country school. In time, there will be needed, doubtless, an institution specifically devoted to the train- ing of teachers. It is pointed out elsewhere that neither of the existing normal schools is fitted to answer this purpose. It wiU be found wise to give up both of these institu- tions as soon as may be, and to leave to the state board of education to suggest later the form of teachers' training institution that is to supplement the work of the sec- ondary school in the training of teachers. It may be added that the teachers necessary for the secondary schools are already supplied in sufficient numbers by the colleges, but the examination that lias been made shows that tlie quality of these teachers, so far as their knowledge of theoretical and practical teaching is concerned, leaves much to be desired. It is clear that if the colleges are to supply a teacher equal to the work of the secondary school, they must give these teachers a far more practical training in teaching than has hitherto been the case. As a part of elementary and secondary instruction there should be included the gradual development of vocational facilities. The chief industry in Vermont to-day is agriculture, and while manufacturing is also making strides, it may fairly be assumed that for many years to come agriculture will remain the chief vocation of its citi- zens, and the development gradually of a sufficient number of trade schools or courses in agriculture should be a part of the school program. Such schools will naturally form a part of the regular system of schools, and their development will be a part of the work of the board of education and its experts, working in unison with the towns. Here, then, are the fundamental things which this study points out as the neces- sary steps to an educational program which shall educate the sons and daughters of Vermont for service in Vermont, not for migration; which shall turn their faces toward the duties and opportunities of their own homes rather than toward the more tempting, Ijut more illusory, ventures of a city. These are, first of all, a course of study in the elementary and secondary school having relation to the life, the as- pirations, the needs of the pupils; second, an educational supervision of the whole system of public education that shall be able to give wise counsel, to correct mis- takes including its own, to infuse a spirit of devotion and of serious thinking; third, an educational administration that shall be free from political pressure, independent of local politics, able to deal with the schools from the standpoint of education only, not from the standpoint of the interests of an individual or of a locality; and finally, agencies whose specific work shall be the training of the elementary school teacher, — a training that shall bring out the significance of that work, that shall breathe into it an ever increasing amount of enthusiasm and appreciation, and that in due time will bring to the efficient teacher a greater security, a true career, and a better finan- cial reward. Under such a regime the teacher would in time come to be a member of an honored profession, not a hired man or woman. 12 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Logically, the matter of administration must be met first. What form of organi- zation is adapted to undertake such a supervision of the schools, to furnish expert advice, to develop a curriculum which shall be fruitful, and to train, direct, and aid the teachers themselves? All problems of education resolve themselves in the last analysis to the process of bringing an immature mind into contact with a mind which is trained, with a spirit which is sympathetic, with a faculty which is critical, but kindly. The problem of the educational supervision of a system of schools consists in providing a sufficient body of well- trained men and women at the top, and in giving to them the chance to work, unhampered by ulterior and outside interests, with the teachers whom thev desire to help. Such an organization would consist of a commissioner of education and a competent staff of assistants, who are experts in various fields, and are in constant touch with the superintendents and with the teachers themselves. Without giving details else- where elaborated, such an organization would be able to bring to each school and to each teacher as large a measure of helpful advice, of criticism, and of encouragement as the abilities of its members could supply. To protect such an organization and to make it independent of politics, the head of the educational system should be the executive officer of a small board, which should consist of public-spirited citizens serving without salary and acting as the advisers and helpers of the educational head of the system. The board should be a lay board, not a board of educational experts, and no man should have a place upon it who is directly concerned or interested in any school or educational institution of the state. The func- tion of such a board is not to furnish expert advice; it is to furnish sound counsel and to stand as the protector of the wliole school system against interference. It is its duty to see that the head of the school system and all others associated with it are work- ing in the tine spirit of education, not from any other motive. Some such organization would be competent to deal with the problem of education as a whole, not piece- meal; as an organization, not as unrelated principals and teachers. To-day one sees everywhere in the world the results of efficient organization. Organization can be car- ried so far that it limits personal initiative and individual development. In America, however, all our tendencies are in the other direction. We ignore the results of good organization and affect a belief that Americans, untrained and unorganized, are able to compete with the best training and the most effective organization. Such an organization as is here suggested would make for efficiency at no loss of individual freedom. So far, therefore, as the results of this study concern the general public school system of Vermont, they are contained in the recommendation : Establish a competent educational administration; free it from political interference; give it a free hand to work out a course of study that shall meet the people's needs, to train teachers who are able to deal with its life, and to develop those vocational schools which may CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 13 minister most directly to the opportunities which offer themselves to the Vermont boy and the Vermont girl. The situation that exists in higher education in the state is likewise dealt with in detail in the sections referring to the separate institutions of higher learning which participate in the state subsidy. Briefly stated, there are three institutions that for years have been obtaining from the state treasury larger or smaller appropriations. In recent years these sums have grown rapidly, until at present the three colleges are receiving from the state something over §100,000 annually. In addition, the state receives from the federal government for educational purposes $88,000. Elsewhere in the i^eport the process through which this situation has been brought about is fully described. Beginning thirty years ago with a small appropriation to a single institution, first one and then another of these colleges has successfully ap- plied to the legislature for a share in the state's revenue. The increase of the appro- priation by the friends of one has been a signal for an increase in the appropriation for the others, and by a perfectly natural process the three institutions have been led into a rivalry alike harmful to them, to the state, and to education. The struggle for the college appropriations is more or less intimately connected with all other legisla- tion. Many abuses have crept in to help out the plea for such appropriations or to justify it. The subsidizing of students bv scholarships, some of them to be conferred by members of the senate, is particularly to be regretted. Such subsidies to students are nearly always unwise, and if given at all, they ought to be open to students under some fair system of competition, and should entitle the holder to go not to a par- ticular institution, but to any institution that he may choose. The subsidizing of stu- dents to go to coDege is at best of doubtful wisdom. Tlie opportunities for education in this country are so numerous that the ambitious student with energy and courage can find his way through college by his own efforts. Whatever assistance is given should be under conditions carefully planned to safeguard the integrity and self- respect of the student. Scholarship aid should be a loan to be repaid, not a free gift. Any system of scholarships that selects a few beneficiaries and demands no return from them results inevitably in tempting into college youths who ought to find their life training elsewhere, a result alike harmful to the student and to the college. This is an entirely different matter from providing free education for all of the people. The existing relation of the state to these colleges ought to cease. As is elsewhere fully pointed out, it is demoralizing alike to the political interests of the state, to the institutions themselves, and to education. In saying all of this no criticism is aimed at those responsible for the present policy of the three colleges. They inher- ited a situation ; they did not make it. A man called to the presidency of a college is first of all pledged to support the development of his institution. It is not for him to decide the question whether the state should give money to higher education; that is a question for the law-makers. There is no gain to be had in asking at whose door is to be laid the responsibility for the condition that exists. It is plainly intolerable, 14 EDUCATION IN VERMONT and the plain duty of the legislature is to end it. The question is not what has been going on in the last thirty }ears, but what ought to be the policy of the state of Vermont toward education in the future? Our profound conviction is that the state ought first of all to face its duty toward that fundamental education which involves the interests of all citizens. It should appropriate no money whatsoever to higher education until its duty toward the public schools has been fully met. In our judg- ment, the cause of higher education in \'ermont would not suffer if it received no state aid in the future. There are only two consistent policies that a state can pursue toward institutions of higher education. It can give its support entirely to the elementary and second- ary school work and leave higher education to be supported by public philanthropy. This is the situation in most of the New England states. It is clear-cut; it is consist- ent; it is defensible both on the ground of public policy and of education. The other attitude is that assumed by the states of the central west, of the far west, and of the south; namely, that higher education is likewise a function of the state and is entitled to state support, but that the state wiU appropriate money to no institu- tion that it does not own and control. This policy is also clear-cut and defensible, both educationally and on the ground of a wise public policy. For \'ermont the adoption of this second policy is encumbered with evident diffi- culties ; Vermont camiot possibly support a state university that seeks to cover the ordinary field of undei-graduate and professional instruction. It is no burden for states like California, Illinois, Minnesota, or Wisconsin to appropriate §2,000,000 or even §5,000,000 annually to their state universities. The entire annual income of the state of Vermont is but little more than the sum which each of these states gi\'es annually to its university. The most that the state of Vermont could possibly do, if it selected one of these subsidized institutions to become its state university, would be to help out the resources derived from tlie friends of education and of the institution itself for the development of certain restricted fields of education which were deemed espe- cially important to the state. Under such circumstances, however, it is fairly certain that state aid would check and eventually dry up the springs of private giving, and prove in the end an embarrassment rather than a help to higher education. Before any such policy can be adopted or such appropriation made, the question must be answered: Has X'ermont any money to spend at this time on higher educa- tion, in view of its obligations and its needs in the fundamental elementary education of the great body of children.'' With still more emphasis it may be asked. Can it afford to subsidize two rival schools of engineering, two schools of education, or a medical school in which last year's entering class contained three \'ermont students.'' To those who have been engaged in this study it seems clear that at the present time Vermont needs all its money for the more important, the more vital, the more direct service of its public school system. It is also by no means certain that the withdrawal of state aid from the three colleges that have hitherto been subsidized CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 may not in tlie long run be the best possible thing that could happen for them. Any other decision is likely to perpetuate the unfortunate rivalry that now exists. No matter upon what grounds a privately endowed institution is subsidized, no matter how restricted the field to which the appropriation might seem to apply, just so long as the state of Vermont subsidizes these three institutions, education and politics in Vermont will be inextricably mingled, and unprofitable duplication will continue. There is no way in which the situation can be ended once for all except for the state either to adopt one of these institutions as its own, to be absolutely owned and con- trolled by it, or else to leave higher education to those public-spirited citizens who, in all the states of our Union, have come forward so promptly and so patriotically for its support. Every consideration of the larger interests of Vermont points out the latter of these policies as the right one to adopt. The duty of the state in this matter and of those charged with legislating for it seems to us clear and unequivocal. The conclusions that have been reached may be resolved into the following recom- mendations : 1. The recognition by the state of the reorganization of elementary and secondary education, including vocational training, as its immediate and supreme duty. 2. The organization of the office of a commissioner of education upon a basis competent to furnish expert supervision for the public school system. This in- volves a small lay board serving without salary, and salaries for educational experts of a character to secure the ablest men and women. The details of this or'ganization are given in Section IX of Part II. 3. The problem of revision of the course of study, the establishment of agencies for training teachers, and other administrative details to be worked out by this board and its experts. 4. The State Agricultural College to receive a larger proportion of the gener- ous annual appropriation to the state from the federal government and to be developed along lines calculated to make a fruitful connection between the Agri- cultural College and the industries of farming, dairving, gardening, stock and poultry raising, and fruit culture. 5. Subsidies to higher education should cease, the colleges being given a reason- able time in which to rearrange their budgets. The practical question remains. What would be the cost of the educational system that is recommended.'' In subsequent sections will be found such details as are preliminary to an answer to this question. The actual details must be gradually worked out by the board of edu- cation and its officers. No such organization can be built up in a day or a year, and no outside agency can do more than indicate the form of the organization and the general principles which should guide it. No system of schools is ever to be brought to a high order of educational efficiency by the formula of an outsider. Educational salvation is not so easy as this. Each state must work out its own salvation through 16 EDUCATION IN VERMONT its adopted agencies. The most that can be done by the friendliest critic is to indi- cate the form of organization that experience has tested and the path that has led to educational progress. Stated in its briefest form, the financial situation is this: Vermont is spending upon its schools at the rate of $1,895,000 a year. Of this sum about $1,400,000 comes directly from the local communities, and about half a million is contributed by the state; it is in virtue of this state aid, touching every public school in every commu- nity, that the state is in position to exert supervision and scrutiny over the whole system. In the expenditure of this vast sum of nearly two millions of dollars, less than eight thousand dollars — four tenths of one per cent — has been devoted to supervision at the top. A meagre addition of $7000 was made in 1913. The state superintendent has been given neither the organization, nor the power, nor the means for effective oversight. It is a matter of simple business judgment that an organization spending two millions of dollars a year cannot be run effectively upon such a basis. It will pay a state as surely as it will pay a business corporation to invest in constructive thinking at the top, and the time has come when the indispensable condition for progress is the inauguration of an educational administrative agency etjual to the task. This the state alone can do. Of the $525,000 now annually expended on education by the state government, something more than $100,000 goes to college subsidies, and some $20,000 to the present ineffective normal schools. If the state will divert these two sums to the great problem of public education in the manner suggested, it will have sufficient means to inaugurate an adequate administration and to develop a training-school for ele- mentary teachers to supplement the work of the high schools. There are other items of expenditure which a wise administration will be able to reduce. In a word, the state of Vermont through its state government and its towns is spending to-day enough money to inaugurate such a system as is here recommended, if only these moneys are devoted intelligently to that purpose. PART II DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION I. THE STATE OF VERMONT II. THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM III. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IV. THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS V. THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS VI. VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS VII. RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS VIII. THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IX. THE REORGANIZATION OF THE AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION X. THE VERMONT COLLEGES AND THEIR RELATIONS TO THE STATE XL THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT XII. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE XIII. NORWICH UNIVERSITY XIV. THE HISTORY OF VERMONT SUBSIDIES TO HIGHER EDUCATION XV. THE OUTLOOK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN VERMONT THE STATE OF VERMONT This mapslioirs, hi/the hmrierlines, the. hound- aries of Ike countks ; by the lu/hter lines, the boundaries of the towns. Only the larger cities and the seats of ednrational institutions are miirked. I THE STATE OF VERMONT The state of Vermont is in shape a trapezoid, with its longer dimension north and south. The western side is the boundary between Vermont and New Yori<, the eastern side follows the Connecticut River for some one hundi'ed and fifty miles, the north side, some ninety miles in length, is the boundary line of Canada, and the south side, forty-three miles long, joins the northwest corner of Massachusetts. Within these four approximately straight lines lies an area of 9564 square miles, a little more than that of either Massachusetts or Wales, and somewhat less than that of Belgium. Wliile possessing no peaks equal to those of the neighboring ^Miite Mountains, Vermont is distinctly mountainous, the mean elevation being 1000 feet above the sea. The state is traversed in its entire length, a little to west of the centre, by the Green Mountains, which have a crest line more than 2000 feet high, with several summits exceeding 4000 feet. West of these, the Taconic Mountains run in a nearly parallel range from the southern border almost to the middle of the state, rising in very irregular masses to between 1500 and 2000 feet. North of the Taconic Mountains a series of broken uplands slope down to the broad, irregular valley whose bottom is covered by Lake Champlain, the water of which, expanding eventually to a breadth of eleven miles, separates Vermont from New York for one hundred and thirty miles. Up this valley, long the highway of English and French armies, the first settlers penetrated. The winters are long and snowy, the summei's so cool as to attract large num- bers of vacation visitors. The central mountainous region is naturally the coldest, the region surrounding Lake Champlain being somewhat milder than the valley of the Connecticut. Eighty-five inches of snow is the average annually for the entire state ; the rainfall is abundant. The soil on the higher elevations is stony, but cultivation can be carried well up the mountain slopes. Lender cultivation, the land is highly productive, especially in the valleys and on the lower hills. Vermont was once heavily forested, and although the white pine is no longer commercially important, the woodland area was estimated in 1890 as still covering 43 per cent of the entire state. The inhabitants of Vermont number, according to the federal census of 1910, 355,956 persons. This gives a density of 39 individuals to the square mile, Vermont standing exactly midway among the states of the Union in this respect, and being more thinly settled than any country of Europe except Norway. The population is almost evenly divided between the rural and urban dwellers, if the federal classifi- cation of urban localities as places containing 2500 inhabitants is adopted.' There are no large cities; Burlington, on Lake Champlain, containing 20,000 persons, and nine other cities and towns having between 5000 and 15,000 inhabitants each." ' Urban, 168,943 ; rural, 187,013. ' Burlington, 20,468 ; Rutland, 13,M6: Barre, 10.734 ; Bennington, 8698 i St. Johnsbury, 8098 ; Montpelier, 7856 ; Brattle- boro, 7541 ; Colchester, 6460 ; St, Albans, 6381 ; Bellows Falls, 6207. 20 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The population by successive census enumerations is as follows : 1790 85,425 1800 154,465 1810 217,895 1820 235,966 1830 280,652 1840 291,948 1850 314,120 I860 315,098 1870 330,551 1880 332,286 1890 332,422 1900 343,641 1910 355,956 It will be seen that the population increased rapidly until 1830, when, \nth the emigration to the new western lands, the rate of increase became small, until in 1870 Vermont practically attained a stationary population. The growth that has occurred since 18-10 has been in the ten cities and towns that contain over five thousand population, the increase between 1900 and 1910 being for urban dwellers 13.8 per cent, while for the state at large it was only 3.6 per cent. This difference of increase has produced a decided geographical shifting of pop- ulation within the state, from the southern to the northern portion, where the forests, water power, and mineral resources afford more abundant support. At the end of the eighteenth century' two counties on the Connecticut River, ^Vindham and Windsor, in which most of the early settlements were made, contained one-third of all the inhabitants of the state; if to these two counties those of Rutland and Bennington were added, southern Vermont possessed two-thirds of the entire population. In the twentieth century^ this southern half contained little more than a third of the state's population, the counties of Windham and Windsor having shrunk to a sixth. That is, in a little over a century' the southern counties have only doubled in numbers, while those north of them have increased nearly tenfold. This shift of population has been not only northward, but also westward. The entire five counties which touch the Connecticut River,* in which agriculture pre- dominates, have actually declined in population.' The state has maintained its numbers through the development of manufacturing in the western counties and of the quarrying interest in those situated midland. The phenomenon of a stationary j)opulation in Vermont is due primarily to the extent to which the state has given of her people to the rest of the Union. By 1850 38.6 per cent of native \'ermonters resided in other states; fifty years later the con- tinental United States contained 40.4 per cent of those born in Vermont who had emigrated beyond the state. The difference between the periods lies in the fact that at the later date a greatly increased proportion of the \'ermont emigrants were to be found elsewhere in New England; in the middle of the nineteenth century the Vermonter went wider afield. This heavy emigration of the native born has been, of course, somewhat counter- ' Census of 1790. ' Census of 1910. ' From 1790 to 19O0. • From south to north ; Windham, Windsor, Orange. Caledonia, and Essex. " From 122,798 in 1860 to 112,731 in 1910. THE STATE OF VERMONT 21 balanced by a participation in the waves of immigration into the United States from foreign countries, but in a smaller degree in Vermont than in other states except those in the south. The census of 1790 showed that 98 per cent of the people of Ver- mont were of Anglo-Saxon origin;Mn 1900 three-quarters of the population were still natives of the state, and in 1910 86 per cent were natives of the United States, a con- dition showing little alteration since 1850.^ The countries whence the foreign bom came, had, however, undergone a change in the intervening fifty years. At the middle of the nineteenth century half the Vermont residents born outside of the Union were natives of Ireland; most of the remainder were English Canadians. By 1900 the Irish had declined one-half, the English Canadians had given place to French Canadians, and a group of nationalities, Italian, Bohemian, Slavic, Scandinavian, Portuguese, unknown fifty years earlier, were appreciably represented. Vermont, however, remains to-day overwhelmingly an indigenous community of English-speaking people. Partly owing to the fact that when the native of Vermont leaves his state he does so in early youth, and partly owing to the curious tendency of a stationary group of any kind to show an increasing average age, the state shows an interesting advance in the age of the population. In 1850 out of every thousand inhabitants there were 164 persons above fifty years old; in 1900 there were 272. At the end of the half century only SiS more persons could be found in the state under fifty than were there at the beginning; the entire increase in population in that length of time had taken place among individuals above middle age. Had the same thing held true for the en- tire country, the census of 1910 would have shown that the United States contained, instead of ten million persons over fifty years old, sixteen millions who had passed that point. The emigration from Vermont must have been largely a family emi- gration, or latterly comprising many young women going to large cities to earn a living, for the census of 1910 showed the population still about equally divided between the sexes. While during the last half century the other New England states have been changing rapidly into industrial communities, Vermont still remains predominantly agricultural, more of her population deriving their support from agriculture than from any other general occupation,' there being ninety-two farms to every one thou- sand inhabitants and 409 farms to every thousand families.* The average acreage of the Vermont farms is 142§ acres, and seven-eighths of them are operated by their owners directly or through managers ; only one-seventh are let out to tenants.' ' 81.200 being of English and 2600 of Scotch descent. ' In 1850 10 per cent were foreign born as against 13 per cent in 1900. The 1910 figures for this and a number of the following topics are not yet available. ' The statistics for 1900 were: agriculture, 49,820; manufacturing, 36,180; trade and transportation, 18,889; profes- sional service. 7016. Manufacturing had 38,680 in 1909. * In Iowa, generally recognized as decidedly an agricultural community, in 1900, there were 475 farms for every one thousand inhabitants. Iowa was the one state in the Union which by the census of 1910 showed a decrease in population. ^ The 1910 statistics are: acres of farm land, 4,663,577; improved acreage, 1,638,696; number of farms, 32,709; num- 22 EDUCATION IN VERMONT For more than half of the farms' the principal source of income is dairying, the value of the dairy industry reaching in 1909 to $11,501,577 a year, making it the largest single industry in Vennont. On about one-sixth of the farms' live stock is the principal source of income, and on one-thirteenth of them ^ the proceeds from the sale of hay and grain. The cereal crop is of secondary importance, the largest single cereal crop being oats, which in 1910 amounted to 2,141,357 bushels/ Textile manufactures were introduced into Vermont later than in the rest of New England, and still are surpassed in importance by those manufacturing interests connected with the lumber industry, although the relative position of the two kinds of manufacturing shows signs of a future reversal, as the yield of the Vermont forests decreases, and as the excellent water power that exists in many localities throughout the state is utilized. In 1909 the value of the textile product was more than $6,250,000, and the value of the lumber industries, including that of paper-making and wood- pulp, was $12,800,000.5 A considerable proportion of the wealth of Vermont is due to mines, whose prod- ucts in 1911 sold for $8,434',576. The largest item in this budget is that derived from the quairies of the Taconic Mountains, whose marbles, ranging from Carrara white to various shades of blue, green, yellow, and pink, gleam from the walls of most public structures in the United States, Vermont in 1908 supplying more mar- bles than all other states combined, or even than Italy itself. The value in 1911 of the marble was $3,34-9,930;'^ of the Vermont granite, upon which the city of Barre is entirely dependent, $2,730,719; and of the slate production, $1,624,941. The state possesses much accumulated wealth. In few communities is the general body of citizens so free from want. Vermont is well supplied with railroad transportation, the Boston and Maine sys- tem paralleling the banks of the Connecticut River and the New York Central system running up the western section to the Canadian line, while both of these systems and the Central Vermont and the Grand Trunk of Canada run east and west through the mountains. Vermont thus has outlets for its products through New York, Boston, and Portland, and through St. John and Montreal. During seven months of each year there is also communication by water. Lake Champlain being connected by the Cliamplain Canal with the Hudson and by the Chambly Canal with the St. Law- rence. Within the last few years the public highways of the state have been greatly improved under a policy of state appropriation combined with local taxation. bcr operated by owners or managers, 28.701; number operated by tenants, 4008. The detailed figures for 1910 for acre- ase per farm were ; over 500 acres 607 farms between 60 and 100 acres 5.910 farms between 175 and 600 acres 8,610 farms between 20 and 60 acres 3,481 farms between 100 and 175 acres 9,492 farms less than 20 acres 4,678 farms ' 16,354, ' 5451, ' 2516. * Produced on 71,510 acres, and valued at $1,169,223, " Distributed as follows: lumber and timber products, $8,598,000 : paper-makinsr and wootl-pulp. centralized around Bellows Falls, $3,902,000. " The marble product of the rest of the Union for 1908 was $3,063,960; of Italy, 18,926,239 lire = $3,761,248. THE STATE OF VERMONT 23 The advance of settlement from the coast of New England to the Vermont moun- tains was so arduous that it took one hundred years, and the country filled slowly, as, until the conquest of Canada laid the fear of French and Indian invasions, only the most hardy would venture into what was the colonies' most exposed frontier. As settlements multiplied, the pioneers were forced to maintain a contest for local inde- pendence, first with Massachusetts, then with New Hampshire, and finally with New York. Although capturing Ticonderoga and driving out the English at the begin- ning of the Revolutionary War, the opposition of New York pre^'ented Vermont from being recognized by the Continental Congress, and from the end of the war until the organization of the present federal government, Vermont acted as an independent republic outside of the jurisdiction of Congress and preparing to resist New York's claims by force. One of the first acts of Washington's administration was to induce New York to relinquish its claims, and as soon as this renunciation was secured, Con- gress made the first addition to the original thirteen states by admitting Vermont as a member of the Union in 1791. Vermont troops took part in the military operations upon the Canadian border during the War of 1812, and as large a proportion of the population enlisted in the Civil War as in any northern state. The strength of the state in presidential contests and in Congress, generally on the conservative side in the early elections, was thrown uninterruptedly with the Whigs from 1832 until the disappearance of their party, and since the formation of the Republican party has been continuously upon its side. The conspicuous feature in the government of Vermont is that the lower house of the legislature is composed of one member from each town and city, of which there are 246, the town of the city of Burlington, with a population of over twenty thou- sand, having the same representation as the town of Somerset, with twenty-seven. Connecticut is the only other state which approaches this equal territorial represen- tation in the lower house, although New Jersey and Maryland use a similar basis for constituting the senate. The senate, composed of thirty members, is elected by counties in proportion to population, each county, however, being entitled to at least one senator. The executive authority is vested solely in the governor, who has the power of nega- tive on all legislation, but may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the members present in each house ; he also possesses a limited power of appointment and has exclu- sive power of pardon. The term of the governorship is two years, and unless a can- didate receives a majority of all the votes cast by the people, the election is made by the legislature in joint session. Several other administrative officials are elected in the first instance in joint session. The judicial authority is vested in a supreme court of five justices, in county courts composed of a presiding judge (a superior judge, of whom there are seven) and two assistant judges, in a court of chancery, and in inferior municipal and justice courts. Justices of the supreme court and the superior judges are elected biennially by the 24 EDUCATION IN VERMONT legislature in joint session. Assistant judges of the county courts and justices of the peace are elected biennially by the freemen of their respective counties. Judges of the municipal courts are appointed by the governor. The superior judges are also chan- cellors of the court of chancery. This distribution of the powers of government is made by the constitution of 1793, which has, however, received thirty-three amendments, the first in 1828 and the last in 1913. At the fifth biennial session of the General Assembly following that of 1910, and at the session thereof every tenth year thereafter, the senate may, by a two-thirds vote, make proposals of amendment to the constitution, which propos- als, if concurred in by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives, are submitted to the ensuing legislature. If each house again approves, the proposed amendment is submitted to the people, and a majority vote in its favor makes it a part of the constitution. The unit of local government, as well as of representation in the lower branch of the legislature, is the town.' The town is governed by a board of selectmen; the more important administrative officials are a clerk, a treasurer, a board of listers, one or two road commissioners, and a board of school directors. Although villages may be- come public corporations under the general law, yet more generally it has been by special act of the legislature.^ The more important officials of a village are a board of trustees, a clerk, a treasurer, and a collector of taxes. The county,' so important in the local administration of states outside of NewEng- land, is hardly more than a geographical expression in Vermont except in judicial matters. It merely groups the electorate for senatorial elections and tlie election of officials concerned with the administration of justice — the sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, and the assistant judges. The assistant judges appoint the county treasurer, and exercise the meagre county jurisdiction that exists. Vermont has practically no debt except the outstanding bonds representing the $135,000 received from the federal government in 1862 for the support of an agri- cultural college and the Huntington (school) Fund of $211,000. The total expendi- ture of the treasury of Vermont in the fiscal year 1911-12 was $2,350,508. The total income was $2,303,754, the deficit being supplied from the balance in the treasury, which at the beginning of the fiscal year stood at $566,141. The salient facts concerning the commonwealth thus briefly brought together show in outline a state with no large cities, whose chief industry is agriculture, with the probability that an increasing development in manufacture may be anticipated. It is a community overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon in its origin and characteristics, and the problems of education with which it has to deal are those of a large rural agri- cultural and a small urban population, closely related. ' There are alsod cities, S unorganized townships, 4 gores, and 1 grant, * There are B6 villages, * There are 14 counties. II THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM This section considers: (1) the number and nature of the various educational agen- cies in the state; (2) their general administration and (3) supervision; (4) school privileges and attendance ; (5) the teaching staff; and, finally, (6) the finances of the whole. It is based upon whatever statistical information is available in print, cor- rected and supplemented by the enquiries of the commission and the knowledge of the members of the enquiry staff. Section VII of Part II deals with the characteris- tics of present reports. 1. The Schools The existing educational system includes tax-supported elementary and secondary schools, approved academies receiving public support as secondary schools, schools for special purposes, schools for special classes, higher and professional institutions, and certain supplementary educational activities. In 1912 there were about 2400 public elementary schools,' of which more than half were one-room, chiefly rural, schools. Only 979, or about two-fifths, of these elemen- tary schools were graded. The superintendent of education reports the existence of fourteen public kindergartens. As nearly as can be ascertained from the reports of the state superintendent of education, the number of children attending the public elementary schools is about 57,000, divided almost equally between boys and girls. ^ Two hundred and fifty schools had, during the last term of school of 1912, less than eight pupils, 522 from eight to fifteen pupils, 743 from sixteen to twenty-five pupils, and 946 more than twenty-five pupils. There were in the state in 1912, according to the state school census, 46,333 chil- dren between eight and fifteen years of age, inclusive, the period of compulsory school attendance; of these, 43,119 children (93 per cent) were reported in attendance upon schools. ' The report of the state superintendent of education gives 2461 public schools, which apparently include from 77 to 80 high schools. The word "school" in Vermont does not mean "schoolhouse," but ordinarily means "school-room." Vermont's legal definition of a school beingCNo. 76, Actsof 1912)t "The term 'legal school' shall apply to any public school maintained at least one hundred and fifty days, including holidays and others allowed by law, during any school year, unless it has been impracticable to maintain the same such number of days on account of the closing of said school by the local health officer because of an epidemic, and in which the average attendance during ses- sions thereof was not less than six, and which was taught by a duly qualified and legally certified teacher, and the register of which was kept and returned according to law. "The term 'rural school' shall apply, in the distribution of school funds, to any school in a separate building and which furnishes instruction in no less than six of the nine years of the course prescribed for elementary schools, or to any school of a system of not more than three schools which together provide instruction covering the nine years of such prescribed course." In 1912 there were 2397 such legal schools. ' The superintendent reports 64,618 pupils in the public schools, — 32,624 boys and 31,194 girls. This last figure should be 31,994. This total probably includes the pupils in the secondary schools, variously given as 5653 or 64% in the high schools, andl4Jl in the academies. These discrepancies are characteristic of the superintendent's reports ; the returns to his ofBce are frequently inaccurate, and his staff is too small to ensure accuracy or to make special enquiries. 26 EDUCATION IN VERMONT In 1912 there were seventy-four approved high schools and eighteen approved academies. AVhile the recorded statistics vary somewhat, it appears that, for the year 1911-12, 5496 pupils were in attendance upon the approved high schools (19-12 first year pupils, 14<14 second year pupils, 1105 third year pupils, 919 fourth year pupils, and 71 graduate pupils).' During 1911-12, 1633 academic pupils attended the ap- proved academies. Of this number l¥2l resided in V^ermont. Tiie town clerks reported the payment by the towns of 1272 high school and 960 academy tuitions.^ A State School of Agriculture, a school of secondary instruction, is located at Ran- dolph Centre. It was established by the legislature in 1910, taking the place of the Randolph State Normal School, which was discontinued in that year. The school offers a one-year course, a two-year course, a short winter course, and special courses in agri- culture. During 1911-12, fifty-six young men were in attendance; during 1912-13, eighty-three. A second school of this type was authorized by the legislature of 1912 to be located in Addison or Rutland County, as approved by the governor and the edu- cational commission. Since 1910 classes for the training of elementary school teachers have been con- ducted in connection with high schools. There were 12 such training-classes in 1911-12 and 14 in 1912-13, the latter enrolling 152 students. The state maintains two state normal schools, one at Castleton enrolling 87 stu- dents in 1911-12, and one at Johnson enrolling 56 students in that year. Previous to 1910 a normal school was maintained at Randolph also. There are four chartered higher institutions — the University of Vermont and State Agricultui-al College, located at Burlington, Middlebury College at Middlebury, Nor- wich University at Northfield, and St. IMichaePs College at Burlington. Sti'ictly speak- ing, no one of these institutions belongs to the state public school system, each being under an independent board of trustees. The first three institutions receive annual grants from the state treasury. In these three institutions there were for the year 1912-13, 1013 students. A State Industrial School, to which delinquent boys and girls are committed, has been maintained at Vergennes since 1865. This school is under the control of the Board of Penal Institutions. On July 1, 1912, the number of pupils in the school was 145 boys and 62 girls. The total number of commitments to the institution since its organization have been 2000 boys and 351 girls, a total of 2351.^ The state has no special institution for the education of defectives, nie governor, by virtue of his office, is commissioner of the deaf and dumb, bhnd, idiotic, feeble- minded, and epileptic children of indigent parents, and as such commissioner is charged ' The total Mye docs not correspond with the sum of the pupils by years, 5451; or by courses, 5287. * The principals reported 1055 and 718, respectively. ' It is recommended in Section IX that the control of the State Industrial School be transferred from the Board of Penal Institutions to the State Board of Education. THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 27 with their instruction. The state appropriates $30,000 annually for the benefit of these children. They are instructed mostly in institutions in neighboring states. The legis- lature of 1912 created a state school for feeble-minded children, and appropriated $25,000 for this purpose. The same legislature appropriated $25,000 to the Austine Institution, a private corporation for the care and education of defective and unfor- tunate children, which had received $50,000 from the state in 1911. The principal supplementary educational activity is that under the direction of the State Board of Library Commissioners, which serves in an advisory capacity to local libraries, holds schools of instruction for librarians, and has general supervision of the state aid granted to local libraries. This board also has charge of the traveling libraries. 2. General Administration There is no central educational administration that touches all of these educa- tional agencies. The tax-supported elementary and secondary schools, while con- ducted by the towns, receive nevertheless some appropriation from the state, so that the state superintendent of education has a certain power of sci-utiny and super- vision. The administration of the normal schools and of the higher institutions is practically independent in each case, so that there is nowhere in the state system of education any administrative body or set of officers whose business it is to deal with these institutions as a whole. In the absence of such administrative oversight the studies and the conditions of admission prescribed by the colleges have been the strongest single factor in determining what should be studied not only by those who expect to go to college, but by the great body of students in the elementary and secondary schools. The governmental unit of Vermont being the town, the chief governmental agen- cies for the control of public elementary and secondary schools are town officials. Each towTi constitutes a district for school purposes, and has a board of directors consist- ing of three citizens of the town, one of whom is elected for a term of three years at each annual meeting of the town. The board elects one of its members as chair- man and appoints a clerk. The duties of the board include the general management of the schools, ^ care of the school property of the town, the determination of the number and the location of the schools, the suitable repair and insurance of the schoolhouses, the employment of teachers and the fixing of their compensation, the examination and allowances of claims arising therefrom, and the drawing of orders on the town treasurer in payment thereof. They also have authority to designate the schools that the various pupils shall attend, and make regulations not inconsistent with the law for carrying into effect the powers granted them. They are required to furnish an estimate to the town meeting of the amount of money required for the use of the schools and to make an annual report to the towns. The compensation of the directors is such sum as the town votes for the time they actually spend in 28 EDUCATION IN VERMONT the performance of their duties. The usual amount is two dollars per day or fraction thereof. While the town is the typical school administrative unit, one interesting exception should be noticed. The town system became optional in 1870 and mandatory in 1892. In the interval many of the towns changed from the old district system to the town system of control. At first, however, if we may judge from the reports of town su- perintendents, there was considerable suspicion of the system. This was particularly true of the larger centres of population — places that had developed under the dis- trict system comparatively strong graded school systems, and now feared that under the new system they would be taxed for the support of the rest of the schools in the town at the expense of weakening their own schools or of increasing their taxes un- duly. They feared also that they might lose direct control of their own school affairs. A protection against these supposed dangers was found in incoi-porating these centres by special acts of the legislature, as distinct special districts for school purposes. There are at present thirty of these incorporated districts in the state. They have their own boards of directors, support their schools on taxation of the property within their corporate limits, receive a portion of the public money that would otherwise go to the towns in which they are located, and deal with the town in the matter of tuition of ad- vanced pupils, just as one town deals with another. There is nothing to indicate that the fears which led to such separate incorporation were well founded. Almost without exception the incorporated districts would improve their school income and attendance by a recombination with their towns. The towns, on the other hand, would profit by improved school facilities. There is no reason to believe that the towns in which the.se incorporated districts now exist would be more backward than other towns in interest and pride in an efficient central school. The local educational officer, the town superintendent of schools, is appointed an- nually by the board of school directors at a compensation determined by them. In case towns form a union, the local educational officer is the union superintendent, who is elected, and whose salary is fixed, by a committee composed of the school direc- tors of the towns forming the union. The formal duties of the superintendent are to visit the schools of the town at least once each term, and oftener if the board of school directors or the joint committee so orders, to note the method of instruction and government, to inform himself of the progress of pupils, and to give necessary advice to teachers. The superintendent also has power to dismiss incompetent or unfit teachers. Provision has existed since 1906 for the union of towns for supervision. In such cases of union, the state grants a stipulated portion of the salary paid the superin- tendents. The qualifications of union superintendents are also defined by law, and their appointment is subject to the approval of the state board of education. The chief administrative agency for the state school system is the state board of THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 29 education, created by the legislature of 1912. This board will hereafter appoint the superintendent of education, who has hitherto been elected by the legislature. The state board of education, composed of five members appointed by the governor and the senate for a term of six year.s, is given general powers and duties with regard to the educational system of the state, particularly with regard to normal schools, which are entirely under its charge; to colleges and universities as to expenditures of state appropriations; to high schools as to classification and standard, qualifications of teachers, courses of instruction, and so on. This board also has genei'al control of union superintendents. The superintendent of education is the executive officer of the board of education, and has supervision over all of the educational work in the state with the special ex- ceptions noted for the board of education. He makes formal reports to the board with recommendations for improving educational conditions, disburses the funds appropi-i- ated for summer schools, educational meetings, and agricultural instruction ; examines and certifies teachers, etc. Each of the several special and higher institutions of education has its own board of control. The constitution and powers of these boards are discussed in later sections. 3. Supervision The superintendent of education is the chief supervisory officer of the educational system; the immediate supervision of local schools is carried on by town and union school superintendents. On August 1, 1912, there were 55 supervisory unions and two special school districts under superintendents (55 men and 2 women). Sixteen of these superintendents assumed their present positions during 1912, four during 1911, nine during 1910, ten during 1909, two during 1908, ten during 1907, and four previous to 1907 (two records missing). Their annual salaries vary from less than $1250 to more than $2500; one-third receiving from $1250 to $1500 and slightly more than one- third receiving from $1500 to $1750.^ As a group these superintendents are young men and women, 38 out of the 55 be- ing below forty years of age. With half a dozen exceptions, all of the superintendents have had the equivalent of a three or four year high school education; fourteen have had one or two years of normal school training; thirty-six are college graduates, and ten others have had one or two years of college study. Practically all have had a teach- ing experience of from one to five years in rural schools and a somewhat longer expe- rience in high schools, but practically all of them began their work as superintendents without previous supervisory experience. In the majority of instances they transfeiTed directly from a secondary school position. ' Information from commission's enquiry ; for details, s 30 EDUCATION IN VERMONT 4. School Privileges and Aitendance The public elementary schools of the state have been free since 1867. Since 1894 the state has sought to ec[ua]ize the privileges of education by providing aid for the transportation and board of pupils. Each town is legally obliged to maintain a high school or to furnish higher (sec- ondary) instruction for its advanced pupils, by arranging for the instruction of such advanced pupils in the high school of an incorporated district, or an academy within the town, or in the high schools or academies of other towns within or without the state. Children between the ages of eight and fifteen years, inclusive, are subject to the compulsory attendance law. The annual period of required attendance is one hundred and fifty days, including legal and other holidays. Children under sixteen years of age who have not completed the course of study of nine years prepared for the elementary schools by the superintendent of education may not be employed in any work con- nected with railroading, mining, manufacturing, or quarrying, or be employed in any hotel or bowling alley or in delivering messages, except during vacations or before and after school hours. No child under fourteen years of age may be employed by any railroad company or in connection with any mill, factory, quarry, or workshop where more than ten persons are employed. No child under the age of twelve is permitted to be employed in or about or in connection with any mill, factory, quarry, workshop, or in delivering messages for any corporation or company, or in any mercantile establish- ment, store, business office, restaurant, bakery, or hotel. Pupils in elementary schools are provided, at the expense of the town, with all appliances, supplies, and text-books. Towns may provide free text-books for second- ary schools. 5. The Teaching Staff: Training, Certification, Experience, and Salaries' The situation for the teaching staff of the public schools of the state is exhibited, as to its larger aspects, by comparative tables in Part III and the following general statistics taken from the report of the superintendent of education for 1912: Hie Number and Trahiiiig of Elementary and Secondary Teachers in Vermont Public Schools in lOliJ Number of men teachers 256 Number of women teachers 2,735 Total number of different teachers 2,P91 Number of teachers who are graduates of Vermont normal schools 6fil Number of teachers not graduated, who have attended state normal schools 1 ()4 * The principal data contained in this section are based upon the special information furnished by teachers in ser- vice, April, 1913, at the request of the educational commission. THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 31 Number of teachers who are graduates of normal schools of other states 133 Number of teachers who are graduates of colleges 245 Number of teachers who are graduates of high schools and academies 1)947 Number of teachers not graduates, who have attended college, high schools, or academies 568 Since 1908 the examination and certification of teachers have been under the direct control of the superintendent of education. Under him town and union superin- tendents conduct teachers' examinations and rate applicants for teachers' certificates. The minimum age for certification is seventeen years. The existing system provides for several grades of limited certificates. (a) First Grade. Granted for five years, or as long as the holder is employed con- tinuously in the same town, and requiring forty weeks of experience in addi- tion to passing the stated examination. Issued without examination to college graduates and graduates of normal schools in other states. [b) Second Grade. Granted for two yeare, or as long as the holder is employed continuously in the same town, and requiring twelve weeks of experience in addi- tion to passing the stated examination. (f) Third Grade. Granted for a specified time, not exceeding one year, to those who pass a satisfactory examination. Third grade certificates may not be re- newed more than once. (d) Special. Issued by the superintendent of education, without examination, to trained and experienced teachers of such special high school subjects as music, drawing, physical culture, industrial arts and sciences. {e) Special Third Grade. Valid for one year; issued without examination to teachers with fifty weeks of experience, or to teachers with experience (twenty weeks) who have held a second grade certificate or its equivalent. Graduates of the high school training-classes, if previously holders of diplomas, and of the lower course in the normal schools are given five-year certificates; seniors in training-classes are given four-year certificates; and graduates of the higher course are given certificates for ten years. Each of these is renewable for a like period. Un- limited or life cei'tificates are provided for teachers with specified experience and for experienced graduates of colleges or normal schools; certificates valid for five years are granted to teachers in primary grades and in the kindergarten. These may also be issued by the superintendent of education without examination to teachers with defined training and experience. The superintendent of education is authorized by law to issue permits to teach in a particular school for a term not exceeding twelve weeks, on the basis of private exam- inations conducted by town superintendents. A second permit may not be issued to a teacher. The following table shows the number of the various kinds of certificates held by teachers in the public schools for 1912: 32 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Kind of Certificates No. of Teachers HoUVnig Kind of Certificates No. of Teachers Holding Permit io 1st 513 Special 15 2d 953 Life and Normal 210 3d 443 According to information concerning the teaching staff of the Vermont public schools furnished to the educational commission during April, 1913, the teachers vary in age from sixteen to seventy years. Thirty-five are under eighteen and forty- eight over fifty. One-fifth are nineteen or less and about one-fifth thirty-one or more, the remainder, rather more than one-half of the whole number, being from twenty to thirty.^ The teaching experience of both city and rural teachers varies from one- third of a year to twenty-nine years, but while the majority of the city teachers liave had from four to fourteen years, the majority of the rural teachers have had only half as much, — from two to seven years.^ About one-fourth of the city teachers receive less than $400 a year and only about one-fourth receive more than S500; the majority get between $400 and $500. Similarly, the majority of the rural teachers get from $250 to $350. 6. I'l NANCES The common schools (elementary and secondary) of the state have two principal sources of income: (a) local taxation and (b) state funds. Local taxes are levied upon the grand list {I.e., one per cent of the assessed valuation of real and personal prop- erty, plus the ratable polls). The local tax rate for school purposes, exclusive of the state tax of eight per cent, varied in 1912 from twenty cents on the dollar of the grand list, the minimum permitted by law, to one hunch-ed and twenty-five cents. The average rate for the entire state for that year was sixty -one cents. The state tax of eight per cent is assessed annually upon the grand list,^ and after receipt at the state treasury was, up to the passage of the School Fund Consolidation Act of 1913, apportioned by the board of education* and paid to the several towns and cities in proportion to the number of legal schools maintained during the pre- ceding school year; .$45,000 being deducted from the total in making the general apportionment and divided among towns raising fifty cents or more on the dollar of the grand list for school purposes. From this and a $15,000 reserve of the income of the permanent school fund, an amount was paid these towns in 1912 sufficient to provide one-fourth of such excess above fifty cents on the dollar. A permanent public school fund was constituted in 1906. This fund consists of the sum of $240,000 returned by the federal government to the state in settlement of Civil War claims, together with the so-called Huntington Fund, the United States ' For details, see Part III. ' For details, see Part III. » Public Statutes, section 1091. * In accordance with the provisions of sections 1095 and 1096 of the Public Statutes, as amended by Nos. 34 and 47 of the Acts of 1908. THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 33 deposit money, and certain other additions. The governor, Heutenant-governor, state treasurer, and superintendent of education, f.r qfficu.s, and other persons appointed biennially by the governor, constitute the board of trustees of this permanent fund. The income from the permanent school fund, exclusive of the $15,000 reserve referred to above, was divided among the towns, cities, and unorganized units, according to the number of legal schools maintained during the preceding year. In addition to the eight per cent tax and the income from the permanent school fund, the state, until the law of 1913, made a number of appropriations in aid of special public school purposes, the more important of which w ere for the partial pay- ment of the salaries of union superintendents ; for teachers' training courses in high schools; for manual training courses in high schools; for transportation and board of pupils; and for advanced (high school) instruction. By the terms of the School Fund Consolidation Act, approved February 22, 1913, the proceeds of the eight per cent state tax and of the permanent school fund were combined, together with an annual appropriation of $50,000, to form a fund for apportionment and distribution among the various towns. Tables showing the receipts and expenditures from 1862 to 1912, inclusive, are given in Part III. The educational interests of the state other than the common schools are maintained by appropriations from the general income of the state. The following items of state expenditure for educational purposes in 1912 are quoted from the report of the auditor of accounts : A dm inistration Bute Board of Education $916.64 State Superintendent* 7,654.93 Union Superintendents 39,888.20 Improvement of Teachers State Teachers' Association $200.00 Summer Schools 900.00 Educational Meetings 819.68 Common Schools State School Tax $l6.5,602.l6 Permanent School Fund 51,800.75 Transportation 20,000.00 Manual training 750.00 Tuition payments for higher instruction of about S30,000 were omitted in 1912, but were authorized later. Agricultural Education State School of Agriculture $25,580.54 ' Including superintendent's salary, $2000. 34 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Defectives and Delinquents Austine Institution $5,000,00 State Beneficiaries 18,059.76 Training of Teachers Normal Schools $39,888.20 Higher and Professional Education University of Vermont and State Agricultural College i $76,000.00 Middlebury College 16,000.00 Norwich University 11,000.00 Libraries State Library $8,079.77 State Aid to Libraries 2,809-92 Library Commissioners 2,809.86 Traveling Libraries 1,400.00 The following totals of educational expenditure in the state in 1912 are quoted from the report of the state superintendent : Superintendents $77,005.12 School directors 11,04.6.59 Truant officers 3,511.14 Medical inspectors 326.23 Teachers 968,382.35 Transportation and board of pupils 101,167.23 Advanced tuitions 54,136.18 Elementary tuitions 11,241.17 Text-books 41,020.50 Supplies and appliances 46,419.30 Furniture 13,116.69 Repairs 66,452.97 Water, fuel, and ligiit 85,997.68 Janitors and laborers 67,394.30 Insurance and rent 15,990.01 Indebtedness on current expenses of previous year 61,632.74 Miscellaneous 47,869.15 Aggregate of current expenses $1,672,709.35 New buildings $204,191.40 Notes and bonds for new buildings 38,443.52 242,634.92 Aggregate school expenditures $1,915,344.27 Percentage of valuation required for schools .59 Average (current) cost per pupil (enrolled) $25.94 (For secondary pupil, $42.21 ; for elementary pupils, $24.85.) ' Including $60,000 from the federal government. THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 35 In a recent comparative study of the public school systems of all of the states of the Union ' Vermont occupied the first place among the states in the proportion of children enrolled in school, fifth place in average attendance per child, nintli in the percentage of the public wealth expended for schools, fourteenth in the average ex- penditure per child, fifteenth in the average value per child of public school property, twenty-second in the number of days the schools were open during the year, twenty- fourth in the cost of a day's schooling for a child, and forty-third in the average annual salary of public school teachers. Because of the variable and incomplete character of the statistics that go to make up such comparisons, their results are merely suggestive. The attitude of Vermont in inaugurating and cooperating with this enquiry indicates that the state desires the best results that are possible, irrespective of comparisons with other states. ' Russell Sage Foundation, Division of Education, Bulletin No. 124, New York, December, 1912. Ill THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS This section discusses the following topics: 1. The Sources of Information; 2. Stand- ards of Judgment; and 3. The Scope and Character of Elementary Education in Vermont, including (n) the administration of school affairs, (b) the ages and attendance of pupils, (c) the teachers, (d) the state course of study, (c) the character of the instruc- tion, (f) the extent and character of the supervision, (g^) the conditions of school grounds, buildings, and equipment, in both (1) rural and (2) graded schools, (h) sup- plies, and (?) the consolidation of rural schools ; and, finally, 4. Recommendations. I. Sources of Information The conclusions to be found in this section are based almost entirely on impres- sions gained in visiting two hundred Vermont schools and observing the work of two hundred and twenty teachers, from a study of the registers of all of the schools in two hundred and two towns, from the printed reports of the state and towns, and from many interviews. A form calling for certain information regarding their train- ing, salary, and experience was sent to each elementary school teacher in the state, and twenty-two hundred replies were received and studied. Finally, there were the suggestions of nearly one thousand representative citizens sent in response to enquiries from the commission. The week following March 21 was devoted to an examination of the records to be found in the state superintendent's office, and to visiting six of the union superintendents, in order to gain a conception of the spirit of the school system and to learn what facts were readily available. It happened that the schools had vacation during the next two weeks, so that this time, April 1 to 15, was devoted to a study of "The Teacher's Manual for Use in the Elementary Schools" and the different courses of study that had been obtained. When the schools were again in session a supervisory union or district was selected and three days were devoted to an intensive examination of the attendance of pupils, the courses of study, the quality of instruction, the extent and character of supervision, and the general condition of the school buildings and equipment. Especial attention was given to the rural schools. Of the twenty-three teachers visited during these davs, thirteen were in one-room schools. From this time until the schools closed in the early part of June, visits were so planned that all parts of the state were seen and every type of school and community was observed. In all, forty-five days were spent in visiting schools. The difficulty of travel made brief visits necessary in some schools, but many recitations in each subject were observed. It may reasonably be assumed that neither the very best nor the very poorest schools were seen. A sufficient proportion, however, of all the schools and teachers were visited to give an adequate general conception of the actual condition and operation of the schools. The conclusions reached in this way have been THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 37 verified in every possible manner. Not only were teachers, superintendents, and other school officers freely consulted, but also merchants, doctors, and others whose relation to their communities gave them opportunity to know and to judge the schools wisely. During the last weeks of March the town clerks were asked to send the registers of the school year 1911—12 to the secretary of the commission. The registers from two hundred and two of the two hundred and fortv-six towns and cities in the state were so forwarded. From these registers it was possible to determine the regularity of the pupils' attendance, the ages of pupils, the number of inexperienced teachers, the num- ber of teachers who are new to their schools, the certificates of the teachers, and the number of visits made by the superintendent. 2. Standards of Judgmekt At the very beginning of such an enquiry it is necessary to decide upon at least some of the standards that shall be employed in judging the schools, as tliese stand- ards determine the initial selection of facts for study and the approach to them. One standard that is often used is based upon customary or general practice. Thus, if the various states are arranged in the order of their per capita expense for educa- tion, a glance will show the relative position of any state in this particular. Among the topics that are judged by this comparative standard are the attendance of pupils, the emphasis put upon various subjects as shown by time allotments, and the topics treated in the course of study ; the efficiency of the teaching force as shown by the training, experience, and salaries of teachers, and the general efficiency of the schools as shown by the percentages of those who remain in school and of those who pass regularly from grade to grade. The quality of instruction is sometimes judged on the basis of examination marks obtained bv pupils in one school as compared with those secured by pupils who take the same examinations in other schools. This comparative standard has the merit of defiiiiteness. It also keeps attention focused upon actual practice, and may thus avoid the influence of opinion and theory. When applied to any particular school or system of schools, however, this standard has certain decided defects. As it is in part derived from the very facts that it is in- tended to measure, the helpfulness of judgments reached in this way must depend upon the extent to which the systems that are compared embody proper principles. Such a standard, further, assists in presenting facts, but it does not interpret them, so that the defects discovered in this way are too often merely effects rather than the causes. Moreover, it emphasizes uniformity without due consideration of the conditions that should legitimately produce variation. It is likely to test pupils for their knowledge of school subjects rather than for their ability to deal with facts. Finally, the con- clusions reached by the use of this standard are likely to cause undue self-satisfaction among the systems that rank high in any particulars, although they may yet be in very great need of improvement. 38 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Occasionally those who have had large experience either in conducting schools or in observing and studying educational conditions have been asked testate their opinion regarding the efficiency of a given school or system of schools. Their conclusions are valid only to the extent to which they are able to gain knowledge of all of the con- ditions which affect the schools in question. Neither measurement nor judgment is independent of the other, and both are dependent upon fundamental principles. In judging the efficiency of elementary education in Vermont, therefore, no single method has been used exclusively. Some features of the system have been compared with similar features in other states. Sometimes opinions based upon experience with school conditions have been given. Mainly, however, reliance has been placed upon the application of standards that grow out of the essential purpose of the school. This method has the advantage of applying the same kind of standard that the pul)lic uses when it judges the efficiency of the schools. Its conclusions point the way to improve- ment. The purpose of the public elementary school cannot be other than assistance in developing character and making good citizens. On this ground alone can the expendi- ture of public money for schools be justified. The standards that are largely used in this part of the report grow out of this conception of the purpose of the elementary school. They are briefly stated here; their application will be found in the section deal- ing with the criticism of elementary education: 1. Schools should recognize the varying abilities, experiences, and environment of the children. 2. Schools should recognize both the present and the future needs of the chil- dren. 3. The knowledge gained in school should be so organized that the children can use it. 4. In so far as the state assumes the responsibility for elementary education, the educational opportunities should be as nearly uniform throughout the state as conditions will permit. 3. The Scope and CuAR.\rTER ok Elementahy Education in Vermont (a) The Administration of School Affairs Since 1892 the administrative unit for school affairs in Vermont has been the towTi, a territory in general about six miles square, which corresponds to the township in other New England states. Prior to 1870 control rested with the districts; the legisla- ture of that year enacted laws allowing the present town system, but it was not com- pulsory until 1892. The school affairs of the town are administered bv a board of school directors of three members, whose election, organization, duties, and compen- sation are described on page 27. Very few directors concern themselves with the inter- nal affairs of the schools, except to encourage and assist the teachers and superin- THE ELEIVIENTARY SCHOOLS 39 tendents. Occasionally, however, a director undertakes to control the discipline of the school, to dictate the methods that shall be employed by the teachers, and to purchase on his own responsibility books, equipment, and supplies that are useless in the school- room. Fortunately, such occurrences are so rare and stand in such bold contrast to the general course pursued as to be almost negligible. In practice the Ijoards seldom have regular meetings. Where the directors are in different parts of the town, each is likely to look after the repairs and concerns of the school or schools near him. There are some towns in which no minutes are kept of the meetings that are held. Two features of elementary school administration deserve especial attention. The boards rarely have written contracts with those whom they employ. This makes it pos- sible to manipulate accounts so that the people of the town may be in ignorance of tiiie conditions. In one town it was asserted that a teacher was paid ten dollars a week, but the accounts were so transferred that she was reported to the town as receiving only eight dollars. Teachers and those who transport children should have written contracts in dupli- cate. In the case of teachers such contracts should, whenever possible, be for the year rather than for the single term of ten or twelve weeks. This would tend to decrease the number of changes of teachers in the rural schools. These contracts should state the times at which the payments of salary are to be made. School directors are particu- larly concerned in this matter. The absence of \vritten contracts and often the lack of minutes of board meetings make it possible for any one so inclined to cast doubts upon the integrity of the director. In one town a teacher said: " I am getting nine dollars a week, but I don't know what I am supposed to be receiving. When I was employed, the director stipulated that I was to board with him, and he has my wages paid in two checks, one to himself for my board, and the balance to me. I have never seen his check.'" An examination of the books of the clerk was made, but as there were no written contracts and the teacher had been paid at irregular intervals, there was no way of determining the period for which pavment had been made. In two of the towns visited there had been no agreement as to how much the town was to pay for con- veying pupils. The school officer told what he thought he would pay, but a talk with those conveying the children revealed the fact that they were expecting very differ- ent amounts — in one case, thirty per cent less. To assist the school officers, the school registers should each contain at least three teachers' contracts in duplicate and a form of transportation contract. One reason for having school affairs controlled by a board of citizens, rather than by those engaged in the profession of education, is to make it easy for any person who feels himself aggrieved to be heard by those who presumably will be in sympathy with his point of view. In actual practice it often happens that it is wiser for parents to submit to what they consider grave injustice rather than to attempt to have con- ditions changed. If they go to the teacher, they may gain nothing but to incur her ill-will toward their child. The superintendent often feels that he must sustain the 40 EDUCATION IN VERMONT teacher, and the board the superintendent. There is the possibility of an appeal to the courts, but this is slow and expensive. There should always be an easy and inexpen- sive method of appeal to an authority that can act quickly and impartially and whose verdict will be final. Such authority should rest with the state board of education. Some cases may now be appealed to this board, but in matters connected with the con- veyance of pupils, the designation of a particular school for pupils to attend, insuffi- cient school accommodations, or cases of attendance upon a school in another town, and the number of weeks of school attendance, appeal from the decision of the town board is to the town or union superintendent, by a petition signed by five taxpayers of the town. Two persons, one chosen by either party, act with the superintendent, and their decision rendered in ■ivriting is binding on the board. The superintendent who thus exercises judicial powers must also, as the agent of the board, exercise execu- tive authority over patrons upon whose goodwill much of his success depends. (b) The Ages and Attendance of Pupils The school age in Vermont is from five to seventeen inclusive; the compulsory ages are from eight to fifteen inclusive, unless the child is physically incapable of attending school, or has already acquired the branches taught in the elementary school as pre- scribed by the superintendent of education. A judgment based upon the federal census of 1910 would place the number of children of five to seventeen years of age in the state at about 83,000. Of this number approximately .57,000 are attending the ele- mentary schools. Fifty-four per cent of the children live in the country, and nearly ninety -five per cent of them are native born. Comparatively few children enter school before six and almost none remain after sixteen years of age. An examination of the registers of 608 schools in 69 towns and incorporated districts chosen at random showed that the ages of the 13,136 children attending the.se elementary schools (June 30, 1912) were as follows: Iges No. of Pupils Per- Cent of the Total Aijes No. of Pupils Per Cent of the Total 4> 21 .2 13 1,248 9.6 5 213 1.6 14 1,207 9-2 6 815 6.2 15 996 7.6 7 1,343 10.2 16 339 2.6 8 1,358 10.3 17 121 .9 9 1,470 11.2 18 27 .2 10 1,389 10.6 19 4 11 1,274 9.1 20 2 12 1,308 10.0 21 Total 1 13,136 Each year, between the 20th and 30th of June, the clerk of the board of school directors of each town is required to prepare an accurate list of the children of THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 41 school age and the names of the parents or other persons responsible for each child ; the clerk receiving a compensation of five cents for the name of each child. In many towns so little attention is paid to this school census that the federal census for 1910 showed several thousand more children than were reported by the school clerks. A not uncommon way of making the census list is for the clerk to take the registers of the previous year, add one year to the ages of the children, dropping any that he knows to have moved away, and adding any that he may recall as having moved into the district. This list is to be kept on file, and from it the clerk is required to insert in the register of each school the names of the children who should attend that school. This provision, however, is very generally disobeyed. An examination of practically aU the school registers for 1912 shows that less than one-half had the names so in- serted, and in many of these cases the teacher herself had supplied them. The children that are omitted by such procedure are precisely those that are in the gi-eatest need of schooling. In many towns the school census is fairly correct; in others there is little claim to accuracy. If this condition persists, a remedy may be found in some regulation that shall cause part of the state aid to be based on the number of children of school age. In this event the state board should require an aflidavit of the correctness of the report from school officers. There is no trustworthy information regarding the number or location of school children who are so deaf or who have such poor sight as to be unfit for the public schools. These data should appear in the census in order that such unfortunates may receive the care to which they are entitled. When adequate tests have been devel- oped for the detection of the feeble-minded, these children also should be especially enumerated. Except for a relatively small number of towns, the proportion of children of school age enrolled and the attendance of those so enrolled is remarkably good. The federal census of 1910 shows that Vemiont is tied with Kansas for first place in the propor- tion of children of school age who were enrolled in school for some portion of the school year. When compared with other states, the attendance of pupils in Vermont schools also is excellent, but no state can afford to relax its efforts until every child who should be in school is in attendance every day that the schools are in session, unless he is prevented by sickness or some pressing need in the home. Some states require that teachers report each absence of a pupil who should be in attendance. Others permit teachers to cease to consider pupils as members of the school after a certain number of consecutive days of absence. This number in some states is three, in others five, and in still others ten days. In Vermont ten consecutive days' absence is supposed to sever the pupil's membership. Thus a child who was absent ten or more consecutive days would not be counted absent in the report rendered to the state superintendent, but one who had been absent nine consecutive days, or any number of days at intervals, would be reported for all absences. This varied practice 42 EDUCATION IN VERMONT makes any comparison of the regularity of attendance that is based upon state reports very unreliable. In about half of the registers for 1911-12 the teachers had failed to understand the rule regarding membership and had reported all absences. This differ- ence in the method of recording absences makes it unsafe to compare the attendance of even two schools in the same town. The cause of absence is not indicated in the register, consequently there is no way of determining the exact amount of unlawful absence. Each absence should be recorded, and a system of symbols for indicating the cause of absence should be devised by the state superintendent. This would make it possible to report the number of absences due to sickness, as well as those that are unlawful. The state has a stringent compulsory education law. Its provisions are clear, and the duties of teachers and truant officers are explicit. In some towns, however, the law is not obeyed. A few places were found where teachers had repeatedly sent notices of truancy to the truant officers, but these officers had not even enquired the cause of absence. The consequence is that in a few schools at least one fourth of the pupils are habitual truants or are unlawfully kept at home by parents. If the attendance laws, when properly enforced, fail to correct such abuses as now exist in these places, a legal provision, making it possible for the state board to withhold state funds from such towns, would be entirely effective. (c) The Teachers About twenty-four hundred teachers are required for the elementary schools of the state, but owing to resignations, more than twenty-seven hundred different teachers were employed during 1911-12. About two hundred of this number were men. The lack in large sections of \'ermont of occupations for women other than teaching has had a tendency to keep the teacher's salary very low, and this in turn has prevented the rural schools in particular from obtaining teachers who have any considerable amount of professional training. The typical rural school teacher is therefore a young woman of about twenty-three, who has been teaching about four years for $8.50 a week or $275 a school year. In many cases she teaches in her home town and either walks or drives from one to five miles to get to her school. She is a graduate of a four- year high school, but has had no professional training. Never having been taught the methods and devices that might enable her to meet the situations of the class-room, she either succeeds or fails in accordance with her native ability, and this fortunately is large. As might be expected, the better trained teachers are found in the graded schools, where the salaries are much better and the tenure of office is more secure. More than two-thirds of the graded school teachers began teaching in imgraded schools. Detailed information concerning the salaries, academic and professional training, and teaching experience of more than twenty-two hundred of the elemen- tary teachers is presented in Part III. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 43 An examination of the school registers for 1911-12 showed that while only twelve per cent of the teachers each term were inexperienced, more than one-half of the teach- ers of the rural schools were new to the schools in which they taught. A conserva- tive estimate, therefore, of the number of different teachers a child would have in passing through the rural elementary schools would be fifteen. In the graded schools this number would be less. Teachers are not required to sign contracts, and in many towns they are engaged merely for the term of ten weeks. In some places it is im- possible for the teachers to obtain suitable boarding-houses in the vicinity of their schools, and the town has to transport them to and fi"om the school. The relations that prevail between the teachers and the pupils in the two hundred elementary schools visited deserve special commendation. The old-time severity has given way to a helpful attitude of mutual respect and cooperation. In the recita- tion the teachers manifested a patience and a sympathy that placed the child at ease and called forth his best effoi'ts. In no case was sarcasm employed, and in only one instance, and that in a graded school, was a teacher heard to speak in a way that humiliated a pupil. It must not be assumed that teachers and superintendents do not have to exercise discipline and even to employ severe measures. In several of the schools that were visited teachers had failed so completely earlier in the year that they had been re- moved. Generally, however, those in charge of the schools are meeting such critical situations in a manner that aids the development of character. The fact that many teachers do not board in the communities where they teach limits their usefulness to the community. Here and there, however, over the entire state young women scarcely out of their teens are wielding remarkable influence. In some cases the towns have spontaneously raised their salaries beyond what they have paid before, and adjacent schools, so far from opposing consolidation, have been anx- ious to have their children transported to the schools presided over by such teachers. The statutes provide that teachers may receive their salaries monthly if they so demand. Practice in this matter varies throughout the state. In some towns and in most if not all of the cities the teachers are paid monthly. In other towns the director stipulates at the time he employs the teacher that she is to be paid at the end of the term. In still other towns teachers write or telephone to the chairman of the direc- tors that they want money. He fills out an order, waits until he can conveniently see the other directors whose signatures are required, gives the signed order to the town treasure!", and in time the teacher receives her money. In places where teachers cannot shop there may be little demand for ready money, but the fact remains that for many reasons the most satisfactory method of payment is monthly. In some towns teachers have complained bitterly of the present method. As is shown in the report on finances. Section VII, it is often an advantage to the town to postpone the pay- ment of teachers as long as possible, especially when the selectmen have to borrow the money. 44 EDUCATION IN VERMONT (d) The State Course of Study The present "Teacher\s Manutal for Use in the Elementary Schools" was issued by the department of education in 1907. The introduction states that it was prepared for the ungraded rural schools rather than for the graded schools in cities and vil- lages. No less than twenty different people contributed to the making of this course of study, and since no definite principles are given as having governed these indi- viduals in the making of a course, there is a lack of unity in the points of view. Some of the subjects are fully outlined with a clear statement of the ends to be attained. For other subjects there is a mere catalogue of the things to be done, with little or no indication of the aim or purpose of the work. In actual practice this course of study is not used in many schools. Several of the cities and larger villages have more or less detailed courses of study, and many of the union superintendents have been diligent in trying to prepare courses suitable for their own schools. The following summary indicates the order in which a child, entering the school at the customary age of six, will take up the various subjects. The child's principal task during the first school year is to learn to read primers and first readers. Incidentally, he is taught to spell many of the words that he reads, to count to ten, to add and subtract within the limit of his ability, and in wTiting to form the letters and easy words. Many fairy and hero stories are read to him, and he is encouraged to reproduce them orally in order that his power of expi-ession may be impi'oved. Some attention is given to the fundamental principles of hygiene, nature study, and the simplest social relationships. In some schools rote singing and draw- ing are also begun. Altliough the emphasis is upon reading, all the subjects tiiat are taught in the elementary school are introduced in very elementary form in the fii'st school year. During the second year reading is still emphasized, but the other subjects are given more systematic attention. Through constant drill the child gains enough facility in writing and spelling to write simple compositions. He learns the tables of several of the more commonly used measures which the teacher employs in formulating sim- ple problems involving counting, adding, and subtracting. Rote singing, drawing, and the observation of the common birds, animals, and plants is continued. In the third year the emphasis is changed from reading to arithmetic. The child learns the multiplication tables and continues to drill upon addition, subtraction, and the simpler forms of fractions. Although oi'al expression is still encouraged, written composition, particularly letter-writing, and simple grammatical distinc- tions form a consideraljle part of the English work in this grade. The child is made fiimiliar with the common geographical concepts and terms through the study of a text that deals with the general features of geography that can be illustrated in his own locality. In some schools note singing is begun, and most schools give nature study and drawing some attention. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 45 In the fourth year the mastery of the four fundamental operations in arithmetic is completed, and more definite work with fractions begun. Drill is accomplished by numerous examples found in the text-book. Since the child is supposed to be able to read anything within his comprehension, less attention is given to reading as a sepa- rate subject. Geography in this grade is concerned with the earth as a whole. Hero stories are used for the direct purpose of teaching some of the important events in history. Letter-writing, oral and written composition, and the grammatical analysis of simple sentences constitute the work in English. The other subjects are continued as in the preceding grades. During the fifth year the work in arithmetic is concerned with the application of numbers that involve decimals and percentage. There is reading for appreciation and acquaintanceship with good literature. The English is continued as in the preceding grades with the exception of an increased emphasis upon formal grammar. In geogra- phy attention is given to the study of the principal features of selected continents. Some of the important events of history are taught by means of stories. The remain- ing subjects are taught as in the fourth grade. In the sixth year the chief new topic in arithmetic is simple interest. There is a thorough drill in all that has previously been taught. Formal grammar is more em- phasized in the English work for this year, and many compositions based upon school and home experiences are required. The study of the continents continues in geog- raphy, and there is an intensive study of the state of Vermont. The reading of brief historical studies is continued, and an attempt is made to correlate history with geog- raphy and language work. Some attention is given civic relationships. Prior to the seventh school year all of the fundamental processes in arithmetic have been taught. During this year drill and reviews, with some of the applications of number to business operations, are given. In history the children begin a systematic study of English and early American history from text-books. There is little change in the character of the work required in the other school subjects. During the eighth year and in those schools that have a ninth year the children complete and review the whole subject of arithmetic. In some schools elementary alge- bra and geometry are begun. In English attention is directed to a somewhat critical study of literary selections, and to a thorough review of all the work of the course. In geography as in arithmetic the child completes and reviews the subject. In history an elementary text-book of American history is completed and the history of Ver- mont is considered. In general this year is devoted to a review and rounding up of the elementary school subjects and to further preparation in such studies as are con- tinued in the high school. The statutes require that good manners be taught in every school. This is sometimes done by having the pupils determine what they would do in hypothetical situations. More often, however, teachers take the opportunities that present themselves in the school-room for teaching this subject. Generally these local courses of study have been mimeographed, and their proper 4.6 EDUCATION IN VERMONT use has been made the subject of discussion for teachers meetings. The importance of such work cannot be overstated. Superintendents who have undertaken it often express their dissatisfaction with tlie results, but it has brought them face to face with the real problems of instruction. For several years prior to 1913 conmiittees of the union superintendents were charged with the duty of formulating a new state course of study, but these committees seem to have accomplished little, and at their meeting in June, 1912, they decided that the work could best be done by a smaller group, who should be paid by the state for their services and expenses. Since that time, however, there has been no further united effort in this direction. It is not uncommon to find teachers working without any directions whatever. In some cases girls who were graduated from the high school in June begin to teach in the autumn with their entire directions for a year's work with seven or more grades written in lead pencil on a single sheet of paper. Such teachers can do little else than work through certain pages of the books that are assigned. With their lack of experi- ence they are unable even to select the valuable parts of the texts, and so they teach all without discrimination. In all of the schools observed there was a marked tendency to have the rural school children do the same work as was done by the children in the graded schools of the nearby villages. In a few rural schools the teachers were attempt- ing to teach elementary agriculture, but in general the farmers have not been enthusi- astic over such attempts, probably because the teacher is in most cases the daughter of a neighbor whose farm is in no way out of the ordinary. Music and drawing are taught in most of the schools, and some of the teachers who have special aptitude for hand work are accomplishing a great deal in this subject. The course of study contained in "The Teacher's Manual" does not differ essentially from most other state courses. The fact that it was not followed to any considerable extent in any of the schools that were visited would seem to indicate that it is not adapted to their needs. This in fact was a very common complaint among the teach- ers. The primary purpose of a course of study, like good teaching methods, is to secure efficient instruction. Incidentally it serves in determining the grades to which pupils belong and assists the administrator in other ways. The course of study is therefore subject to the same principles that govern good teaching. The school is one of a large number of institutions that contribute to the educa- tion of children. The home, the farm, the fsictory, and the various civic, social, and religious organizations each has an influence. The school is not intended to take over that which will be well and economically done elsewhere. It is essential that the school recognize the varying abilities, environment, and experiences of the pupils, and the course of studv should as far as possible provide for such conditions. The Vermont course of study recognizes the varying abilities of children to only a small extent. Examples are to be found in the course for reading, where a long list of books from which the teachers may select is given. The course in arithmetic for the eighth and ninth grades states concerning certain subjects that " they may be THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 47 regarded as optional.'* In general, however, no provision is made for the varying abil- ities of children. Children who live on farms generally participate in the activities of the home, often having chores to do. It is certain that much of their experience differs greatly from that of city children who live in homes that do not furnish such opportunities. There is a statement in the introduction to the manual to the effect that the curriculum is intended for the rural schools, and a suggestion that the work and the methods of the graded schools differ somewhat from those of the rural schools because the former have more time for recitation and more pupils per class. But this is the only reference to any difference in environment or experiences. The introduction to the manual states also that the course is suggestive rather than prescribed. This would lead one to expect that the teacher could easily select the subject-matter most needed by her pupils. Such, however, is not the case. In only one subject is there any indication of what are the more important parts, and but few guiding principles are stated. The course aims to prepare for the high school. In a few particulars only does it attempt to meet the child's present needs. The arithmetic for the first year intro- duced only those combinations that the child will be likely to need, but this is in marked contrast to the teaching of elementary algebra in the seventh year. In Vermont as elsewhere there are many complaints that pupils who have completed the school course are unable to do satisfactory work in positions requiring the use of arithmetic and English. This criticism is often turned against those who were most satisfactory as pupils. The difficulty is not that these subjects did not receive enough time in school, but rather that the processes were merely memorized and the mem- ory kept alive by frequent drills. The children never saw that these processes had any practical application, consequently the knowledge was not so organized that it became a part of the child's experience. The remedy is to be found in such an organ- ization of the subject-matter that children can use it. In this respect Vermont courses often fail. The course in agriculture, for example, outlines ten experiments for the test- ing of soils, but there is no suggestion of any use that may be made of this know- ledge. Most adults have little need for the use of square root or algebra, yet these subjects are taught in the eighth and ninth years. There are frequent directions to the teacher to coi'relate the work of one subject with some other, but the course makes no attempt to do this except between English and drawing. The country child has the same i-ight as the city child to have the work adapted to his experiences and needs. This is not for the puipose of making a farmer of him, but so as to furnish a foundation upon which he can organize his knowledge. Except for a few topics, such as problems concerning fences in arithmetic, and the raising of vegetal>les as subjects for compositions, there are no indications that the course is intended for rural schools. Some years ago the elementary school course was lengthened from eight to nine years. This was done because the school year in the rural and many village schools 48 EDUCATION IN VERMONT was so short that the customary elementary school course could not well be covered in eight years. Now that this special cause for the longer course is gradually disap- pearing, it would be in keeping with the practice of most other states to return to an eight-year course. In fact, it would be advisable in many sections where conditions permit of conveying pupils to end the elementary course with the sixth year, and to do much of what is now done in the seventh, eighth, and ninth years in junior high schools. This subject is treated in detail in Section IV. (e) The Character of ilie Instruction It is unsafe to generalize concerning the quality of instruction from observations made in only about ten per cent of the schools. Because, however, of the conditions that were discussed in connection with the course of study, and the influence of the free tuition examinations, the features of instruction presented here are probably typical of those throughout the state, except in certain of the larger cities. Much stress is laid upon certain formal branches. HandwTiting is probably the most emphasized subject in the schools. In one city the teachers were notified that they would not be given contracts for the next year unless they presented certificates of proficiency in the method of handwriting employed in that school system. In another city the teachers were given one year in which to qualify in a similar way. Formal grammar is a close second to handwriting. In many of the schools this subject is begun in the fourth grade, and is continued by parsing, analyzing, and diagraming, through the remaining five years. It is made paramount in the ninth gi-ade. Arithmetic also receives disproportionate emphasis. Such subjects as history, geography, physiology and hygiene, literature, art, and music are not ignored, but aside from some excep- tional schools, these subjects do not receive an appropriate amount of attention. This general emphasis on formal branches results in making drill the predominant method of instruction. This drill too often has but little thought behind it, and as a consequence the subjects in connection with which it is used are those in which the pupils receive the poorest standings in the free tuition examinations, which are dis- cussed later. In beginning reading teachers and superintendents have very generally discarded the earlier drill methods and now approach the subject from the side of its content or thought, with the result that mastery of form comes about incidentally, and as a necessary consequence of a child's desire to understand the thought. In one school the English work of all grades, from the third to the ninth inclusive, was observed. The third grade pupils were asked to tell the story illustrated by two pic- tures in the text. One child did this in remarkably good form. Of the seven classes observed, however, this was the only one in which the children did or said anything that was their own. The work of the others was confined to technical analysis of sen- tences, the diagraming of these, and the parsing of the words. While this is the most general characteristic of the work in English, there are teachers who rise above it and THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 49 put into their English work an element of practical reality that brings excellent re- sults. In one school of this sort the teacher set a boy the task of ordering a list of sup- plies that she needed. The interest and appreciation of children who are treated in this practical way are very great. In the matter of literature the schools in general are teaching little else than the so-called classics. It is not uncommon to find that chil- dren who have completed the elementary school course have not read in school any- thing that was written within the last century, except such brief extracts as may occur in the reading-books. Progressive high school teachers report that when the pupils come to them they cannot read books of any considerable length, and find it extremely difficult to study either literature or composition. So far as English is concerned, little attention is given to adapting the subject to the child's needs or interests. The course is based on a supposition that the child will enter the high school, and that the work given is that which is best calculated to prepai'e for that end. The fact that only a few of these boys and girls will ever enter high school is constantly ignored. In arithmetic the situation is but little better. A large part of the work in this subject is so far removed from the experiences of the child and from his immediate or even remote needs that he memorizes a mass of forms, which mean nothing to him and can never be applied by him. In one school an eighth grade was assigned ten problems in compound fractious. "When the children had solved all the problems the teacher read the answers from his book, but accidentally read the wrong page of an- swers. The pupils crossed out one after another of their own answers with no display of either surprise or disappointment. Evidently the whole procedure was so unreal to them that they were prepared to accept any result. In another graded school a class was trying, with little success, to determine how much it would cost to line the inside of a cylindrical water tank with lead half an inch thick at a given cost per pound. History and geography are not made to appeal to the children by connecting these subjects with their experiences. The lessons that were observed in these subjects were confined largely to a repetition of the contents of some text-book, and there was seldom any effort to relate the statements of the book with what the child might be expected to know about his own environment. Experience has done a great deal toward making some very efficient teachers in Vermont. The fact, however, that a large majority of the elementary school teachers have had no professional training, together with the absence of adequate courses of study, makes the hearing of lessons from books the predominant method of teaching; and since the books do not recognize the varying abilities or experiences of children, the teaching does not. The reason usually given for teaching parsing, analyzing, and diagraming is that they help children to use language correctly. If doubt is cast on the efficacy of this method for accomplishing that result, it is said that these subjects are required for entrance to high school, — hence they are required of children who will never enter high school. Little attention is given to the selection of subject-mat- ter that will serve the present needs of the children, and this tends to make much of 50 EDUCATION IN VERMONT the work mere memorizing, and an attempt to fix unrelated facts in the memory by means of drill. Much of that which is taught is not organized about the child's experiences. In the midst of Vermont's famous mountains, he studies mountains in geography, but he often sees no connection between the two. No child in a class that was studying the bones of the arm and shoulder by means of a book on physiology was able to locate these bones in the body. In many upper grades children who were able to solve abstract problems of area easily were unable to compute the area of their school-room. Some good teaching was observed in the rural schools, but in general it was better in the villages and in cities. Teachers in graded schools have fewer grades in their classes and are free from the care of the school building. The trained teachers naturally seek the graded schools, and have usually better pay and a longer school year. In general the character of the instruction that was found in the Vermont elementary schools was determined largely by two factors. The first is the indefiniteness of the course of study, which has been discussed. The second is the free tuition examinations. In 1906 the legislature enacted laws which were designed to place the advantages of high school education within the reach of all of the boys and girls of the state. Towns are obliged to maintain a high school, or to pay the tuition of properly prepared pupils in the high schools of other towns or states. There was a suspicion that if left to themselves the weaker high schools, in order to secure more money, would receive pupils who were not qualified to do the work. To prevent such a con- dition, the law provided that the qualifications of the pupils should be determined by means of an examination, conducted by the union or town superintendent. The town is not responsible for the tuition of any high school pupil who does not pass this examination. The examinations are prepared by a connnittee of the union superintendents, printed by the state, and furnished to each superintendent who requires them; they are set on given days for the pupils throughout the state. The answers are returned to the state superintendent, who employs readers to mark them, one person reading all of the papers on the same subject. The state superintendent reports the ratings to the town or union superintendents. They determine the eligibility of the pupils for free tuition, and report tlieir decisions to the state superintendent as warrant for its payment. On its face this seems to be a perfectly logical method. In actual practice these free tuition examinations have had an undue infiuence upon both the subject-matter and the methods of instruction. The teachers, believing that they are to be judged by the success or failure of their pupils in these examinations, set about to prepare for them. In some of the schools the ninth year is devoted almost exclusively to such reviews and drills as the experience of the teacher leads her to believe will best give this preparation. At one of the most critical periods of tlie child's life, therefore, he is deprived of new subjects of interest, and is bound to dwell again upon that which he THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 51 has gone over and over. The effects of these examinations are manifest not only in the ninth grade, but throughout all of the upper grades. If a teacher is asked why she spends so much time on formal grammar, she almost invariably replies that the ex- aminations demand it. In this she is correct: until the most recent examinations, no less than ninety per cent of the questions in English pertained to formal grammar. Although it is a source of no small amount of pride among the schoolmen of \'er- mont that their high schools have certificate privileges with the New England col- leges, yet a child cannot pass from one division of their own school system to another without an examination. These free tuition examinations should be abolished. With the increase in the num- ber of competent superintendents it should no longer be necessary to employ this means in order to secure either proper work in the elementary school or adherence to standards by the high school. The abolition of these examinations would cause a great change in the school work of the upper elementary years. It would prevent much of the drilling on subject-matter which now seems of use only for entering the high school. It would remove a large part of what is now done in the ninth grade, and give teachers and superintendents the initiative in determining what is most essential for the pupil's needs. (f ) The Extent and Character of Supervision Prior to 1906 the supervision of all of the public schools was in the hands of town superintendents, who were appointed by the board of school directors for each town. At present about sixty towns that have not joined supervisory unions still have town superintendents. No educational or professional qualifications are required of these officers. They are to observe the condition of the schoolhouses, outbuildings, and grounds; to ascertain whether schools are properly supplied with maps, reference- books, and apparatus, and the pupils with necessary text-books. They make recommen- dations to the board of school directors, and they may dismiss teachers who, in their judgment, are incompetent or unfit for their position. In a few towns these offices are held by retired teachers of superior training and experience. In such cases there is some attempt at supervision of instruction, but in general the town superintendents are men who have little knowledge of school affairs. They are in no way qualified to supervise instruction, and the towns do not often expect or desire them to attempt this. In one town it was even stated that when the board appointed the superinten- dent it stipulated that he should not pay the schools more than the single visit each term that is required by law. Whether this stipulation was actually made or no, the superintendent had at any rate confined his visits to the minimum number. When, as in some of the towns, the principal of the high school has been appointed town super- intendent also, the outlying schools are generally neglected. With the amount of teaching that nearly all of the high school principals have to do in the smaller schools, 52 EDUCATION IN VERMONT they can seldom accomplish anything more in the way of supervision than to look after the disciplinary cases in the grades located in their own buildings. The legislature of 1906 empowered the school directors of two or more neighbor- ing towns, having an aggregate of not more than fifty nor less than twenty-five legal schools, to form a union for the purpose of employing a superintendent of schools. The school directors of the various towns forming such a union constitute a joint committee for the employment and direction of the superintendent and the appor- tionment of the expenses of supervision among the towns composing the union. Some towns are unable to gain admission into the unions, and there is no authority that can force the adjoining towns to receive them. Since 1907 more than sixty per cent of the towns had joined unions for the pur- pose of employing professional superintendents. In 1912-13 there were 55 unions, including all but 60 of the towais. A total of .?77,005 was paid to the union super- intendents in 1911— 12, but of this amount the state refunded S50,843, thus making the net expense to these towns $26,162. Of the 53 men and 2 women employed as union superintendents during 1912-13, 36 were college graduates, 18 had had some professional training, and 49 had taught one or more terms in rural schools. More than one-half of them had been high school principals immediately before their election as superintendents. These men and women have been pioneers in this work. The system itself has been in operation so short a time that it is difficult to show by statistics just what effect it has had upon the schools. It is evident that the people of Vermont believe that the services of these union superintendents are valuable, for while a few towns for one cause or another have withdrawn from unions, the number of unions has constantly increased, and several towns that at first refused to enter unions are now most anxious to do so. In general the teachers believe in the system. They are loyal to the superintendents, and the younger teachers who are in townis outside of unions have almost without exception expressed their desire to come under such supervision. Doubtless it has been the more progressive towns that have employed superin- tendents, so that too much emphasis should not be placed upon the differences that now exist between the towns within and those without the unions. That marked dif- ferences generally exist cannot be denied. They are noticeable in the general repair of the school buildings, the condition of the grounds, in the school equipment, the sufficiency of supplies, the character and condition of the text-books, in the enforce- ment of the compulsory education laws, and in the records of the progress of the pupils that are furnished to parents and kept as permanent school records. Teachers in unions regard themselves as members of a group and not as isolated individuals. By no means the least important effect of the system is to be found in the influence that some of the superintendents exert over their communities in matters relating to education. The problem of distributing hooks and supplies is complicated because each town THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 53 in a union purchases its own. It frequently happens that different to\vns pay very different prices for the same articles. It is difficult to store them in one central place from which they may be distributed. In some instances the work of the superintendents has been greatly hampered by the failure of the school directors to secure sufficient supplies. In those towns where the supplies are ordered in small lots there is, in addi- tion to a direct financial loss in the cost of supplies, a great loss in the efficiency of the schools, and a most uneconomic use of the superintendent's time. AVhere a year's sup- plies are ordered at once, as they are in most unions, the superintendents are develop- ing methods of distribution that prevent inconvenience to the schools and the waste of their own time. Tlie general tendency is to allow the union superintendent to look after this matter. In all of the towns that were observed there was a very careful use of the books and supplies. Often the superintendents transferred supplementary read- ers from one school to another four or five times a year. The union superintendents generally require reports from the teachers. The amount and character of the information that most of these officers possess concerning the ages, grades, and progi'ess of the pupils would do credit to city school systems. Nearly all of the union superintendents have devised more or less efficient systems of re- cording the progress of pupils. In some unions teachers are required to keep a detailed record of the work done each day. In the towns that follow a definite course of study the matter is comparatively simple. There is, however, no uniformity in these records, and consequently much confusion arises when comparisons are made. Each superin- tendent tends to have his or her own way of recording data, and in many cases does not use the system employed by his predecessors. In some unions the matter of re- quiring reports from teachers is carried to such an extent as seriously to hamper the teacher. In one union each teacher, in addition to keeping her own records, is required to send monthly reports to the parents, to file duplicates of these reports for a perma- nent school record, and to copy the names and standings of the children for the per- sonal use of the superintendent. At least two-thirds of this work is unnecessary. One of the serious problems in every town is to devise some system by which the progress of pupils may be recorded, so that new teachers may know where to take up their work. When teachers have been asked how they knew where to begin their work when they first entered the school, thev have frequently replied that their only means of knowing was by asking the children. The waste of time and effort in the rural schools caused by going over the same subject is proverbial. It has often been asserted that keen boys, by giving new teachers the page at which thev began rather than that at which they concluded the preceding term, have been able to go over the same subject three times in one year. These assertions have not been verified, but such con- ditions certainly are possible in many towns, some of them in unions. This situation is sufficiently unfortunate for the children who have previously attended the school, but it is nearly hopeless for the children who come for the first time from other towns. Often the teacher must try to grade these children on the basis of no more 54 EDUCATION IN VERMONT definite knowledge than that they have "worked arithmetic in a book with black covers." The keeping of the essential features of school records and reports by the union superintendents should be so systematized that they would be uniform throughout the state. A committee of the superintendents working in connection with the state super- intendent could easily arrange such record forms. They should call for essential facts only. The keeping of records involving statistics demands a special ability, which is not possessed by all teachers. When compelled to supply such records of anything except the most essential facts, the expenditure of their time and energy is out of all proportion to the value of the results. In matters pertaining to the actual supervision of instruction the union superin- tendents have been somewhat handicapped. The schools are often far apart, and the roads hilly and bad. The details of organization have demanded a great deal of their time. In the past, moreover, a large proportion of the superintendents have had no professional training. Their experience as high school principals has not conti'ibuted directly to their understanding of elementary school problems. In some cases it may even have given a distorted notion of the real purpose of the elementary school. The state board of education now requires professional training as a qualification for this office, and this should tend to improve conditions. One of the common methods em- ployed by superintendents is to teach classes in the school they visit. When, as often happens, no subsequent comments are made, the elFort foils to give results, because the teacher is not convinced that the class was handled more skilfully than by herself. Several teachers remarked that they did not know whether the superintendent was testing the pupils or trying to illustrate better methods of teaching. In a number of unions, however, there is unmistakable evidence of efficient supervision. The teachers and the superintendent are working together for the solution of problems of instruc- tion, and a real professional spirit is developing. In a preceding paragraph mention was made of the emphasis upon the formal side of school work as distinguished from the side of content. Too often the super- intendents have encouraged this attitude. It is much easier to judge handwriting, the parsing and analyzing and diagraming of sentences, the accuracy of answers and pro- cesses in arithmetic, than it is to determine the efficiency of instruction in English composition, history, nature study, or geography. Not infrequently the only sug- gestions that a teacher can recall are that the children should read with expres- sion, or should sit straight. It is quite probable that the teacher was conscious of the fact that the children were not reading or sitting as they should. What she most needed was help in arranging conditions so that they could read or sit properly. The superintendents are usually liberal in praising their teacliers in general terms, but often they leave them as ignorant of the excellences of their work as they are of its defects. In particular the superintendents are accustomed to attend to the products rather THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 55 than to the processes of instruction. The purpose of supervision is to improve teach- ing, and the supervisor should be governed by the same principles that govern the teacher, because their aims are the same. His duty, however, is the more difficult, because while he adjusts matters to the pupils, he must make the adjustment through the teacher. On the other hand, the teacher is concerned only with the pupils. It is unreasonable to expect effective supervision when teachers change positions so often that they cannot become fully acquainted with the conditions under which they work. Neither can it be expected in those unions where a false notion of econ- omy keeps the schools without sufficient supplies, or leaves in them such a variety of texts that the supervisor cannot possibly adapt the work to each of them. The mak- ing of a course of study is not a brief task. In many cases the superintendent has no option but to direct the teachers to complete a certain portion of the text each term. When a union is first formed it is inevitable that a large proportion of the super- intendent's time and energy must be devoted to administrative details connected with organization. The tendency will always be strong for the superintendent to remain an administrator rather than a supervisor of instruction. Escape from this condition must be found in better oi-ganization. Some of those who have held office for several years have already accomplished this. Many of the statements reported at the time the law creating this office was passed show that those responsible for it expected that efficient supervision would be a development. In this they were correct. If the present superintendents were to leave, their positions could not be filled at once with a group as efficient as they. It is now reasonable to expect a large improvement in the character of supervision. Where unions are well established, supervision cannot be justified solely on the ground that certain externals in the system are better conducted. The fundamental object of supervision is the improvement of instruction. In each of the unions visited some form of teachers meeting was held. Sometimes all the teachers of the union meet together. Sometimes the teachers of each town meet alone. In some of the unions the teachers are expected to take part in the con- ference and to speak on some problem connected with their work. In others the superintendent uses the meetings as an opportunity to distribute the supplies and to talk over the work expected for the term. It sometimes happens that the meetings are of little real value. In one town where the teachers were required to dismiss their school and attend a teachers meeting, a talk with practically all of the teachers on the following day, and an examination of the notes that had been taken by several, revealed the fact that the net result of the meeting for these teachers was, first, that children should give the proper inflection when reading sentences requiring answers ; second, that there should be a reading lesson at least once a week in each grade; third, that schools should be kept the full day ; fourth, that the teachers were drilled on the names of the new members of the cabinet; and fifth, that the teachers were drilled in parsing, analyzing, and diagraming. These are meagre returns to expect for the salaries the state and town paid the superintendent and teachers for this day. 56 EDUCATION IN VERMONT to say nothing of the loss of a day of school and the expense incurred by the teach- ers in reaching this meeting. There are a few teachers reading-circles. Superintendents who have shown acceptable ability should be assured permanent tenure of office. In every case their dependence for office should be removed as far as possible from local influences. They are the representatives of the state board of edu- cation, and therefore their dismissal should depend in large measure upon this body. Tlie unions should be responsible for the selection of the superintendents, as they are now, but if after one year the joint committee reelects the superintendent, then it should be possible to remove him only on direct appeal to the state board. (g) The Condition of School Grounds, Buildings, mid Equipment 1. Rural Schools There arel662 schoolhouses in use. Of these 1366 are one-room buildings. Owing to the shifting of population and the consequent union and discontinuance of schools, there are 425 unused schoolhouses in the state. These unused buildings vary from well-built structures in good condition to those so dilapidated as to be unfit for use. The possibility of needing these buildings again often makes it inexpedient for the town to dispose of them. During 1911-12 only 15 new schoolhouses were erected. The estimated value of all public school property in the state is about four and a quarter million dollars. Taken as a whole, the rural school buildings in Vermont will compai-e favorably with those to be found in any of the older states. They are generally kept in good repair and well painted on the outside. The interior is not always in keeping with the exterior: the floors tend to be poor, the ceilings are often much discolored with smoke, and the walls are in need of paint or kalsomine. In gen- eral, the school buildings under direction of town superintendents were not found to be in good condition: they lacked paint and sometimes the interiors had not been cleaned for two years; the outbuildings were unsanitary, and often so out of repair that they provided but little privacy. The rural school-rooms in Vermont are commonly lighted on three sides. ^Vhen such rooms are filled, some pupils must occupy seats that are not properly lighted. The windows are generally fitted with opaque shades hung at the top, thus often covering the upper half of the window, the most important part, and rendering the middle of the room unfit for study. Heat is usually provided by means of box stoves that burn wood. In all of the schools visited there was a generous supply of good seasoned hard wood. Sometimes the stoves were so placed as to be a source of discomfort to some of the pupils, or were so worn out that the smoke became a nuisance. Some of the towns have installed hooded stoves, and one of the rural schools visited was heated by a furnace in the basement. In only one or two instances did pupils or te;\chers complain of inability to keep warm, although in some schools the seats were placed against the walls. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 57 A number of devices are employed for ventilating these one-room schools. The most frequent means other than windows is an opening directly above the stove into the attic. Some of the teachers have ingenious devices of their own that they place in open windows to keep the draught from the children. The most satisfactory arrange- ment seems to be flues in connection with hooded stoves. In some places the towns have gone to considerable expense to put ventilators in the schools, but the instal- lation is unsatisfactory. In several such schools the ventilators had been closed with bran sacks because the children complained of the cold. Comparatively few teachers know how to use the ventilating system, and in no school where the system was other than the jacketed stove were any written directions for ventilation found. Most of the boys and girls of Vermont are being deprived of the one thing that makes city parents envy the country schools, that is, adequate playgrounds. Not more than one-twentieth of the rural schools visited had a school yard large enough for a baseball diamond, and several of those that were of adequate size were so rough or marshy that the children used the road in preference. The schoolhouses have com- monly been located beside the road, at some place where the land was of no value for other purposes. Some of the farmers are generous enough not to object when the children enter their fields to play ; others make almost violent objections. The com- plaint has been made that the children in the rural schools of Vermont do not play, but this was not the condition in the schools visited. In fact, great ingenuity was shown by boys and girls in organizing their play. It is no small feat to arrange a ball game on an ordinary country road with its deep ditches filled with water. In some sec- tions of the state certain societies are trying to direct the play of the school children. The value of such efforts is open to serious question. Play offers one of the best op- portunities for children to follow out their own ideas. It cannot be urged too strongly that one of the most effective ways to get children to play is to give them something to play with, and a place in which to play. The law makes it possible to condenui prop- erty adjacent to schoolhouses for playground purposes. None of the school gardens that were observed were on lots that belonged to the school. Few trees or shrubs have been or could be planted on the school grounds. The outhouses connected with rural schools always constitute a difficult problem. One in fifteen of the rural schools visited had a single outhouse, which is used in com- mon by boys and girls. The location, construction, and care of these buildings is fre- quently unsatisfactory, and the sanitary conditions are generally very bad. The local health officers have the authority to compel the school directors to keep outhouses in proper sanitary condition, and some of the officers use this authority with the result that such towns leave little to be desired in the way of good conditions. The health officers are required to visit the schools at least once each year, but this is not suffi- cient to keep them in touch with these conditions, and teachers often do not know, or hesitate to report, such matters. It should be said, however, that the many evidences of the activity of the state board of health in connection with the schools indicate that 68 EDUCATION IN VERMONT it is probably proceeding as rapidly as expediency allows. Its efforts are receiving increasing welcome throughout the state. The old-fashioned home-made bench and desk have almost disappeared from the Vermont schools. Commonly four sizes of unadjustable desks have been purchased, and so arranged that the largest ai"e in the rear and the smallest in the front of the room. By this arrangement few pupils occupy seats that correspond in height to their desks. In one town all of the largest seats are in one school and all of the medium-sized in another. In each of these schools there were children of all sizes. One school was supplied with the largest desks obtainable, which fitted none of the pupils, and the smaller children wrote with the desk coming close to their chins. A very large pro- portion of the children use seats so high that they cannot put their feet squarely on the floor while sitting upright. Some of the union superintendents have themselves rearranged the seats so that the proper desks and seats are together, but in general school officers have given too little attention to the matter of proper seating. Even though nothing were said about the influence that proper seating has upon pupils' health, the mere matter of personal comfort would make seating an important topic. Many of the graded and some of the rural schools have seats and desks that can be raised or lowered to suit each child. The first cost of this type of seats is some- what more than that of the older non-adjustable seats, but they are far more satis- factory. The teachers in the rural schools generally do such janitor work as sweeping and dusting the room. For this they are paid from twenty-five to fifty cents a week. In many cases it would be difficult to get any one else to do this work. The floors are neither painted nor oiled, and as very few towns supply anything to prevent dust while sweeping, the result is a suffocating cloud that settles on seats and desks, to be stirred up again when the teacher dusts. During the winter term most towns employ some one to start the fires. In one school, however, the teacher was requii^ed not only to care for the building and the fire, but also to split the wood, — the town did not even provide the axe. The common drinking-cup is prohibited by law in Vermont. The children are ex- pected to supply and to care for their own cups. A majority of the towns provide some kind of water tank with a faucet, but there are schools that have only a pail, into which each child dips his own cup, and still others where there is no provision for water in the school-room. In only a few schools is there any arrangement for keeping the cups from the dust of the room. The "cups" are of all kinds. Occasion- ally children have proper sanitary cups, but frequently they use the covers of their dinner pails, broken or cracked tea-cups, or other pieces of crockery. Attention is seldom given to the source of the water supply for the schools. The children merely get water from the nearest source, frequently from a creek or well that might easily be contaminated. Some of the local health officers obtain samples of the water used by the schools and have it analyzed. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 59 2. Graded Schools Much that has been said regarding the physical conditions of the rural schools would apply with equal force to the older buildings of the graded schools in cities and villages. The rooms in the newer buildings are generally well lighted, but even here opaque shades often interfere with the light. In one city school building the ratio of window space to floor space is only one to six, the main light coming from the rear. In a number of rooms in this building the windows are equipped with a parted wooden shutter that cannot be removed, but always occupies one third of the window space. The older buildings are very frecjuently without even the semblance of venti- lation. The air was almost nauseating in some rooms that were visited. In the newer buildings care has been exercised in installing systems of ventilation, but the mere fact that a ventilating system has been installed is not a guarantee that it will be used. Most frequently the janitor is the determining factor in the situation. In one of the most modern buildings, where a first-class system of ventilation had been installed, the condition of the air in the school-rooms suggested an examination of the basement, and this showed that the fresh air inlet had been closed and the school-rooms were being supplied with air drawn from the coal bins and toilets. Very unsanitary con- ditions exist in the graded schools in some of the older buildings. The newer school buildings, however, have such hygienic conditions that some of them may well serve as models in these respects. ' One feature of construction in many of the older buildings needs special mention, — the spaces under the stairs leading to the basement have been enclosed so as to make small storage rooms, which are often used by the janitors for waste paper and other highly inflammable material. Should fire start in these places, the only exit in many schools would be cut off. In the newer buildings this difficulty has been met by leaving such spaces open. The seating in the graded schools seldom presents as great difficulties as it does in the rural schools. The children in each room are more nearly of a size, so that a great variety of desks is not always necessary. Many of the city and village sciiools are equipped with modern adjustable seats and desks. Some of the schools never adjust seats and desks, so that for all practical purposes they might just as well be fitted with non-adjustable seats; others, however, make an effiart to adjust the seats as often as need arises. Most of the graded schools visited were well cared for by janitors, although here, as in the rural schools, the floors were often neither painted nor oiled and there was little use of sweeping compound for laying the dust. In most of the school buildings where running water is available some form of drink- ing fountain is usual. Where this is impossible, the proper care of drinking-cups pre- sents the same problem that is found in the rural schools. 60 EDUCATION IN VERMONT (h) Supplies The towns purchase the supplies and books that are used in the schools. In every school visited there was a dictionary, although some of these were so dilapidated that they were not used. Some of the rural schools were well supplied with maps, others had only a map of Vermont. Nearly every school had a globe. The graded schools were usually well supplied with supplementary readers. Many of the unions have also an adequate number, but some towiis not in unions are almost destitute of such books. The directors of some of these towns have met every request of the teachers for supple- mentary readers with the statement that the towns had no money, yet they purchased from one to four sets of a comparatively expensive reference work sold by agents, divided them so that one school has the volumes from A to F and another from G to L, and so on, and instructed the teachers to use these volumes as supplementary readers. A number of schools are without necessary political maps, although they are equipped with unnecessary blackboard maps. A variety of texts often makes it difficult to keep the progress of children reasonably uniform. In two unions the superintendent reported thirteen different arithmetics. \'ery few towns buy second-hand books. In all of the schools observed there was an economical use of whatever books and supplies had been purchased. ( i ) Consolidation of Rural Schools Sparseness of population in many townships makes the conduct of schools a com- plicated problem. Since 1893 the state has encouraged the consolidation of the smaller schools and the consequent transportation of children. Schools failing to maintain an average enrolment sufficient to cause them to be recognized by the state as legal schools receive no state aid. The state furthermore refunds a poi'tion of the transportation expenses if the town spends a certain proportion of its assessed val- uation for school purposes. In \'ermont as in other states generally consolidation has met witli decided opposition. It has often been feared that the closing of a rural school would tend to lower the value of the adjacent property, but in no place where con- solidation was in successful operation was this argument considered valid. Often three generations of a family have attended the same school, and to close it is a somewhat trying ordeal, yet when once the jmrents have seen the advantages that consolidation brings to their children, they are even more enthusiastic than the children. This is almost universally true when the children are transported to graded schools. In places where transportation has not been satisfactory, the difficulty is often due either to the driver or to the conveyance. Parents charged that a rough boy driver had taught their boys to smoke, and tolerated and even encouraged disorder. Older drivers were some- times intoxicated. Satisfaction almost always follows when a driver is cither a fether or a mother of some of the children. A second soui'ce of difficulty is the type of wagon or sleigh used. Wagons may be so crowded that the children are uncomfortable. In one case six pupils and a driver used a two-seated surrey, a little girl being compelled THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 61 to sit on the lap of an older colored boy. It is difficult to see how some of the convey- ances could be surpassed for discomfort or unsightliness. Sometimes other loads also are carried and the children are made to walk up hills and over bad roads. Sometimes suffi- cient blankets are not supplied. The greatest satisfaction has been experienced with the "school barges" purchased by some of the towns. For fall and spring these are spring wagons with tops and side curtains for protection from rain and sun. The seats extend along the sides and are cushioned. For winter use they are sleighs with closed tops. In none of those observed was there provision for heating, but the drivers had often procured soapstone or pieces of hard wood, which they heated over the school stove and placed at the feet of the pupils on their way home. These same objects were heated in the homes of the pupils in the morning and used on the way to school. Parents are much more inclined to favor the transportation of older than of younger children, particularly when children have to walk to some central place in order to meet the barge. In a few cases children ride as far as six miles over very hilly roads and must start very early in the morning, not reaching home again until dusk. 4. Recommendations Many of the conditions described in previous sections require no further comment. Two have been selected for more detailed treatment here. A new course of study is needed. The steps that have been taken already in this mat- ter are mainly in the right direction. It is not possible for any one person to be so fully acquainted with all parts of the state that he can make a course suited to all the conditions. Since the course of study is such an important factor in instruction, it should be made by those primarily concerned with instruction ; namely, the teach- ers and superintendents, with the advice and direction of the state board of educa- tion. For this purpose experienced teachers and superintendents from all parts of the state should be organized into committees and brought together at an early date, in order that the general principles that shall govern the making of the course may be fully explained and illustrated. Not less than two years should be allowed these com- mittees in which to prepare a tentative course, which should then be published and tried in the schools for a year in order to remedy its defects before final adoption. There should be at least two separate courses, one for the rural schools and one for the gi'aded schools. Much of the subject-matter in these two courses would be the same but the suggestions and applications should vary greatly. The various cities and unions might add appropriate modifications. This method of making a course of study will require a careful consideration of all of the conditions surrounding the schools, and will result in courses adapted to the needs of Vermont. Incidentally, it will greatly benefit all of those who take part in the work of their preparation. With better courses of study in use, the problem of improving the quality of in- struction involves the improvement of the teachers who are already in service. In the 62 EDUCATION IN VERMONT section dealing with the Normal Schools and the Training of Teachers will be found recommendations which, if followed, will tend to give professional training to those who are about to teach, but under any possible system it will take a number of years to supply all of the schools with trained teachers. There are several ways in which those who are now teaching maybe helped. Teachers meetings, when properly conducted, will be of great assistance. The work of the union superintendents will likewise be effective. There is further the possibility of reading-circles such as are now conducted in many states. The school system as now organized is capable of providing all these means. If there were definite prospects of financial or professional improvement, many teachers would attend efficient summer schools. The most important agency in the improve- ment of teachers, however, would be a number of highly trained, capable supervisors, employed by the state board of education, w ho would spend their time in the schools, assisting the teachers and demonstrating proper methods. This group of supervisors would form the nucleus of a highly efficient summer school faculty. Two summer schools could be held in different parts of the state, and the teachers encouraged to attend by the state undertaking to increase their salaries a given amount when two or more ses- sions had been attended, and either increasing the life of their certificates or changing their grade. These supervisors, further, would render valuable assistance in making the courses of study. Their services should be at the command of the superintendents. They should be women. The type of work expected of them could not be so well done by men, and the tendency would be for men to become mere inspectors of schools rather than actual teachers and supervisors. MiLO B. HiLLEGAS. IV THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS S\'NOPSIS I. The School Material ear a two years' course in agriculture and another in domestic science. Teacher training for the elementary schools should be organized as a vocational course for girls, and courses in music, in drawing and designing, in wood and metal working should be available. It is, in short, the school that aims to organize and conduct any form of instruction that can be shown to he of value and to be demanded by a considerable number of boys and girls of high school age. It is emphatically a people's school; it aims to affiliate with ail other effective educational enterprises, and to cooperate, so far as its equipment per- mits, with industrial or mercantile establishments in training their employees. It is just as emphatically not a trade school or a vocational school in the sense of being limited to the drilling of pupils in the series of mechanical processes to be found in office, shop, or factory. Many of these it must, of course, include, but its aim is, by means of teachers, themselves cultured and trained for the task, to organize and teach the fundamentals of human activities, to develop and enforce their human significance, to set them in their large and vital relationships; and only those activities which pos- sess such significance and relationships should be included in its curriculum. Articu- lation with the junior school, just as with the college or technical school, should be complete and without examination. In its four junior years the central high school may well differ somewhat from the junior high school standing alone. Vermont's narrower vocational problem should find here the beginning of a successful solution. There is a large proportion of ado- lescent cliildren to whom the more general course already outlined does not appeal, whether for economic or personal reasons affecting themselves or their parents. For these a profitable and satisfactory form of training must be devised. For Vermont the obvious initial step in this direction is a vocational course in agriculture for boys from twelve to sixteen years of age. Those who take the higher course in agriculture in the upper years are likely to turn out as form managers or teachers of agriculture, frequently going on to the Agricultural College. The junior central school, on the other hand, should aim to produce successful farmers. No effi)rt should be spared to make this course serve the community ; its practical value should be its reason for exist- ence. The same laboratories, grounds, and equipment would accommodate both higher and lower classes, and a trained director would be in charge of the entire department. If such courses were organizetl in all junior central schools, there would be from 15 to 18 centres for instruction in farming, elementary, to be sure, but thorough. This distribution of opportunity would meet the local needs with speed and economy pending the gradual development of special schools having larger facilities. What is true of agriculture applies equallv to other forms of vocational training. The ideal THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS 105 of the junior central school should be, within the limits of its funds, to provide means whereby every child of suitable age may discover his personal resources, however slen- der they may be, and become accustomed to command them with confidence. In going to tlie central school from a distance, many pupils would necessarily be obliged to remain for the week at least, — a practice already common at most of the larger high schools in Vermont. Greatly to increase this practice involves two impor- tant considerations, supervision and expense. One reason for dividing the high school as suggested, giving a junior school of four years and an additional central school course of two years, instead of devoting three years to each, is that the new plan post- pones home-leaving to the latest possible point, — a consideration of much importance where many are involved. This would not usually take place then before the age of seventeen, — an age of reasonable discretion, when supervision such as a high school staff" could exercise would be effective. Experience at such places as Randolph or P'air- fax goes to show that even considerable colonies of young people are wholly manage- able without dormitories. With such changes as have been suggested the central school would necessarily assume this care as one of its important functions and one not with- out its educational opportunities; a house for self-boarders, or a general commons for outside pupils, would furnish the domestic science department an unusual field for displaying its efficiency in a thoroughly practical way.' A more difficult problem is that of equalizing for all pupils, near and remote, the expense of attending a central school. It cannot be denied that the conversion of fifty-eight small high schools into less than a score of strong and relatively large ones will breed hardship for some. It is probable that this can be met for the time being in but one way — that of personal sacrifice, although it is possible that some future development in public policy may assign this margin of expense to the state. In either case no question can arise from this source as to the wisdom of the proposed plan. The convenience of a few pupils can never warrant the sacrifice of the welfare of the many in maintaining a series of institutions each mediocre in itself and col- lectively standing in the way of genuine excellence on the part of any. A thoroughly good school is its own excuse for being. A first-class junior high school in full career on sound principles is surely a community asset far superior to an imitation of a four-year institution that limps half-starved to no recognized goal. The centralized policy will, of course, be more expensive than the present. In spite of its high costs per pupil, the small two-teacher school costs less on the whole ; the final objection to it is not its costs, but its inefficiency. The final question must be not, For how small a number can an institution, by courtesy called a "higli school," be run.? but, How manv boys and girls can we, or ai-e we willing, to bring within reach of opportunities for secondary education that are adequate and satisfactory? ' The high school at Brookeville, Maryland, has rooming and boarding accommodations for nearly 20 pupils in its special domestic science building. These come in on Monday and return home on Friday night. See the Educational Survey of Moyitgomery County, Maryland, U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, No. 32, page 29. 106 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Such, in its broad outlines, is a scheme of organization which, it is beUeved, would place Vermont's secondary schools upon a sound educational footing, and would prove as economical financially as is consistent with bona fide results. It is scarcely within the province of the present enquiry to work out the plan in greater detail. Of course no plan of such far-reaching importance should be undertaken except after a careful study, on the part of a competent and disinterested board, of the many local factors which enter in. The selection and development of fifteen or eighteen central high schools is a matter requiring tact, patience, and persistence; and the organiza- tion of junior high schools in place of the old four-year institutions, together with the fresh establishment of such schools in promising centres, is a task calling for many years of planning and attentive promotion. The innnediate concern is that the policy undertaken be suited to the people and conditions in the state of Vermont, that it be educationally justifiable, and that its realization be financially reasonable. VI. A SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN VERMONT 1 . A school census to be freshly and thoroughly prepared annually under the supervision of the local superintendent of schools and to include a list of all chil- dren from five to eighteen years of age inclusive, together with information as to their nationality, the occupation of their parents, and their previous movements and schooling. 2. A classification of schools based upon the elements of school efficiency, includ- ing the extent and condition of grounds, buildings, and equipment; the number, qualifications, hours, and salaries of principals and teachers; the range and quality of the cun-iculum and program ; and the spirit and attitude characteristic of the institution as a whole. The educational authority should establish standards in all these particulars, but fixed rules for a mechanical classification should not be made. The classification should proceed rather from an intelligent appi-aisal of each insti- tution on its merits, allowance being made for all compensating features. 3. The appointment of a qualified director of secondary education to be the repre- sentative of the state commissioner of education and to act as his agent. His duties should be those of an inspector and adviser. As inspector, he should appraise the plant and operation of all secondary institutions, and, with the approval of the com- missioner, should determine individual assignments in respect to school classification, state aid, and certificates to secondary teachei-s. In his advisory capacity he should understand and represent the state's ideal in secondary education; he should hold himself at the disposal of school committees and of all secondary school officials throughout the state for counsel and advice, and when these are not asked, should be capable of exerting persuasive initiative. THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS 107 4. The incorporation of the secondary schools everywhere as an integral portion of a single, compactly organized school system for each locality, and therefore subject to a common, local, supervising head. In case the organization contemplated in Rec- ommendation 10 is adopted, it would be advisable to make the jurisdiction of the local superintendent coextensive with the regional high school district. That officer should then be the first educational official of the district, and be trained and paid accordingly. Vermont would thus possess, in the place of 57 minor superintendents, an educational council of from 15 to 20 competent experts, exercising their super- vision on the business side through local town agents, and on the educational side through one or more supervisors appointed by themselves. 5. A higher standard of supervision. There should be a progressive insistence upon a knowledge on the part of principals of the essential characteristics of efficient supervision, and school committees should be required to release an adequate amount of the principal's time, in proportion to the size of schools, for that purpose. 6. A higher standard of qualification for teachers. Teachers at present emploved in the state should, of course, be continued, but the director of secondary education should have the power to make and to enforce the requirement that teachers who are conspicuously deficient in training in those subjects that they are teaching either improve their condition by attendance at summer schools or give up their certifi- cates. The state is not so large that for this purpose it may not best be treated as a city system and each teacher be considered on his individual merits. For subse- quent accessions to the teaching staff the requirements should be increased. No certificate should be granted merely for a college diploma; to be of value to the schools, college work must have been properly focused. It is not too early now to de- mand 12 year-hours of college work in each field offered by a candidate as a major for teaching ; that is actually a modest requirement. Six year-hours for a minor with a total requirement of two majors, or of one major and two minors, is certainly not too much to ask. To this must be added in practice, the stipulation that teachers be employed in those subjects in which they are trained. A further requirement would possibly do more as an example to promote the training of secondary teachers at large than any other one thing. The state should require that a person who is a candidate for a teaching position in schools of the highest class must have had actual practice in teaching of not less than five periods per week for one semester, under the supervision and criticism of a competent instruc- tor, in an approved school or college department of education. It is undoubtedly true, and is generally acknowledged, that when once state regulations supply the backing for this proposal the colleges will meet it with alacrity. 7. Improved conditions of service for teachers. These include reduction in the num- ber of classes and subjects to be taught, increase of capable supervision, and gradual increase in salaries. Together with the provision for the higher qualification of teach- ers, these modifications are of the first importance in the construction of effective 108 EDUCATION IN VERMONT educational machinery. They will devolve naturally upon the proposed director of secondary education, who should have considerable leverage for their enforcement in his control of the award of grades of school classification and of financial aid. A rise in the general level of ability as secured in prolonged or specialized preparation is inseparably connected with increase in compensation. A wholesale and indiscrim- inate increase of salaries is not desirable and can easily be avoided in Vermont, where a series of small schools makes the classified salary system of large cities unneces- sary ; but it is most desirable that as much money as possible be devoted, on a strictly individual basis of personal merit, to inducing trained teachers to come to Vermont, and to retaining such teachers already in the state as are clearly of exceptional abil- ity or promise. Vermont's policy should be to pay well for ability and to see that she gets it. For a town to refuse the deserved increase in salary to retain a notably successful teacher, thereby sacrificing the steady excellence of its schooling, is a com- mon but wholly reprehensible form of inefficient management, and ought not to be tolerated by the state unless the amount of money needed is out of proportion to the grade of school that the community is capable of supporting. 8. An avowed shift of emphasis in education from the curriculum to the child, in- volving the intimate and continuous study of each individual child to determine what his characteristics and needs are, — -his natural latent assets, — and the adaptation of curriculum, organization, and methods of the school to the development of those assets, to the end that the value — personal, social, and economic — of each individ- ual may be increased to the largest possible extent. This end is to be achieved : a. Through a more varied offering, especially in such subjects as demand an active, concrete, motor response or application, as compared with a solely abstract, passively absorptive, verbal reaction; hence the practical arts, original oral expression and composition, mathematics and modem languages applied to a stimulating content, history as life-story of the familiar present, and so on ; b. Through a more appropriate offering, contributing to the education of each child elements that will illuminate his surroundings and prepare him directly for the life and work that probably await him ; hence particulai'ly agriculture in its various forms; c. Through moi-e elastic courses, allowing to skilled and experienced teachers lib- erty for such adaptation as their insight shows to be appropriate to the pupils with whom they deal ; and d. Through a serious effoi't to secure for each school the facilities and responsibil- ity for dealing individually instead of schematically with its pupils. This recommendation involves a delicate and difficult readjustment. It can be ac- complished only through a personnel of considerable professional ability, to prevent degeneration into a pedagogical chaos as injurious as the mechanical tendency of the present rigid system. The unifying factors should be: (1) Constant and painstaking criticism by the director of secondary education, and THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS 109 (2) Frequent conferences of the schoolmen themselves to agree upon a generous min- imum in their courses as well as to maintain satisfactory personal and professional standards. 9. A persistent and careful scrutiny of the cost of the curriculum as applied in each school, with a view to securing the largest actual returns for the money invested. This means an effort to realize the full pupil-serving power of every teacher, of every piece of apparatus, and of every portion of the plant. It should lead to the abandon- ment of expensive courses for a few specialized students unless, as is often possible with pupils having initiative, these can be directed informally. Even the continuity of a course involving extravagant expense — for one or two pupils — might well be sacrificed if the teacher''s time or salary could be invested elsewhere to greater advan- tage. A schematic preparation for college and a strong desire for logical consistency have blinded us here to a just sense of actual values. 10. A general reorganization of the secondary schools on the principle of central- ization : (1) The development of, say, 1.5 to 18 central and readily accessible schools into regional high schools articulating directly with all neighboring junior high schools (see 2), and having: a. A rich and comprehensive two-year curriculum appropriate to the youth 17 to 19 years of age drawn from the surrounding district; h. A four-year junior curriculum as in (2), but including special vocational op- portunities, particularly in agriculture, for pupils from 12 to 16 years of age. c. A highly trained and well-paid staff; d. Adequate equipment for all purposes; e. Carefully studied provision for housing and supervising pupils who come from a distance; and f. The disposition and facilities for becoming the centres of the intellectual and social life, both adolescent and adult, of the group of towns that they serve. (2) The reorganization of the remaining high schools, together with the lower years of the proposed regional high schools, into junior high schools, having: a. A four-year curriculum, elastic in administration, but limited in scope by the numbers and needs of the local boys and girls 12 to 16 years of age, covering the seventh and eighth grades of the present elementary school and the first two years of the present high school ; b. A staff trained, jmrticularly with reference to the problems of the niral or small community, in a special training-school ; c. Equipment appropriate to the curriculum presented; and d. The primary function of reaching and securing the greatest possible reaction from every child in the community who is from 12 to 16 years of age. 11. Provision for the collection and interpretation of the most important secondary school statistics: attendance and withdrawal in the various schools, classes, years, 110 EDUCATION IN VERMONT courses, subjects; success and failure in various schools, years, courses, and subjects; sources of pupils as well as their subsequent performance in relation to their school records ; and costs per pupil in courses and subjects. It is not a great burden to secure such data when the task is systematized and distributed. Intelligently used, they constitute the only real chart for educational navigation that we possess. WiLMAM S. Learned. V THE TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, AND SUPPLY OF TEACHERS This section presents: (1) an historical summary, and (2) a statement of the sources of its information ; and discusses (3) the existing situation with regai'd to (a) normal schools, (b) training-classes, (r) supplementary training, and (d) the certification of teachers; (4) the inadequacy of the normal schools; (5) the success of the training- classes; and (6) a central training-school; and concludes with (7) recommendations. 1. Historical Summary The training of teachers for the elementary schools received its first official recog- nition and support in Vermont about half acentury ago— in 1849 through appropria- tions by the legislature for teachers institutes, and in 1866-67 through the consti- tution of three state normal schools out of three county grammar schools (that of Orange County at Randolph Centre, that of Lamoille County at Johnson, and that of Rutland County at Castleton). The prestige conferred upon these schools by this honor evidently did service in lieu of material support, as the act stipulated that they were to be "established and maintained without any expense to the State." ' Aid was shortly forthcoming, however, in the form of annual appropriations for scholarships, to which there was added, in 1868, a small appropriation (.$500),for each school, to be expended by the board of education in direct assistance. In one or the other or both of these two forms the subsidy to these normal schools has been steadily increased until, in 1910, Johnson and Castleton were receiving annually $10,000 each; the school at Randolph was converted into a state agricultural school in that year. Established for a five-year period, the schools were renewed at that intei-val until 1880; two ten- year extensions brought them to 1900, when they were continued to 1920. Their early careers were apparently prosperous — sufficiently so to awaken the jealousy of neigh- boring academies which, in 1878, seem to have been influential enough with the legis- lature to compel the normal schools to abandon their academic courses and to confine their activities wholly to the training of teachers. This move extinguished what had been flourishing and profitable departments, what had, in fact, been the schools them- selves until the state developed the normal feature, and the institutions became hence- forth wholly dependent upon the state. The control of the schools was vested in the board of education from the outset, so far at least as concerned admission, courses of study, examinations and certificates, and the appointment of the principal. The trus- tees of the several original academies were continued when the latter became normal schools, though the board of education had sole control in the expenditure of state » Acts of 1866. No. 1. 112 EDUCATION IN VERMONT funds. When, in 1874, the board of education was abolished, its duties fell to the newly created state superintendent, who acted, however, in consultation with the trustees. In 1894 control revei-ted to a board known as the Board of Normal School Examiners, Supervisors, and Commissioners, and later (1898) as the Board of Nor- mal School Commissioners. The powers of this latter body were passed on in turn to the board of education, created in 1908, except that the examination and certifica- tion of teachers was centred in the state superintendent. The last change occui'red in 1912, when the normal schools came under their present management, the new board of education. The three schools have been much investigated institutions. No less than five spe- cial commissions for this purpose have been created since 1886. The last of these, in 1908, never became active. Of the remaining four, the first two (1886, 1894) recom- mended the abolition of the prevailing system as being inadequate for its purpose; the third (1896) urged the maintenance of the existing schools and their largely in- creased suppoi't; the fourth (1906) advocated the establishment of a new, well-equipped school in a relatively large and accessible town to replace the school at Randolph Cen- tre, but proposed to continue the schools at Castleton and Johnson for the time being with moderate appropriations. Until 1910 the Castleton and Johnson normal schools were conducted on property and in buildings that did not belong to the state. By leg- islative enactment of that year (Acts 1910, No. 70) the property at Castleton was purchased by the state for the sum of $18,000. In the same act the legislature appro- priated $12,000 for the constiniction and equipment of a dormitorv for the use of the Johnson Normal School. This appropriation, practically the first for such a purpose, was made upon the conditions that the state have conveyed to it free from all encum- brances a lot of land sufficient for the site of the dormitory, with suitable grounds in connection therewith; that the trustees of Lamoille County Grammar School lease to the state for a term of ninety years the property occupied by the normal school ; and that the village of Johnson furnish the buildings connected with the institution with water and electricity free of expense to the state. In spite of these steps looking toward the promotion of the present normal schools, the state in the same year inaugurated a policy of state aid for teachers training-classes in the high schools, — a move that threatens the existence of both normal schools as they are constituted at present. These various changes, many of them divorced from educational considerations, have left the normal schools, their function, and their support in a state of constant confusion. There has been no consistent or permanent policy in dealing with them. 2. Sources of Information Both of the normal schools were visited by several members of the staff", who were familiar with similar institutions in other states. Twelve of the fourteen high school training-classes were visited, a number of them by several members of the staff". The TRAINING OF TEACHERS 118 records and literature concerning both groups of institutions were thoroughly studied, and there wei'e many conferences with educators and other citizens concerning them. 3. The Existing Situation (a) Normal Schools The state now maintains and practically owns two normal schools, one at Castle- ton and one at Johnson. The Castleton buildings are located near the centre of the village of Castleton, a short distance south of the main street and about fifty feet above the level of the Castleton River. They are surrounded by about seven acres of land ; the two and one- half acres in front of the buildings having been parked. The buildings themselves consist of a three story brick structure, one hundred feet long and forty feet wide, to- gether with a wooden annex about sixty feet long and fifty feet wide. One-half of the first floor of the main building and all of the annex are used by the school for reci- tation rooms, library, and office. The rest of the main building is used as a dormitory for pupils and teachers. As a whole, the buildings at Castleton are poorly arranged and indifferently equipped for the purposes of the school. In spite of recent renovation and improvements, they are considerably out of repair. They are heated by stoves, which are in themselves a constant menace to the lives of the pupils. The last legis- lature authorized the state board of education, with the approval of the governor, to provide for the furnishing and installation of a steam heating plant for the buildings, and appropriated $7000 for this purpose. The sum of $3000 was also appropriated for furniture and repairs for the dormitory. There is serious doubt as to the desirability of expending any more money on these buildings. If this location is to be used for the purposes of any state educational institution, it would be cheaper in the end to build entirely new buildings. By agreement with the town school officers the Castleton public school, located within a i-eady walking distance of the normal school, is used as a training-school. One of the rural schools of the town is also utilized for this purpose. The buildings at Johnson consist of a two story frame structure, used for instruc- tion under a long term lease from the trustees of the old Lamoille County Gram- mar School, and a dormitory,' distant about half a mile and adjacent to the vil- lage public school, which is used as a practice-school. Without exception the housing, equipment, and general material aiTangements at Johnson are superior to those at Castleton. Whatever the future disposition of the schools may be, their recent purchase by the state has very completely and properly liquidated any obligation that the state may have had toward them. The state is now entirely free to act in accordance with its best interests. * Conatructed by the state in accordance with the legislation of 1910. 114 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The organization of the course of study in the normal schools has passed through three well-defined stages. The original plan contemplated a "lower course,"' to include all " the branches required by law to be taught in the conmion schools of Vermont," and a " higher course," to contain, in addition, " higher branches," and to require "one full year of study." ^ These courses gradually crystallized into a lower course of two years open to pupils fresh from the elementary school, and a higher course, also of two yeai's, for such as had taken the lower course ; the two courses thus corre- sponding with the two halves of a four-year high school course. Such was the arrange- ment until 1909, when the higher course had its standard raised by two years and was reserved for high school graduates. To effect the transition to a single-standard school similar to those of neighboring states, the lower course was at the same time lengthened to four years, and was later (1910) abolished. For three years thereafter Vermont normal schools offered, in addition to remnants of the old regime, work of strictly professional grade. Moved, however, by the prospect of diminishing attend- ance, the present board of education restored the lower course after July, 1913, making it two years in length and dependent upon («) the completion of two years of work in any classified academy or high school in Vermont, or of an equal amount in classified secondary schools of any other state; or (S) the possession of any Ver- mont teacher's certificate except a permit or a limited third grade certificate. This action of the state board of education provided that pupils satisfactorily completing the requirements of the lower course be granted an appropriate diploma and a five-year certificate; that graduates of high schools or academies of the "first"^ class be admitted to the lower course, and upon completion of one year's work be granted similar credentials ; and that pupils completing the lower course of two years ■ be admitted to the higher course and its privileges of gratluation and certifica- tion. The dual course is therefore again in operation : the higher, open to graduates of a four-year high school course and leading to a diploma and a certificate to teach valid for ten years, and the lower as stated above. The attendance and number of graduates from each of the normal schools for the ten years 1903-12 is summarized below: Average Number of Graduates Annually from Vermont Normal Schools^ Lower Course Higher Course Regraduates ^ Special Castleton 36(10) 3(10) 4(8) Johnson 22 (6) 3 (6) 2 (8) Rmdolph 29 (6) 2 (6) 1 (6) Together 87 8* 7 ' Acts of 1S66, No. 1. ' For explanation of this term, see page 6". *^ As complete reports are not available, the number of years on which the average is based is given in parentheses. * In 19U and 1912 the "higher course" graduates were from the new two-year course for high school graduates, and numbered 11 and 7 at Castleton, 8 and 7 at Johnson, and 4 at Kandolph— 37 in all. TRAINING OF TEACHERS 115 (b) Training-classes in High Schools The school board of a town maintaining a high school of the first class, and the board of trustees of an academy of the first class, may establish and maintain a teacher-training class in connection with such high school or academy.' This class is under the direction and approval of the state board of education, which prescribes the studies to be pursued and appoints the special teachers employed. In the estab- lishment of such classes the law provides that preference shall be given to high schools and academies that can best serve the rural schools. No approval may be given to a high school or academy having less than two elementary graded schools available for observation and practice purposes. For classes so established the state allows a maximum subsidy of $800 for the teach- er's salary, provided that the local authorities have expended at least $200 for the same purpose. If the class numbers fewer than eight seniors or graduates, the state pays $100 for each regular member of the class, and the school must increase its proportion to make up the balance. The facts concerning training-classes from 1912 to 191-1 are summarized in the fol- lowing table :^ In Courses 1911-13 1912-13 1913-U Graduates 43 48 65 Seniors 106 91 133» Total 149 139 198 Graduated 141 139 Teaching In Graded Schools 15 5 In Rural Schools 111 118 Total 126 123 Not Teaching 15 16 (c) Supplementary Training The superintendent of education reports twenty-one educational meetings for public school teachers conducted by his department during the biennium 1910—12.* In addition to these general meetings each union superintendent conducted several meetings of the teachers of his union. Summer schools for elementary school teachers were held at Rutland and Johnson in 1911, and at Castleton and Johnson in 1912 and 1913. Middlebury College and the University of Vermont provide through their summer sessions opportunities for further professional training for secondary school teachers. The Vermont Teachers' Association in its annual sessions has for many years been a stimulating and unifying influence among teachers of all degrees. ' By the provisions of Act No. 61, Acts of 1910 (as amended by No. 64, Acts of 1912). ^ The figures are furnished by the superintendent of education. * Nine of these are "special" students. * School Report, 1912, page 53. 116 EDUCATION IN VERMONT (d) The Certification of Teachers The legal requirements for the certification of teachers and the statistics relating to the grades of certificates held by the teaching staff of the state have already been presented.' Without question, a distinct step in advance was made in placing the examina- tion and certification of all public school teachers entirely under the direction of the superintendent of education.^ This change from a county examiner system to a state system has been widely recognized in recent years as the most effective means for rais- ing and unifying the worth of teachers' certificates. As now conducted, a committee of union superintendents prepares the examination questions; the questions are printed and distributed through the department of education ; the union superintendents con- duct the examinations and forward to the superintendent of education the papers written by the various applicants ; the papers are assigned to readers for rating, each reader having a single subject; the ratings are sent to the office of the superintendent of education, and upon the averages obtained certificates are issued. The advantages of this method over the former county examiner method, as pointed out by the superintendent of education, are that («) it is cheaper; (&) it furnishes a single stand- ard of rating for each subject; and {c) it fixes responsibility and centres all informa- tion concerning certificates in one office. It must be recognized that, even though immediate steps be taken for the improve- ment and extension of the agencies for the production of trained teachers, the system of formal examinations will be for a number of years the chief instrumentality for determining minimum qualifications. As a means for the encouragement of higher professional attainments on the part of the untrained teacher, the system of examina- tion and certification is open to the following criticisms: (1) The written examination questions for the first, second, and third grade certifi- cates are based too largely upon knowledge and information of a purely fonnal sort. These questions are not such as would test a candidate's teaching knowledge of the subjects of the program of studies of the elementary schools. While this criticism will apply more to the questions in some subjects than in others, it is peculiarly valid for the recent questions in arithmetic, English, history and civics, and psychology.^ It is frequently said that these examinations are easier than the free tuition examinations set for entrance to high school. There is doubtless some connection between the qual- ity of teaching in the elementary schools and the character of the written tests used to determine the initial qualification of teachers. (2) The initial and practically unconditioned periods for which first grade certifi- cates, certificates to normal school graduates, and certificates to graduates of the high school training courses are granted are all too long. All such certificates should be ' See page 31. * By the provisions of Act No. 3". Acts of 1308. * This criticism is based upon the questions used in the examin.ition piven February 29 and March 1, 1912, and February 27 and 28. 1913. TRAINING OF TEACHERS 117 granted in the form of a probationary license valid for one year only, subject to re- newal for a second probationary year upon the presentation of competent testimony as to successful and meritorious teaching. At the end of a second year of approved probationary service the certificate might be made valid for a period not exceeding five years. No certificate should be made valid "so long as the holder continues to teach in the same town," as is now the frequent legal provision governing certificates. The long life of certificates places a premium on mediocrity and removes a stimulus to professional progress. 4. The Inadequacy of the Normal Schools No question affecting the educational system of the state has provoked more argu- ment and contention during the past decade than that relating to the nomial schools. None appears more difficult of satisfactory and harmonious settlement. For many years the staunch and active supporters of the normal schools have vigorously opposed the frequent efforts that have been made to disestablish them as institutions receiving public support. The success of this opposition, notwithstanding several distinctly un- favorable reports by legislative commissions, and in spite of the recommendations of the state department of education for the past decade, testifies to the political influ- ence of the normal school supporters.' At the same time an unbiased weighing of the available impersonal evidence bearing on the situation inclines one strongly to the conclusion that, for the most part, partisan factors — political, personal, and local — rather than the educational needs of the state have largely determined the course of action. It is of the first importance objectively and accurately to analyze the real educa- tional situation of the state in this matter and to estimate its need. Nowhere is the teacher problem more acute. Of the 2110 elementary teachers who replied to the questions sent out by the commission, 555, or 26 per cent, were graduates of nor- mal schools. A few of these (74, or 13 percent) were from standard schools outside the state and were teaching in cities or towns; others (199, or 36 per cent) came from the "higher course" in the Vermont normal schools, roughly equivalent in amount to a high school course, or, in a few cases, to a two-year graduate course;^ but 282, or 51 per cent, were the product of the so-called " lower course" of the Vermont normal schools; that is, they had had a training equivalent in duration and maturity to the * The argument that the advocate for the existing normal schools presents to the members of the legislature is simple, direct, and persuasive. It runs somethinc like this: The city schools are getting everything they want in education — long terms, good schoolhouses, and paid teachers. The city children can go to school over good pave- ments, free of mud and snow. The normal schools alone are left to serve the country teacher and the country boy; they represent the only effort the state makes to equalize opportunities as between city and country. Are you going to give the towns everything and the country nothing? This is a plea that has seldom failed in the past. The answer to it is contained in the recommendations offered in this report, which propose to devote the state's money to an efficient, rather than to a deficient, service to the country schools, ' In 1911 and 1912 the three normal schools produced together 37 of these. See page 114, note 4. 118 EDUCATION IN VERMONT first two years of high school, but confined to subjects taught in the common schools. This is quite a different thing from that which the term "normal school" usually suggests — a two-year professional course following a four-year iiigh school course. One hundred and thirty-four others, or 6.4 per cent of the entire 2110, had attended normal schools, but had not graduated; 101, or 4.8 per cent, had been in training- classes. Over one-half (56 per cent) of the entire number had graduated from high school, but were without training in teaching. Aside, then, from the teachers trained in schools elsewhere or, since 1911, in the graduate courses in Vermont, and a few high school graduates who have enjoyed a year in the new training-classes, Vermont has, in the proper sense of the term, no professionally trained elementary school teachers. Though desirable, it will be for years altogether impossible for N'ermont to replace all of her rural teachers with graduates of standard normal schools. It would require double the salary, and even so, such teachers are not to be had at present in sufficient numbers for such positions. It is possible, however, for the state at once and boldly to enter upon a definite constructive policy that shall provide a constant and ade- quate supply of trained teachers, especially for her rural schools. The degree of this training and the abundance of the supply are purely economic questions. How far is Vermont willing to go in order to obtain a sufficient number of adequately trained teachers .? The annual demand for teachers is, of course, variable. Service requiring slight training and commanding low pay shifts rapidly. A liberal interpretation of the re- cently gathered statistics of the elementary teachers of the state shows that under the existing conditions of lack of training and excessively low salaries, about 450 new teachers ai'e needed each year to replace those who drop out. It is probable that as conditions improve and salaries increase, this number will become smaller. Where is Vermont to look each year for 400 new and well-trained teachers to con- duct her elementary schools in decent fashion ? It would be a grievous blunder in an- swering this question if mere political, personal, or local considerations were allowed to influence the decision; the question is far too vital and means too much to the future of the state to admit of dealing with the situation otherwise than absolutely on its merits. The solution of the problem has hitherto been sought in two directions. For nearly fifty years three, and more recently two, low-grade normal schools have been merely reviewing elementary school subjects; pupils directly from the elementary schools liave formed the great bulk of attendance, and during the ten years 1903-12 the three schools together averaged 87 graduates annually from this "lower course." Such rudimentary work is not to be despi.sed, but from the present point of view it is wholly negligible. From their "higher course," «hich alone deserves recognition here, the three schools have had during the same ten years an average combined an- nual output of eight, or, including regraduates and specials, fifteen ! What are these among 400?' • In 1913 Johnson and Castleton together graduated 72 teachers: 18 from their now two year course for high school TRAINING OF TEACHERS 119 5. The Success of the Training-classes As a second means of relieving the need, training-classes were established two years ago. In this time they have put 249 teachers into the field — 229 of them into rural schools. Of this total nearly one-third were high school graduates with the year in the training-class as additional preparation ; the remainder took the work of the train- ing-class as their senior year in high school. In maturity and weight of personality there is every reason to suppose that the training-class girls were the equals, and in the case of the graduates, the superiors, of the graduates of the old "higher course" in the normal schools ; in breadth of education they were certainly ahead ; in purely pedagogical training they were perhaps behind. There is theoretical advantage in the normal school in this latter respect: the wide variety of special subjects, such as music, drawing, nature study, and so on, can be dealt with more intensively and effectively by departmental instructors than by a single teacher in a training-class. At the same time, considering their natural limitations and their recent organization, there can be only praise for the training-classes. The teachers in most cases are admirable; the members of the classes seem well selected and, with rare exceptions, efficient; the intelligent enthusiasm of the girls is everywhere marked. On the whole, the state certainly did vastly better for its purpose with its investment of $8600 in the 126 training-class graduates in 1912, than in the $20,000 that it put into the 14 "higher course" and 28 "lower course" graduates from the normal schools during the same year. For the purposes of Vermont in its rural schools the former were probably quite as effective teachers. It seems clear, therefore, as far as actual past performance can be trusted as a guide, that in supplying trained teachers, the state will make far greater headway with the training-classes than by depending on the normal schools. Much has been affirmed as to what the normal schools might do, were they encouraged and supported ; especially if teachers' salaries were increased. A change in the last respect would undoubtedly bring betterment. The fact remains, however, that in their best days the normal schools have never been able to make their "higher course" effective in num- bers. They have served chiefly as local institutions,' and even so have not successfully risen above an inferior grade. graduates, 30 from the new "lower course" (equivalent to a four-year high school course), and 2-i from courses still lower and now discontinued by law. Of these practically all of the higher course graduates are teaching in graded schools: 49 of the 54 others are in rural schools. The attendance in 1913-14 is especially suggestive. Castleton has 61, of whom 48 are high school graduates. From these will be graduated in 1914 a class of 38, of whom 7 only are in the higher, two-year course, the remainder being from the one-year lower course for high school graduates which competes directly with the training-classes. John- son has 65 students and will graduate from its higher or two-year course, 8; from its two-year lower course, 4; and from its one-year lower course for high school graduates, 80. Both schools, therefore, are at present essentially large one-year training-classes, operating at heavy expense. 'Not including the regraduates and the graduates from the higher course, 66 per cent of the graduates from the Castleton Normal School during the past twenty years were residents of Rutland County, 44 per cent were resi- dents of Castleton and contiguous towns; 18 per cent were residents' of Castleton ; 42 per cent of the graduates of the Randolph Normal School were residents of Orange County, nearly half of whom were residents of the town of 120 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Under precisely the same conditions the training-classes have been notably success- ful. The strength of the training-class lies in its purely local application. This is clearly the explanation of its success in contrast to the normal schools; as it is the explana- tion of what success the normal schools themselves have had. It seems a logical in- ference that the rural school must expect to draw its teachers from local territory; that a school giving high-grade training for this purpose can never be large and eco- nomically conducted. The girl whose teaching ambitions take her from home to school in another part of the state is aiming higher than at a rural school position. Many a girl, on the other hand, will take a teachers course in a local high school and accept a position in the familiar country about her home. Vermont has tried in vain for fifty years to bring pupils to her training-schools; when she takes the training-schools to the pupils there is response at once. Another apparently insuperable obstacle to the success of the present normal schools as training-schools for rural teachers is the obvious lack of suitable practice facilities in the villages where the schools are located. To be rated successful for Ver- mont's purpose, these schools must each turn out 150 graduates annually, — a num- ber that would utterly swamp the little practice-classes that the village schools can provide. The training-class has here again a great advantage: its fifteen or twenty girls can be readily accommodated in the neighboring schools; they work there under more typical conditions than prevail in the somewhat artificial practice schools ; and their influence and that of their critic-teachers is in turn spread over the entire state. Moreover, the training-classes have untried possibilities. Newly organized, they have not yet learned to take full advantage of the opportunities for coiTelation with other school activities. Their work should be extended over two years and moulded into a richer vocational course utilizing all the appropriate facilities that the schools with which they are connected possess. In case the plan of high school centralization * is adopted and the state undertakes to develop 15 or 18 strong "regional " schools with full equipment, first-class teachers, and a widely varied curriculum, the teachei-s course will find the conditions nearly ideal. Apparatus and able instruction will be at hand in all special subjects for fitting the needs of these classes. The teachers in charge should be the best obtainable, and should be made permanent, with whatever assist- ance may be necessary. With wise development the state will shortly find itself in possession of 15 or 18 small but highly efllcient training-schools, each the centre for the elementary school interests of its own limited district, and each cooperating with other local agencies to unify and improve the educational conditionsin that single unit. One of the most commendable features of the training-classes is the ready and famil- iar resoi^t which they furnish for their graduates in the rural schools near by when aid and advice are needed. It would indeed be an excellent plan to give the training- Randolph; 2s per cent of the graduates of the Johnson Normal School were residentsof Lamoille County, more than half of whom were residents of Johnson. Vermont School Report, 1910, page 16. ' See page 109. TRAINING OF TEACHERS 121 class teacher supervisory powers over certain phases of the elementary teaching in her district and thus still further focus her influence. To make these training-classes permanently and adequately successful, one funda- mental reform is indispensable, and a second is highly desirable. Rural teachers must be paid higher salaries. For $7, $8, and §9 a week there must be a prospect of $10, $11, and $12. If this is done, the classes will fill up with good material; if not, they must struggle for existence. This 'is an economic problem, pure and simple. More money to the school teacher was once a matter of benevolent altruism — a charity; to-day it is a cold business necessity, the lack of which is reacting disastrously on the best resources of the community — the children. In the second place, as urged else- where in this report, the elementary school teachers should work under conditions controlled by the state. They are already prepared by state-chosen teachers in state- supported training-schools, and are subject to the state for licenses to teach; the amount of their salaries and the manner of payment should be prescribed and guar- anteed by the state, and they should be subject to state inspection and criticism. Such a step would involve no radical changes, but would give the central educational authority greatly increased influence over backward and indifferent communities, at the same time dignifying and strengthening the present somewhat uncertain position of the teacher. With these two important modifications made, there is every reason to believe that the training-classes would thrive to the limit of their capacity. Six- teen classes turning out annually an average of 20 graduates each would provide 320 teachers — ample for the rural school demand; the remainder, high grade normal graduates for city schools, may be made up otherwise. 6. A Central Training-school The teacher problem in Vermont is so predominantly a i-ural teacher problem that other phases of it sink into insignificance in comparison. There are, however, im- portant reasons for believing that the state cannot permanently confine its provi- sions for training wholly to the country school teacher. It will be well, before pro- ceeding, to consider briefly the nature of teacher training in general. There has been much obscurity on this point. It is to be feared that the term "normal school" has been used as a shibboleth to divide friends from foes without a clear idea of what such an institution really is. Usage is at present fairly consistent in applying the terms "elementary school," "secondary school," and "college" to institutions deal- ing progressively with certain fixed stages in a youth''s development ; these concep- tions are necessarily fairly stable. A teachers training-school has no such determin- ing element about it. Its standards are fixed almost wholly by the local social and economic conditions. There is no inherent reason why the kindergarten or the first grade should not be taught by university graduates or doctors of philosophy. Soci- ety simply does not yet think it necessary to buy such expensive training for that 122 EDUCATION IN VERMONT purpose. The standard of all so-called "normal schools'" or "teacher training-schools" merely reflects the current opinion that the community has of the teacher's func- tion, — the price it is willing to pay for training for a certain purpose. Vermont has paid small "wages," and has received an exceedingly low grade of training or none at all. In the product of the training-classes she is now in a fair way to introduce a very much better grade of preparation among her rural teachers. The question remains : Is there a still higher grade that she should and will provide for certain special purposes? It is important that the problem be thus clearly divided instead of allowing several conflicting purposes to be concealed under one vague name- — - normal school. In spite of the varied and confusing forms that the training of teachers assumes in America,' there is a certain dominant standard that represents for the time being the best of which the leading communities are financially capable. For elementary teachers this at present presupposes an organization offering at least two years of professional education following a complete four-year course in a high school. The instructors should have had both collegiate and professional training plus actual experience in teaching the ages for which they are now preparing teachers. The work that such a school aims to accomplisli may be considered as three-fold: («) to place a candidate in wholly confident possession of the facts in the various fields in which she is to be asked to teach ; (b) to explain as fully as possible the child mind and nature with which the teacher will have to deal, and to show what experience has found to be the most effective procedures in his education ; (c) to ensure under expert direction and criticism an actual experience as varied and comprehensive as possible, in recognizing and solving the educational problems that children present, both as individuals and in classes. Considerable laboratory work of this sort is indis- pensable, and its significance is being more and more recognized as the impotence of purely theoretical training is revealed. These three kinds of work have to do almost exclusively with professional technique, and crowded as they are into two years, leave little time for genuine cultural activity — subjects that clarify and focus one's aims, add new interests, and in general go to swell the teacher's personal equipment. Just here has been the weakness of the normal school hitherto, and new^ standards are slowly being set. There is a tendency to increase the academic work and plan the course in four years instead of two. Some elementary systems are already employing college graduates who have had normal training in addition. jMeanwhile among secondary teachers one or two years of graduate work in education are coming to dis- tinguish the fit from tlie unfit. Each additional year spent in preparation involves an 'The curricula of thirty-six representative normal sehools in thirty states vary from one to six years in length; they require for entrance from nothing to a hifrh school diploma; no one subject is required by all ; eight have no practice-teaching, nine no work in methods. Some schools train only elementary teachers, others profess to train all grades from kindergarten to college; some have one teacher to 83 students, others have one to 8; some gradu- ate one-third of their students, others one-forty-fourth. The size of normal schools varies fi-om less than 100 to more than 3000 students. TRAINING OF TEACHERS 123 additional expense both for the training and tlie subsequent salary of its beneficiary. As already pointed out, tlie fundamental (juestions are : How far does a given commu- nity think trained teachers necessary for its children? and For what amount of train- ing is it willing to pay? In Vermont it would, of course, be quite possible to continue as heretofore and allow the better positions in the state to be filled by a process of natural selection from merit in the lower grades or from material attracted from abroad. But the recom- mendations of this enquiry at another point create a situation that should by all means be taken into consideration. It is believed advisable that the smaller highschools should abandon their effort to offer a regular four-year course, and instead combine with the seventh and eighth grades to form "junior" high schools, which shall reor- ganize their work along somewhat new and different lines. If this plan is carried out, there will be at once 77 of these schools, and more will readily be formed; from 300 to 500 teachers will be needed — possibly from 50 to 75 each year. It is particularly important that the teachers in these schools should have an appropriate training. The problems of the rural community must be especially intelligible and attractive to them. For this purpose it is generally agreed that the untrained college graduate would be markedly inferior to teachers trained in a thoroughly high grade school organized and conducted with this purpose expressly in view; a "normal school," if one wishes to retain the name, — one I'equiring at least two and preferably three years in addition to a four-year high school course, and planned not to imitate the normal schools of other states, but to show teachers how to deal successfully with Vermont problems. Such a school could provide at the same time for the better gi'ade positions in cities and towns. The nature of its work would cause it to assume at once the leader- ship of the various training-classes in the state, and to operate in close affiliation with them. Its location would involve various factors. It should be central and accessible; it should be independent of other educational institutions ; it should have a good library and ample practice facilities. Such details, however, are for the new state board, recommended elsewhere, to consider and determine. 7. Recommendations It is recommended, therefore, that the state discontinue at once, as nomial schools, the two institutions now being conducted at Johnson and Castleton, and that all available funds and energy be devoted to developing and improving the training- classes and to providing better salaries for elementary teachers. It is further recom- mended that, as soon as this primary undertaking has been placed upon a thoroughly sound basis, the educational authorities take under consideration the establishment of a new central training-school to serve the needs of the state in providing teachers for its junior high schools and for positions in the higher grades of the elementary schools. 124 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The question of the training of teachers for the upper years of central high schools has been touched upon in two other sections of the report.' Although in itself a ques- tion of fundamental importance, it does not possess for Vermont the urgent character of the problems discussed above. The large majority of the secondary teachers in the state have received their training in the colleges of Vermont or of neighboring states, and it is apparent that these and similar institutions can meet the need quite adequately provided they improve their facilities for observation and practice-teach- ing, an impro\ement that can be hastened by the state's progressive insistence upon better qualifications for its certificates. ' See Section IV, paces "1 to 80, and Section XM. VI VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS This section discusses (1) the general problem of vocational education, (2) the exist- ing situation in \'erinont, and (3) its special trade schools; and presents (4) a con- structive program. The two special schools in Vermont were visited by several members of the enquiry staff, and the general study and the particular recommendations are based upon a familiarity with what is being planned and done for vocational education in this and other countries. L The Problem of Vocational Education While the entire system of schools in the United States is feeling the pressure of our changing social and economic conditions, there is perhaps no field of education in which more confusion exists than in that relating to vocational training, designated indiscriminately as industrial education or vocational or trade training. Within the last ten years schools for trade instruction have been inaugurated in many states in the Union either as a part of the public school system or related to it, but it is still true that the success of such schools, their adaptation to the needs of their com- munities, and the relation which they ought to bear to the public school system are far from being completely worked out. In inaugurating a school system as an agency of civilization, the modem demo- cratic state has in view two distinct objects: first, to develop the mind and the spirit of the youth, to teach him self-control, and thus to fit him for citizenship. This is what is generally understood as education. Secondly, it is the purpose of such a state to fit each child to become an effective economic unit in the state's life. This is voca- tional education. The state must have both ends in view and must aim to serve them both, but it must also be careful not to confuse them. It is not possible to turn the ele- mentary and secondary school into mere training-places for the vocations. To do this is to abandon the chief purpose for which these schools exist. On the other hand, it is hopeless to expect that a boy or a girl will look toward the vocational school so long as it is wholly unrelated to and separated from the common school system. In other words, the vocational school must have its roots and growth in a common school sys- tem which, while its main purpose is to educate, still educates its pupils into an appre- ciation of the economic conditions and problems of their own countryside. The ele- mentary school must develop the sympathy of the child for the conmiunity in which he lives, if it hopes to guide him successfully to a vocational school which shall prepare him for a useful life in that community. To-day the elementary school guides him away from any such vocational ideal. It does not interest its pupils in the trades that they see about them, and a school intended to train for such trades has no connection 126 EDUCATION IN VERMONT witli the common school system. There is no door by which the boy passes easily from the one to the other. It is a part of the difficult problem of every modern state both to educate for life and to train for economic productiveness, to develop both the general system of schools for citizenship and a series of special schools or courses for vocations; to have each system of schools sympathetic and helpful to one anothai' and yet not to confuse the two purposes. Several features of our American life have tended to obscure this relation between education and training, and have tended also to make the relation of the elementary schools to the trade schools more difficult. One of these difficulties lies in the great emphasis that has been placed in Amer- ica upon preparation for the professions, — particularly for the professions of law, medicine, and engineering. For these quasi-public callings there is needed not only a long preliminai'y education, but a sound course of theoretical training. The prepa- ration for a trade demands, on the other hand, a shorter preliminary education, with a technical training to give skill in tliat trade. In the United States, as in all other countries, the world lives on the trades, not on the professions. For what we eat, for what we wear, for that with which we are clothed and warmed, we depend day by day on the skill and efficiency of those who go into the trades. Society needs hundreds of skilled men in the trades where it needs one lawyer or physician or engineer. Nevertheless, on account of tlie prominence of these great professions, it has liitherto been easy, in the United States, to obtain state appropriations for the education that prepares for the professions, and difficult to get support for schools that aim to train men for the farm, for the dairy, for the car- penter's bench, or for the mechanic's lathe. This hesitation arises not alone out of the relative prominence of the great profes- sions ; it is due in great measure to the economic transition through which we are passing. Only very recently in America and in England has the school been looked to for the training of men for the trades. Apprenticeship was the door through which the boy formerly went into trade. Until recently the girl did not go into the skilled trades at all, but to-day the problem of trade education is just as important for the girl as it is for the boy. Furthermore, the apprenticeship method of training for the trades has broken down. The school is practically the only agency that society offers for the formal preparation of its youth for those fundamental and necessary vocations upon which society must always live. For this reason, therefore, the necessity for the trade school and for its right ai-ticulation with the public school system has become in America in the last twenty years a pressing economic as well as a pressing educational question. The trade schools in European countries, notably in Germany, have been carried to a high degree of efficiency. They are related in a most successful way to the system of common schools. The child who is steering toward a trade — and the great majority of all children travel in that direction — begins to differentiate in his school course between his tenth and his twelfth year, and finds open for him a trade VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS 127 school articulated with his elementary school, in which he may get the necessary grounding and skill for a successful entry into his chosen vocation. The schools that have been inaugurated to meet this need in the United States have assumed the following forms: an industrial school intended to prepare the wage- earner in the mechanical trades and industries; a trade school in agriculture planned to train the farmer, the dairyman, and the horticulturist ; a commercial school intended to give training in commercial pursuits like bookkeeping, stenography, typewriting, and salesmanship; and finally a training-school in the household arts intended to prepare those who are not wage-earners for occupations connected with the house- hold. This effort is not a new one. Fifty years ago, when the schools of agriculture and mechanic arts were started, the idea of education for the trades was a strong factor in their inauguration, but such schools at that time, and for many years after, had to meet not only the lack of an adequate elementary school system in which they might find root, but they had to meet also an almost overpowering tendency to trans- form themselves into schools for the professions. Thus, the schools of mechanic arts, founded originally — hke that at Worcester — for the training of mechanics, devel- oped into schools of engineering. The agricultural schools, instead of training men to become farmers, became training-places for scientific agriculturists, whose functions lay in the main either in teaching or in work for the Department of Agriculture. To- day the elementary school system has developed to the point at which the trade school may well find congenial soil for its roots, if only it can be rightly related to the elementary school, and if it can be held firmly to its legitimate work, — the training of youth for a trade rather than their preparation for a profession. Let us turn now to a consideration of what has been done in Vermont. 2. The Existing Situation in Vermont In the fortieth Vermont School Report — that of 1908 — the superintendent of education calls attention in an effective way to the industries of Vermont and the relation that vocational training should have to these industries. It goes without saying that the form of industrial school which any state should adopt will depend upon the trades which that state needs to foster. In this report the superintendent brings out clearly that agriculture is the principal industry of Vermont, although the state may be described rather as a state of husbandries, and that its agricultural pursuits must lie along certain lines of specialization, like butter making, sugar making, poultry raising, stock breeding, and timber growing. Next to agriculture the superintendent of education points out manufactures and their possibilities, and next to these forestry and the possibilities of timber ; and he recommends in this report that the curriculum should be enlivened and made practi- 128 EDUCATION IN VERMONT cal by the addition of such studies as would interest the student in agriculture, manufacture, and forestry. There was issued also by the superintendent of education, in 1911, a manual of agriculture designed for the guidance of teachers. This, with the introduction of serious courses in manual training, domestic science, and agricultux-e in a very few schools, constitutes the most of what has been done in the effort to make the elemen- tary school and the secondary school touch more directly the occupations of the com- munities in which the schools ai-e situated. It also goes without saying that the most effective preliminary preparation for any vocation lies in accurate and fundamental grounding in the preparatory studies of the general curriculum; for example, the knowledge of good English and of elementary mathematics are effective preliminaries to skill in any vocation. There are at present no adequate or trustworthy statistics to show the rate and amount of progress of pupils in the rural schools in the courses of instruction that look toward vocational opportunities, but the careful observer cannot avoid the infer- ence that the great bulk of the pupils who leave the rural schools have done little more than to learn to read indifferently, to write clumsily, and to make ordinary calcula- tions with difficulty, while they have not been pointed in any effective way toward any skilled vocation. Still less have they found in their school curriculum sympathy with these callings or the preparation for skill in them. The instruction in manual training and domestic science that is given in the elementary schools is confined almost wholly to the cities, and is a negligible influence so far as the larger problem of preparation for a vocation is concerned. The present elementary school system, therefore, lacks the qualities that will either interest a pupil in the trades or will give him the elementary grounding that furnishes skill in them. In the secondary schools 103 pupils were reported as studying agriculture during 1911-12 in twelve approved high schools, and 126 pupils were studying domestic sci- ence in two approved high schools, — Burlington and Rutland. Four pupils studied agriculture in one approved academy, and nine jjupils were receiving instruction in domestic science in another approved academy. A commercial course of study is found in a greater or lesser degree of organization in twenty-six of the seventy-four approved high schools, in ten of the eighteen ap- proved academies, and in seven of the twenty-five parochial schools. Eight hundred and ninety-one pupils — about one-sixth of the whole number in the approved high schools — were enrolled in commercial work, and two hundred and eighty, or about one-seventh of the pupils in the approved academies, were enrolled in similar courses. In 1908 an annual state aid of $250 was authorized for any high school or gram- mar school whose course of study included instruction in manual training approved by the superintendent of education. The total expenditure for this purpose was lim- ited to $5000, a sum sufficient to subsidize twenty schools at the rate assumed. Only four schools were receiving such aid in 1911-12. The legislature of 1912 amended VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS 129 the act of 1908 by providing for an annual state aid of $200 for high school courses in agriculture, in domestic science, and in manual training, but this amendment did not become effective until July 1, 1913. This brief statement shows in sufficient detail what steps have been taken on the part of the state to inti'oduce into the cur- riculum studies that make for vocational skill. In the main these studies — such, for instance, as manual training — serve to enrich the curriculum and to interest the pupil of the elementary and secondary school in vocational subjects. They are not intended to transform the schools into trade schools. 3. Special Trade Schools In the establishment of distinct trade schools, also, Vermont has been conserva- tive. Only one school that may be fairly called a distinctive trade school of the elementary type is to-day in existence upon state foundation. This is the Randolph State School of Agriculture. In 1910, when the Randolph Normal School was discon- tinued, there was established in its stead a state school of agriculture for the purpose of " developing the agricultural resources of the state through practical instruction in agriculture, including tillage, crop raising, gardening, orcharding, forestry, dairy- ing, stock raising, farm management, marketing, and the allied subjects of domestic science and the manual arts." It will be noted that the field of this school has been made so broad that it may touch almost any trade that has any connection vnth agriculture. The state provided .?20,000 for the purchase of real estate, the erection of buildings, and the provision of equipment, and an annual appropriation of $10,000 has been made for the maintenance of the school. The Randolph State School of Agriculture began its work in the fall of 1911, enrolling fifty-six young men during the year 1911-12. The principal of the school reported, March 24, 1913, eighty-three students enrolled dui'ing the year 1912-13, of which number seventy-two were in attendance. The average age of entrance was between sixteen and seventeen. The majority of the students came from the distinc- tively rui-al communities of the state, with the educational equipment furnished by the rural schools. About half of the pupils had one or more years of high school work. During the past year eleven of the fourteen counties were repi-esented in the enrolment of the school. This school offers a two-year course of instruction for pupils with only a common school preparation, a one-year course for high school graduates, and a six weeks' winter course in dairying and general agriculture. A special elective course of one year is also announced. There is no doubt of the desirability of such a school as the Randolph School proposes to be. It is well located, and while not fully equipped as yet for carrying on effectively its practical instruction, its promise is large. It is a vocational school in the proper sense of that term. The legislature of 1912 appropriated S5000 for the special purposes of the school and S25,000 for the construction of a dormitory. 130 EDUCATION IN VERMONT A second school of the Randolph type was authorized by the legislature of 1912 (Act No. 67), to be located in Addison or Rutland County. The location and estab- lishment of such school were conditioned upon the approval of the governor and the educational commission. An appropriation of §20,000 was provided for construction and also an annual appropriation of §10,000 for maintenance. In 1910, tiirough the generosity of Mr. Theodore N. \'ail, a school of agriculture was organized in connection with the Lyndon Institute at Lyndonville. While the school is separate from the institute, the arrangements are such that the two insti- tutions cooperate in the use of buildings and the employment of some of the teachers. The object of this school of agriculture is to give "practical and theoretical in- struction to Vermont boys who have neither the money nor inclination to pursue an extensive college course. The agricultural school is strictly a farmer's school, and it aims to educate students along the various lines of work that will be met with on the farm and in the home life. It is not intended to fit students for college, but to furnish a line of training that will be of immediate use in farming and its allied in- dustries, like carpentry, blacksmithiiig, masonry, and concrete work, preparing the students not only to do farm work intelligently, but also to do for themselves prac- tically all the other work in connection with the farm, such as the repairing of build- ings from basement to roof and the repairing of wagons and machinery ; in a general way, making them independent of any outside skilled labor and also putting them in a position to assist their neighbors whenever spare time may permit." The course covers a period of two years of nine months each. The theoretical work is given at the Lyndon Institute, while the practical work is done in the shops and on the school farm. Pupils who have passed the state examinations for free tuition in secondary schools are admitted. A few pupils are admitted who have not had the requisite amount of preparation, provided they satisfy the dii-ector of their ability to pursue the work with profit. The annual expense of attendance, about S200, must be met by all pupils. This is done in two ways, either by cash payments or by work. Under the work payment system the school offers a few scholarships to Vermont boys, financially unable to pay their way. These scholarships enable the holders to pay their expenses by manual labor during vacation periods as well as during term time. Each pupil on the cash payment system is required to do six hundred hours of farm work before a certificate of graduation will be given. During 1911-12, fifty pupils were enrolled, twenty -seven in the second (Senior) year, all of whom came from Vermont, and twenty-three in the first (Freshman) year, five of whom came from Massachusetts. During 1912-13, seventeen second year pupils and thirty-six first year pupils were enrolled, a total of forty-three, ten of whom came from other states. For its regular class-room work the school utilizes the building of tlie Lvndon In- stitute. For its own special purposes it has a well -equipped shop-building, containing VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS 131 the blacksmith and carpenter shops; adequate farm buildings — horse stable, dairy barn, poultry house, root cellar, and so on ; work horses, herds of cattle, poultry, swine; a school farm consisting of over one hundred acres of tillage land divided into upland and lowland. In addition the practical resources of Mr. Vail's "Speedwell Farms" are at the disposal of the school. The study plan of the school provides a care- fully worked out combination of class-room instruction and practical work, under the direction of a competent staff of teachers. In addition to its usual teaching activ- ities the school has undertaken considerable agricultural extension work, such as orchard demonstrations, dairy testing, and farmers' institutes. These two schools are trade schools in the ti'ue sense, and they are seeking a rational and safe relation to the school system. They constitute to-day the only serious at- tempts in the state of Vermont to deal with vocational training. 4. A Constructive Progkam The school problem in Vermont, as in all other states, lies in the question how best to utilize the time of children from six to eighteen years old, so that these shall contribute in the most direct way both to citizenship and to economic efficiency. The state to-day compels the attendance in school of normal children between the ages of eight and fifteen inclusive for at least twenty-eight weeks of each year. Unless, however, the state is able to provide means by which the time of its children is more profitably and more economically used in school than it is at present, there is no jus- tice either from the standpoint of morals, education, or economics in its monopoly of the years of compulsory school attendance. The pi'esent situation lends itself to a regime under which the communities suffer from idlers who are idlers because they have not been taught to do work that is based upon the acquirement of skill. What ought the state to do in order not only to develop the intellectual and moral qualities of its children, but also to fit them to become economically productive.'' The first step in the answer to this question has been made in the policy that has been outlined for the reform of the school cui'riculum in the elementary and secondary school and for the reorganization of the educational administi'ation. No successful system of trade schools can be effected until the general system of public schools is efficient and is in sympathy wth the economic problems of their environment. On this basis, a policy similar to that suggested for the training of rural teachers would appear to meet the situation most quickly and completely. This would involve the establishment of a thorough vocational course in agriculture in the lower or junior division of each of the proposed central or regional high schools. Such action would provide 15 or 18 stations for teaching the principles of fanning to boys from 12 to 16 years of age. The sole purpose would be to make successful farmers. As compared with special schools, such a plan has the advantage of economy, it will serve a larger area, and can be introduced as soon as competent teachers and a modest equipment 132 EDUCATION IN VERMONT can be secured. It could not hope to duplicate the facilities that the school at Randolph enjoys, but the great majority of these central schools would be so situated as to bring fully adequate facilities for this purpose within easy reach. With right en- couragement and advice it is hardly too much to expect each such community even- tually to develop its own model farm. In the two upper years of the central school advanced courses should be provided for such pupils as wish to become teachers, farm managers, or special experts, and who will probably go on to a college of agriculture. It goes without saying that a first-class insti-uctor should be employed — preferably a graduate of the state agricultural college. Under his direction the department as a whole should become the centre of agricultural experiment and instruction for the entire vicinity; it should maintain close relations with the agricultural college, and serve as a distributing point for its literature and advice. For the requisite academic work the courses in agriculture should cooperate with all other courses in the inter- ests of economy. Following this fundamental step, the state could then proceed to develop gradu- ally vocational schools for the training of its youth in those activities upon which the economic welfare of Vermont depends. To-day it is clear that her greatest opportunity lies in the intensive development of her agricultural resources. The beginning of this intensive development must be made in the rural schools through a form of instruction and a method of organization that will cause agriculture and its attendant activities to become to the boys and girls of the state a vocational goal worth striving for. Supplemental to the instruction given in the public school systems, there will need to be developed a certain number of schools of the type existing in Randolph and Lyndonville, but the number of such schools, their location, their relation to the ele- mentary school system, and their development must lie in the hands of the educa- tional administration of Vermont. This is necessary for two reasons. First of all, the adaptation of the vocational schools to our American conditions has not yet been thoroughly worked out. One cannot transfer bodily the German trade school to America. It has taken generations to develop this trade school in Germany, and it has depended in large measure for its success upon the German stratificjition of soci- ety. The son of the small tradesman, of the mechanic, of the railway employee in Germany expects to remain in the social plane in which he has been born. The whole arrangement of society steers him naturally and easily into a trade. This situation does not exist in America. In the second place it must be realized that experiments in trade schools are the most costly of educational experiments, just as their successful conduct is economi- cally the most profitable. The following table from the report of the Wisconsin Com- mission upon plans for the extension of industrial and agricultural training (1911), showing the expense of the county schools of agriculture of that state, contains per- tinent evidence upon this point. VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS County Schools of Agriculture of Wisconsin. Financial Statistics, I9II 133 County Pupils enrolled Total Cost per Pupil Cost to State per Pupil Cost to County per Pupil 93 40 49 157 78 $112 179 121 91 91 S43 100 81 26 52 79 39 These county schools of agriculture correspond in general to the State School of Agriculture at Randolph, where, with an enrolment of 83, the total cost per pupil amounted, in 1912-13, to $147.55. In addition, such experience as we have had shows that the trade school, whether agricultural or mechanical or commercial, is in the main a local school. The necessity for pupils to leave home to attend an adequate school increases so enormously the burden of family and individual expense that such schools must be easily accessible. While, therefore, it seems clear that the organization charged with the administra- tion of the schools of the state should proceed as rapidly as possible to take up the problem of trade education, it should proceed with fair conservatism. It is perfectly clear that one step in such a development should be some sort of relation between the State Agricultural College and the training-schools in agri- culture. Here are two distinct forms of institution, but it would be undesirable that they should be developed without relation to each other as they have been hitherto, and one of the problems of the board of education in its development of agricultural trade schools must be the establishment of a fruitful relationship between the State Agricultural College and the trade schools of agriculture. While the trade of agriculture is to-day that one whose development would have most significance for Vermont, it goes without saying that there are other vocations into which the youth of the state go and for which they should have opportunity for a technical fitting. The list of the gainful occupations in Vermont for which voca- tional training might be specially devised shows great diversity, but brings out the fact that the pursuits of agriculture are those which at this time offer the widest opportunity for the state's action. A wise program in the formation of vocational schools would seem to be, first, the reform of the public school system so that the youth of Vermont may be educated toward the occupations of the communities in which they live; secondly, the estab- lishment at each of the proposed regional high schools, in its four-year junior divi- sion, of a high grade vocational course in agriculture for bovs from 12 to 16 years of age, and in its senior division of advanced courses for older pupils ; thirdly, the gradual formation under the direction of the board of education of trade schools in agriculture rightly related both to the public school system and to the Agricultural College; and finally, the investigation by the state board of the question of trade courses or schools for other vocations. VII RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS The matter of records and accounts naturally came to the attention of several mem- bers of the enquiry staff. A special study was made of the situation in some twenty towns. Business Administration The most practical improvement suggested by tliis study of the business admin- istration of the Vermont schools is that a uniform method of accounting should be adopted by the towns. The blanks on which the towns supply their data to the state are at present uni- form, but the accounting methods and results are variable. Unless these methods and results also are uniform, it is not possible for the state to receive correct informa- tion. The essential object of the method of accounting should be an exhibition of the true revenue and expenditure of the schools of the town. Only by adopting this method can uniform results be secured. Instead of the true revenue and expenditure, most of the town reports contain merely a summary of the actual receipts and payments, and these reports of itemized expenditures are cast in such variable forms that no two of them are alike. A report of actual receipts and payments is inadequate, because the total payments made by a concern during a year do not necessarily exhibit the total expenditures, or the total cash receipts do not necessarily exhibit the real income. Thus, if a corporation's income is SI 0,000 for a certain period, and during that period it lives on its credit and does not pay the charges accruing, which amount say to S9000, to report that its expenditures were nil because no bills were actually paid does not, standing alone, convey a true statement of the facts. If these unpaid bills of one period are paid during the next period, this does not make the payments, standing alone, the true expenditure for the second period; a deficit thus caused in the second period, if unexplained, is misleading. The method suggested below enables the towns to show, in addition to their actual receipts and payments, their true income and expenditure also. The state will thus be coiTectly informed. The absence, in most town reports, of statements giving the real resources and lia- bilities of the schools has produced a divergence of practice in regard to the funds. In some towns an accumulated deficit is carried forward as a school debt, but the custom is not uncommon for towns merely to charge or credit the General Funds of the town with school deficits, or with surplus revenue from the schools, as the case may be. There is nothing complex in the suggested method of accounting from an acount- ant's standpoint, but it must be remembered that a form to carry out this method would be used by several hundred towns, and by as many officials, most of whom pos- sess no especial accounting qualifications. The problem, therefore, is to prepare a form RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 135 that will be simple enough to be comprehended by all who use it, and that will yet obtain the desired result. The form must exhibit the finances of the town schools so as to give, in genei-al, a presentation of the accounts in such a form that the distribution of the expenditure for different items in school control and school instruction can be seen at a glance. It is desirable to use, or if necessary adopt, the forms recommended bv the United States Bureau of Education and the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association.' Legal Date of Reports One reason for the absence of correct accounting in the Vermont schools is found in the imperfect time sequence imposed by law. Two financial reports are required. One of them, an itemized statement under oath of the actual cash expenditures of the town for school purposes for the fiscal year ending June 30, must be filed with the town clerk by July 3. This report is for the information of the state authorities in apportioning the state aid, and is a prerequisite for such aid, the law requiring that it be transmitted to the superintendent of educa- tion by July 10. The other report required by law is a full record of the actions of the board of school directors, together with an exhibit of the orders drawn for school pur- poses. This also must be filed with the town clerk by July 15, and in a printed form. The state aid, an important element in the full report due on July 15, is thus de- pendent upon the preliminar\- report due on July 10. But it is evident that the amount of the state aid can hardlv be calculated on the basis of the July 10 report and an- nounced in time to be of use in the report due on July 15. The full report on July 15 must thus be necessarily defective in an essential respect. This difficulty, imposed by the law itself upon the school directors, has prevented serious attempts to improve the accounting. It has also, probably, had an effect even upon the prehminarv' itemized statement. Such anomalies generaDy arise, as is true probably in this case, fi'om laws passed at difi^erent times, and vriih different objects, and toa failure to haraionize them. The remedy is simple. The law should be amended so as to require the school directors to bring the fiscal year to a close on June 30, but to file their full report on September 1 instead of on July 15. This would enable the report, by including the state aid, to give the true revenue and expenditures. In addition to this simple yet essential change it should further be enacted that the school directors be required to ascertain the entire indebtedness for loans and unpaid bills up to June 30, and to incorporate these articles in the preliminary statement furnished to the state. To this end, the law should pronde further that all bills and claims bv creditors, with the necessary' showing of details, should be rendered at an early date after Jime 30, say by July 5. Appropriate penalties for delay > U. S. Bnrean of Education Balletin. 1912, No. 3. Whole number. 471. 136 EDUCATION IN VERMONT beyond that day would ensure this presentation. The requirement for this speedy closing of the fiscal year's accounts should greatly expedite the preparation of the current indebtedness as it stands on June 30. The items that should be included in the preliminary report of the school direc- tors, and the form in which it would seem best to cast these items, along with a sug- gested form for the complete and final report for the schools of a town, will be found in the bulletin on uniform records and reports to which reference has been made. These improvements in the form of accounting and in the time sequence that will enable it to be done correctly are the most important suggestions that need to be made. There are, however, numerous changes in other documents, which, while of less moment, would contribute much toward the efticiency of the schools' business admin- istration. Records and Meetings In the Vermont to^vn, the board of school directors being the school authority in which is vested by law the disbursement of the school funds, the record of its pro- ceedings is the foundation of the school transactions and should be kept with care. The keeping of this record is the duty of the clerk, who is appointed by the board. The law requires the keeping of "a permanent record of the proceedings of the board."' This "Permanent Record" should be kept according to a more businesslike system than the present. A bound book should be provided for this purpose, and the book should bear the caption, " Permanent Record." In this book should appear the min- utes of the proceedings of the board, and especially the following: 1. The election of the chairman. 2. The appointment of the clerk, and his resignation should that occur. 3. Memoranda of all agreements pertaining to the appointment of teachers, the regulation of their salaries, etc. 4. Memoranda of all contracts made by the board, especially contracts for the transportation of children. 5. A clear definition of the period covered by the school term. The school district will thus have, in a form to which reference can always be made, the fundamental facts upon which the administration and the financial opera- tions of the district depend. The law provides^ that the board must hold its first meeting on or before the third day of July, in order to organize and elect a chairman. Other meetings are left to the discretion of tiie board. This seems wise and allows each board to meet its own local exigencies. The method of calling a meeting is not of great importance, but it might be well to provide specifically that it be done by the clerk upon the request of any one of the directors. ' Chapter 46, section 999. ' Chapter 45, section 989. RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 137 Disbursement of School Moneys The law,^ in the section defining the duties of the board of school directors, pro- vides that they shall "draw orders on the town treasurer"' in payment of the ex- penses incurred by them in the management of the schools. The method of attesting the order varies, the law apparently leaving to the discre- tion of the board whether orders shall be signed by all three of the directors. In prac- tice sometimes one director signs the order for himself and his co-directors, the fact being indicated by the identity of the handwTiting. In one instance it was found that blank orders were signed in advance by two directors, leaving the body of the order to be filled in by the third director when he added his signature. It is suggested that each order for the disbursement of money for school purposes shall bear the actual signature of two directors. It might be even better to alter the law and remit to the clerk alone the ministerial function of signing the orders. The board would thus be the executive authority in the school district, and the clerk the official who would certify the expenses authorized by it. This would simplify the administration, but the minutes of the board would have to be kept with great care, and the clerk should be disabled by law from holding any incompatible office, such as that of town treasurer. The statement of the pui-pose for which orders are drawn was found in many cases to be inadequate. Orders often show only such statements as : " Pay to the order of John Doe thirty dollars for transportation and charge same to account of moneys ap- propriated for school purposes." Such an order indicates merely the fact that a cer- tain individual is paid for transporting children to school, but it lacks the essential facts of the number of children transported and the period of time covered by the transportation, so as to ascertain whether the service for which the order is drawn is authorized by the contract for transportation. A bill should be rendered at the end of each school term by each person author- ized to transport children, and should contain the name of the school for which the children were transported, the names of the children carried, and the period of time over which the transportation was made. The order should refer directly to the bill, so that verification of the facts may be possible. The orders for the payment of the teachers' salaries are very frequently drawn as loosely as those for transportation. It is common to find such orders merely specify- ing "for teaching weeks." The orders for teachers' salaries should contain the following: (a) Name of teacher (d) Number of weeks (b) Name or number of school (e) Rate per week (r) Dates of the period covered (J") Amount to be paid It is a simple matter to have on hand a regular printed blank showing these items. ' Chapter 45. section 990. 138 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Supplies and other Expenditures The orders for the payment of other expenditures sometimes specify merely "for •suppHes" or "for labor." These orders should contain a reference to the bill and show generally the nature of the supplies or expense and the date thereof. The bill should contain an itemized statement. The purchasing system would be improved if the school directors were to purchase only on written requisitions, which should be kept in book form with duplicate carbon copies. When the bills are received the items should be compared with the requisi- tion, and the fact that the bill had been received should be noted on the duplicate, in order that it may be determined readily what bills have not been received and consequently what is the outstanding indebtedness. If these suggestions were adopted, the orders for the disbursement of school moneys would show, in a general way, all the necessary information that would enable one not acquainted with local affairs to acquire a clear conception of the purpose of the order, and of its details. The orders should have securely affixed to them the bills for which they authorize the payment. After the audit by the local auditors, the orders with the bills attached should be filed in the same succession in which they appear in the town treasurer's cash-book, and they should remain in the custody of the town treasurer for future reference. Payment of Teachers' Salaries No regularity prevails as to the payment of teachers. The salary has been paid for as short a period as one week. Usually the payment is for from four weeks to a school term. It is certainly desirable that school teachers, like all other classes of persons on salary, should be paid at regularly fixed intervals. The complication that exists is caused by the general methods of financing the town. The taxes come in irregularly, and the treasury of a town is often, therefore, so low as to make regular payments difficult. The town, however, should not shift this burden to the shoulders of the school teachers; it would be better for it to borrow money for short intervals and to pay the teachers regularly. The law provides^ that "a teacher in the public schools of any town shall be en- titled to receive monthly payment of wages due under the contract of said teacher with such town, provided such teacher demands of the Ijoard of school directors such montldy payment." This principle of monthly payments should be canied into effect, and it would seem wise to make it mandatory. ' No. 45. Acts of 1908. sectic RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 139 Transportation The law provides* that "said board may, in its discretion, provide conveyances for pupils to and from school at the expense of the town from such points as it desig- nates, or may pay a reasonable sum for the board of such pupils while in attendance upon school." Any person interested may appeal from the decision of the board. ^ The conveyances are owned by the towns in some cases, but in no instance was it found that the towns owned the horses. The supplying of horses is included in the contract with the individuals operating the conveyance. Parents of pupils are al- lowed to furnish transportation for their own children as well as for others residing in the same neighborhood, and are paid therefor. Frequently it appears that parents so contracting are lacking in public spirit and drive rather hard bargains with the school directors ; well-to-do people are found who derive revenue from transporting their own children to school. Contracts for transportation are occasionally put into writing, but in most cases they are based upon a verbal understanding with the board. Sometimes no agreement of any kind is made with the board beforehand, but when the period of transportation is over a settlement is negotiated between the town and the parties engaged in the work, and usually such a settlement is not in favor of the town. It is suggested with some emphasis that in every case of a contract for transpor- tation, the contract should be made before the commencement of the school term, should be in writing, and should embody all details, such as compensation and the number of children to be transported, which might later be masters of material dis- pute. The contract signed by both parties in interest sliould be retained by the clerk of the board of school directors and recorded in the permanent records. These suggestions, taken in connection with the forms that are recommended for rendering the reports, would provide a business system for the Vermont schools that would be quite adequate to the public needs, and one sufficiently simple to be prac- tically available. * Chapter 46 of the General Laws, section 1006. ' Chapter 46 of the General Laws, sections 1007. 1008. VIII THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Beginning in 1782 with a general provision for school support at the option of the towns, the requirements for school maintenance have been steadily advanced. In 1866 the common schools became entirely free. In 1902 the state tax was increased to eight cents, in 1904 every town was required by law to provide for secondary instruction, in 1906 state aid for transportation of pupils was voted, in 1908 state aid for man- ual training, in 1910 state aid for teachers' training courses in high schools, and in 1912 there was a consolidation of state school funds. State Revenues applied to Elementary and Secondary Schools Until the passage by the legislature of 1912 of an act providing for the consoli- dation and distribution of the state school funds, the state revenues applied to ele- mentary and secondary schools were as follows : («) A State School Tax was assessed annually at the rate of eight per cent upon the grand list,' and after receipt at the state treasury was apportioned by the state board of education 2 and paid to the several towns and cities in proportion to the number of legal schools maintained during the preceding school year. In making the general ap- portionment, $-15,000 was deducted from the total and divided among the towns rais- ing fifty per cent or more of their grand list for school purposes. The grand list is one per cent of the assessed value of the real and personal property plus the ratable polls. The report of the state treasurer shows that the eight per cent tax for 1911 amounted to $165,632.41. After deducting the $45,000 reserve, $120,632.41 remained for ap- portionment among 2425 legal schools. For 1912 this tax amounted to $176,603.75, which, less the $45,000 reserve, left $131,603.75 available for apportionment among 2397 legal schools.' (b) The Permanent Public School Fund was created in 1906 by combining the $240,000 returned by the national government to the state in settlement of Civil War claims, the Huntington Fund of $211,131.46, and the United States Deposit Fund of $669,086.79, making a total of $1,120,218.25. The principal of the fund amounted to $1,120,596.40 on June 30, 1912. The income has been apportioned to the several towns, according to the number of legal schools maintained,* $15,000 being deducted from the total in making the general apportionment and divided among towns raising fifty per cent or more of their grand list for school purposes. Aside from the $15,000 ' Section 1091 of the Public Statutes. ' In accordance with the provisions of sections 1096 and 1096 of the Public Statutes, as amended by Nos. 34 and 47 of the Acts of 1908. ' The apportionment for 1911 was $120,602.16; for 1912. $131,876.63. * Under the provisions of section 1084 of the Public Statutes. FINANCIAL SUPPORT OP THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Ul reserve, there was distributed from this source $36,361.31 in 1911, and $34,807.49 in 1912.1 (c) The Transportation Aid of $20,000 appropriated annually for the payment of transportation and board of resident pupils in attendance upon the elementary schools in the several towns.^ In 1912 the sums distributed varied from $15.67 to the towns in Grand Isle County to $3,118.75 to those in Windsor County, and from nothing to four towns to more than $750 to the town of Springfield. {(!) Union Supervision Aid. Since 1906' the state agrees to pay annually to the towns concerned, toward the salary of the union superintendent, the sum of $1000 when the annual salary of the superintendent is not less than $1250, and in addition thereto one-half of the excess above $1200 of any superintendent's salary; such addi- tional apportionment to any one union not to exceed .$300. Under the provisions of this law there was paid to the several towns under union supervision for 1911 the sum of $44,224.99, and for 1912 the sum of .$50,843. (e) Rebate for Advanced Instruction. Chapter 47 of the Public Statutes requires towns either to maintain a high school or to provide for the payment of the tuition, in other schools, of pupils desiring secondary school advantages. Section 1023 of this chapter contains certain provisions for state aid to towns paying this tuition. On the basis of tuitions not exceeding $24 per year, there was paid to towns expending for school purposes fifty per cent or more of the grand list, one-half of the amount expended for tuitions; to towns expending sixty per cent or more, three-fourths of the amount, and to towns expending seventy per cent or more, the entire amount. By the terms of Act No. 72, Acts of 1912, an appropriation of $59,982.51 was made for the payment of the rebates for advanced in.struction for 1911 and 1912. The sec- tion providing for the payment of these rebates was repealed by section 9, Act No. 76, Acts of 1912. Consolidated School Fund.* In 1912 the receipts from the eight percent state tax and the revenue from the interest on the permanent school fund were, together with an annual appropriation of $50,000, consolidated into a single fund for apportionment and distribution among the various towns and other school imits for the encourage- ment of public education. By the establisliment of this consolidated fund the former provisions for special state aid for advanced instruction, and for transportation and boai-d of pupils, were repealed. This consolidated fund is to be apportioned according to the following graduated scheme : (a) On account of cuiTent expenses. To^vns devoting more than 50 per cent of their grand list to current school expenses shall receive 40 per cent of this excess ; those so devoting more than 60 ' The total of this distribution, talien from the report of the state treasurer for 1911-12. page 71. is $101,168.80. ' By the provisions of section 1014 of the Public Statutes. ' Section 941 of chapter 42 of the Public Statutes. * By the provisions of Act No. 76, Acts of 1912 (approved February 22, 1918). 142 EDUCATION IN VERMONT per cent shall receive, in addition, 20 per cent of such excess ; and those so de- voting more than 70 per cent shall receive, in addition, 10 per cent of this last excess. (b) On account of tuition for advanced instruction. Towns expending 50 per cent of their grand list for cuiTent school expenses shall receive 25 per cent of their annual expenditure for high school or academy tuition up to $30 per student per year; those which so expend 70 per cent of their grand list shall receive 50 per cent of their outlay for tuition with the same limit. To make this effective, the average weekly salary of the elementary school teachers must not exceed $11, nor may the annual number of weeks of elementary school exceed 36. (c) On account of transportation and board. Towns shall receive 25 per cent or 50 per cent of their expenditure for transpor- tation and board on the same terms as in (6), with the same proviso as to salaries and number of weeks of school. (d) On account of trained teachers. Towns shall receive one dollar per week for each graduate of a normal school, training course, or recognized kindergarten training-school who is employed as a teacher in a rural school. Such graduate must be legally qualified and certified, and must have received not less than $7, exclusive of board, as a beginner, and at least $8 after 30 weeks of teaching in rural schools since graduation. (e) The remainder of the fund shall be divided among the towns and unorgan- ized units according to the number of legal scliools in each, provided that : (1) When a school has been discontinued the town shall be entitled to its share as a legal school for one year after its discontinuance; to one-half of such share for the second year, and to one-fourth of such share for the third year after discontinuance. (2) A town expending less than 40 per cent of its grand list for cun-ent school purposes shall forfeit a corresponding percentage of its share of the remainder of the fund, and the sum forfeited shall be credited to the fund. (3) The school board shall furnish to the town clerks on or before July 3 an- nually, swoni statements of data concerned in the above provisions; and the town clerks shall, on or before the 10th of July, certify the same to the super- intendent of education. Local Support for Elementary and Secondary Schools Each town in the state is obliged to maintain for at least twenty-eight weeks in a year (one hundred and fifty days, including the usual holidays and others allowed by law) a sufficient number of elementary schools for the instruction of children who mav legally attend the public schools in that towiL These schools are to be located in such places and held at such times as, in the judgment of the board of school directors, will FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 143 best serve the interests of education and so far as practicable give the pupils of the town equal advantages. The board of school directors is authorized to provide convey- ance for pupils to and from school at the expense of the town, or to pay a reasonable sum for the board of such pupils while in attendance upon school (Public Statutes, chapter 46). A special state aid is granted to towns furnishing transportation and board for their resident pupils in attendance upon elementary schools. The establishment and maintenance of kindergartens and evening schools by towns is also authorized. The statutes (section 1017) require that a town must maintain a high school or furnish higher instruction for its advanced pupils as follows: "The board of school directors shall, at an expense not to exceed eight dollars a term or twenty-four dol- lars a year for each pupil, unless the board is authorized by vote of the town to pay a higher tuition, provide and arrange for the instruction of advanced pupils in a high school of an incorporated district or an academy within the town, or with high schools or academies of other towns within or without the state." If a town does not main- tain a high school of the first class (four years), the board must provide and arrange for the instruction of the advanced pupils of the town in other schools for the re- maining years necessary to complete the course or courses of study in a high school of the first class. Special state aid is provided under certain conditions to towns paying tuition for advanced instruction. The chief source of support for the elementary and secondary schools of the town is through a local tax of not less than twenty per cent of the grand list. The grand lists of the 268 towns and other school tax units for 1912 ranged from $342 to $167,588; the median was about $4500, that is, half paid more and half paid less than this amount.' The per cent of tax levy in the 268 towns and school tax units for which reports were made for 1912 ranged from 20 to 140 per cent of their grand lists. The median was about 65 per cent.' Tlie per capita yield of the local tax levy in the several towns and taxing units for 1912, on the basis of the number of census children^ between five and seventeen years inclusive, i-anged from $5.50 to $83.91. The median local tax yield for school purposes was about $16.' Total Resources for Elementary and Secondary Education For the fiscal year 1912 the amounts from the principal sources of operating revenue * Details are given in Part IIL ^ The calculation is based on the school census rather than on the average daily attendance, because the latter, although a better basis, is made complicated and uncertain by pupils living in one tovpn and attending school In another. 144 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Local tax $1,296,564 State tax 165,080 Permanent School Fund 51,244 Special state aids 71,325 Miscellaneous, including tuitions, school lands, bequests, etc. 88,683 Totai 11,672,896 Broadly speaking, out of every dollar available for the maintenance of the ele- mentary and secondary schools, in the several town and school areas, 77.5 cents comes from local taxation; 10 cents from the state school tax; 3 cents from the perma- nent school fund ; 4.2 cents from special aids granted by the state ; and 5.3 cents from miscellaneous sources. Expenditures for Elementary and Secondary Schools A financial comparison between the public school system of 1892 and the school system of two decades later makes possible certain interesting and illuminating con- clusions. The number of pupils enrolled in 1892 and 1912 was substantially the same, approximately 65,000. The average daily attendance increased during this period from 45,057' to 52,160, or nearly 16 per cent. The total expenditures for the mainte- nance of elementary and secondary schools during the fiscal year 1892 were reported as $743,543, of which amount $549,980, or about 74 per cent, went for teachers' sala- ries. In 1912 the expenditures for current expenses amounted to $1,672,709, of which $968,882, or about 58 per cent, went for teachers' salaries. To view the situation from another angle, while the total expenditures have increased about 125 per cent dur- ing the past twenty years, the amount expended for teachers' salaries has been raised only about 76 per cent. The average cost per pupil in daily attendance rose from $16.50 in 1892 to nearly $24 in 1912, an increase of nearly 50 per cent. During this time the potential resources, that is, the taxable property, increased about 30 per cent —the grand list of the state being $1,600,000 for 1892^ and $2,193,091 for 1912. Direct State Support and Educational Standards A large number of comparisons similar in general character to those just made might be presented as indicative of the effort being put forth by the state and the towns to support the public schools. It is essential, however, not to obscure the remaining fact that the state needs yet to provide both for a greater equalization of the burden of school support among the communities of the state and for a further ' The average daily attendance for 1882 was reported as 47,772. ^ Estimated on the number of polls, and the value of real and personal property as given in the Report of the Spe- cial Commission on Taxation of Vermont, 1S08. FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 145 enlargement of the funds to be used for the elementary and secondary schools, if these schools are to be conducted on the high level requisite for the progressive welfare of the state. The urgencies of the educational situation revealed in the portions of this report dealing with the niral and the secondary schools are such that additional expenditures on the part of the state must be resolutely faced. It is not a question of how much Vermont is expending per capita. It is a question of developing a school system equal to the needs of its people. The development of the state's school system during the past twenty years has already been greatly stimulated by direct state subsidies. The proportion of the total expense for the maintenance of the elementary and secondary schools borne directly by the state was considerably increased during the decade 1902-12. The increase of the state school tax from five per cent to eight per cent in 1900, the grants of state aid for transpoi-tation and board of pupils, for advanced instruction and for union supervision, and the establishment of the permanent public school fund are impor- tant items of this increased proportion. In the granting of state aid to the lower schools two distinct ends are now gener- ally recognized by American states: (1) to equalize the resources of local communi- ties with which to meet definite educational needs, and (2) to stimulate local commu- nities to further educational effort. Vermont's plan of apportioning state funds seeks to accomplish both of these ends. The necessities of equalization are exhibited by the tables that have been cited, showing the varying amounts, among the different towns, of money raised per census child between the ages of five and seventeen and the varying percentages of the grand list raised for school purposes. In 1912, 772 schools, or practically one-third of the entire number, had 15 pupils or less. With this condition, all calculations of expense based upon the pupil are un- sound, even though showing a per capita cost that is equal to or above that of other to^vns or states. The principal item of school cost is the salary of the teacher. A nor- mal expenditure per pupil in small schools means a low salary level for the teachers. This combination of many small schools with a high average cost per pupil explains Vermont's rank of fourteenth among the states of the Union in the average annual expense per child as compai'ed with her rank of forty-third in the average annual sal- ary of teachers.^ It seems clear that the general standard of the elementary schools of the state will be raised only through an enlargement of the state's direct support of these smaller schools, coupled with an intelligent and expert educational oversight on the part of the state. The inauguration of an administrative system of efficient type will reduce certain expenses, but in the long man the state must spend more money to obtain a steadily improved system of schools. No other investment that the state can make will return so great a profit. 146 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Principle upon which State School Funds should be distributed The practice recently and most widely followed in the distribution of state funds to local communities has had in view solely the justice of the distribution, and has therefore based its award upon the school census or upon some form of school attend- ance. The plan at present in operation in Vermont makes its major grant depend sim- ply on the number of legal schools, without regard to their size, or efficiency, or the wealth of the community that maintains them. Both of these plans are characteristic of the period when the state confided everything in education to the varying discretion of the towns, a period when the state itself had no definite educational policy. This has changed; the state has become educationally conscious, intelligent, and ambitious. The recommendations of this report contemplate for Vermont a strong, well-central- ized and efficient state control in education. It is obvious that with the introduction of such educational leadership the power of state funds must be put behind the policies to be inaugurated. Hereafter money should no longer be granted on a per capita, or per school, or other merely numerical basis. State aid, when administered by the advice of an informed and vigorous central authority, should invariably be granted in such a manner as to stimulate and reward local effort which is harmonious with state poli- cies. Hence in Vermont, what assistance the state can give should go for better trained and better paid rural school teachers, for better buildings, for persistent and care- ful consolidation, and for the revision of the cumculum in the interests of domestic science, manual training, and agriculture. Details of such measures must, of course, rest with the educational officers themselves to elaborate; it is sufficient at this point to urge that the chief tool for realizing their success should be made as responsive as possible to their designs. It is not possible without a more intensive study of the separate towns and com- munities to outline a statement of a permanent financial policy for the future as between state support and local support of elementary and secondary schools. Such a policy must be worked out gradually by the board of education as the reorganiza- tion of theschool system proceeds. State support, like all other outside support offered to a community, has its dangers no less than its advantages. It would be a serious mis- fortune to lift the entire burden of school support from the community. It is a ques- tion of judgment as to how far a state can go in helping local schools in justice to its other obligations, and how far such aid stimulates instead of weakening local sense of responsibility. In another section attention is called to the present somewhat loose methods of ac- counting and paying school bills, including the payment of teachers' salaries. So long as collections and payments depend upon two distinct sources, — state and local, — it is not easy to introduce a uniform, simple, and prompt method of accounting a!id payment. But the solution of this question and the still more pressing one of better salaries for teachers can be worked out only by the cooperation of the state FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 147 supervising agency, with the town authorities. With the stimulus of state aid and of state supervision, it will be entirely possible to bring state and local authorities to a uniform practice. IX THE REORGANIZATION OF THE AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION A STUDY of the chief historical stages in the educational evolution of the state for the past one hundred years furnishes justification for the statement that Vermont has never completely assumed a definite constructive responsibility for the progressive development of the public school system; has never clearly regarded this system as an institution and instrumentality of the commonwealth. This may be accounted as a natural result of a combination of influences. Among these are the sturdiness and in- dependence of local communities under the characteristic New England scheme of gov- ernment, the comparative isolation of the several principal geographic sections of the state from one another, and the absence of any dominating city centres of population. This absence of a positive state policy explains in large measure the lack of a proper state machinery for the administration, supervision, and inspection of the common schools and other public educational institutions. The establishment of the first State Board of Commissioners for Common Schools in 1827 and its abolition in 1833; the creation of the office of State Superintendent of Common Schools in 1845; the refusal of the General Assembly to appoint a State Superintendent in 1851 and the resulting absence of any state supervision for the fol- lowing five years ; the creation of a State Board of Education in 1856, which continued until 1874', when the oflSce of the State Superintendent was reestablished; the cre- ation of another State Board of Education in 1908 as the successor of a Board of Normal School Commissioners created in 1898; and the passage by the legislature of 1912-13 of the act creating the present State Board of Education with its partial and ambiguous authority over the several parts of the educational system, — make clear the lack of a well-planned, continuous educational policy. A casual examination of the general scheme of the state's government of the sys- tem of education, and of the constitution and powers and duties of the several boards and officers composing this educational govemment, reveals immediately a situation favorable to discontinuity of organization and to waste in operation. A marked general tendency of the past two decades has been the development throughout our American states of the type of school government whereby an increas- ing authority and responsibility are centred in state boards and officers. This tendency is undoubtedly a consequence of the wider recognition of the fundamental social policy that public education, in order to provide an equitable distribution of educa- tional opportunities, must be assumed by the state rather than by local governmental units, — district, town, county, and city. The recognition of this larger state responsi- bility results in the exercise of a large amount of control directly by the state. This trend whereby the influence of the state in edut^ation is enlarged and vitalized is REORGANIZATION OF AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION 149 customarily expressed by the phrase, " centralization of state control." The first and most evident result of this centralizing movement has been the erection of a new form of state machinery for the oversight of public educational activities, especially as regards elementary, secondary, special, and supplementary schools. This organi- zation is not intended to take away the rights of local communities to govern their own schools, nor to weaken their responsibility for school support. It aims simply to provide, along with moderate financial aid, a system of scrutiny and supervision that shall make for a wider school opportunity, more uniform conditions, and free- dom from some of the more objectionable local limitations. The state is the only agency that can undertake this function. The former widely adopted plan of placing the common school system of the state under the general direction of a Superintendent of Public Instruction, elected by popular vote or chosen by the legislature, is being replaced by a plan that assigns the public school organization of the state to the general control of a small board or com- mission appointed by the governor, with or without legislative confirmation. Such a board or commission is usually designated as "The State Board of Education." Recent examples of such boards, newly constituted or reorganized, are to be found in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Idaho, New Jersey, and elsewhere. The modern state board of education emliodies the fundamental governmental principle of the immediate suzerainty of the state over the public school. As to the essential constitution and internal organization of the centralized state board of education, the following general principle is now accepted : It is a representative board of laymen, few in number, receiving no compensation, appointed and constituted in a manner pro- viding for responsibility of performance and securing continuity of state educational policy. The State Board of Education is the active deputy of the people of the whole state. It is therefore composed of laymen rather than of those professionally engaged in the educational service, or of those officially connected with other branches of state government. Such a board will have in its membership no representatives of par- ticular educational institutions or other special interests. Neither will it have any ejc-qfficio members. On the basis of the best American administrative experience, in education as well as in other governmental departments, it has come to be generally agreed that this board should consist of few members. A board of five is perhaps sufficiently large and representative. No compensation is paid for service, other than reimbursement for ne- cessary traveling or other expenses. The members of this state board are appointed by the governor of the state for fairly long overlapping terms, and in a way that brings about the expiration of the term of but one member each year. Thus, if the boai'd is composed of five members, one member will be appointed each year for a tei'm of five years. Appointments directly by the governor fix responsibility. The fairly long over- lapping term of office contributes to the development of a consistent and progressive 150 EDUCATION IN VERMONT school policy. All appointments should be made solely with reference to ability to serve the larger interests of the entire people of the state. Neither residence, party affiliation, incidental or temporary prominence, religion, race, sex, or specific occu- pation should be determining qualifications. Such a board will embody the best and highest form of disinterested personal sei'vice. Membership will be considered by the people of the state as evidence of conspicuous capacity for civic usefulness. As a safeguard for the character of the board and for the continued effectiveness of its performances, the members should be subject to removal by the governor, either with or without legislative concuirence, for gross innnorality, malfeasance in office, incompetency, or neglect of responsibility. Thus organized, the State Board of Education will fulfil its responsibility to the educational system of the state, working in accordance with the following general principles : Subject to the general provisions of law, there will be delegated to the board the care and oversight of the entire public school system of the state. The actual admin- istration, supervision, and inspection will be entrusted to executive officers selected by the board.^ The Board of Education should not itself, individually or collectively through committees of its members, attempt to perform executive functions. Within the de- fined statutory limits it should aim to provide ways and means to can'v out the public educational policy determined by the legislature. The actual execution of these poli- cies belongs to the expert trained officers of the board, in particular the commissioner of education, the chief of these officers, with whom fii-st responsibility rests. In addi- tion to this chief executive officer there ought to be a sufficient number of assistant commissioners, supervisors, and inspectors properly to care for the state's share of responsibility for the conduct and development of the schools. Tlie selection of these executive officers represents the most important function of this board. The commissioner should be a man of such breadth of education, of such special training, of such varied educational experience, and with such a record of successful performance, as will entitle him to be entrusted with the important responsibilities of the board. He should be selected without reference to his residence within the state, should be given an indefinite term of office, and should be subject to dismissal onlv upon a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of the board. There should be at- tached to the office a salary to be determined by the board, of sufficient size to attract * The question whether such a board should exercise control of the hiprher educational institutions of the state is one that is not here taken up. Such control miglit be so exercised as to interfere with the free development of col- leges and universities. On the other hand, the rivalries and wasteful duplications of educational effort, with the attending political complications which come from the lack of such uniform administrations, are notorious, and cannot in the long run fail to bring upon these institutions unpleasant consequences. The state of Idaho is just en- tering upon such an administration of its whole system of public education. The commissioner of education, under the State Board, is the head of the whole system of schools, including the Sbite University. In the case of the state of Vermont the absence of any state institution of higher learning simplifies its problem of educational administra- tion. The State Agricultural College, supported by funds furnished the slate by the general government, has been placed by the state under the control of a board organized as described in another section. REORGANIZATION OF AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATION 151 and retain a skilful and successful man. The new state of Idaho, with a population smaller than that of Vermont scattered over an area nine times as large, pays its commissioner of education $6000. The success of the educational admiuLstration wiU depend no less on the personnel of the board than on the abilities of the chief executive officer. Hitherto American governmental boards have not reached a high order of efficiency. We are now devel- oping in larger numbers the type of man adapted for the duties of trustee member- ship, — a man who, while not an educational expert, has an intelligent interest in edu- cation, and is ready to give time and thought to the problems of the board and to bring to the aid of the executive officers a sound judgment and a mind keenly inter- ested. The members of such boards have generally tended to fall into one of two errors, — either to become dummy directors, leaving the entire responsibility with the exe- cutive, or else to go to the other extreme and desire to become themselves executives. The business of such a board is to govern, not to administer. To fill such a place on a board of education is to render to the state service of the highest order. Acting through its officers, the Board of Education ought to have general control of the entire educational system of the state. This will include not alone the elementary and secondaiy schools, vocational schools, and any school established for the train- ing of teachers, but also schools for the training of special classes, the educational departments of charitable and penal institutions, and all supplementary educational activities, including those relating to libraries, which are properly a part of the state educational system. Such oversight will involve the estimation and preparation of a budget for educa- tional expenses, the enforcement of laws relating to schools and other institutions of learning, the classification and unification of the public schools, the establishment of uniform records and reports, the determination of the qualifications of teachers and their certification for the elementary, secondary, and special schools, and the recognition of certificates and diplomas from other states. The board should, as the supervisor of the expenditure of all state money for educational purposes, inspect all institutions and report upon their use of such funds. The board in cooperation with the state board of health should establish standards for the construction, arrangement, and sanitary equipment of school buildings and school sites; and should direct the medical inspection and study of public health as far as the schools are concerned. Such a program ought to include also a systematic effort to inform the people of the whole state as to the oppoi'tunities of their owii schools. A serious defect of the present situation lies in the fact that it is not easy for the average parent to obtain disinterested educational advice concerning his children, or unprejudiced information concerning the nearby agencies of education. The necessity for such a boai-d has already been fully realized by those who have given serious thought to the educational problems of the state. The creation of the existing board of education came as a result of this conviction, and its creation was 152 EDUCATION IN VERMONT a long step in the direction of better organization and a clearer differentiation of duties. The existing board is defective, however, particularly in the restricted author- ity that is given to it and in its ambiguous relation to the superintendent of edu- cation. Its reorganization in accordance with the following recommendations would be the necessary initial step for the establishment of a state system of education adapted to the needs of all the people of the state. A rightly constituted board with competent experts will step by step revise the curriculum of the elementary and secondary schools, provide facilities for the training of teachers, and meet the other problems of state education as they arise. It is reconnnended, therefore, that the existing state board of education be reorgan- ized so as to provide for a board of five members to be appointed by the governor, one member to l>e appointed each year for a term of five years; that this board have general control of the entire educational system of the state ; that the powers and duties now belonging to the present Boai'd of Education, to the Trustees of the Permanent School Fund, to the Trustees of the State Schools of Agriculture, to the Board of Trustees of the State School for Feeble Minded, to the Commissioner of the Deaf, Blind, Idiotic, Feeble-Minded Children of Indigent Parents, and the State Board of Penal Institutions, in so far as the Industrial School is concerned, be transferred to this board ; that the chief executive officer of the board be a commissioner of education to be chosen by the board under such conditions and at such compensation as shall guarantee the service of a progressive educational leader; that provision be made for the appointment of not less than four dii-ectors or deputy commissioners, — one for rural schools, one for secondary schools, one for vocational schools (including agriculture), and one for extension activities. In addition there should be provided in the appropriation for the state board of education a sum of money to cover the expenses of the board, the pay of assistants and of clerks in the office of the com- missioner of education, and the necessary traveling expenses. Owing to the impossibil- ity of correctly estimating all of these items in advance, it would be of great advan- tage, and ultimately in the direction of economy and efficiency, if in addition to the sums set aside for the salaries of the commissioner and his deputies a lump sum were for the first two years placed at the disposal of the board, to be accounted for sub- sequently in the form of an itemized budget. X THE VERMONT COLLEGES AND THEIR RELATIONS TO THE STATE The higher institutions of Vermont have been studied systematically by the officers of the Foundation for some years. To supplement the knowledge thus gained, each of the institutions was visited by several members of the enquiry staff, and all of the printed and other records relating to their work were carefully examined. There are in Vermont four chartered colleges of higher education — the University of Vermont, MiddJebury College, Norwich University, and St.MichaeFs Roman Cath- olic College at Burlington. The first thi-ee receive state subsidies; the last has not hitherto shared in the state's bounty. The descriptions of the University of Vermont, Middlebury College, and Norwich University that follow are necessarily founded upon the study of certain characteris- tics that go to make up institutions of learning. It is not possible to separate our com- plex institutions of higher education into sharply defined classes. It is not possible to analyze and compare those indefinable moral and intellectual qualities that make up the atmosphere of a school. No scrutiny could differentiate the devotion and the skill of a teacher in one institution from that of a teacher in another institution. In a very real sense it is impossible to compare institutions in their intellectual and spiritual life. On the other hand, there are certain definite marks of sincere and efficient college work upon which the student of education may safely lay his hand and use as a means of comparison. For example, an institution that enforces its entrance requirements loosely and carelessly is not likely to do college work of a high order. The retention in the college body of a considerable proportion of unfit students means a sacrifice of the interests of the larger body of the well prepared. It is not possible to teach certain subjects like chemistry or physics or biology without laboratory equipment. It may be fairly assumed that a college faculty can be gauged in some degree from the extent and breadth of their preparation for their work. The skill and ability with which the facilities of libraries and laboratories and of lecture rooms are used are all definite factors that go to make up the ability of a college to do its work, and all of these things may be estimated fairly accurately by an experienced student of educa- tion, and compared with a fair standard of college work as determined by the expe- rience of institutions throughout the whole country. In a very real sense the income of an institution is a just measure of its ability. This does not mean that an institu- tion with a small income may not be quite as good in its own field as an institution of larger income, but it is perfectly clear that the institution which with a small income attempts to spread its instruction over the whole field of education must be far less efficient than the institution that devotes its resoui'ces conscientiously and intelligently to a definite field of instruction. 154 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The descriptions of the three institutions under consideration, therefore, deal in the main with these tangible evidences of college administration and college work. These institutions have much in common in so far as the atmosphere of the college life is concerned, the characteristics of the students, and their attitude toward study. In all three institutions there are strong tendencies toward earnest work, in all tliree a large proportion of the students are young people who come from families of modest means, in all a considerable number of the students earn at least a part of the expense of college tuition. The atmosphere of the student life in each of the tliree institutions is earnest. The chief differences that arise grow out of the differences in the location and resources of the institutions. In the matter of location the University of Vermont has a great advantage. Burlington is an admirable place for the development of a strong col- lege or a university of modest scope. Nowhere else in the state can a student obtain so many outside sources of improvement and cultivation as here. What the student gains at Middlebury or at Norwich in intellectual or in social improvement must come from the institutions themselves, and whatever may be the advantages of the concentration attained in a small and isolated town, the difficulties of retaining teach- ers in such a situation, removed as they ai-e from facilities for their own study, must always present problems and place limitations upon the work of these institutions. If Vermont is to have several institutions of learning, it is perhaps on the whole for- tunate that they should present contrasting types. There are forms of instruction and there are students for whom the small village is best suited. The desirable thing is that each institution should devote itself to those fields of instruction that are best suited to its own environment. A differentiation of work, an independent effort to deal with the educational problems, is the essential thing at present. A notable circumstance in the attendance of these colleges arises out of the fact that so large a proportion of the students come from other states. In 1912-13, at the University of Vermont, 62 per cent of the students were from Vermont ; at Middle- bury, 47 per cent; at Norwich, 42 per cent. Of 1026 students attending the three institutions nearly one-half were from other states. In the medical school only 32 per cent were Vermonters. The University of Vermont was chartered in 1791, Middlebury College in 1800, and Norwich University in 1834. In chartering these institutions the state of Vermont assumed certain powers over them, and for a number of years it has been appropri- ating to each sums of money. The relations that exist between the state and these institutions are somewhat anomalous, corresponding neither to the position of the ordinary New England college supported out of endowment, nor to the state univer- sity supported and governed entirely by the state. The nature of the relation in each institution is briefly described below. In the original charter of the University of Vermont it is provided that the trus- tees, when required by the legislature of the state, shall lay before that body a state- RELATIONS OF VERMONT COLLEGES TO THE STATE 155 ment of " all appropriations by them made and the by-laws, rules and regulations for the government of said institution for their examination, approbation, and revi- sion." The control here given to the state is both negative and affirmative. The power of " examination, approbation, and revision" concerning the by-laws, rules, and regu- lations is an academic right that the legislature is scarcely likely to exercise, but such a power over all appropriations is a control that would seem almost unlimited if the legislature decided to exercise it. By an Act of November 6, 1865, the University of Vermont as created by an Act of November 3, 1791, was with its consent merged into a new corporation entitled "The University of Vermont and State Agricultural Col- lege," to which new corporation was transferred all of the property of the former University of Vermont, and to which was granted the income accruing from the pro- ceeds of the sale of the land granted to the state of Vermont by the government of the United States under the Act of July 2, 1862. The corporation thus created is the one existing to-day. It is composed of twenty trustees, nine of whom were elected in the first instance by the trustees of the original University of Vermont, vacancies in this number of nine trustees being filled by their survivors. Nine trustees are elected by the legislature of Vermont for definite terms. The governor of Vermont is an ejc-officio member, and the president of the University of Vermont and State Agri- cultural CoUege, who is elected by the other nineteen trustees, is also an ex-officio member. This coiporation, owning absolutely the property of the educational insti- tution known as the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is thus technically a corporation controlled by the state, since of the twenty trustees ten are state officials and the twentieth trustee is elected by the body of nineteen in which the state appointees are in the majority. Tliis technical control, however, is very dif- ferent from that which is exercised over the representative state universities. In them the institution is controlled by a board of regents, all of whose members are either appointed by the governor (in 31 states), or elected (in 8 states) by the people, the legislature, or the state board of education. Under the conditions that now exist, the actual control of the University of Vermont is admittedly and will always remain in the hands of self-peipetuating tiiistees. Middlebury College, although chartered after the University of Vennont, was the first to begin instruction. Its charter entrusts to the president and fellows the "gov- ernment, care and management of the college," and provides that " all laws, rules and ordinances for the instruction and education of students and ordering, governing, ruling and managing the said college shall be laid before the legislature of this state as often as required and may also be repealed or disallowed by the said legislature when they think proper." While the state of Vermont, therefore, does not appoint the trustees of Middlebury, it has a measure of control over the college, consisting of a veto power over general college regulations. Thus, for example, the fixing of a gen- eral rate of tuition for all students, or the appropriation of a fixed ratio of the college income for specific purposes, would appear to be within the power of the legislature. 156 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Being, however, solely a negative control, this power has never in the past been ex- ercised, and it would be difficult to exercise it in the future in such a way as to form any actual working control. While, therefore, the charter of Middlebury College gives to the legislature a certain veto power with regard to the college regulations, this power is negligible as a practical matter of administration. The charter of Norwich University goes somewhat further in the direction of state supervision than the charter of Middlebury College, but not so far as that of the University of Vermont. It is provided in the charter of Norwich University, like that of the University of Vermont, that the college " laws, rules and regulations shall be laid before the legislature of this state whenever required by that body and may by them be disallowed, altered or repealed." On November 16, 1898, an act was ap- proved by the legislature which provides for still further supervision on the part of the state, through a board of visitors, made up of the superintendent of education of Vermont ex officio and four other visitors appointed biennially by the governor of Vermont by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The duties of the board of visitors were defined to be "to visit and inspect said university at such times as they see fit and to report the result of such inspection and the manner of the ex- penditure of the money herein appropriated to the Governor." The legislature further enacted on November 29, 1898, a statute to the effect that " Norwich University is hereby recognized as the military college of the state of Vermont and its faculty are hereby given local rank as follows: assistant professors the rank of second lieutenant," etc. While the legislature thus declared Norwich University to be the military col- lege of the state of Vermont, this declaration added nothing to the slight and unex- ercised powers of educational supervision contained in the charter, so that the status of Norwich University since that act is that of an institution whose property is con- trolled entirely by its own self-perpetuating boai'd of trustees, with an ill-defined recognition on the part of the state as its military college, subject to a perfunctory state inspection of the expenditure of state moneys. This brief statement of the legal relations of the three colleges to the state of Ver- mont makes clear the fact that none of them is a state institution in the strict and complete or even in the ordinary sense of that term. Each is practically governed by its own board, and such measure of state control as has been given by amendments of the original charter or by new acts has looked in the direction of establishing just enough control to justify appropriations. While the University of Vermont has a slight, technical majority of state representatives upon its board of trustees, the fact still remains that in the practical working of administration all three institutions have been governed and will continue to be governed by boards whose authority is practically directed by self-perpetuating trustees. While the state has the right, through the legislature, to assume a larger measure of control over any one of the institutions, the method of doing this under the present charters and acts would be RELATIONS OF VERMONT COLLEGES TO THE STATE 157 so cumbersome and difficult that the possession of this power is rather the shadow of control than control itself. The three institutions stand to-day upon practically a common basis so far as state control is concerned. The question that really faces those charged with the state gov- ernment is not what measure of control the state may exercise under these somewhat ambiguous measures, but rather what work in higher education the state ought to support, if any; and if it ought to support such work, in what institutions may it be conducted to the best advantage of all of the people of the state "^ XI THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT The University of Vermont, chartered in 1791, has its seat in the city of Burlington, the largest city in the state and in many ways the one best suited for a university town. Burlington is the chief port on Lake Champlain, and the general character of the surrounding country attracts many summer residents. The university itself stands upon a plateau some three hundred feet above the lake, in the highest part of the city. In 1865 the State Agricultural College was combined with the university under the title of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, each institu- tion continuing nine of its trustees, the legislature electing those of the agricultural college for six-year terms, those of the university being self-perpetuating. The presi- dent, who is an ex-officio member, has no vote. The constitution of this board has been referred to in a previous paragraph. The combined board is required under the law to make an annual report to the legislature, althougli this is a formality that is not observed. The legislature may also appoint a board of visitors, a right of which the state does not avail itself. The present board includes the governor of Massachu- setts, who is an alumnus, and three other members from outside the state. The trus- tees meet twice a year, once at Commencement and once in October. The executive committee, consisting of members near Burlington, represents the university and col- lege of agriculture members equally and meets once a month. The finance committee, all being university members, is composed of two Burlington men, a well-known New York alumnus, and the treasurer, who is not a member of the board. The actual pro- ceedings of the board are but slightly affected by the participation of state-appointed trustees. The college buildings i-epresent variations in structure corresponding to their age. The old college, knovvii as "The Old Mill," valued at $100,000, was built in 1801. It was rebuilt in 1825, when Lafayette laid the corner-stone. It provides at present old and rather inadequate dormitories, lecture rooms, offices, and a chapel. The library, the gift of Fi'ederick Billings, an alumnus, in 1885, cost S175,000, and was the last work of H. H. Richardson. A redbrick building, the Williams Science Hall, the gift of Dr. Edward H. ^Villiams, cost $250,000, and is an adequate, fire-proof laboratory building. The mechanical engineering buildings, erected in 1891 at a cost of $25,000, are suited to their purpose, but small and crowded. Converse Hall, of marble, was erected in 1891 from a gift of $150,000 by John H. Converse of the class of 1861, and is a good, well-kept men's dormitor}', but inconveniently distant from the other buildings. The gymnasium and drill hall, built in 1901 at a cost of $-10,000, is large and fairly equipped. The red brick and terra-cotta medical building, costing $150,000 and built in 1903, is a good modern structure. Morrill Hall, provided by the state in 1901 and completed in 1907 at a cost of $60,000, otters fair facilities for the work of the Experiment Station. Small, but good greenhouses, costing $5000, are near by. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 159 Grassmount, the dignified mansion of Governor Van Ness, is used as a residence for women, some of whom are also housed in Howard Hall, the former home of General O. O. Howard. There is a commodious president's house and a temporary connnons for men. The United States Weather Bureau erected an observatory adjoining the campus in 1906. The endowment approximates $1,000,000, half of which has been acquired in the last six years. A field secretary of the alumni continues to work for endowment. The income of the university, not including the Experiment Station, for 1912-13 was: From students • $73,570.73 State endowment (1862 land) 8,130.00 Other endowment 38,427.87 State appropriation 26,000.00 United States appropriation 50,000.00 Miscellaneous 12,433.37 Total $208,561.97 The expenditure for the same year was : For equipment $12,390.90 Administration 32,291.44 Current expense 39,682.43 Instruction 109,488.69 Library Books $2,755.04 Service 3,342.64 6,097.68 Total $199,951.14 All of the thirty state scholarships of $80 each were awarded during the year. There are also ninety university scholarships and a scholarship fund. Until recently agricul- tural students from Vermont paid no tuition. They now have free tuition up to $80. The total cost to the student ranges for men from $275 to $4)75 a year; for women from $340 to $400, as follows: Tuition, Agr., Arts, Eng. $110.00 Med. $125.00 $110.00 $110.00 Room Board 15.00 to 108.00 to 75.00 190.00 - 180.00 to 200.00 Fees 12.50 to 40.00 10.50 to 38.00 Miscellaneous 30.00 to 55.00 30.00 to 50.00 The university includes the following departments : * 1. An undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, of which the Department of Education is a part; 2. The College of Engineering; 160 EDUCATION IN VERMONT 3. The College of Agriculture; 4. The College of Medicine. There is in addition a course in Military Science and Tactics, but the instruction in this department forms a portion of the courses offered in all undergraduate courses. The university will be best described by dealing with these four principal divi- sions separately. The matter of entrance requirements is one that may be spoken of as a prelim- inary to such differentiation, inasmuch as the entrance requirements for all of these divisions, except for the medical school, are the same, and include practically the com- pletion of a fuU four-year high school coyrse. In making this study the certificates of all students admitted to the university in the years 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1912 were carefully checked, and were found com- plete and accurate. The record of conditions and their removal at the end of the first year is carefully looked after. The university has been a member of the New England College Examination Board since 1907-08, students being examined in all subjects in which they are not certified according to the high standards of this board. While this reduces to some extent the attendance in the university, there can be no question that the relation has brought about a great improvement in the student body, and that the effect of this well-administered standard upon the secondary schools of the state has been of enormous advantage. The administration of the entrance require- ments has been fair and strict. The requirements for promotion and graduation are likewise well administered. The class of 1913 in arts, agriculture, and engineering entered 120 in 1909. Eighty- two withdrew and thirteen were added during the course, leaving a graduating class of fifty -one. Of those who entered with advanced standing, five had left the univer- sity and returned; six came from other well-known institutions; two entered from other classes. Of those who withdrew, half were conditioned, one-fourth were dropped by the university, and one-fourth lacked the money to continue. With the exception that the degree of master of arts is conferred for non-resident work, the requirements for degrees are excellent. The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences and of the Engineering School forming the great bulk of those engaged in university teaching, shows the presence of men trained in many different parts of the country, although in the engineering faculty there is a large proportion of local graduates.' The entire faculty includes forty pro- fessors, fifteen associate and assistant professors, nine special professors, and thirty- six instructors and assistants. Of this number, however, nine professors, five associate and assistant professors, twenty-one instructors and assistants, and the nine special professBrs — in all forty-four out of one hundred — are members of the faculty of the medical school. ' The proportion of University of Vermont Kradiiates in the facnities is one-tenth in agriculture, one-fourth in arUi and seiences, one-half in eneineerinc. and three-fourtlis in medicine. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 161 The total salary expenditure is as follows for the year 1912-13: Arts and Sciences $70,669.34 Engineering 14,978.33 Agriculture 4,377.00 Medicine 26,928.34 Experiment Station 18,396.82 Administration 17,579.17 The salaries, as university salaries go, are low; and in agriculture and in medicine many of the salaries are nominal, professors of agriculture receiving the greater part of their salaries from the Experiment Station and professors of medicine serving with- out salary. The student body of the university, with the exception of the medical school, is mainly drawn from Vermont, and the various parts of the state have been well rep- resented. The following table gives the attendance for five-year periods : Total From Vermont Proportion from Vermont Proportion from Vermont in Medical School ■Proportion from Vermont excluding Medical School Women were first admitted to the university in 1871, the year of President Buck- ham's inauguration. The first year there was one woman. In 1881 there were 8; in 1891, 30; in 1901, 44; in 1911, 75; and in 1912, 98. The women have been admitted to class relationships, and a large proportion have won Phi Beta Kappa recognition. In 1895 the university acquired Grassmount, the former residence of Governor Van Ness, as a home for women students, and in 1910 a dean of women was appointed. In 1911 Howard Hall, an additional dormitory, was purchased, and a third house was rented in 1912 for similar purposes. Half of the women students live in these houses. The remainder live either at home or with approved families. Four-fifths of the women stu- dents are from Vermont, and they deserve a more cordial welcome and recognition on the part of the university than they seem to have received. The further acquisition of " converted residences for their housing will be inadequate and expensive, and the next step should be an adequate dormitory. Appi'oximately 60 per cent of the whole student body live in dormitories or fra- ternity houses. The remainder live in lodgings — the men where thev like, the women in approved houses. About one hundred students take their meals in the commons and a considerable portion eat at fraternity houses, of which five are owned and six are rented by the chapters. Ten fraternity houses provide lodgings ; four provide board. The houses that are owned cost from $10,000 to $25,000 each. The three women's toos-s 1907-8 1912-13 508 497 559 340 348 350 67% 69% 62% 43% 53% 32% 82% 74% 6J% 162 EDUCATION IN VERMONT societies rent rooms. Additional dormitories for both men and women and an ade- quate commons are urgently needed. Athletic interests are managed by a committee of five faculty members, one senior, one junior, and an alumnus. Military drill and instruction are required of all stu- dents, except medical students, for three hours a week for two years. This is at present admirably administered by a most competent and faithful officer detailed by the United States Army. In general, the location, equipment, endowment, instructing staff, and student body of the University of Vermont represent a dignified and honorable American institution of learning. It deserves, and undoubtedly will receive, the generous support of its alumnij of whom many occupy positions of honor and responsibility. Of the 333 graduates of the univei-sity between 1891 and 1900, not including those of the medical department, 106 are teachers (33 per cent), 76 engineers (23 per cent), 55 business men (17 per cent), 31 lawyers (10 per cent), 27 physicians (9 percent), 14 clergymen (4 per cent), 11 agriculturists (4 per cent). Taking into account the presence of a college of agriculture, the small number of graduates engaged in practical agri- culture is noticeable. The College of Arts and Sciences The College of Arts and Sciences offers the ordinary courses pursued in the Ameri- can college. Students in arts may pursue one of two curricula of required and elec- tive studies. English, mathematics, hygiene, and declamation are required of all stu- dents during the freshman year; and military science of all students through the fresh- man and sophomore years. The elective studies begin with the sophomore year and are administered according to the group system. In science the curricula likewise consist of required and elective studies, English, mathematics, modern languages, and decla- mation being required of all students through the sophomore and freshman years. The degrees that are conferred in these curricula are : bachelor of arts in the classical curriculum, in which Greek and Latin are required ; bachelor of philosophy in the liter- ary scientific curriculum, in which Latin is retjuired. A curriculum in commerce and economics, made up from courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, and leading to the degree of bachelor of science in commerce is also offered. There is also a curriculum in home economics, made up in part of courses in English, philosophy, mathematics, and science, together with certain courses in home economics; and for the completion of this curriculum the degree of bachelor of science in home economics is granted. The Department of Education, which forms a part of the College of Arts and Sciences, was opened in 1908, shortly after the passage of the Nelson amendment, which enabled land grant colleges to spend a portion of their funds on the training of teachers of ag- riculture and mechanic arts. There were twenty -eight students taking courses in educa- tion in 1909-10 and forty-two for the year 1912-13. Six took their major work in edu- THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 163 cation in 1911-12 and two in 1912-13. Tiiere is a departmental library for the use of the department of education, but the opportunity for practice-teaching is absent. Stu- dents are admitted to the course in education who have completed the first two years in any department of the university, and the instruction that looks more directly toward preparation for teaching consists of psychology, principles of instruction, and the history of education. In the absence, however, of practice opportunities, there has been no reason to wonder at the fact that the course has as yet appealed to few stu- dents. Its work, so far as the training for teaching is concerned, is as yet theoretical. The strength of the College of Arts and Sciences lies still, as it has for so many years, in the general college courses that are offered, in which students obtain a grounding in those cultural subjects that make for intellectual training and spir- itual development. The offering of courses throughout the undergraduate depart- ments of the university is a fair and honest one, although, as in the case of nearly all colleges, these courses have been expanded, at least by title, to meet wants that ap- parently are not yet felt. Of the 237 courses announced in the catalogue for 1912- 13, exclusive of medicine, 186 (or 78 per cent) were actually given. Of these, 65 courses were for the 109 students in engineering and 31 courses for the 79 students in agri- culture, showing an amount of expansion larger, perhaps, than is yet needed. Such an expanded offering leads, as in institutions elsewhere, to a very large number of small classes. Of the 271 classes held in 1912-13, 37 per cent had from 1 to 9 students, 32 per cent had from 10 to 19, 19 per cent had from 20 to 39, and 12 percent had over 40. Thus, more than two-thirds of the courses were below what may be called the point of economic efficiency. The College of Engineering The College of Engineering offers three curricula of study, each covering four years: one in civil engineering, one in mechanical engineering, and one in electrical engineering. The schedule of studies follows quite closely the schedule of engineer- ing courses common among the better schbols of the country, including the basis of the physical sciences for the first two years, followed by applications during the last two vears. The faculty of the school of engineering is small in numbers for the work which it undertakes to do, but the instruction is earnest and sincere, and the laboratory facilities are on the whole fair. The department is in serious need of bet- ter quarters; the present ones are small, inadequate, and inconvenient. In the char- acter of the instruction and the opportunity for laboratory work the school compares well with similar schools of engineering in other institutions. In order to do its best by the students who come to it, it still needs additional instructors. The pay of the professors is very small in comparison with that paid by the better engineering schools, and in no way comparable with that which the men so trained can obtain in the prac- tice of their professions. 164 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The State Agricultural College The Vermont State Agricultural College is the result of the Act of Congress of July 2, 1862, usually named after its author, Justin S. Morrill, for over thirty-five years a congressman and United States senator from Vermont. By the "Morrill Act" Vermont received 30,000 acres of the public land for each of the senators and each of the three representatives to which it was then entitled. The state sold this land for a little over ninety cents an acre, and in 1863 attempted to unite the University of Vermont, Middlebury College, and Nor\vich University, or any two of them, into a single institution, to which should be joined a college of agriculture supported by the interest on the $135,500 derived from the sale of the federal land grant. This attempt to unite the Vermont colleges having failed, the legislature, in 1864, made a provisional organization of a " Vermont Agricultural College," the actual existence of the college to Ije dependent upon the subscription by citizens of Vermont of suf- ficient funds to supplement the income of the federal grant. As subscriptions were not forthcoming and the legislature was apparently not ready to appropriate money from the state treasury to agricultural education, the alternative was adopted of es- tablishing a state college of agriculture at the University of Vermont. By an act ap- proved November 6, 1865, a new corporation was formed, entitled " The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College," governed by a board of ti-ustees consist- ing of the governor of Vemiont, the president of the university, nine legislative and nine self-perpetuating trustees, as already described. To this coi-poration has been given the income derived from the Act of 1862 and the animal grants from the United States government authorized by subsequent legislation. This annual income, includ- ing that for the Experiment Station, now amounts to $88,000. The College of Agriculture is thus a con-elative part of the University of Ver- mont, with its own faculty and a dean, who is also director of the Experiment Sta- tion. The faculty consists of eight professors, three instiiictors, and one non-resident lecturer. Professors are paid from $1800 to $2500, instructors about $1200. TheHst of students, which for many years numbtered fewer than 50 annually, has increased in recent years, and in 1912-13 stood at 79. For half a dozen years the entrance requirements have been high school graduation, strictly enforced. There is also a special winter course intended for the benefit of those engaged in farming, on which the attendance in 1912-13 was 24. The equipment consists of Morrill Hall, erected in 1907 from a state appropria- tion of $60,000; the laboratories in general chemistry and liiology in the buildings devoted to the arts and sciences; a small building, with three greenhouses attached, for botany ; and a college farm. The laboratories in Morrill Hall, which are used by the Experiment Station, are fairly adequate for the purpose, and are in constant and intelligent use. On the other hand, the laboratory e(]uipment for teaching students is meagre, and what there is of it is not fully utilized. Most of the teaching is didac- THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 165 tic. The college farm is used by the staff of the Experiment Station for their experi- ments, but as far as the uses of the College of Agriculture go, it might as well not exist. The late superintendent, as a member both of the board of trustees of the uni- versity and of the board of control of the Experiment Station, was in entire charge of the farm. He thus directed the dean-director of the College and Experiment Sta- tion instead of being directed by him. Professors cannot use the farm as an aid in teaching, students are never seen upon its premises, and the college farm bams, in- stead of being a model for well-kept establishments, would probably be condemned as unsanitary by any modern board of health. The general plan of the professional curricula in agriculture given at the State Agricultural College is similar to that in many other agricultural colleges. It con- sists of required work during the first two years, and suggests groups of electives for the last two years. Three general lines of instruction are indicated: (1) agronomy and horticulture, (2) animal husbandry and dairying, (3) the teaching of agriculture. The curriculum thus offered is intended for men who are prepared to take a col- lege education and to become professional men in agriculture. It has, however, even from this point of view, very great educational weaknesses. Thus, the student is given a full course in chemistry in the freshman year, and in the sophomore year a full course in botany with a somewhat shorter course in zoology. These courses are for the purpose of providing him with a solid scientific foundation upon which can be erected a superstiiicture of scientific agriculture, but the superstructure afterwards erected is not scientific, but empirical. It could be given almost as well without the burden of these preliminary scientific courses as with them. The important subject of agronomy is restricted to a single half-year elective course given by an instructor; the work in horticulture is but slightly related to the preceding biological fomida- tions; the animal husbandry, given in the junior year, although preceded bv zoology, is admitted to be as frankly empirical as similar courses given in the freshman year of other agricultural colleges. An agricultural college curriculum that is entirely scientific may be defensible. Such courses are given at some of the agricultural schools. On the other hand, courses in agriculture that are almost exclusively empirical may be desirable. They appeal to a different set of students and seek to attain a different object. The kind of agri- cultural college cuiTiculum, however, that seems hard to defend is that illustrated in the courses of the University of Vermont, in which the student is carried through preliminary scientific training and then given direct agricultural studies that could be cairied on as well without this preliminary scientific requirement. Not only are the technical agricultural courses inadequately adjusted to the sci- entific work that has preceded them, but there is a great lack of agricultural work, whether given upon a scientific basis or upon an empirical basis. The student who elects the course in agronomy and horticulture has in agronomy, in his sophomore year, one full semester course in soils and soil management, and for one semester a one- 166 EDUCATION IN VERMONT hour course in grasses and forage plants. In his junior year he can take for one semester a three-hour course in field crops, but he may elect instead plant pathology. This is absolutely all the work the course in agronomy offers to a student who specializes in this subject at the Agricultural College. It would not be regarded as at all sufficient at most colleges of agriculture. The absence of coordination between the two parts of the agricultural college cur- ricidum indicates that the University of Vermont has not yet seriously set itself to consider what function its Agricultural College can perform. If it becomes a school for elementary instruction in agriculture, it will not need the fundamental sciences in its curriculum; if it is to be an institution for training in scientific agriculture, it is necessai-y not only to have these fundamental sciences, but also to make its ag- ricultural courses strictly technical, and to offer the opportunity of a good library of technical agricultural literature. In the Agricultural College as now conducted one sees these two divergent aims of agricultural education combined in such a way as to fulfil neither purpose well. By requiring the four-year high school standard for admis- sion and by prescribing the fundamental sciences in the first two years, the school cuts itself off from serving the farm boy who wishes trade instruction in order to return to work on the farm. By making its agricultural courses empirical rather than technical, it has not served well those students who wish thorough scientific training in modem agriculture. There is also a striking absence of the more familiar agricultural courses. For ex- ample, there is no work in entomology beyond an attempt on the part of the professor of zoology in the College of Arts and Sciences to make his introductory course cover as much entomology as possible. If the student is to receive a good fundamental training in zoiilogy, which is essential to the scientific study of technical agriculture, it is impossible in this course to make entomology anything beyond a bare outline. There is also no course at Vermont in agricultural chemistry, now almost univer- sally considered a necessity in colleges of agriculture. The agricultural college stu- dents in Vermont have altogether oidy one year's work in chemistry, a foundation quite insufficient for a superstructure of technical scientific agriculture. In the stronger agricultural colleges at least a year and a half, and generally more, is required, with specific courses in the agricultural application of the science. The absence of effective work in poultry raising is equally striking, particularly in view of the attention paid in other colleges of New England to the opportunities in this direction. For example, at the Massachusetts Agricultural College there is a large building devoted to poultry husbandry, together with several smaller buildings and breeding-houses accommodating a large and excellent stock of the various breeds of chickens, ducks, and geese. Somewhat similar conditions exist in the other New England agricultural colleges. The Rhode Island State College has three courses in poultry husbandry, one of which is required of all agricultural freshmen. In contrast to the activity in this field elsewhere in New England, poultry husbandry is given at THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 167 the Vermont Agricultural College only by a non-resident lecturer, at an expenditure by the university of SI 50 a year. There is, however, no reason to suppose that Ver- mont is not quite as much adapted to this lucrative side of agricultural industry as the other New England states. There is a similar absence of other subjects usually present in the curriculum of the better agricultural colleges, such as instruction in farm niachineiT. The entire agricultural equipment at Vermont is meagre. Thus, the equipment for teaching scientific dairying is not adequate, the department is not adequately housed, and there are no animals available for teaching purposes. It is true that there are animals upon the farm attached to the Experiment Station, but they have been se- lected for commercial reasons and are not necessarily adapted to the needs of teach- ing. In addition, students have no access to this farm and professors very limited access. For this reason live-stock judging cannot be properly carried on, even upon its present empirical basis. For such work the professor in charge is compelled to take his students to commercial establishments in the vicinity of Burlington. There is no piggery. A few pigs live in the manure cellar under the bam. The barn for the dairy cattle, erected twenty-two years ago, is not of modern constniction. This lack of equip- ment seriously affects the work of animal husbandry, — particularly in dairying, which is the principal industry in Vermont. A marked lack of the Agricultural College is the absence of a separate technical library available for the students. There are a few agricultural books, almost exclusively departmental and Experiment Station reports, housed in the basement of the general library. But there is no adequate collection of scientific agricultural literature, and vei-y few of the agricultural technical journals appear. It would be impossible for this to be otherwise in view of the fact that the sum available for agricultural literature each year is only $62.50. To sum up the situation with respect to the College of Agriculture, it may be said that its courses are not based upon a consistent educational policy, that the equip- ment for teaching is meagre, that on their practical side the courses seriously lack equipment, and that by reason of these conditions the College of Agriculture is not adapted to serve well either the needs of the boy who desires to be a practical farmer or those of the youth who looks toward a scientific training in agriculture, and finally, that this whole situation has lent itself to a regime under which the college has a very slender connection with the agricultural industries of the state. It does not help or guide these industries in any such way as should be expected of an efficient agricul- tural college. These statements are not made with any desire to criticize the professors in the Agricultural College. These professors are excellent men, and they have done admira- bly with the means that they have had at their command. The situation in which the College of Agriculture finds itself — the lack of equipment, the empirical quality of its courses, and the failure to connect itself with the industries of the state — is the result of a policy of administration for which the trustees are responsible. This 168 EDUCATION IN VERMONT consists in the expenditure that the trustees make of the generous annual gift that the state receives from the United States government, amounting to a Httle more than $88,000. By law 830,000 of this must be spent for the Agricultural Experiment Station. The S8130 received as interest on tlie federal grant of 1862 is not required by law to be expended in any specific manner; $3200 of it is used in the support of the university treasurer's office. The remaining .$50,000 received annually from the United States Treasury is spent as follows, according to the University's report: Engineering $13,302 Natural and Physical Science 1 1,246 Botany and Zoology 5,660 Agriculture 5,481 Mathematics 5,240 Economic Science 4,697 EngUsh 4,122 Sundries 252 Total $50,000 One does not need to go farther than this to understand the poverty and defi- ciencies of the State School of Agriculture. Out of S58,130 received from the general government chiefly for agricultural education there is expended on the agricultural school as such, $5481. The remaining .$53,000 are spent upon subjects that the uni- versity would teach if it had no school of agriculture. In a word, the appropriation of the general government for agricultural education has been used under the policy of the trustees for the benefit of the general educational development of the university, and in the process the Agricultural College has been milked dry. ITie college being thus weakened, there is then an effort to help it by turning the Experiment Station into a teaching agency, a process equally injurious to the Experiment Station. It is a singular outcome of the legislation enacted at the instance of Senator Morrill, him- self a Vermonter, whose object, as he himself expressed it, was "to do something for the farmer." It is also interesting to note that this policy has been carried out by a board half of whose trustees ai-e appointed by the state in order to look out for the interests of the State Agricultural College. The outcome illustrates how small a meas- ure of state control is vested in a board so constituted. Omitting the $8130 received from the interest on the grant of 1862, the trustees, after the expenditures made on en- gineering, the natural and physical sciences, mathematics, economic science, and Eng- lish, leave themselves, out of the income derived from the federal government, only $11,141 to spend on agricultural education. Of this sum $5660 are spent upon botany and zoology, which, although necessary for a college education in agriculture, would, under ordinary circumstances, be provided by any university maintaining a college of arts and sciences. In other words, of the total sum of $50,000 received by the trus- tees from the United States government because of the presence of the Agricultural THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 169 College, only S5481 are spent otherwise than would be the case if the Agricultural College existed elsewhere. That is to say, only this sum of money is spent upon dis- tinctively agricultural subjects, such as agronomy, soils, horticulture, farm machin- ery, farm management, dairying, animal husbandry, and the like. This has always been the policy of the university tnistees, but it is a policy that has been accentuated in recent years. Twenty years ago the trustees allotted only $3376 to distinctively agri- cultural education, but the annual appropriation from the United States government then stood at $18,000. This appropriation has increased in the intervening twenty years by $32,000, but the sum allotted to agricultui'e has gi-own by only $2105. It is worth while to make some comparison of the policy of different institutions with respect to the use of the annual federal grant. This is exhibited in the following table of the disbursement of such funds in 1911-12.' In this table the University of Vermont and Rutgers College are the two remaining institutions in the United States in which the state agricultural college is part of a privately endowed institution. The universities of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois represent states having strong agri- cultural schools in institutions owned and controlled by the state, and aided also by large state appropriations. AgriculUire Engineering English Mathematics Natural and Physical Sciences $3,659,59 5,481.39 10,400.00 20,000.00 25,000.00 $11,108.60 13.202.34 11,300,00 10,100.00 $5,350.00 4,122.92 6.200.00 5,600.00 $10,407.09 5,240.00 4,300.00 5,750.00 5,583.30 $19,474 72 10,900.00 5,050.00 University of Hlinois 19 416 70 This expenditure of the federal appropriations on subjects other than agriculture may or may not be strictly legal. The first Morrill act provided that the funds realized under it should be used in the maintenance of colleges "where the leading objects shall be . . . to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts," and the expression "mechanic arts" has been universally construed to mean engineering. The act furthermore declared that although such were to be the leading objects of these colleges, this was to be "without excluding other scientific or clas- sical studies," and this comprehensive language was followed in the "second Morrill act," of August 30, 1890. But the debates in Congress when these acts were under consideration show conclusively that it was to benefit agriculture primarily that these appropriations were authorized by the United States government, and as Vermont is predominantly an agricultural state, it is certainly questionable whether the trus- tees of the Univei'sity of Vermont by their present method of expenditure are exe- cuting the intent of Congress, or serving the best interests of Vermont. The attitude of the trustees toward the Agricultural College can be appreciated ' U. S. Commissioner of Education, Report, 1912, II, 361-36S. 170 EDUCATION IN VERMONT only by going back to the history of its establishment. What has gone on in Vermont has in large measure gone on in all other states of the Union. When the first Morrill act was passed providing for agricultural education, neither Senator Morrill nor the states themselves had any clear idea of what sort of institution was to be developed for the benefit of the people on the farms. In this legislation the term "mechanic arts" played a very subsidiary part, and unquestionably was intended at the moment to include only those elementary mechanic arts that are immediately associated with farming. When, however, the states received the grants, and the practical question arose as to what disposition should be made of the money, the term "mechanic arts" assumed an unexpected and far-reaching role. Tiie great engineering schools had just been founded. Engineering education had been placed upon a sound scientific basis, and a curriculum for the training of engineers had been adopted that lent itself with fair success to the end aimed at. In the absence of any educational considera- tion as to how agriculture could be taught or what was the most effective way to serve the educational interests of those upon the farms, the term "mechanic arts" was quickly translated to mean high-grade engineering, and from that day the en- gineering side of education has overshadowed agricultural education in most of the land-grant institutions. Not only was there a lack of any educational program for teaching agriculture, but at the time of the Morrill acts, and for many years after, most intelligent people, in- cluding farmers themselves, looked down upon the agricultural school as a doubtful agency in education. The students of the Vermont Agricultural College, as everywhere else, were not in favor with the general student body. The "Aggies'" were looked upon as decidedly inferior to students of arts, of science, or of engineering ; and when the University of Vermont, an old and well-established institution, took over the State Agricultural College, it was not through any sympathy with the ideal of agricultural education, or through any desire to have an agricultural college as a part of the university. The Agricultural College and the students in it lived for many years in an atmosphere in which the prejudices of trustees, of faculty, and — most of all — of students were directed against them. It is not surprising that in this situa- tion the trustees should lend themselves to a policy that enabled them to build up the parts of the university in which they really believed and to devote to agriculture a meagre remainder. In most states this situation has undergone a transformation during the last ten or fifteen years. To-day the applications of science to agriculture, to stock raising, to farm machinery, have all come to be recognized as subjects capa- ble of being taught in a college. Agricultural education, from being neglected, stands now very much in danger of becoming a fad, and of suffering impractical and unwise exploitation for the next quarter of a century. In many states of the Union the agri- cultural college has developed a close connection with the industries of agriculture, and thereby has bi-ought to its support the farmers of the state, so that it wields not only a large political influence, but obtains thereby a generous state support. This THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 171 has not yet happened in Vermont. It is true that the "Aggies" are no longer looked down upon as they were, but the resulting change has brought about no difference of policy as to the spending of the large fund received from the general government. The Agricultural College remains in the same starved condition in which it has existed since its foundation. The most practical and definite obligation of the state at the present time in higher education is to see that a clear policy is entered upon as to the function of the Agri- cultural College, and that then, in the second place, the college shall be adequately supported. Shall the function of the Agricultural College be to train farm boys in the tech- ni([ue of their vocation in some such way as they are trained in the agricultural school at Lyndonville, or shall its function be to develop scientific agriculture in Ver- mont ? Either one of these functions is defensible, but they cannot both be carried on simultaneously. Our experience of fifty years in agricultural education goes to show that a trade school will not grow in a university atmosphere, and that the real func- tion of a university college of agriculture is the promotion of scientific agriculture and the maintenance at the same time of right relations to elementary agricultural training-schools. The second, and in some ways the greatest, function of a technical college of agriculture is the development of a fruitful and stimulating relation with the farming industries of the state in which it stands. To be in close touch with the agricultural problems of the state, to deal with these problems by the best means that science affords, and to put the fruits of these investigations by simple, direct, and feasible methods into the hands of the farmers themselves, is the greatest func- tion that such an agency can perform. In order to play this role, the State Agricultural College must have adequate sup- port. That a state should be receiving from the federal government so large a sum, and that it should, under these circumstances, starve its Agricultural College into a position where it is neither an effective agency for education nor for scientific experiment, is a situation that ought to continue no longer. Whether it be true or not that the legislation enacted by Congress makes legal the expenditure of the United States grant in any way the trustees may choose, it is certainly neither to the honor nor to the credit of a state to receive this generous grant of the general government and use it for the upbuilding of miscellaneous departments of instruction at the expense of the primary purpose for which the appropriation was made. By every consideration of efficiency and of state pride the commonwealth should insist that a fair proportion of the United States annual grant shall go into agricultural instruc- tion, and it should supplement this income bv such means as are necessary to effect the contact between the agricultural school and the agricultural industries, a cause which is not within the provisions of the grants made by the general government. A word should be added as to the work of the Agricultural Experiment Station and its relations with the Agricultural College. 172 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The purpose of the Experiment Station is scientific experimentation in agriculture, inckiding all allied collateral industries. This is a magnificent endowment of agri- cultural research. In a small state like Vermont, thirty thousand dollars a year ought to produce the most practical, important, and significant investigations of the prob- lems with which the dairyman, the stock-raiser, and the gardener are concerned. It is true that work of a high order in agricultural investigation has been done at the Vermont Experiment Station, but it is also true that the station, as a research agency, has been up to this time a small factor in the improvement of agricultural processes and methods in the state, and this is due in large measure to the fact that it has been used, as far as lay in the power of the trustees, in the interests of the college and the engineering school. The dean of the Agricultural College is the director of the Experiment Station. He has been loaded down with the work of teaching. The same thing may be said of other men on the staff. However desirable it may be that the Experiment Station and the Agricultural College should have a real and vital connection, it is clear that the chief reason for the existence of the former institution has been taken away if its staff is to be made chiefly a body of teachers. No other form of research in the history of the world has ever been similarly endowed. If money could promote investigation in proportion to the amount expended, research in agriculture ought to exceed in efficiency any other field of scientific endeavor. As a matter of fact, however, only a small proportion of these funds ever contributes directly and efficiently to agricultural investigation. They cannot do so when locked up in salaries. Part of this income should remain fluid. In addition to giving to the Agricultural College an adequate support, it is also clearly the duty of the trustees to set the Agricultural Experiment Station free to bend its efforts directly and energetically to the investigation of those problems whose solution means so much to the individual farmer and dairyman. There is an enor- mous field in Vermont for the Agricultural College and tlie Agricultural Experiment Station, but in order that these agencies may do their work, there must be a clear conception of what that work ought to be, a suitable organization for carrying it out, and a use of the money now in hand for the pui-poses of agriculture rather than for the purposes of general instniction. The College of Medicine The College of Medicine of the University of Vermont is one of the old medical schools of the country. It began instruction in anatomy and surgery as early as 1809, and what was considered in that day a full course of lectures was inaugurated in 1822. By 1836 it had graduated 116 doctors of medicine, when, owing to the diffi- culties of conducting the school in a small place, it was abandoned until the year 1854, when it was reestablished in an enlarged building. A better building was pro- vided in 1870, and a still better one in 1884. This last was burned in 1903, and the THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMOiNT 173 present building was erected in 1904-6 at a cost of $125,000. This building, contain- ing the dissecting-rooms, laboratories, and lecture halls, is admirably situated, and is throughout a well-lighted, well-heated, and well- ventilated building, and one excel- lently adapted to its pui-poses. With its equipment it is now valued at $150,000. Until 1899 the relation of the College of Medicine to the university was, like that of most American medical colleges, a purely nominal one. The college was conducted by a group of physicians, with a nominal affiliation with the uni versity, but practically independent of its control. In that year it was made "a coordinating department of the University under the control of the boai'd of trustees," but it was really not until 1911 that the College of Medicine was, in the language of the catalogue, "made a part of the University system.'" The medical school year was lengthened from twenty weeks to six months in 1895, to seven months in 1903, to seven and a half in 1907, and to the same length as the other university terms in 1912. The College of Medicine is administered through a faculty, with a dean, in much the same manner as other departments of the university. There are at present nine professors, who receive annual salaries of $15,000 in all, the regular professor's salary of $2000 being paid to but three men. In addition, there are a number of special professors, assistant professors, and instnjctors, some of these being special lecturers brought from Boston and from New York to take up particular subjects. In all there are some forty-four teachers on the instructing staff, twenty-eight of whom are chosen from the sixty-one practising physicians in Burlington. The income of the College of Medicine for the year 1912-13 amounted to $34,011.49, of which $20,861.70 came from tuitions and $10,000 from state appro- priations, the remaining small amount being received from laboratory fees and room rent. The expenditures consisted of $26,928.34 for teaching salaries, $5,397.15 for equipment and supplies, and $1,861.62 for the maintenance of the building, leaving a small deficit for the year of $175.62. The state appropriation of $10,000 began in 1909 and has been increased for the year 1913 to $23,500. The expenses to the student in attending the medical school consist of a tuition fee of $125, a $5 matriculation fee, and a $10 annual athletic fee, besides $25 at graduation, charges that are comparable with those made in similar medical schools. For many years the attendance of students upon the College of Medicine has been very large in comparison with the facilities offered. Ordinarily there have been be- tween 140 and 200 students, which is a large number as such medical schools go. The singular fact has been that there should be so large a school in a somewhat remote town. ITie explanation of this phenomenon is found in the fact that the majority of the medical students come from outside the state of Vermont. For the year 1912-13 only 32 per cent of the students were from Vermont, the others coming from New York and New England, and in considerable numbers from the cities of Boston and New 174 EDUCATION IN VERMONT York. The reason for this attendance has been that the entrance requirements have been low and that Burhngton was one of the easiest places in New England to obtain a medical degree. The inducement that attracted this large group of students was not the belief that they were to obtain a superior medical education in Burlington, but the knowledge that the medical degree was to be won easily there. The entrance i-equirements for a number of years stood at 14.5 units, the equiva- lent of a high school education. The entrance certificates of the 144 men now in the medical school have all been examined from year to year, as they entered, by repre- sentatives of the Carnegie Foundation. Last autumn for the first time the new en- trance requirements, demanding one year of college work for admission, went into effect. The admissions during these four years have been as follows : 55 entered in 1909 47 entered in 1910 40 entered in 1911 12 entered in 1912 The admissions to the medical school were plainly decreasing even before the higher entrance requirements went into effect. The reasons for this were the gradual rise of medical education throughout the whole country and the growing appreciation of the need for good clinical facilities in the study of medicine. Medical students to- day go in steadily decreasing numbers to schools where the clinical facilities are poor. It will be noted that under the new entrance requirements only twelve students were admitted in 1912, omitting one who was admitted and soon afterward dropped. Of these twelve oidy three were from the state of Vermont, four were admitted from other medical schools without college training, while one was a repeater turned back from the former class. In other words, only by a very liberal construction of the en- trance requirements was the entering class as large as twelve. It is clear that when the full entrance requirement of two years of college work goes into effect, the school must accept an entering class certainly not larger than ten, and that it can scarcely hope to graduate each year more than four or five doctors, the majority of whom will probably come from outside of Vermont.* Those who have studied the medical school in detail have been particularly struck with the high order of devotion exhibited by the dean and by the professors imme- diately associated with him. They have put into their work great intelligence, sin- cere devotion to the student, and a high determination to give to those who come to Vermont to study medicine the best education they can furnish. The question of the development of a medical school at the University of Vermont is, however, one to be settled entirely apart from the devotion of those immediately connected with it. ' EiKhteen men are registered in the entering class of 1913, eight of them from Vermont. Eight had two or more years in college, nine had one yejir in college — two-thirds of these were conditioned — one entered from another medical school. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 175 Three questions ought fairly to be understood and answered in determining the retention and development of the medical school: (1) Can a modern medical school be developed in Burlington? (2) How much would such a school cost conducted upon a sound plane of medical teaching? (3) Is the state justified in spending the money necessary to maintain such a school? To answer these questions, the situation at Vermont has been studied by a number of men familiar with medical teaching and with the use of clinical material. Some of these have been associated with the American Medical Association and its Council on Education' and others were without any such connection. The testimony of all of these men is that the question of clinical material for a medical school at Burlington is a difficult one. In order that a student may learn medicine or surgery, he ought to be brought into contact with a large amount of clin- ical material, cases of the ordinary sort, the ordinary illnesses that men and women have. These he should see in great number. They form really his laboratory instruc- tion. It is clear to those who have carefully examined the situation at Burlington that such clinical material as exists has been made the most of. Patients who come to the clinics are used over and over again to the limit of their ability to submit to such studies. Physicians in the region are asked to send patients, and frequently they do so. Every effort has been made to bring together such clinical material as could be had, but even under the most optimistic view, it is clear that with the greatest effort and the most painstaking application the supply of such material is meagre in a city of the size of Burlington and the villages that surround it. This scarcity of clinical mate- rial is felt particularly in subjects like obstetrics or contagious diseases, and it has been the practice for nietlical students at Burlington to take during the summer, when they could afford it, a course in some city, where the opportunities to deal with ob- stetrical cases and with contagious diseases were present. Looking at the situation from the most sympathetic point of view and giving full credit to the energy and devotion of the faculty, it is evident that from the standpoint of clinical material the conduct of a medical school in Burlington will always be a difficult matter. A second sei'ious difficulty in conducting a medical school in a small city far re- moved from centres of population lies in the problem of obtaining good teachers in clinical and surgical branches. Under such circumstances the school is almost sure to draw its teachers from the group of local practitioners, and although this situation has been appreciated in Burlington and has been helped out, so far as possible, by the importation, for short courses, of men from New York and Boston, it still remains true that the maintenance of a good medical school staff in Burlington would be a difficult and expensive thing. Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch Potter, Assistant Pi'ofessor of Clinical Medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, who spent two days in an examination of the school, while speaking in the highest terms of the spirit and morale of the faculty, points out this weakness in the phrase: "The teaching body ' The Council places the Vermont school not in its first (A + )cIassof 24 institutions, but in its second (A) class of 42. 176 EDUCATION IN VERMONT is almost as closely inbred as was the teaching force at the Harvard Medical School when I was a student there in the 90's." In other words, on account of the isolation and the expense involved, there is a strong tendency in such a school to organize the teaching staff out of the local members of the medical profession, a tendency which, even with the best intentions, can be overcome only by the expenditure of a large sum of money. As to the cost of maintaining a modern medical school under such conditions, one can only consider the minimum cost at which a good teaching school could be conducted. The expenditures in the maintenance of the school for the last year were $34,000, of which sum $20,000 and more were supplied from tuitions. The amount from tuitions will shrink in the next four years to a practically inappreciable sum, and the school must rely almost wholly for its maintenance either upon endowment, of which it has none, or upon state support. Furthermore, $34,000 is not sufficient to maintain the school upon a right plane. Somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000 will be needed to conduct in Burlington a school upon a university basis and capable of giving a medical education adequate to the demands of present-day teaching. This money must come from the state, if it is to be had at all, and this means that every Vermont student graduated would pro})ably cost the state from five to ten thousand dollars. Is the state justified in maintaining and developing a medical school under such conditions and in view of the demands made upon it in other directions ? Vermont is surrounded by good medical schools, to which Vermont students who intend to study medicine now go. Just north of the state is Montreal, to the east is Boston, to the south is New York, — all great medical centres and with splendidly developed mod- ern medical schools. No matter what the state of Vermont does in the development of a school at Burlington, the bulk of Vermont students who want to study medicine will and ought to go to other places, for they can there obtain a medical education such as cannot possibly be given in Burlington, even when one makes all allowances for the intimate contact of teacher and student, for the small numbers, and for the personal attention. The state of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College have re- cently dealt with this question in what would seem to be a judicious way. Dartmouth College, like the University of Vermont, has for many years conducted a school of medicine that has been subsidized by the state of New Hampshire. Within the pres- ent year it has been decided to give up the last half of this medical course and to leave New Hampshire students free to seek their clinical education where it can be had best. \Vlien one considers the pressing need in Vermont for the development of elementary and secondary education and for placing the public school system under a fruitful administration, the expenditure of the large sum of money necessary to develop a medical school under unfavorable conditions is hard to justify. One other feature of the medical situation needs to be referred to. Vermont has gone quite far in recent years in the effort to deal with social problems, and plans THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 177 have been considered for the treatment of the sick poor of the state at some place to be designated. It has been urged that, while a medical school might not be jus- tified upon the ground of the small number of Vermont doctors who would be edu- cated there, it might nevertheless be justified in coiuiection with a state hospital and dispensary for treating the sick poor of the state, and that these patients would, on the other hand, furnish the clinical material for student use. This argument, however, does not bear a close analysis. 'Whether the conduct of such a free clinic for the poor of all the towns of Vermont is a wise thing or not is in itself a question for consideration, but if such a state clinic and hospital is to be established, it is perfectly clear that it could be conducted at a cost which would be a mere bagatelle in comparison with the cost of conducting a medical school in addi- tion. Furthermore, it is also evident that the clinical material which would be obtained in this way would have comparatively little significance in medical teaching, since the patients would be nearly all chronic cases, not cases such as the medical student most needs to see. The medical school must, in fact, stand upon its own feet, and must justify itself by the contribution that it will make to the state of Vermont in the training of Vermont physicians. It is in the interest of the people of Vermont to have a reasonable supply of well-trained physicians; it is a matter of very small concern to them whei-e these physicians are trained, so long as they are educated, high-minded, thoroughly prepared men. From all available information it does not seem likely that the abolition of the medical school at Burlington would diminish in any respect the supply of such physicians to the state. The question, therefore, is one to be deter- mined upon its own merits and with full regard to the other obligations in educa- tion which the state has assumed. Looked at from this point of view, it seems impos- sible to justify this expenditure of state money. XII MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE MiDDLEBURY CoLLEGE is One of the older institutions of what we now call the Amer- ican college type. Chartered in 1800, it was the twenty-sixth institution of higher education to be established in the United States. Its charter was singularly free from denominational or state requirements, its sole provision looking to state oversight be- ing that the ordinances of the college shall "be laid before the legislature ... as often as required, and may also be repealed or disallowed by the state legislature." Even this legislative power has never been exercised. In 1902 the legislature authorized the president and fellows of Middlebury College to establish "a coordinate institu- tion for the higher education of women." The growth of the women's college has been significant since that date, the number of women having increased from 53 in 1903 to l-iT in 1913. Women students form at present nearly one-half of the student body. The college is in the village of Middlebury, which has a population of about 1800. At the beginning of the last century, when the college was organized, it had a popu- lation of approximately 1300, considerably larger at that time than the population of Burlington. The town is on the main line of railroad between New York and Mon- treal, in an attractive region, and is in most respects the typical, somewhat isolated, small New England town. The government of the college is vested in twenty-one self-perpetuating trustees, the alumni, in accordance with a resolution of the board in 1879, nominating three candidates for each alternate vacancy. At present all of the trustees except four are alumni. The board meets regularly at Commencement and in January. There are few special meetings. The prudential committee, composed of the Middlebury members, meets frequently. The finance committee, consisting mainly of the New York mem- bers of the board, meets upon call in New York City. The committee on instruction spends about a week at the college each year and presents reports. The board is a rep- resentative, active, and able body. A bill for a state board of visitors, similar to that of Norwich University, passed the last House of Representatives, but was withdrawn in the senate. The administration of the college under the trustees is of the ordinary character of the smaller colleges. The president supervises the general work of the college, conducts the correspondence, approves expenditures of money, and forms, as in most institu- tions, the connection between the college and the general public. The other officers of administration consist of the dean, the registrar, the dean of the women's college, and a superintendent of buildings and grounds. The introduction of the women's col- lege would complicate the problem of administration but for the fact that the regis- tration is in one place, the faculty is the same, and instruction is in the same classes, except whore these are so large that they nmst be divided into sections. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 179 To the ample campus of thirty acres, given in 1810, there has since been added the women's campus of thirty-five acres, and the Porter Athletic Field of eighty acres, presented in 1912. The buildings of the college are representative of the periods at which they were erected. Painter Hall, a dormitory, was built in 1814; the chapel in 1836; and Starr Hall, a dormitory, in 1861. These are all stone structures of dignified architecture. The Starr Library was given in 1900 at a cost of $50,000; the Warner Science Hall cost $70,000 in 1901 ; Pearsons Hall, the women's dormitory, cost $66,000 in 1911; and the McCullough Gymnasium was completed in June, 1912, at a cost of $51,000. A new and quite elaborate building for chemistry, costing $50,000, is now nearing completion. The value of the buildings, grounds, and appara- tus approximates $470,000, having been practically doubled in the last six years under the energetic administration of the president now in office. As the buildings are arranged at present they would, with slight additions, afford accommodations well adapted to a moderate-sized college of from 250 to 300 students. The library needs additional reading room. The endowment, which had been a little over $400,000, had no appreciable growth until within six years, during which it has been increased to a productive endow- ment of $540,000. An additional $500,000 is now being sought. The financial resources of the institution, therefore, represent at the present time approximately $1,000,000. Of this $380,000 has been added during President Thomas's administration, among the largest contributors being the General Educa- tion Board, which gave one-fourth of $200,000, and Dr. D. K. Pearsons, who gave one- fourth of $100,000. The income of the college for the year 1912-13 amounted to a little over $70,000, as compared with .$31,000 five years ago, a result again due in the main to the en- ergy of the new president. Of the income for the year 1912-13, $27,427 came from student fees, a result showing an enormous gain in six years. In 1902-3 the income from student fees was approximately $2500; in 1908 this income was $5700. This great increase means that many more students now pay their tuition. For many years before the advent of President Thomas, practically any student who desired and asked for it obtained free tuition, a result demoralizing alike to the college and to the student. The remainder of the income is made up as follows: from interest on en- dowment, $27,705.78; state appropriation, $16,250; small gifts for current expenses, some $380, — in all, as stated before, an income for the current year amounting to $71,763.32, a sum that has been more than doubled in six years, the sources of increase being better collection of student fees, an increase in the endowment, and a very large increase in the state appropriation. The expenditures for the year 1912-13 were as follows: Salaries $49,769.15 Departmental appropriations 2,532.19 180 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Library supplies, etc. $1,072.66 Miscellaneous expenses, including heat, light, and repairs 20,898.61 The State appropriation was expended as follows: Scholarships $2,400.00 Salaries in pedagogy, home economics, geology, forestry, and zoology 8,814.00 Departmental courses ' _ 2,000.00 Summer School 1,478.63 Equipment, repairs, and maintenance 549.82 SuppHes - 1,007-55 $16,250.00 The appropriation of $2400 referred to above provides for thirty state scholar- ships at S80 each on account of tuition. These scholai'ships are awarded entirely by members of the state senate. Under the Act of 1912 thirty similar scholarships are available for the year 1913-14,also awarded by senators. In addition, during this year the college awarded scholarships amounting to $4790, making a total scholarship award of $7190. Of this total $5460 was given to men and $1730 to women. No scholarship is competitive; those awarded by the college are based partly on finan- cial need. President Thomas has recommended that all state scholarships be awarded by examination of high school graduates, the student to have a choice as to which institution he will attend. The cost of student life at INIiddlebury College is extremely moderate. Tuition is $80 a year, the incidental fees are $12, and a room is $40; board can be had for $129.50, and the laboratory fees amount to about $12 — a total of $273.50. For women the expenses are somewhat larger on account of the higher cost of board, the minimum total expense in the case of women amounting to $304. The difference in the expense to women is not intended as a discrimination against them, but re- sults from the superiority of their dormitory accommodations, which is well worth the difference in cost. The college authorities, however, do favor the men in the matter of scholarships, since there is some apprehension lest the institution become increas- ingly a women's college, a tendency that is already manifest, and which is likely to be increased by the development of the department for the training of teachers, which attracts many more women than men. The instructing staff numbers twenty-eight, including the president. Salaries are extremely moderate, the maximum salary of a professor being at present $2000, assistant professors receiving from $1300 to $1700, and instructoi-s from $900 to $1000. Notwithstanding the simplicity of life in a small village, the expense of living is nevertheless large, outside of rent, and these salaries represent a really meagre re- ' EnKlish, French, German, Greek, History, and Latin. ' Forestry, Geology, Home Economics, Pedagogy, and Zoology. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 181 turn, particularly when one takes into account the isolation that a teacher accepts in living in a small village, removed not only from the companionship of other scholars, but from the facilities of libraries and literary and scientific societies. In spite of this fact, however, the twenty-eight members of the staff are men of excellent training in good institutions. Fourteen of the degrees held by the group are from Middle- bury, eleven from Harvard, seven from Yale, five from the LTniversity of Vermont, and four from Wesleyan. The instruction offered by this staff of teachers consists of 172 courses, announced in the catalogue for 1912-13, of which, however, only 123 were given. The curriculum includes sound courses in the ordinary college studies in science and in arts. These fun- damental courses, however, which form the backbone of college work, whether one turns toward the classical or toward the scientific form of education, are somewhat overlaid by a series of elective groups for prospective students of agriculture, education, en- gineering, journalism, law, medicine, and the industries. The attitude of the college in this matter has been too expansive for thorough work. P"or example, in 1911-12 agriculture, practical and commercial pomology, and economic entomology were all offered by one instructor. In 1912-13 forestry was offered by a professor who an- nounced six other courses. Industrial, sanitary, and agricultural chemistry was offered by an instiiictor who announced three other courses. A half-year course in engineering, including materials, highway construction, elementary hydraulics, sanitary engineer- ing, sanitary science, and public health, was offered by an assistant professor who gave four other courses. These excursions into agriculture and engineering seem indefensible from the standpoint of a well-planned college. It may be entirely desirable to include in the college courses sound study relating to agriculture, but that does not justify the announcement of practical agricultural work. It may be desirable to teach surveying to a small class of students, but the insertion of that study does not justify the an- nouncement of a depai-tment of engineering and the solicitation of students for sucli a department. No one would desire to confine the American college to a hard-and-fast curnculiim, but it is also perfectly clear that when the college undertakes to extend its activities to applied sciences like agriculture and engineering, or to give specific preparation for professions like journalism and law and medicine, it is compelled to do one of two things: either to make its instruction superficial throughout, or else to obtain a far larger sum of money for support than would be necessary for the legit- imate work of the college. Practical agriculture and engineering would in the end be a burden to the college, if fully developed, and they are of little value when superfi- cially done. The inauguration in Middlebury in 1911-12 of the Department of En- gineering, in competition \vith the staff and adequate resources provided in that field by the University of Vermont, and the attempt to develop a department of practical agriculture in competition with the well-equipped State Agricultural College seem unwise departures from the true field of the college. The college has no engineering equipment except surveying instruments, and the offering of a freshman and sopho- 182 EDUCATION IN VERMONT more curriculum in engineering by a single assistant professor, himself a graduate in 1907 of an engineering school, is misleading to the student. The preliminary mathematics, chemistry, physics, and mechanics of an engineering course can be learned at the college, but to announce what seems to be an engineering coui-se is a mistake. The Department of Pedagogy at Middlebury was established in 1908 by the legis- lature with an annual appropriation of $6000, which was increased in 1912 toS10,400. The head of the department was the former principal of the Johnson Normal School, and his inmiediate colleague in the conduct of the department was formerly a high school principal and teacher at the Castleton Normal School. The department has good rooms and a special library, which it is planned to make available for teachers. Some use has been made of the local schools for practice-teaching, but this feature of the development is as yet in a rudimentary stage. The work, however, is being prose- cuted with vigor. \Vhat effect this new development will have upon the college it is not possible at this time to foresee. It may well be that the Department of Pedagogy will in time transform the college into something that may resemble a professional school, largely for women. It is not easy to define just what constitutes an American college, any more than it is to express clearly what constitutes an elementary school or a secondary school, but it will be generally agreed that the American college stands for a general training in those fundamental studies that are intended to arouse the intellectual and spiritual qualities, to teach the student to think, to help to introduce him to his duties as a man and as a citizen, and to lead him into general cultural relations. It is not pri- marily a vocational school. On the contrary, its main purpose is to orient the student with respect to intellectual, moral, and social forces, so that whatever vocation he may adopt, he may play a man's part. It has been the case hitherto that when a technical, professional school has been yoked up with a college, that the technical school has generally run away with the col- lege; and the reason for this is not far to seek, because the technical student comes in the professional spirit. The student of pedagogy or of law or of engineering has his eyes on the method by which he is to make a living. This attitude of mind is quite different from that of the college student, and it ought not to be a bad thing to have such groups associate together, but as a matter of fact it usually has happened that they do not coalesce, even when they are in the same institution. Whether, therefore, the institution of the Department of Pedagogv in the college will turn out to be pri- marily for the benefit of the development of Middlebury as a college is a question well worth consideration by the trustees and the oflicers of the institution. Nothing more clearly indicates the attitude of an institution toward education than the method of enforcement of the entrance requirements that it may adopt, and ex- perience shows that it is not necessarily the amount or difficulty of the entrance re- quirements that constitutes the difference in institutions, but rather the discrimina- MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 183 tion and sincerity with which the adopted requirements are administered. The very purpose of fixed entrance requirements for college lies in the fact that the funda- mental idea in the constitution of the American college is to bring together a fairly homogeneous group of students, whose intellectual attainment is at least compara- ble. Only when the student group is approximately homogeneous in intellectual fit- ness can it be taught advantageously. Wherever there is a marked difference between the preparation of students, the efficiency of the instruction for the whole group is impaired. In the enforcement of its entrance requirements during the past few years Middle- bury College has shown a certain degree of laxity. The entrance requirements for the arts course have been for a number of years fourteen units, intended to secure the previous completion of a four-year high school course; for the Latin-scientific course the admission requirements were about a half-year less until 1908, when these require- ments were also advanced to fourteen units. In 1909, 93 students were admitted, the admissions including a number of students carrying heavy conditions and the approval of certificates that were of doubtful value. In 1910, a number of admissions were also of doubtful character and included the acceptance of students in cases where the head- masters of the schools from which they came considered the quantity and quality of their work unfit for college entrance; expressing this in phrases like the following: "Has credit for only three years of high school work." "I cannot conscientiously rec- ommend him." "This school does not wish to be held responsible for the kind of work that she may do." In 1911,120 students were admitted. Their certificates, all of which were examined at the time by the Foundation, showed a great improvement in char- acter and quality. The 1912 admissions, on the other hand, showed a considerable re- laxation as compared with those of 1911. Briefly stated, the examination of the en- trance certificates of 298 students entering during the four years indicates that the students have been very leniently admitted and upon the ground of a standard far less strongly administered than that of the University of Vermont or even than that of Norwich University. Students have been entered when their lack of preparation has not only hampered them, but has also lowered the tone of instruction in the college. It is not too much to say that the college would to-day be improved by the dropping of a considerable number of students who were not ready to enter and whose presence affects the whole quality of instruction.^ In the records of students coming from the secondary schools, it is noteworthy that the Middlebury College authorities report that in the last five years six of their best students and sixteen of their poorest stu- dents have come from the Middlebury school, a situation that reflects, of course, the temptation to admit local students who are unprepared. ' Middlebury College has recently decided to adopt the standards of the New England College Entrance Certificate Board, admitting students only with its certificates, or by examination, — a policy that will unquestionably result in a better prepared student body and a wholesome influence on the secondary schools. 184 EDUCATION IN VERMONT Tlie following table gives a record of attendance : 1902- Men 65 Increase Women 53 Increase Total US Increase From Vermont 61 Proportion 1907-S WIS -751 119 173 84% 45% 84 147 _ --^8% 75% 203 320 72% 57% 134 153 66% 47% 51% The growth in student attendance in the college has been marked in the last six years. This is particularly true in the number of women students. Women were first admitted to the college in 1883, and since their separate college charter was obtained in 1902, in spite of larger fees, fewer scholarships, and fewer specialized courses, they have increased more rapidly than the men. In the five years between 1907—8 and 1912-13 the number of women students increased from 8i to 147, or 75 per cent; while during the same period the number of men increased from 119 to 173, or only 45 per cent. The interesting fact concerning the student body is that less than half of the stu- dents in 1912-13 (34 per cent of the men and 63 per cent of the women) were from Vermont. It is also intei-esting to note that the registration in science and in peda- gogy is increasing more rapidly than that in arts. Considering Middlebury College from the standpoint of its educational opportu- nities, therefore, it seems clear that the opportunity that lies before the college is to do well the work of a college and to attempt nothing more. It is situated in a small town. Whatever the student obtains in the way of cultural and intellectual training must be furnished by the college. Its sole appeal to men and women must lie in the oppor- tunity it gives for an isolated but intensive college life. Institutions of this type are of the greatest value. They have brought into our American life many of our best men and women ; their opportunity to train such men and women lies almost entirely in making their college training wholesome, thorough, and sincere. During the last six or eight years the college has expanded both in numbers and in the field that it attempts to cover. Both expansions have been at the expense of a certain amount of true educational thoroughness. Loosely administered entrance requirements have added to the number of students. The excursion into various col- lateral fields having bearing upon industrial or scientific subjects has apparently en- riched the coiu'se of study, but has added little to the real value of the college. The true opportunity of such a college lies in doing the work of a college only. To make the institution more fruitful, there is necessaiy not so much the teaching of additional ' These totals do not include ten graduate Btudents. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 185 subjects as the possession of an income sufficient to pay the highest class of college teacher to do the fundamental work well. This fundamental work is now being admira- bly done, in most cases, by the existing college staff, which, however, is overworked in the effort to cover too large a field. Meanwhile, the college faces a growing tendency to become a women's college, a tendency greatly accentuated by the inauguration of the depai-tment of pedagogy, the candidates for which are almost entirely women. The number of boys from Vermont does not greatly increase, in spite of the effort to attract them. The inducement, in fact, for young men to go to the college becomes less as the proportion of women students increases. While, therefore, the work of the college is distinctly good, and while the opportunity to maintain a good American college will always remain, thei-e are before the trustees and officers of the institution serious problems to consider; they must deal with influences that may within the next ten or twenty years materially change the character of the college. The direct concern of the state of Vermont with Middlebury lies, however, in the work that the state has subsidized the college to do. It seems perfectly clear that no state ought to subsidize a college like Middlebury, no matter how good an institution it may be, merely for the purpose of enabling it to carry on its general work, unless the institution is owned and controlled by the state. The question, however, that is pre- sented in the subsidizing of Middlebury is this: Is it wise for the state to subsidize a college like Middlebury to enable it to perform for the state a distinctive service, the training of teachers for the secondary schools.'' Only upon the ground of this distinctive service could such a use of public money be defended at all. The ques- tion is whether there is an urgent need for such an agency, and whether Middlebury College can effectively perform that work for the state. The need of a subsidized agency for the training of teachers of the secondary schools of Vermont does not seem, on careful examination, at all pressing. There are in all the high schools of Vermont fewer than 300 secondary school teachers. To re- cruit the annual vacancies in this corps does not need a very large number of teach- ers, and the testimony that has been brought together concei'ning the appointment of teachers shows that the state has applications from many more secondary school teach- ers than it has places to fill. These teachers come from various colleges and normal schools, — from Middlebury, from the University of Vermont, from Dartmouth, and from several Massachusetts colleges. They are in the main college graduates, some- times with special training for teaching, usually without; but there seems to be no difficulty in obtaining many more fairly well-qualified teachers for the secondary schools than there are places to fill. Taking into consideration the many sources of supply for secondary school teachers and the urgent needs of the state in elementaiy education, the subsidy to Middlebury College does not seem defensible. Another feature of this situation ought not to be passed over without the most careful consideration. Middlebury College, although subject in a remote way to state control, is practically governed by its own board of trustees. It can be assumed safely 186 EDUCATION IN VERMONT that any department for the training of secondary school teachers that has back of it a state subsidy will in the long run acquire such prestige and influence that its grad- uates will be in command of the secondary schools of the state. The history of all such college movements goes to show that the college graduate devotes his loyalty to the college rather than to the state, and that he will be guided in his educational policy by his allegiance to the college. In the long run, under this arrangement, Middlebury Col- lege would acquire a commanding influence in the whole determination of the edu- cational system of the state. As a question of public policy, it seems extremely doubt- ful whether any state ought to entrust such power to any institution that it does not own and control. XIII NORWICH UNIVERSITY Norwich University was founded at Norwich, Vermont, in 1819 by a former super- intendent of West Point. It received its charter as Noi'wich University in 1834. The adoption of the name "university" was an unfortunate event in the history of the institution. It has never been a university nor can it ever be such, and during the whole of its history it has labored under the disadvantage of doing a work in education wholly out of relation to the name under which it has lived. In 1866 the buildings at Norwich were burned and the institution was removed to Northfield, which offered grounds and barracks. Tlie village of Northfield is in almost the exact centre of the state, with a population of a little less than two thousand. It lies directly in the hills, the school standing on the level top of one of these hills on the edge of the village. There are in the village no advantages for students outside of those that the college itself offers. Norwich University is governed by a self-perpetuating board of thirty trustees and the president ex officio, all being elected for terms of five years. Five of the thirty tnistees are nominated by the alumni. Of the present board ten are from North- field, eight others from Vermont, four from New York, three from Massachusetts, and one each from California, Connecticut, Iowa, and New Hampshire. There is now one vacancy. Sixteen of the thirty are alumni. The trustees have a Commencement meet- ing that is well attended, and one other meeting in Northfield during the year. Be- sides these, two or three other meetings are held, ordinarily at Northfield. These are attended by only a small proportion of the board, and naturally in these meetings the Northfield members compose a large proportion of those present. The executive and finance committees, composed in the main of the local members, meet at the president's call. The management of the institution is quite strongly local. Two of the state visitors usually attend Commencement for a day or two and make some inspection of the books. No record, however, of the reports made to the legis- lature by these visitors can be found, although the president of the university states that, according to his best belief, such reports have been made. The law of 1912, which adds the state superintendent of education and the state auditor to the visitors' committee, and requires them to report upon the expenditure of state money, should result in regular reports. The organization of the institution is simple, but adequate. The president con- ducts the general affairs of the institution, including the care of legislation, which is an important part of his duties. The dean attends to admissions, promotions, and graduation. The commandant, detailed from the United States Army, is in charge of discipline and military instruction. The institution has been fortunate in the last three years in having as commandant Captain Tompkins, whose detail is just closing. 188 EDUCATION IN VERMONT and who has given a most devoted and effective service in the military department. In the school administration there are ten faculty conmiittees, some active, others less so. The professor of English has in charge the solicitation of students much after the manner of preparatory schools, by circulars, by correspondence, and by visiting school principals, individuals, and promising candidates. The problem of bringing students into the institution is one of the most serious and difficult duties, for reasons that will appear as the general description of the school proceeds. In order to judge fairly the equipment of the school, it is to be remembered that the institution is not a university in any sense. It is really a modest engineering school with a very strong military element, so strong, in fact, that the military features color all the school work. The afternoons are wholly devoted to military duties and to mili- tary instruction instead of being given, as in most institutions, to laboratory and library work. The equipment, therefore, that the institution has for its work is simply the equipment of an engineering school. The buildings consist of Dodge Hall, the gift of General Dodge, costing $10,000, wjiich houses the chemical laboratories and certain rooms for drawing and recitations; Dewey Hall, costing .'?22,500, given by general subscription, providing a chapel, ad- ministration offices, and a small museum; Carnegie Hall, costing $37,500, providing a rather unsatisfactory library and modest quarters for electricity and physics. A heating plant, costing $12,-500, was erected in 1905. In 1909 the United States gov- ernment erected a weather bureau building immediately adjoining the grounds at a cost of $15,000. The drill hall and stables are inadequate wooden buildings. The en- tire cost of these buildings, exclusive of that of the government, amounts approxi- mately to $85,000. In addition to the buildings used for instruction and laboratories are two halls whose cost was $75,000, and which together are able to house 215 cadets, or half as many more as are in attendance. The laboratories as well as the equipment for the teaching of the sciences them- selves are meagre. There is a sufficient number of surveying instruments and an ex- tremely modest equipment for physics and for chemistry. The military equipment is provided by the federal and state governments. Of the 14,700 books only a small fraction are useful. Apparently but little use is made of the library except for maga- zine reading. The endowment of the institution at the present time amounts to $114,800, and the entire value of the plant, including grounds, buildings, and equipment, would per- haps amount to scarcely $300,000. The current income of the year 1912-13 is estimated at approximately $48,000, made up as follows: From students $22,000 Income on endowment 5,500 State appropriation 15,500 Other sources 5,000 NORWICH UNIVERSITY 189 The item of $5000 comes from the sum paid by the Adjutant-General of the state of Vermont on legal authority for the military service of cadets. This sum by the action of the cadets themselves is returned to the institution. The extraordinary situation is here presented of the state of Vermont enrolling in its military service natives of other states and subsidizing them to come to the institution. The expenditures of the institution for the same period are estimated as foDows : Instruction $17,500 Administration 12,500 Current expenses 8,100 Library, including books and service 1,420 Miscellaneous expenditures 7,540 Total $47,060 Under the law as now framed, 120 state scholarships were available in the year 1912-13. Fifty-five of these, amounting to $3850, were assigned by senators. These fifty-five constitute 88 per cent of the total of 62 students from Vermont in the year 1912-13. The remaining state scholarships, assignable by the president, were not used. There are nearly twice as many state scholarships as there are students from the state. There were also assigned to students not from Vermont 44 university scholarships, amounting to $1600, and one special scholarship, amounting to $50, — a total of $1650. In all, therefore, there was an expenditure for scholarships amounting to $5500; or 68 per cent of the 147 students in attendance were in receipt of scholar- ship aid. The cost of education to the student is extremely moderate, ranging from $300 to $450 a year. The authorities report that more than $500 is seldom spent by a single student. Compared to a city college, the cost is slight, although it will hardly be considered cheap in comparison with what the student gets. Less than one-third, however, of the students in 1912-13 came without some financial aid. The instructing staff consists of ten professors, three assistant professors, and one instructor. The professor of military science and tactics and the professor of meteorology, who is the local forecaster of the AVeather Bureau, are salaried officials of the government. The average salary of a professor is $1350, and of an assistant professor, $1100. Considerable increases in salary are planned from the increase in the state appropriation for 1913-14. The salaries at present are extremely low, even taking into account the scale of living which is common in the village of Northfield. Partly for this reason the members of the faculty have been drawn in considerable measure fi-om graduates of the institution itself Under such conditions the difficulty of getting competent men must be very great. This is illustrated by the arrangement made with the professor of electrical engineering, whose time is divided between Dartmouth College and Norwich University, giving three days a week in each place. 190 EDUCATION IN VERMONT The curriculum offered in Norwich University is that of a somewhat meagre en- gineering course, which in large measure must be theoretical, in view of the lack of equipment, the limited number of instructors, and the large amount of the students' time devoted to military duties. The instructing staff, which, excluding the presi- dent, numbers fourteen, amiounces 121 semester courses in addition to sunmier schools and thesis supervision. Sixteen of these courses were not given in 1912-18, and aU but one of the remaining 105 were given by 11 persons, an average of about 10 courses a year, or 5 at one time. One professor gave 17, one 15, and two 12 each. In general, the amount of work announced is excessive for the size of the staff, and some of the assignments would seem impossible. For example, the single professor who conducts 17 courses a year is responsible for all of the instruction in the English language, com- position, and literature, the English Bible and Oriental classics, economics, law, psy- chology, logic, and ethics. In the catalogue 20 courses in chemistry are announced, all of which must be given by one pi-ofessor, who also has other work, and one in- structor. An entire program in civil engineering, consisting of 24 semester courses, three summer sessions, and theses, is atinounced by three teachers, who also announce eight other courses. An entire curriculum in electrical engineering, covering 14 se- mester courses, is announced by one teacher, who gives one-half of his time to the institution, a promise of instruction that can only mislead the student. The extended offering of courses for a small number of students results in many small classes : 34 classes with 1 to 9 students 33 classes with 10 to 19 students 20 classes with 20 to 29 students 13 classes with 31 to 38 students 5 classes with 47 to 63 students Thus, 67 classes, or about two-thirds of the whole number, are economically too smaU; only about one-fifth are of economically convenient size. No descri])tion of the instruction offered at the institution would be in true per- spective which failed to bring out the fact that military instruction and discipline are the backbone, not only of the curriculum, but of the school life. The whole of every afternoon is devoted to military instruction, a larger amount than is given at West Point. No other institution in the country that gives so much military instruction attempts to do full college work at the same time. The value of this instruction from the standpoint of discipline is doubtless great when it is carried out by so able and conscientious an officer as the one now in charge. This value, however, depends almost wholly on the personality of the officer detailed by the United States government, and even at its best it is certainly a question whether the prospective engineer does not sacrifice his engineering to military train- ing when he puts so large an amount of time into the latter. That the military work is NORWICH UNIVERSITY 191 on the whole well done there seems to be little question. In genei'al, also, the students lii z ■— ' z o H < u a> 'hJ Q o" w CO OS u ?. n a fc -2 c 'i\ H w as ^ D a> H ^ Q ^ Z ■^ w CL, ■-5 >^ P tu O CJ t< •O J; g ; rt a ■- ; m !^ a E S § « a- 3 C o "i 5. £ " 3 --3 S E'S S a ■? a X g c £ Sf -c '± > o a c s 0, B = 2 s s i - ■"' S >-■ ^ i ^ o a *^ rt SJ "O _ » I . -. 1 1 s I II ■■ '"'!;■:;" e> c Q S 5$ S 2 w ^ 00 cS ^ »o m & -g ^. .r= lU -. a3 -2 S5 &3 So u K 1 -.D _ ■ to c^ N ,.n (D CI 00 (N §8^ § c^ So t-; M CI -^ ^ ci ^ q6 d CO ?3 S ti oi td d 2" ^2 g c ^' c & , 2 tn c •0 ■5 '^ d s "s R a 0, < ^s 1 1 "» s 3 .£ ° 5 M ^ •S.2 1 ■'S ■2 .g « ° si 1 i SS 11 IS. Ill > II 3 In C "S c « a 3 5 i 2 2 .-2 ■- a, 1 ^s ■0 2 i2 3 illll S 2 ■3 > 6:5 £ sat ■a = 3 '^■ < s S 0, D 'i Z <1 to C/1 C < H U t^ M _ »g § 30 to « t2 # i i ^ _ jj O O o o d ui « « 45 2 T3 _ « i 1 s '^ H 3 ~ tft =" ».! = oj 01 ■55 a '= 5 'yi '3 H s »- t2 c c 2 il § ^ 1 = .£3 § a rt ^ -a « « g 3 ffl c Sf b 2 •s - C i i Is z i 5 T3 ? 3 § i c 1; 1 "5 a Us 5i •e 0' S ^ s ^ iS " H -€g' ed ac 1. e!oc page ityo "A fi blisl age ort 0. tor iver Aud a'ts^lSji" <(,* £ So ii-ii Quoted by th 912, page 190. age 190. $64,1 le local shar chools. See a ppear in the Diversity of he Free Publ EDUCATION IN VERMONT PROPORTIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF CURRENT EXPENSES IN Vermont Public Schools, 1911-12 Total expenditure for all purposes, including local supervi- sion, but excluding grounds and buildings and debts on the same $1,673,709.35 Expended for Teachers' salaries Percentage 57.86 Transportation and board Water, fuel, and light 6.04 5.14 Town and Union superintendents Janitors 4.60 4.03 Repairs Debts on current expenses of 19IO-1 1 3.97 3.68 Tuition for advanced instruction 3.24 Miscellaneous items 2.86 Supplies and appliances Text-books 2.77 2.45 Rent and insurance .96 Furniture .78 Tuitions for elementary instruction School directors .67 .66 Truant officers .21 State aid for manual training Medical inspection .06 .02 100.00% THE VERMONT PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 1912-13 Supervision: Salaries of Town and Union Superintendents Salary Number receiving $1000-$1249 1 1250- 1499 19 1500- 1749 21 1750- 1999 8 2000- 2249 * 2250- 2499 2 2500 and over _2 57 STATISTICS 225 The Elementary Schools (a) Age of Elementary Teachers in / A \ Experience of Elementary Teachers in \"/ Vermont Public Schools, 1912-13 Vermont Public Schools. 1912-13 Age Number Age Number Experience in Years City Teachers 1 Rural Teachers Number | Number 16 2 44 16 i 2 37 17 33 46 8 i 4 79 18 142 46 14 1 33 276 19 226 47 9 2 39 208 20 201 48 4 3 36 182 21 160 49 9 4 34 162 22 153 50 9 5 4(; 119 23 167 51 7 6 41 62 24 116 52 10 7 29 81 25 124 53 1 8 32 56 26 93 54 5 9 36 36 27 72 55 4 10 26 48 28 80 56 2 11 18 27 29 57 57 1 12 21 27 30 44 58 6 13 14 36 31 52 59 3 14 12 22 32 28 60 2 15 17 17 33 42 61 16 11 10 34 29 62 3 17 8 35 34 63 18 12 8 36 30 64 19 5 9 •37 29 65 1 20 21 10 38 24 66 1 21 7 8 39 25 67 1 22 7 7 40 17 68 23 5 4 41 19 69 24 4 4 42 11 70 1 25 5 3 43 12 26 27 28 29 6 1 6 5 3 1 2 (C) Weekly Salaries of El ementary Teachers in Vermont Public School 3, 1912-13 Number of Teachers Salary .Number of Teachers Salary ^ City <& Village Schools Rural Schools Total Cityd: Village Schools Rural Schools Total $5.00 6.50 6.00 4 10 1 22 5 21 7 61 15 78 36 36 36 59 31 10 27 17 9 9 4 3 2 4 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 15 B 11 3 61 139 345 150 306 63 266 22 19 8 56 11 20 2 5 9 1 15 5 15 3 71 140 367 155 327 70 326 37 157 44 92 47 79 33 15 27 26 10 10 5 3 3 8 1 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 Brought forward $29.00 31.50 517 1 1,586 1 2.103 1 1 7.00 Tntal 518 1,587 2,105 7.50 8.00 8.50 9.00 9.50 / J\ Annual SaLaries of Elementary Teachers in V""^ Vermont Public Schools, 1912-13 10.50 11,00 11.50 12.00 12.50 13.00 13.50 14.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.00 16.50 17.00 17.50 18.00 18.50 19.00 19.50 20.00 20.50 21.00 21.50 22.00 22.50 23.00 23.50 $150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 425 450 475 500 525 550 575 fiOO 625 650 675 700 725 750 775 800 825 $174 199 224 249 274 299 324 349 374 399 424 449 474 499 524 549 574 599 624 649 674 699 724 749 774 799 824 and over 6 6 17 17 13 43 46 42 62 55 28 54 42 15 8 20 • 6 5 2 8 1 2 3 11 6 48 248 277 207 •200 95 102 46 29 35 25 2 4 9 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 11 6 54 248 283 224 217 108 145 92 71 97 80 30 58 51 15 12 22 7 6 2 9 2 3 5 501 1.357 Forward 517 1,586 2,103 OTOl ^ Id nearly all cases salaries below $7 include board. EDUCATION IN VERMONT The Secondary Schools The approved high schools in Vermont are grouped below according to the number of full- time teachers employed, and are classified according to the present official classification. Bellows Academy at Fairfax is considered as a private institution. Four to twenty-one eachers — .33 Three teachers — 17 No. of Enrolment Enrolment Class Name Teachers 191-3-13 Class Name 1912-13 1 Burlington 21 382 Barton 106 1 Rutland 14. 427 Windsor 86' 1 Barre 10 291 Vergennes 76 1 Brattleboro 10 235 Stowe 75 1 Bennington 9 178 Bristol 74 I Bellows Fall s 8 229 N. Bennington 68 1 Middlebury 7 186 Bethel 67 1 Montpelier 6 163 S. Royalton 65 1 St. Albans 6 160 Johnson 63 1 Springfield 6 144 Richford 61 1 Morrisville 6 125 Enosburg Falls 60 ' 1 Woodstock 6 129 Essex Jet. 56 1 Randolph 5 127 W. Rutland 55 1 Northfield + 101 Pittsford 53 1 White River Jet. t 101 Waterbury 51 1 Hardwick 5 87 Swanton 48 1 Fair Haven ■I 95 Winooski 31 1 Newport 4 92 1 Brandon 4. 80 1 Ludlow 4 77 1 Proctor 4. 65 1 Chester 4 63 1 Bradford 4 49 3,586 64.2% 1,095 19.6% Two teachers — IS One teacher— 19 1 Hyde Park 51 3 Williamstown 25 1 Chelsea 47 3 Waitsfield 24 1 Canaan 41 3 Marshfield 21 1 Rochester 40 3 Plainfield 20 1 Richmond 40 3 Pawlet 20 I Newbury 40 2 Underhill 16 1 Wilmington 37 3 Montgomery Center 16 1 N. Troy 37 3 S. Londonderry 15 1 Hinesburg 37 3 Brookfield 15 1 Island Pond 36 2 Shoreham 14 1 Jericho 35 3 Weston 14 1 Wells River 35 3 Cabot 12 1 Orleans 32 3 Corinth 11 1 Franklin 32 3 Proctorsville 11 3 Milton 26 3 Wallingford 11 1 New Haven 20' 3 Gaysville 10 1 Highgate 19 4 Benson 10 1 Danville 18 2 Royalton 10 4 Middletown Springs 5 623 11.2% 280 5% 'Enrolment in 1911-12. Total = 77 STATISTICS 227 2. Comparison of the Large and Small High Schools in Vermont in respect to certain selected factors of efficiency Schools Schools Schools Schools having 4-22 having 2 having 4-22 having 2 teachers teachers teachers teachers Percentage of college-trained Percentage of subjects being principals and teachers 95.4' 80.5 taught with advanced college Percentage of inexperienced preparation 36.3 23 principals and teachers 11.6 31 Median number of diflerent sub- Percentage of new principals jects taught by principals 4 7 and teachers 32 58 Median.number of different sub- Percentage of subjects taught jects taught by teachers 3 6 without school preparation 5.9 10.8 Median number of class periods Percentage of subjects being per week of principals 25 39.5 taught with high school prep- Median number of class periods aration only 10.9 25.5 per week of teachers 28 39.5 Percentage of subjects being Median salary of principals $1,500.00 $850.00 taught with elementary col- Median salary of teachers 650.00 447.50 lege preparation 46.9 40.7 3. Comparison of the Large and Small High Schools in Vermont in respect to the Cost per Pupil of teaching Senior Latin one hour per week through the Year (" Cost" is obtained by dividing the amount of annual salary by the number of periods of instruction per week and the result by the number of pupils in the class) Schools having 4 teachers or more Schools having 2 teachers Cost Salary Class periods per week Pupils in class Cost Salary Class periods per ireek Pupils in class $1.08 $650 30 20 $2.53 $800 = 45 7 = 1.43 500 35 10 » 2.67 360 45 3' 1.89 850 25 18 3.04 500 41 43 1.92 444 33 7' 3.10 418 45 3" 2.61 1,700^ 31 21' ,3.23 540 33 5» 2.66 800 30 10 = 5.77 450 39 2» 2.66 1,800^ 27 25 6.43 810 = 42 3 = 2.75 1,000 22 16 7.14 1,000 = 35 4 = 2.78 500 30 6 7.26 850 = 39 3 3.09 630 34 6 8.00 1,400 = 35 5' 3.14 550 25 7 10.11 445 44 1 3.40 850 25 10 12.34 432 35 1 5.00 600 30 4 14.10 550 39 1 5.25 1,050 40 5 20.00 900 = 45 1 5.36 1,500 2 20 14 5.46 1,500 2 25 11' 5.51 1,350^ 24 10 6.14 600 32 3 8.33 418 33 2' 8.00 1.000 25 5 10.00 1.400^ 35 4 12.12 1,600 2 22 6 15.48 1..300' 21 4 jl/edians$3,40 $850 27 7 $6.79 $545 40 3 4. Size of Classes in Vermont High Schools (The figures indicate percentages of the total at the bottom of the column in each case) Size of Class Schools with ior Schools with 8 Schools with 2 Schools with 1 more teachers teachers teachers teacher 1-3 5 6 14 33 10 4-5 5 10 17 15 10 6-10 16 27 40 39 26 11-15 15 32 19 10 19 16-20 21 12 10 1 14 21-25 20 8 2 12 Over 25 18 5 9 Total Number of Classes 748 361 328 205 1,642 "Principal. In the simple reckoning used here, "cost " includesexpense of supervision, etc., expected from the prin- cipal. To be strictly comparable, the teachers and principals should be grouped by themselves; the relation is the same, however, in either case. ^ Seniors and juniors combined in one class. EDUCATION IN VERMONT 5. Personalia of High School Principals in Vermont Schools with 4 or more teachers Schools Schools Schools Number, Age. and Salary With S teachers with 2 teachers with 1 teacher Total 77 23 17 18 19 1. Number of men 23 17 17 9 66 (86.7% of 77) 2. Number of women 1 10 11 (14.3% of 77) 3. Total 23 17 18 19 77 4. Median age of men 37 33 27 26 29.5 5. Median age of women 26 26.5 26 6. Median age of group 37 33 27 26 29 7. Median salary of men $1,600.00 $1,100.00 $860.00 $660.00 $1,200.00 8. Median salary of women $684.00 $475.00 $604.00 9. Median salary of group $1,600.00 $1,100.00 $860.00 $640.00 $1,000.00 Training 10. Graduates of academies and high schools in Vt. 10 8 9 13 40 (61.9% of 77) 11. Graduates of academies and high schools else- where 13 8 8 6 35 12. Graduates of normal school 2 1 3 13. Normal school non-graduates 1 1 14. Graduates of colleges in Vermont B B 8 B 23 (38.3% of 60) IB. Graduates of colleges elsewhere 18 6 37 (61.7% of 60) 16. Total graduates 23 12 16 10 60 (77.9% of 77) 17. College non-graduates 3 1 3 7 (9.1% of 77) 18. Without college training 2 2 6 10 (13% Of 77) 19. Pedagogical training : none 19 10" 12 16 57 (75% of 76) 20. Pedagogical training : elementary 3 6 6 3 18 (23.7% of 76) 21. Pedagogical training : advanced 1 1 (1.3% of 76) 22. Attended summer schools 12 6 6 6 28 (36.8% of 76) 23. Did graduate study 3 1 4 (5.2% of 76) 24. Reported no later training 6 9 11 10 36 (47.4% of 76) Experience 26. Elementary school : number experienced 16 8 7 10 40 26. Elementary school : average years 2.1 1.7 4.1 4.6 2.C 27. Elementary school : median years 1 1 .7 3 l.e 28. Secondary schools : number experienced 23 16 11 11 61 29. Secondary schools : average years 11.4 8.2 4.2 4.4 7.<» SO. Secondary schools : median years 10 4.6 8 1 6 Present Work 31. Total number of subjects now fciught 90 89' 116 1,39 434 32. Average number of subjects now taught 3.9 6.6 6.4 7.3 6.6 33. Average numberof subjects taught forflrst time .B .9 .3.7 3.6 2. 34. Medianaverage experience persubjectdnyears) 5.2 .3.8 2.1 1.6 3.3 35. Subjects taught without school preparation 7 6' 16 12 41 (9.4% of 434) 36. Subjects taught with high school preparation only 12 17' 23 44 96 (22.1% of 434) 37. Subjects taught with elementary college or normal school preparation 64 48' 68 67 227 (52.3% of 4S4) 38. Subjects taught with advanced college or nor- mal school preparation 17 18' 19 16 70 (16.2% of 434) 39. Median number of class periods per week 25 33 39.6 48 36 40. Highest number of class periods per week 42 46 62 84 84 41. Lowest number of class periods per week 14= 26 33.3 ,SS^ 14 ' Sixteen principals reporting. = Except in Burlington, where the work of the principal is almost wholly ^ Two exceptional part-time eases with fewer hours are omitted. STATISTICS 229 6. Personalia of Full-time Teachers in 58 High Schools in Vermont * (Principals are omitted. Figures in parentheses in the first three columns indicate percentages) Schools mith 4 or Schools with 3 Schools with 2 Total Number, Age. and Salary teachers teachers teachers 58 23 17 18 1. Number of men 20 2 22 (12.6% of 176) 2. Number of women 103 32 18 163 (87.4% of 176) 3. Total 123 34 18 175 4. Median age of men 28 30 28 6. Median age of women 27 24 26 26 6. Median age of group 27 24 26 26 7. Median salary of men $1,025.00 ^69.00 $1,026.00 8. Median salary of women $630.00 $613.00 $447.60 $600.00 9. Median salary of group $660.00 $513.00 ^47.50 $600.00 Training 10. Graduates of academies and high schools in Vt. 57 (46.8) 21 (61.1) 10 (56.6) 88 (50.3% of 176) 11. Graduates of academies and high schools else- where M (52) 12 (35.3) 8 (44.4) 84 (48% of 175) 12. Graduates of normal schools in Vermont 2 4 1 71 (12% of 175) 18. Graduates of normal schools elsewhere 12 1 131 14. Normal school non-graduate 1 1 15. Graduates of colleges in Vermont 26 17 3 46 (34.6% of 133) 16. Graduates of colleges elsewhere 69 9 9 87 (66.4% of 133) 17. Total graduates 95 (77.2) 26 (76.5) 12 (6.66) 133 (76% of 176) 18. College non-graduates 8 1 1 10 (5.7% of 176) 19. Without college training 20 7 5 32 (18.3% of 176) 20. Attended schools of business, music, elocution. etc. 14 2 16 (9.1% of 176) 21. Pedagogical training: none 62 (60.4) 14 (42.4) 9 (60) 85 (48.6% of 175) 22. Pedagogical training: elementary 57 (46.3) 20 (67.6) 9 (60) 86 (49.1% of 176) 23. Pedagogical training: advanced 4 (3.3) 4 (2.3% of 175) 24. Attended summer schools 33 (26.8) 6 (18.2) 6 (33.3) 46 (26.7% of 176) 26. Did graduate study 6 ' 1 8 (18.3% of 175) Experience 26. In elementary schools: number experienced 40 (32.6) 15 (46.6) 8 (44.4) 63 (36% of 175) 27. In elementary schools: average years 4.6 2.6 3.S 8.7 28. In elementary schools; median years 3 1 2 2 29. In secondary schools: number experienced 106 21 14 141 (80.6% of 176) SO. In secondary schools: average years 5.6 3.8 3 5 31. In secondary schools : median years 4 2.1 1.3 3 Present Work 32. Total number of subjects now taught 349= 144 88 581 33. Average number of subjects now taught 2.8 4.4 4,9 3.3 34. Average number of subjects taught for first time .9 2.1 2.1 1.8 36. Subjects taught without school preparation 19 (6.4) 5 (3.5) 6 (6.8) 30 (6.2% Of 581) 36. Subjects taught withhighschool preparationonly 86 (10.3) 16 (11.1) 29 (S3) 81 (13.9% of 681) 37. Subjects taught with elementary college or nor- mal school preparation 162 (43.6) 64 (44.4) 26 (28.4) 241 (41.6% of 681) 38. Subjects taught with advanced college or normal school preparation 142 (40.7) 69 (41) 28 (31.8: 229 (39.4% of 681) * Teachers of training-classes e "Principals," ^One teacher not reporting. ; not included. Data ing schools with one teacher will be found with the 230 EDUCATION IN VERMONT 7. Colleges at which the Principals and Teachers in Vermont High Schools WERE trained 1 11 lit IV Schoo s with 4 Schools with 3 Schools with •! Schools with Colleges or more teachers teachers teachers 1 teacher Teachers Principals Teachers Principals Teachers Principals Principals Middlebury 13 2 11 2 2 3 i 37 University of Verm6nt 1?. 3 6 3 1 4 1 31 Mt. Holyoke 18 2 1 1 22 Smith 15 2 1 18 Dartmouth 2 6 4 4 1 17 VVellesley 9 1 1 11 Boston University 5 1 1 7 Brown 2 1 1 4 Yale 1 3 4 Radchffe 2 1 I 4 Teachers College 2 1 3 Colby 1 1 1 3 Tufts 2 1 3 Amherst 1 1 1 3 Bowdoin 1 1 1 3 Bates 2 1 3 Williams 1 1 1 3 Syracuse University 1 1 1 3 St. Lanrence University 1 1 2 University of Minnesota 1 Clark 1 Hamilton 1 Barnard 1 Univ. of New Brunswick 1 Berea 1 Western Reserve 1 University of Chicago 1 Rhode Island State 1 ColKate 1 Ripon 1 Norwich 1 Total 95 23 26 12 12 15 10 193 8. Number of Periods per Week of Recitation required of Principals and the Average Number required from Teachers in Ver.mont High Schools TOGETHER WITH THE AVERAGE ClaSS MeMBERSHIp' I 11 111 IV Schools with 4 or more School , with 3 Schools with 2 Schools with teachers teachers teachers 1 teacher Principals Teachers Prin ipals Teachers" Principals Teachers Principals Pe- Class Pe- Pe- Class Pe- Class Pe- Class Pe- Class Pe- Class Mem- riods Mem- riods Mem- riods Mem- riods Mem- riods Mem- riods Mem- bership bership bership bership bership bership bership 22 22 25 9 27 17 33 5 30 9 15 P.T. 5 14 37 22 18 25 16 29 14 35 8 33 8 25= P.T. 12 14 21 24 22 26= 8 31 11 35 7 34 6 35= P.T. 5 16 24 25 18 27' 17 31 12 35 8 35 7 40= 5 20 22 25 20 30 13 31 18 37 16 35 6 40= 4 20 16 26 17 30 12 31 17 38 12 38 9 43 20 9 27 21 30 11 35 10 38 10 39 10 45 6 20 21 27 17 30= 6 35 14 38 9 39 8 45= 21 10 28 19 33 11 35 16 39 8 39 10 48 4 22 14 28 21 33 8 35 10 40 6 40 9 48 6 24 15 28 19 33 9 35 HI 40 4 40 9 48= 5 25 9 28 16 35 11 35 6 43= 7 41 8 50= 7 25 15 29 13 35 9 38 12 43' 7 43 7 50' fi 27 20 30 13 37 15 40 11 443 9 44 8 50= 4 27 15 30 20 39 24 41 12 45 13 45 8 52= 28 13 31 19 39 14 46 9 453 8 45 7 53= 5 28 19 31 13 45= 5 47'' 7 48 10 56= 8 29 10 32 12 52= 9 55 15 60« 4 31 12 32 18 84* 4 31 20 33 10 33 17 33 16 35 16 35 7 42 11 38 14 Medians 25 15 28 18 33 11 35 12 39.5 8 39.5 8 48 5 ' Classes in commercial subjects and in all special branches have been omitted in estimating: the average class mem- bership. ^ Periods average 35 min. ^ Periods average SO min. • Periods average 26 min. ■ One school failed to report. p.t. -^ Part time. STATISTICS 231 9. Salaries of Principals and Average Salaries of Full-time Teachers in Vermont High Schools, 1912-13 th4or Schools with 8 Schools with 2 Schools with more teachers teachers teachers 1 teacher Principals Teachers Principals Teachers Principals Teachers Principals $1,050 $431 $850 $324 $675 $360 $180 1,100 476 1,000 450 084 360 450 1,200 500 1,000 456 700 396 450 1,250 504 1,000 457 800 432 450 1.300 508 1.000 475 goo 432 468 1,350 558 1,000 500 800 432 500 1,350 574 1,100 503 810 432 504 1,350 583 1,100 504 850 432 540 1,400 583 1.100 520 850 445 540 1,500 616 1.200 525 850 450 540 1,500 621 1.200 526 850 450 550 1,500 650 1,200 550 900 468 600 1,600 650 1,250 550 900 475 600 1,600 700 1.300 550 950 500 650 1,700 705 1,300 590 1,000 500 050 1,700 733 1,300 595 1,000 518 720 1,700 760 1,400 625 1,200 540 720 1,750 764 1,400 550 725 1,800 766 850 2,000 777 2,000 800 2,400 834 2,400 844 Jfedtan $1,500 $650 $1,100 $520 $850 $447 $540 COUNTY DISTRIBUTION OF VERMONT STUDENTS ATTENDING VERMONT'S INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION County University of Vermont MlDDLEBURY COLLEGE Norwich University 1902-3 1907-8 1912-13 1902-3 1907-8 1912-13 1902-3 1907-8 1912-13 Addison 10 12 7 34 70 64 6 Bennington 15 21 10 8 1 2 5 5 Caledonia 10 9 14 4 4 4 5 8 Chittenden 130 116 112 1 7 2 3 Essex 2 5 2 2 3 4 Frank-lin 34 32 31 6 4 7 1 7 1 Grand Isle 3 11 3 Lamoille 18 19 15 1 3 3 7 1 Orange 18 13 19 6 6 7 4 4 Orleans 18 22 14 4 1 3 2 Rutland 24 18 50 10 21 26 2 7 7 Washington 17 17 25 7 4 5 18 19 23 Windham 12 14 16 1 4 7 7 5 6 Windsor 29 39 32 3 11 17 7 12 5 340 348 350 61 134 153 57 87 62 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE VERMONT STATE BOARD OF HEALTH RELATIVE TO SCHOOLS The Vermont State Board of Health, responding to the request of the Commission, submitted the following recommendations in regard to changes in the statutes relat- ing to School Hygiene : First. A date should be fixed at some reasonable time in the future, perhaps five or ten years, on whicli all schoolhouses in the state must have complied with the regulations of the State Board of Health. It is understood that such regulations would include only such features as are generally recognized by sanitary author- ities as essential to healthful schoolhouses; c.jg-., dirt-tight floors, jacketed stoves, windows of the correct size and properly placed, blackboards of the proper material and properly set, out-houses of sanitary construction and decently cared for, etc. Second. It is desirable that all towns in the state have medical inspection of pub- lic schools under some practical working plan. The purpose of this is primarily to ensure the early detection of disorders and deformities which may prove suscep- tible to correction, and to eradicate contagious diseases from the public schools. Third. It is desirable that the Department of Education gather and furnish to the State Board of Health such statistical data as are necessary for the proper discharge of their duties in the supervision of the hygiene of the public schools of the state. The committee of enquiry heartily endorses these reconunendations. INDEX INDEX Academies, 26, 30, 63, 64, 6T, 228, 229. Agriculture, 8, 11,21, 22, 24, 127, 132, 133. In schools, 11, 46-48, 89, 104, 127-133. Principal industry of state, 127. State College of, 164-172. State School of, 129, 133. Agricultural schools of Wisconsin, 133. Algebra, 45, 47, 77, 81, 82, 84, 87, 102. American College, The, what it stands for, 182. Araerican Medical Association, 175. Amherst College, 200, 230. Arithmetic, 10, 45, 47-49, 103, 116. Austine Institution, 27, 34, 223. Barnard College, 230. Bates College, 230. Berea College, 230. Biennial school reports, 217. Billings. Frederick, 158. Board of Normal School Commissioners, 112. Board of Penal Institutions, 26. Boards of education in other states, 149. Books and supplies, 52, 53, 60. Boston University. 200, 230. Bowdoin College, 230. Brooks, Frank H., President E. and T. Fair- banks and Co. , 3. Brown University, 200, 230. Bryn Mawr College, 201. Budget of public expenditures for education, 1911-12, 222, 223. Burlington, 19. 23, 26, 154, 158, 175, 178. Butler, Nicholas Murray, President of Colum- bia University, 3. l^ARNEGiE Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, The, 4, 6, 7, 174. Methods of work of, 6. Castleton Normal School, 26, 111-113, 114, note, 115. 118, 119, 123, 182. Central schools of London, 100, note. Chemistry, 71, 81, 102, 190. Children : Ages and school attendance of, 30, 40-42, 64, 65, 144, 145, 220. Attending elementary schools, 8, 25. Between 5 and 17 years of age, 8. Compulsory school attendance of, 30. Free text-books for, 30. How best to utihze the time of, 131. Money needed for teaching of, 14. Not in school, 65, 66. Not reached by secondary schools, 66. Number attending public schools, 25, 26. In secondary schools, 65. Percentage of, living in the country, 40. Native born, 40. Play, ingenuity in organizing, 57. Present teaching of, radically wrong, 9. Studies of, 44-51. Transportation of, 39, 60, 61, 137, 139. Well taught in practice-teaching schools, 204. Clark University, 230. Classical course, 81. Clement, Percival W., former President, Rut- land Railroad, 3. Colby CoUege, 230. Colgate College, 230. College or university, fundamental reasons for existence, 202. Colleges drawing Vermont students, 200. Where principals and high-school teachers were trained, 230. Columbia University, 3, 6, 7, 200. Commercial course, 81. Commissioner of Education. 150. Commis.sions created, 112. Common schools : Became free in 1866, 140. Board of directors, 27. Problem of, 8. Sources of income, 32, 33. Compulsory education law, 42. Conclusions and recommendations. 7-16. Connecticut River. 19. 20, 22. Consolidated School Fund, 141. Converse, John H., 158. Cornell University, 200. Dartmouth CoUege, 176, 185, 189, 200, 230. Department of Superintendence of National Education Association, 135. Direct state support and educational standards, 144, 145. Distribution of state funds, 146. [129. Domestic science in schools. 88, 103, 104, 128, Drawing, 44-47. Drinking-cup, common, prohibited, 58. 236 INDEX JliDucATioNAL Commission of Vermont : Appreciation of, 7. Invites Carnegie Foundation to study educa- tional conditions, 4. Letter sent to citizens of Vermont by, 218. Meetings held, i. Named by governor, 3. Resolution adopted, 4. Tabular analysis of replies to letter by, 219. Educational expenditures, 33, 34, 90, 91, 144, 159, 161, 168, 180, 189,2^2-234. Elementary Schools, The, 36-62, 225. Age and attendance of pupils, 30, 40-42, 144, 145, 220. Features of administration of, 39. Proportion of children enrolled, 41. Purpose of, 38. Recommendations, 61, 62. Scope and character of elementary education in Vermont, 38-61. Sources of information, 36, 37. Standards of judgment, 37, 38. Truancy in, 42. Teachers : Age of, 225. Experience of, 225. Number of, 225. Salaries of, 225. Elliott, Edward C, Professor, University of Wisconsin, 6. Emigration, 20, 21. English, 10, 44, 45, 47-49, 54, 77, 81-84, 91, 100, 103, 116, 128, 162, 168, 190. English course, 81. Estee, James B., Mayor of Montpelier, 4. Evening schools, 143. Existing educational system. The, 25-35. Jb ARRiNGTON, Edward H., Professor, College of Agriculture of the University of Wiscon- sin, 7. Financial support of public school system, 140- 147. French, 71, 91, 101, 104. Geography, 10, 44, 45, 49, 50, 54. 102. Geometry, 45, 81, 82, 102. German, 71, 77, 91, 101, 104. German secondary teachers, 72. Governor, The, 3, 7, 23, 26, 29, 155. Graded schools, 25, 42, 59. Graham, Horace F., State Auditor, 3. Grammar, 45, 48, 51, 85. Greek, 71, 81, 82, 91. H.AJIILT0N College, 230. Harvard Medical School, 176. Harvard School of Education, 6. Harvard University, 181, 200, 201. High schools : Accessibility of, 67. Age of teachers, 229. Number of, 226. Causes for withdrawals from, 94. Commercial education in, 87, 96, 98. Comparison of large and small, 227. Curriculum, based upon environment, 100. Inappropriate, 84-87. Mechanical, 83. Modifications of, 100-102. Revision of, 100, 103. "Domination of the college," 9, 82. Educational opportunity of, 99. "General science" course, 102. Groups, 97, 98. Janitor service, 68. Junior, aim to produce successful farmers, 104. More teachers than places, 185. Number of pupils, 66. Graduates, 95. Recitations per week required from teacli- ers, 230. Teachers, 229. Occupations of graduates of, 95, 96. Records, 92. Rural problem, 97. Salaries of teachers of, 98, 231. Size of classes in, 227. Statistics of, 26. Student failures, 86. Studies preparing for college, 104. Superintendent of, 70. Teachers of, 30, 31, 66, 93, 94, 98, 101, 226- 229. Training-classes, 115, 223. Two-teacher, expensive, 98. Visited, 63. Withdrawals from, 92-94. Women form 87 per cent of teachers, 76. Hillegas, Milo B., Professor, Teachers College, 6, 62. INDEX 237 History, 45, 48, 49, 54, 77, 81-86, 101, 116. History of Vermont subsidies to Higher Educa- tion, 194-198. Hunt, George L., clerk of commission, 4. l.M.MIGRATION, 21. Johnson Normal School, 36, 111-113, 114, note, 115, 118-120, note, 123, 183. JVlNDERGARTENS, 25, 143. Latin, 71, 77, 81-84, 87, 101, 104, 162. Latin course, 81. Learned, Dr. William S. , Harvard School of Ed- ucation, 6, 110. Legislature : Acts of, 28, 29, 52, 111-113, 128-130, 140, 141, 148. 155, 156, 164, 194, 196, 197. Appropriations by, 13, 27, 111, 112, 128-130, 140, 141, 194-197. Composition, 23, 34. Provides for Educational Commission, 3. Schools established by, 26, 27. Leslie, William, public accountant, 7. Local support for elementary and secondary schools, 142, 143. Tax for school support, 143. Lyndon Institute, 130, 131. Equipment of, 131. JManttal of agriculture issued, 128. Manual training in schools, 88, 128, 129, 222. Massachusetts Agricultural College, The, 166. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 200. Mathematics, 71, 81, 84, 90, 102, 128, 162, 168. 'Mechanic Arts," 169, 170. Translated to mean high-grade engineering, 170. Method of the enquiry. The, 4-7. Middlebury : Population, 178. Typical smaU New England town, 178. Middlebury College, 3,26, 34, 115, 153-156, 164, 178-186, 194-202, 204-206, 223, 230, 231. Buildings, 179. Campus, 179. Charter, 154-1.56, 178. College of Arts and Sciences, 205, 206. Cost of student life moderate, 180. Courses of instruction, 181. Department of engineering, 181. Department of pedagogy, 182, 185. Endowment, 179. Entrance requirements, 183, 184. Expenditures, 179, 180. Government, 178. Growth in student attendance, 184. Income, 179. Instructing staff, 180. Men favored in matter of scholarships, 180. Officers of administration, 178. Opportunity before it, 184. President of, 206, 207. Problems, 185. Record of attendance, 184. Salaries of instructing force, 180. Scholarships, 180. Service to higher education, 207, 308. Tendency to become a women's college, 185. Value of buildings and apparatus, 179. Women's College established, 178. Women students, 184. Morrill, Senator Justin S., 164, 168, 170. "Morrill Act," The, 164, 169, 170. Mt. Holyoke College, 200, 230. .Nature study, 44, 54. Nelson Amendment, 163. New England College Entrance Certificate Board, 160, 183, note, 191. Normal Schools, 26, 27, 111-114, 117, 118, 122, 133, 333, 228, 229. Buildings and equipment, 113. Castleton,26, 111-113, 114, jjo