should teach what a better living is. Next to living, the greatest problem of life is, what is good living? And the greatest obstacle to a good system of education lies in the misconception of society respecting the kind of a living that is most worthy of our seeking. No one can object that man's first effort is for bread for himself and his children; and until this demand is satisfied it is useless to interest him in anything else. But having bread, he should learn that the delights of life do not increase with the accumulations of bread in the forms of money and bonds. Our schools and our learned men have also to learn what the proper service of education is, and what the final end of its acquisitions in use. Explor ers and searchers for things new, whether it be for new continents, new laws of science, or new philosophies of life, are great contributors, and deserve great honor, but these do not rank highest. They are but the forerunners of those who apply things new to the better living of the people; those who colonize the new worlds and establish governments of freedom of the oppressed; those who utilize science for the improvement of social conditions to make more people happier and better, and who multiply happy homes with happy children.

Our great men, in great institutions, have too often forgotten this. They have risen so high into the sphere of the general and the abstract that they have forgotten their highest mission. The aimlessness of the study of philosophy was exposed by Malebranche in the confession that if he held truth in his hand he would let it escape that he might enjoy the pleasure of its pursuit. Modern science, in a like spirit, assumes that all that is not pure science is impure. A German professor objects to applying calculus to concrete things as falling bodies and other physical phenomena. Another professor has introduced some new phase of mathematical science to his audience after this fashion: "Gentlemen, I am pleased to assure you that this is a chapter in mathematics which can not be applied to any practical purpose." Those men who devote themselves to investigation and discovery must not forget that their honors. will not be awarded until they or others have given their discoveries value in some practical application to living. In our day it is the people who are supporting education, and not princes nor a scientific aristocracy. The people are interested in nothing so much as living; and they who are nearest the people are the men who take the crude material of discovered truth, which these miners have sent up from the dark chambers of their hidden lives, and have reduced them to forms of utilitarian beauty, to increase and to improve the happiness of men. And this test is being applied to our entire educational curriculum. Humanity has no use for "art for art's sake," for culture as an end in itself, nor for a science that disappears with its votaries in the realm of the abstract. The supreme test of educational values is: How do these things relate man to life? What better interpretation of living do they give? And how do they contribute to better living?

DISCUSSION

PROFESSOR GEORGE E. VINCENT, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.—I am glad that my extemporaneous remarks are not typewritten and in the custody of the secretary, for Dr. Kiehle's comprehensive discussion drives me to the refuge of the university man -the field of the doctrinaire. Bear with me, therefore, while I philosophize briefly in what may seem far from a practical fashion. At the outset let me assert that in all this world the most practical, accomplishing force is the ideal. This is the one thought which I shall try to elaborate in the few minutes assigned to me.

Three words in the topic of the hour I select as significant and as involving the questions at issue. These words are “practical," "application," and "better." What is a practical use of all learning; what is involved in its application; and what is better living? These are the problems.

It is our habit to think of the mechanism of life as the chiefly practical thing. We naturally pride ourselves upon the railway, the telegraph, and the telephone, upon the factory and the printing press. But these are, after all, merely the machinery, the means of life, not life itself. To exalt the mechanism above the ends which it serves is to blun der sadly. The real motive power, the force which brings things to pass, which is truly practical, is the imagery which fills the minds of men, the pictures which arouse their enthusiasm, the visions which inspire them to effort. The fundamental problem is to translate knowledge into ideals, to transmute learning unto an inner light.

Every society is to be judged finally, not by its beautiful wares, its cunning contrivances, its treasures of art, but by the mental pictures of character, conduct, and destiny which arouse purpose and activity in its men and women. The chief task of a nation, then, is to energize its knowledge, to organize its learning into leading.

The word "application" has for me an unfortunate suggestion. It somehow seems to imply an external, inorganic relation. One thinks of something fastened on or added from without. This may seem merely a quibble about terms, but I fancy a misconception lurks beneath the word. The learning which becomes truly practical cannot be applied or added to either individual or institution or society. It must be taken up into the life of persons and people. It must be a growth in the very fiber of the citizen and the state. The teacher who regards the studies of the school as external entities to be applied to the pupils is hopelessly a machine. Literature, history, art, science become a living, organic whole in the personality of the true teacher.

Nor can any educated class in a nation apply learning and art and idealism to their humbler fellow-citizens. These things must live in the minds of the many. Leadership and suggestion are powerful forces, but there is no alchemy by which "leaden instincts can be fused into golden conduct." A people becomes wise and brave and just only as the imagery of truth and courage and righteousness fills the minds of its men and women. The glory of democracy lies in its faith that the many may live this richer, fuller life.

Nevertheless, the few must discover the truth, translate it into ideals, and put these at the service of all. It is an inspiring task that may well arouse the noblest souls. Think of the devotion of these explorers! I am not wholly content with Dr. Kiehle's imagery of the miners at work in their deep shafts, if that implies narrowness of view and interest. Nor can I feel that "truth for truth's sake" is not a noble quest in itself. It may be a subordinate aim in the hierarchy of purposes which the ideal of social service dominates, but it rises far above many of the practical and sordid ends which men and women are far too prone to seek. May our scientists never cease the pursuit of truth as an ideal end, as well as a means to a larger life for all mankind!

But knowledge cannot in itself fire the imagination and urge men to action. Senti. ment must provide the motive force. Ideals are impotent unless they arouse instant response of emotion, resolution, and effort. We cannot neglect this all-important factor,

this passion for realizing the nobler pictures which pass before the mind. However we may conceive religion, its essential part in the life of men cannot be denied. In these days when theological formulæ are being.revised or translated into the new "language of the times," the thoughtless may fancy that religion is passing; but those who peer deeper see that the fundamental facts of religion, ideals of righteousness and fervent purpose to realize them, were never more potent than today. Religion as the passion for perfection, seeking the divine truth, and pressing ever toward loftier planes of individual and community life, is a permanent force in social evolution.

I need not dwell upon the meaning of "better living." Life is to be judged finally by the imagery, the ideals which pass in ceaseless panorama before the minds of men. In so far as these pictures present the richer, nobler aspects of conduct and aspiration, existence passes over into living. Thus again we reach the assertion that the most fundamentally practical task of every people is to produce and diffuse the imagery which will inspire its citizens to the highest aims.

Truth, purpose, and effort, then, are the necessary factors of achievement, of practical accomplishment. In a general way, this is no time for nice discriminations. Science, philosophy, and religion stand for these three things: science gathers facts and formulates laws; philosophy unifies these into a theory of life; religion transforms this theory into dynamic power. Not one of these factors can be neglected. Each is essential. The absence of science means ignorance and fanaticism; the neglect of philosophy leads to mental anarchy; the decline of religious fervor spells apathy and stagnation. We rejoice in the conquests of science because they contribute to an ever truer philosophy of living, a more and more accurate picture of what is, a loftier and more imspiring vision of what may be. Philosophy — and with this I include theology - becomes increasingly a social philosophy. All knowledge is brought to bear upon the common life of men, not only to produce more goods, but to give each one a more vivid image of himself as a member of society. Thus the old artificial individualism yields to a truer picture of social solidarity, and the person thinks himself in terms of his fellows. Religious enthusiasm, a zeal for righteousness, seizes upon this new ideal and infuses new fervor into daily duty, civic loyalty, and public service.

This in brief outline is the mighty movement by which deeper learning passes into richer living. Let us not overlook this fundamental task the most vital and practical which we can further. Nor should we waste time in idle disputes as to the relative value of science, philosophy, and religion. It is vain to give precedence when all are essential and interdependent. Science furnishes materials for the ideals of life and conduct which philosophy creates and which religion urges into action.

These ideals are the practical forces which bring things to pass. They are the ends which mechanism serves. They are, in Watson's phrase, "the things that are more excellent."

The grace of friendship, mind and heart,

Linked with their fellow heart and mind;

The gains of science, gifts of art,

The sense of oneness with our kind;

The thirst to know and understand,

A large and liberal discontent,

These are the goods in life's rich hand,

The things that are more excellent.

N. C. SCHAEFFER, state superintendent of public instruction, Harrisburg, Pa.Teaching consists in getting another to learn. The word "learning" may mean the activity by which the mind acquires knowledge, or it may mean the results of that activity and thus be synonymous with the knowledge imparted at school. Using the term in the latter signification, we may say that, as applied to better living, all learning falls under three categories.

First, the learning that exerts no influence upon living. In the days when Cicero

spoke and Vergil wrote, there were men so rich that they dissolved pearls in goblets of wine to make the drink more costly. The names of these millionaires are almost forgotten. To teach their names exerts no influence upon the lives of the students. What application to life can be made of the knowledge implied in questions like the following: Name the English king who died in a carriage; the spy who was caught in the attempt to carry a message in a silver bullet to General Burgoyne; the soldier who escaped at the battle of Thermopylæ. Is it the duty of the superintendent to exclude from the curriculum all knowledge that does not conduce to better living?

Secondly, there is the knowledge that is helpful in bread-winning, in money-making. Talk against bread studies as much as you please, the struggle for existence compels most pupils to seek knowledge that will be of use in making a living. When man's powers are exhausted in the struggle for existence, as during war, the very name of letters is a mockery. The demands of the body must be met if there is to be leisure for the things of the mind and the higher life.

Thirdly, there are kinds of learning or knowledge which conduce to the higher life of thought, faith, hope, love. That which makes life worth living is love of kindred and friends, of home and country, of truth and of God, and of all that is highest and best in God's universe. The kind of knowledge, for instance, that stimulates patriotism is of supreme importance in the curriculum. The lessons in civil government should beget a love of country that will make the boys and girls willing to contribute their share of tax for the support of the government and the education of the people. Education is the common religion of the American people. We all repudiate Herbert Spencer's doctrine that the taxation of one man to educate another man's children is robbery. We all firmly believe in taxation for school purposes, but we prefer to let the other fellow pay the taxes, even if it is necessary to do this thru the coffers of a corporation. Tax-dodging has become a fine art. The school should inculcate the knowledge which bears upon this and other duties of a citizen.

Learning may signify the activity by which knowledge is acquired. The test of good teaching is thinking. In the act of learning, thinking gives rise to permanent knowledge. No one has been fool enough to advocate the introduction of chess into the curriculum, altho a game of chess begets intense thought. Good teaching cannot rest satisfied with learning that culminates in mere knowledge. Knowledge of history must be applied to life's duties: its lessons must cause a pupil to love his country, make sacrifices in its behalf, and, if necessary, die in its defense. Thru the transformation of knowledge all learning should conduce to better living, not merely to the enjoyment of physical comforts, but also to the enjoyment of the things of the mind and the higher life. This is the problem that keeps the superintendents awake at night, and is of infinitely more consequence than the little details of supervision to which some would confine the discussions of the Department of Superintendence.

MRS. VIRGINIA C. MEREDITH, St. Anthony Park, Minn.- Dr. Kiehle sounded an important note when he spoke of the education of woman for the duties of the home and motherhood. The home protects the child. The home is an important institution; the women who are to direct the affairs of the home should receive special and ample preparation for their work. The knowledge woman possesses regarding the economy of the home will determine the proper expenditure of money for the needs of the home; hence the importance of a careful training for a wise direction of home affairs.

SUPERINTENDEnt Frederick TREUDLEY, Youngstown, O.—I wish to speak of the spiritual frontage of life. All living that is possible to the individual is organized from the plains of life. Women should know more of the lives of real spiritual characters and possess their strength in order to perform the functions of mother in developing child life in the home. Fathers should remember the duties of the home and society, and by their conduct should quietly and unconsciously shape the lives that come under their influence.

INFLUENCES THAT MAKE FOR GOOD CITIZENSHIP

HENRY P. EMERSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION, BUFFALO, N. Y.

Last September I observed for half an hour the proceedings in the trial of Leon F. Czolgosz, the murderer of President McKinley; I heard the prisoner say, in answer to the usual questions in regard to his age, occupation, and education, that he was born in the United States, and had attended public and parochial schools. Taken in connection with his oft-repeated assertion that he considered it his duty to kill the president, this answer naturally made a deep impression upon at least one person who had given over twenty-five years of his life to the work of training the young. Believing, as I always have, that a public school is in itself a social community where the child learns, if he learns nothing else, the necessity for subordinating his individual will to the welfare of the whole, I determined to learn more, if possible, as to the school life of the assassin. Eminent alienists declared him sane, but all that he said or tried to say bore evidence of illiteracy and neglect. His very appearance indicated weakness of mind and body. He seemed to me a type of character that some of us have become familiar with in city truant schools. Czolgosz stated that he had lived in Cleveland, Detroit, and Alpena. Replies which I received from the public-school authorities of the above-named places make it evident that no public school, and probably no parochial school, is responsible for this abnormal and defective character. He attended an evening school in Cleveland for a few weeks only. So far as I have been able to learn, this is the only schooling he ever had. But, even if no school is responsible for Czolgosz, it is a serious question whether the communities in which he lived while he was of legal school age were not responsible for his lack of training. Our compulsory-education laws are based on the theory that a community, for its own protection, as well as for the good of the child, must make it impossible for any boy or girl to grow up in ignorance, a stranger to the ennobling influences which every good school exerts.

Without regard to who was responsible for such a product as Czolgosz, the terrible tragedy of last September ought to give new importance to the question whether we are doing all we can in the direction of moral training and preparation for life; whether we are doing all we can to make the young appreciate the necessity for government as a guaranty of law and order and liberty; whether we are imparting right ideals as well as information; whether we are giving as much thought to the work of inspiration as to the work of instruction.

I admit that any attempt to secure these higher results in education is sure to meet with obstacles. In the first place, there are always timid souls who fear that the conscience is to be interfered with. A leading