of Iowa, that the selection of the next place of meeting be left to the Executive Committee with full power to act. Seconded. After discussion, in which the grounds of the policy of intrusting the Executive Committee with the selection of place of meeting were fully reviewed, the motion of Director Storm was carried. On motion of Director Gove, of Colorado, seconded by Director Springer, of Michigan, the members of the Board of Directors present unanimously expressed, by a rising vote, their preference to meet in the city of Boston, providing all conditions should be found satisfactory to the Executive Committee. The committee on nomination of members for the National Council reported as follows: To the Board of Directors of the National Educational Association: Your Committee nominate the following as members of the National Council: On motion of Director Springer, of Michigan, the report of the Committee on Nominations was accepted, and the secretary was instructed to cast the ballot for the nominees. The ballot was so cast, and the nominees were declared duly elected. Miss M. E. Ahern, secretary of the Library Department, appeared by consent before the board to present a communication from that department, and spoke in substance as follows: "The Library Department desires to call the attention of the Board of Directors of the National Educational Association to the rapid increase of rural school libraries, especially in the middle West. The states in other sections are following closely in this movement. The unfortunate feature of this promising movement is that the rural-school teachers are not prepared by training or experience to care for or to use these libraries to greatest advantage. The matter was discussed by the American Library Association at its recent meeting in June, and a proposition was made that the American Library Association would secure the preparation of a working library manual for special use of rural-school teachers if the National Educational Association would co-operate to the extent of printing and distributing the same. "Mr. J. C. Dana, chairman of the Committee on the Relations of Libraries to Public Schools, whose report was made under the auspices of the National Educational Association at the Los Angeles meeting, is chairman of the committee of the American Library Association having this matter in charge. The Library Department of the National Educational Association at its meeting this afternoon unanimously supported the proposition of the American Library Association, and authorized me, as its secretary, to appear before you and present the proposition in question. "I desire also to present a request from the Library Department for a larger appropriation for the annual expense of the department than the sum of $25 now allowed. The peculiar nature of the work of this department demands of its officers special efforts and special expenditures in order to secure conditions for a successful meeting each year." After an informal discussion of Miss Ahern's request in behalf of the Library Department for an increased appropriation for annual expenses, Director A. G. Lane, of Illinois, offered the following motion: "That the Library Department be requested to present a written application to the Board of Directors for such increase in the annual appropriation as may be deemed necessary, and that the matter be referred to the National Council for consideration and recommendation." Seconded and carried. Regarding the proposition of the American Library Association for the preparation of a manual for rural-school teachers on condition that it be printed and distributed by the National Educational Association, Secretary Shepard called attention to the fact that the Committee on the Relations of Public Libraries to Public Schools, of which Mr. J. C. Dana was chairman, expended only a small proportion of the amount appropiated for the expenses of the committee - $171.50 of the $500 appropriated — and that there remained an unexpended balance to the credit of the committee. On motion, the application for co-operation with the American Library Association in the preparation and distribution of a working library manual for rural-school teachers was approved and referred to the Executive Committee, with power to act within the limits of the unexpended balance of the Committee on the Relations of Public Libraries to Public Schools. Director James M. Greenwood, of Missouri, chairman of the Special Committee on Investigations and Appropriations of the National Council, reported that action had been taken by the Council creating a special committee of nine (afterward enlarged to twelve) on the subject of "Taxation as Related to Public Education," to report to the Council not later than 1904, unless otherwise directed by that body; and that the Council recommend that the sum of $1000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be appropriated for the clerical and other expenses of the committee in the preparation of the proposed report. An informal discussion followed as to the desirability of such an investigation, and as to the ground to be covered by the proposed report. On motion, the recommendation of the Council was concurred in, and the sum of $1,000 was appropriated for the expenses of the committee. On motion of Director T. A. Mott, of Indiana, the sum of $750, or so much as may be necessary, was appropriated for the meeting of the Department of Superintendence for 1903. On motion of Director A. V. Storm, of Iowa, seconded by Director D. W. Springer, of Michigan, the Executive Committee was requested to authorize the publication in the annual volume of Proceedings of the presidential address of President William M. Beardshear, which was not delivered on account of the illness of the President. There being no more business, the meeting adjourned. IRWIN SHEPARD, Secretary. GENERAL SESSIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION ADDRESSES OF WELCOME HON. S. R. VAN SANT, GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA [STENOGRAPHIC report] Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a pleasure to meet you, to greet you, and to welcome you to our state. Indeed, we honor ourselves in doing this. It is customary on occasions like this to speak of our educational institutions. I would first mention the fact that Minnesota has an institution in her great university that we all are proud of; and, while proud of that, we are still prouder of the splendid educator, President Cyrus Northrop, who is at the head of it, and who will later address you. If this institution does not at this time excel any other in the United States, remember that it is young; not more than fifty years ago, where its magnificent buildings now stand was to be found the tepee of the Indian. Harvard and Yale were old when our university was established, but it now has 3,700 students. It is not only large in numbers, but it is most excellent in its scholarship. This great institution, with all its faculty and students, extends to you a most hearty welcome. We live in a progressive age, and our colleges should teach their students, not only to know something, but to be able to do something. So we have as a part of our great university an agricultural college which. is doing most excellent work, and, in my judgment, has done as much to develop Minnesota as any other institution in the state. Our high schools are unexcelled, and our superintendent of public instruction is very properly giving careful attention to our rural schools, for it is in the latter that 80 per cent. of our children receive all the education they ever obtain to prepare them for citizenship. All these, with our eleven thousand or more teachers and our five hundred thousand pupils, bid you welcome. The fathers of Minnesota were wise in their day and generation. They commenced early to provide for the future, and as a result of their foresight we have a permanent school fund of $15,000,000. By a wise provision of the law only the interest is available for present needs. Last year some $500,000 was available, and was used for the education of the boys and girls of Minnesota. This is remarkable when you consider the youth of our state. When all the school lands are sold it is expected that we will have the vast sum of $30,000,000 as a permanent school fund. So you will pardon us if we have a just pride in our educational institutions and advantages. I welcome you also to this great city; it is our metropolis. Here you will find the largest mills in the world, which grind the best wheat into the best flour ever made. If you are not properly entertained in this city you can go out to beautiful Minnetonka and on its sky-tinted waters and pebbly shores enjoy yourselves. If that is not sufficient we have more than seven thousand lakes. If you want a longer trip you can journey to the source of the Mississippi river, which is in our state, and go to the Gulf. And if you desire to travel farther north you can proceed to the Red River of the North and go to Hudson Bay. Should you wish to go east you can make a short journey to Duluth and then go by way of the great lakes. And if you tire of water routes and want to go west you have the choice of two great parallel roads that will carry you to the coast. With all these beautiful surroundings and opportunities for travel we bid you welcome. But Minneapolis, while it is our metropolis, is not our only great city. I read with pleasure of your meeting at Charleston; they boasted of their beautiful city by the sea and of their commerce. Do you realize that we have a city by the sea? We have the imperial city of Duluth, situated at the most westerly point of the great lakes; its commerce is immense, and for the purpose of boasting somewhat I desire to annex, temporarily, the port of Superior. From and to this harbar in Minnesotal more tons of freight were shipped last year than from any other harbor in the United States, even exceeding that of New York, Boston, Baltimore, or San Francisco. This will give you some idea of our great state and its commerce. Speaking of our mills a moment ago, and the wheat we raise to feed the world: Our farmers, in their wisdom, and greatly aided by our agricultural college and our excellent dairy and food department, have diversified their farming, and Minnesota, while famous as a wheat-growing state, now gives great attention to the dairy industry. We excel in that direction, as is evidenced by the prizes we take for the best butter, made by our seven hundred or more creameries. In fact, we are doing so much along this line, making butter enough to spread all the bread, that we have changed our name from the meaningless "Gopher State" to the "Great Bread and Butter State." With all this bread and butter we welcome you. We have another city, and that is St. Paul, our capital. I reside there temporarily, and am willing to remain longer if the people so desire. It is a beautiful city, and when you are tired of staying here, come down and we will show you our new capitol, a veritable marble palace. We are building this great capitol, to cost in the neighborhood of $4,000,000, without incurring one dollar of bonded indebtedness. You who come from Massachusetts may feel somewhat lonely; come over to our state treasurer and ask to see how our school fund is secured, and you will find more than $2,500,000 of Massachusetts bonds in our strong-box. Are you from the sunny South-you will find securities you will be familiar with, from the states of Delaware, Virginia, Louisiana, and other of your commonwealths. I am reminded of another city, peerless and most beautiful. If you are not satisfied here, come to that city which, to my mind, is the most beautiful of all-Winona, sometimes called the "Venice of America." There you will be greeted by one of our greatest men, your friend and my friend, the Secretary of this organization, Professor Shepard. I say one of the greatest, because he is one of the greatest educators in Minnesota. If I might give you any advice, I would especially urge the teaching of patriotism in our schools. In our country we owe much to the soldier and the teacher; one the patriot, the other the educator. They toiled together from early colonial days. The work of the soldier we know, but the significance of the scholar's mission, unheralded by the blaze and roar of cannon, is usually overlooked. Poor Richard's Almanac with its wise sayings was read by more people than Samuel Adams' plea for independence. Noah Webster and his spelling book are as much a part of our country's history as Patrick Henry and his fiery eloquence. Benjamin Franklin with his maxim of economy led the people to be honest and saving, energetic and practical, and laid the foundation in the American character for our great national wealth and prosperity. Contemporaneous with these were Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and a host of other patriots preparing the people for loyal sacrifices in the cause of independence. Determined men "with empires in their brains," who battled with savages and wild beasts on a" bleak and inhospitable coast" counted education as an essential factor in all their plans. They built forts and blockhouses and manned them; they also built Harvard and Yale and endowed them. The teacher and the patriot, the schoolhouse and the flag, how naturally we link these together as we study. our country's history! There is a question that is being much discussed: Does the constitution follow the flag? Let the lawyers and the statesmen settle that, of one thing we are sure, the school-teacher does. We sent soldiers to the Philippines to call the inhabitants to order, then we sent a shipload of teachers whose work will make the presence of the soldier unnecessary. Our teachers are patriotic. I desire to testify to that fact. stand in your presence I recall the school days prior to the war. I am free to say that no more patriotic body of men and women ever lived than |