The San Francisco call., 1898-12-31
BOOMING
 '[:[Ij EDUCATION
 THE THEME Meredith's Address to the Teachers. FAULTS OF PRESENT SYSTEM IT IS TOP-HEAvY AND NEEDS MANY INNOVATIONS. All Matters Being Disposed Of, the Thirty-Second Annual Session st Santa Rosa Adjourns
 Sine Die.
FAULTS OF PRESENT SYSTEM
IT IS TOP-HEAVY AND NEEDS
 MANY INNOVATIONS.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


 SANTA ROSA, Dec. 3o.-The last session of the California State Teach CTS Association was called to order promptly at o'clock this morning by State President George Childs of San Jose, in the Fifth street Methodist Episcopal Church South. The build ing was crowded with spectators.
 Hon. Charles T. Meredith, State Su- perintendent of Public Instruction, made his annual address. His subject was Coming Education," and his re- marks were heard with close atten- tion. He spoke in part as follows:
 It is no secret that there is much dis satisfaction with the products of our public schools. Many people are out spoken, many merely saying nothing, but prefer to bear the ills they have than to fly to new ones. The mechanic complains that we educate his children out of his environment; the merchant that our edu- cation is not practical; the university that the graduates even of our high schools do not have sufficient facility in the use of English to admit them to the university without examination.
 Some months ago we engaged in a war with Spain. A great army was assem- bled in dozen camps. The young men in this army constituted the flower of American youth-the most nearly perfect specimens of physical manhood tat could be found in all our land. No sooner, how ever, were these young men marshaled than with horrible fatality they were at tackled by typhoid and malarial levers. They seemed unable to take care of them selves; they had no officers to look after them.
 Every soldier had above him a major general, with his division surgeon and his division inspector; brigadier-general, spector; a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, a major, regimental surgeon, captain and two leutenants, and all these off1- cers were charged with his care. But the soldiers at once fell sick, and if the war had continued for space of two years it would have cost us one-half of that magnificent army to learn what we should have known at the outset.
 Had the germs, the seeds of these levers, been as large as elephants, or even as gnats, we should not have lost man. The fever germs are, however, thou sand times more deadly and just as much an entity as the elephant.
 The war, though costing us millions in money and thousands of lives, will prove a blessing to the country, because 1t will show us the importance of studying nature in the infinitesimal. Disease germs turk In every house, in everything we use, and we must learn to protect ourselves from them.
 to be accounted for-we have to attempt too much. The march of progress adds every year new work to our course of study; new and, more important.
 To meet this demand we must make a radical change in our whole system; it Is top-heavy.
 At the conclusion of MT. Merediths address the convention went into busi- ness session. The principal business done was the consideration of the report of the committee on resolutions. All of the resolutions presented were adopted with the exception of that referring to the necessity of the next Legislature mak- ing an appropriation to complete the revision of the State series of textbooks, which was referred to the council of education, and the last, which was laid upon the table.
 A warm discussion was brought on by the introduction by President-elect Frederick L. Burke of Santa Barbara of a resolution providing that hereafter no member be allowed to vote at any meeting of the association unless he should have been a member aI least one year. Among those who spoke on the subject were Superintendent J. w. McClymonds of Oakland, P. M. Fisher of Alameda, G. c. Clark of Santa Cruz and F. L. Burke. The resolution was finally carried by a small majority.
 resolution of sympathy was intro- duced by Richard D. Faulkner of San Francisco and by the association or dered telegraphed to Hon. E. W. Davis, secretary or the oldte bodIu ol uni versity Regents. MT. Davis is now sick in Riverside County.
 A telegram was at this juncture re- ceived from the State Educational As sociation of Washington, now in session at Olympia. The greeting was re- ceived with applause and like return of compliments ordered forwarded at once to the secretary of the Washing ton association by wire.
 There being no further business be- fore the association, a motion to ad- journ was declared in order. After be- ing dulv made and seconded President Childs. In few well chosen remarks. declared the thirty-second annual session of the California State Teach ers' Association adjourned sine die.