Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1902-07-17
WILSON'S ADDRESS.
Secretary Of Agriculture Speaks Of
HBducation for the Farmer"
lIUNBIR OF INTERESTING PAPERS.


Minneapolis, Mimi, July H.-As
yesterdays session Of the National
Educational association Hon. James
Wilson, secretary Of agriculture,
spoke Of Education for the Farmer"
Hs said in part: "We have adopted
much in our systems OF education
from peoples who have not our re-
possibilities, people who educate
men Of leisure, passion, class, privi-
lege, caste, birth and all that. The
people govern here. They should DO
educated with view to their devel-
opment along the lines OF their life
work, whatever that may be. What
can be done for our producers that
they may live on higher levels OF COM
fort and happiness, that they may
help the weary hand with better
trained head and have more time to
devote to intellectual, moral and
spiritual life, is the previous question
which the educators Of the great
producing states Of our country are
called upon to answer. The four
year college course does not begin
soon enough nor continue long
enough to meet the requirements OF
our day In this regard. Teachers are
wanted in primary and secondary
schools and in postgraduate work in
the university. They are wanted to
do work that has not been done in
all the ages, the discovery OF truths
underlying production and their sp-
plication to the firm. The most use
full and valuable educational work in
all the world appealing to the edu-
Gator Is that of the farmers Of the
country. Pioneer work along this
line is waiting. The organization OF
faculties to do the work; apparatus,
laboratories, textbooks, illustrative
material from primary to post-grad-
uate and beyond, whore studies OF
specialties must be combined; where
research must be broadened and
where specialists must be grouped
to reach . desired end and meet the
pressing demands Of produosrs-all
these are waiting. This is the great
field of applied science, where the
grower seeks the help Of the scholar,
Of the experimenter and OF the OBJ
server. The millions of farmers look
to you for help in these directions
A number Of papers were read in
the various departments in the after
noon, among them being papers by
John W. Perrin, Western Reserve
university, Cleveland, O., on the
"Growth of Education in New En-
gland During the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries;" Miss Corinne
Marcellus, of Chicago, on the "Prac-
tical Value of Teaching Agriculture
In the Public Schools" Miss May II,
Prentice, Cleveland City Normal
school, on the use Of Myth and OF
History in Elementary Education;"
Harold Peyser, instructor in manual
training in the New York city
schools, on political Cooperation
Between Art and Manual Training
Institutions" The normal school
department devoted itself to con
sideraton of the defects OF normal
schools. President Homer N. Seer
lev, Of Cedar Falls, Ia, while conced-
ing the wonderful progress made by
normal schools, enumerated their
present defects as follows; Too lit
tie scholarship, too much theory and
too little practice, meager equipment,
operation on the one man instead OF
faculty ideas, eXaggeration OF train
ing school results, selection of teach
ers on too narrow basis,
A list of directors, one for each
state, was reported to the conyen-
ton by the nominating committee
and was approved by the association
Among the directors are; Indian
territory, John D. Benedict; Iowa, A.
v. Storm; Kansas, J. W. Spindler;
Missouri, W. 7. Carrington; Ne
hraska. T.. |. Bodwell, Oklahoma, D.