The log cabin Democrat., 1908-07-09

That Georgia through her ag- ricultural college and her district agricultural schools has inaugural ed the best system of agricultural and industrial education in America" is the statement which was made recently by Commission CT of Education Hayes, in Wash ington, D. C., and by Professor Claxton, of the Southern Education board recently, addressing large audience in New York.
 Almost the same statement em- bodied the sentiment expressed by the members of the conference for education in the south, holding recently in Memphis, when Profes- sor Joseph Stewart, of the Univer- sity of Georgia made the report of the agricultural college and the district schools.
 This particular branch of educa- ton answers the call being made for that branch of education that the more directly fits the youth of the community to develop the re- sources around him and conse- quently makes him the more use ful as an individual and as cit izen.
 In view of the fact that the eyes of the people of the state are anxiously turned now to the legislature, called upon to act in the matter Of such legislation as will insure the maintenance and proper develop ment of that system for which the agricultural college and the dis trict school stand, 1t can not be a miss to review briefly, the yet short life of this progressive branch of Georgia's educational system.
 What the Trustees Did.
 The trustees of the district schools accomplished the remarkable feat of locating eleven schools raising $47o, ,ooo in cash; securing by gift 3,o44 acres of land valued at SI37,- ooo; securing light, water and phone gifts for ten years in nine schools valued at S2oo, ,ooo; erect ing in four schools, three handsome brick buildings and in the others one brick building though three have been agreed upon;.opening ot these schools for pupils this spring with an enrolment of 56o-all of this, too, within eighteen months after the bill was passed creating the schools.
 The states expense, has been about S6, 900 to each school.
 The result has been the admlra- ton of the educational world, and surpassed all records ill school building.
 In September all of the schools will be ready and it is anticipated that I 200 will be enrolled. Some of the schools report every room engaged for the term.
 The schools in operation have ln cultivation from thirty to eighty acres of land in cotton, corn, small grain, garden produce, orchards and peas. They will raise suttcl- ent produce to run the farm an- other year and easily supply the table.
 The Boarding Department.
 The boarding departments have been self sustaining from the monthly charge of S1o a month: This amount has been reduced each month by work of the stu dents, varying from total expenses to three doll ars. Some months the average cost per pupil per day has been 2I cents.
 All of the work of every kind except that of the head cook has been done by the students. This includes housekeeping, launder- ing. table serving, dish-washing, milking, blowing, fence and barn building, and yet the work IS so systematized that no student has over three hours of required labor a day, and has ample time for full academic work of at least three hours. The schools are ln no sense local, but ill every case the different counties ot the district have had fair representation.
 With the large number ot pupils, the variety of instruction to be given and the high order Of train ing demanded of the teachers, tue school will need SIo, ,ooo year for maintenance. They were planned with this estimate in view and the people thoroughly understood the the wording of the law which required them to put up the plant and (Sec. 2). That all fees received from the inspection of fertilizers, oils, etc. in this state, after the present