The Washington times., 1913-02-04
THE PAGE-LEvER-sMITH MEASURES.

The Page-Lever-Smith legislation, now awaiting
the decision of the House to whether it shall be
sent to conference or referred to the Committee IN
Agriculture will, if passed in proper form easily be
the constructive chef doeuvre of this session.
Too little is known by the country at large about
this big and highly important departure in the di-
recton of adding to the efficiency of national
educational system. Briefly stated, the legislation
is this:
The Lever bill proposes to appropriate S3,OO0,00O
year for university extension work in agriculture
that is for demonstrating to the farmers the scen-
tfc work of the department and the experiment sta
TONS and S480000 year for direct aid to the agri-
cultural colleges of the States, giving each State
$4,000.
The Lever measure stops here The Page bill
goes much farther 1t gives, first, the S3,000,000
annually to extension work. Then it gives S3,000,00O
year to aid district agricultural schools, $1,000 900
introduce the teaching of agriculture, trades,
and domestic science in the rural Schools and S3,
OOO,OOO to teaching trades and domestic science in
the city schools.
Aside from the broader scope of the Page-bill
scheme, it is fundamentally different from the Lever
Smith measure in this: tnat every dollar which
Senator Page would give from the Federal treasury
for these purposes must be matched by dollar from
the State. The State gets no Federal money unless
if proves its sincere purpose to cooperate in the
work by giving its half.
This seems to be an altogether desirable condi-
ton. 1t would be bad economy, to plunge the Ma
tonal Government into the general business of en-
downing State, education, without proper assurance
that the endowment would be used rightly. State
could be counted upon with all confidence, to take
and any money handed it by Uncle Sam; but
it would be much more certain to make proper use
of that money and less likely to accept it reckessy
and inconsideraely if for every dollar t received 1t
must also put up one of its own
The Page bill represents the truly national, the
really business-like handling of this proposition. 1t
will be most unfortunate if, in the eagerness of COM
petng ambitions for tine distinction of having par
ticuar name and political party label attached to
such measure, the legislation gets held up, or is
passed in less desirable FORM
In the matter of education, we are coming nova
days understand that all vast expenditures and
all our pride in them, have not given by any means
an ideal system. 1t is not so practical as, for in
stance, that of Germany, which has contributed so
very much toward making that nation the industrial
force If is We have need for the very sort of work
which the Page measure proposes to encourage in
the most effective way In time it is to be hoped,
the various appropriations which 1t makes would all
be accepted by the States and then multiplied many
fold
the industrial and economic future of this coun-
try depends in large measure proper adaptation
Of our educational methods to the changing needs Of
country whose interests become with every year
more diversified Efficiency must be its keynote. So
long as we can get-and have the place to put the
means to feed, 900 immigrants from the old
world annually to do our days works" we will not
feel the stress so keenly. But the time will come
when cannot absorb the vast multtudes as now;
when greater efficiency, larger intelligence juster
appreciation of the dignity of labor, must make up
for that which unrestricted immigration cannot always
supply.