The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-07-12

The Preparatory Department
AS the exhibit representing the four years
Preparatory course necessarily covered
vast field of advanced work, we can give no
more than the most passing attention to one
or two features in each class which may
be taken as representative of the whole.
For instance, in the Latin exhibit the in
terest was caught by diagram showing
that thorough Latin student can readily
determine the meaning of about ninety per
cent of the words in the Italian, French and
Spanish languages, without referrlng TO
dictionary, even when unfamiliar with
the word also by chart showing the deri-
vation of words, such as car, derived from
cayyis, meaning, vehicle on wheels convo-
cation, from co9tU0c0, meaning, to call to-
gether; hostile, from hostis, meaning, enc
my; or petal derived from betalum, mean
ing, little crown.
In the Geometry division, one noticed
some practical problems, such as surveying
the fishing lagoon near the Northwestern
depot, securing the angle of the intersec-
ton of Caledonia boulevard with Elijah
avenue or determining the flow of water in
a stream.
In the Bookkeeping exhibit was an array
of journals, 1edgers, etc., showing the
course followed during the year. None of
the work had been especially prepared for
| the occasion.
Civics dealt with township, county, city,
state and national governments. Various
themes dealt with such subjects as Child
| Labor Indian Reservations, National Parks,
or The Weather Bureau of the Agricultural
| Department.
In the study of Spanish, we found de-
scriptive articles in both Spanish and Eng
lsh in parallel columns, on Argentina,
Brazil, Chill and other South American
| countries, with pictures showing the COM
mercial development and architectural
grandeur of cities in each. One was inn
pressed with the commercial possibilities of
these countries and the need of a great
merchant marine plying between North and
South America also by the fact that it is
not question so much of race as of climate,
the Spanish people of the Argentine, which
is in south temperate zone, having shown the
same enterprise and business acunen as
! the people of the United States, in the north
| temperate zone.
In the class on Physics, the work con-
sists largely of experiment with mechani-
cal apparatus in connection with the study
of various practical subjects, such as cleo
tro plating, the mechanism of the electric
bell, or the workings of the telegraph. AS
boys are always intensely interested in any
thing of mechanical nature, the work in
this class is fascinating in the extreme.
| The students also write themes, illustrat-
ing them with drawings, explaining the ap-
paratuS studied.
Among the apparatus on exhibit was a
| glass instrument for fractional dstillation.
| This was used during the term by taking
crude petroleum. just as it comes from the
oil well, and heating it sufficiently to vapor-
ize the lighter oils contained in it, which
are condensed and transferred to the con-
tainer. At the same time, all the residue or
foreign elements are left in the first flask.
Work in Algebra is very difficult to ex-
hibit. The great bulk of different class
work could not be placed on display in a
manner that would interest a visitor - and
this is true, in large degree, of all the
other advanced branches
| However, one noticed graphs of general
practical interest; for instance, one showing
the relative purchasing power of dollar
in 1896 and 1914 The fact was revealed
that one could buy only So per cent as much
with dollar in 1914 as in 1896 in other
words the dollar in 1914 was worth only
So cents in purchasing value compared to