Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-11-22
.BEREA TO ENTERTAIN
Big CONFERENCE
National Conference On Rural
Education To BE Held At
Berea College, Nov. rs


the Bureau OF Education, has
been waging d nationwide cam
paign for better rural schools and
the Improvement Of country life
Among the agencies employed in
this work has been a series OF
conferences throughout the coun-
try. In response to invitations
from President Frost of Berea
College and Hon. V. 0. Gilbert,
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Frankfort, the Six
teenth Conference has been call
ed to meet at Bcrea, November
Us to %, both inclusive, 1919.
Several Governors, County Su-
perintendents of schools, Presi-
dents OF State Normal schools,
college and universities and
many prominent club women,
business and professional men,
administrative school officers and
progressive farmers have been
invited and many of them will be
present and take part on the pro-
gram.
The central thought Of the con-
ference will be what our rural
schools must be and do to meet
after-war conditions.
DIR. w. c. Bagley, Of Teachers
College, declared before the
Rural Section Of the Department
of Superintendent at Chicago,
1919, that the greatest problem
in American education today is
the rural school problem. He
said it is more than that. 1t is
the fundamental problem in
American life.
DR.. L. ID. Coffn.ln, Dean
Teachers College, University OF
Minnesota, says that the rural
situation in the United States is
a tragedy.
President Coates, Sta e Nor
NAL School, Richmond, KY, says
the trouble with the rural school
problem is that the average
farmer and the average rural
teacher look upon school as
a little house on a little ground
where a little teacher at a little
salary for a little while teaches
little children little things. And
Prof. p. G. Holden adds that we
have thus belittled the biggest
job in America.
Long before the world war,
long before President Wilson be-
gan to plead for an increased
production of food products as
the surest and most effective way
to reduce the high cost OF living
the food supply was not keeping
pace with the demand. The
census shows that from 1900 to
1910 the agricultural products in.
the United States increased ten
per cent as compared with the
preceding decade, while the pop
ulation increased twenty-one per
cent.
In a discussion of this condi-
ton, as long ago as 1913, Presi-
dent j. d. Eggleston, OF the Vir-
ginia Polytechnic Institute de-
clarcd that these facts brought to
light by the census make it plain
that it is the menace of hunger
that is turning the nation to the
rural school as the only instru-
ment capable Of averting wide
spread disaster. Confronted by
this danger. the nation is turn
ing to the rural school because,
owing to the changes wrought by
the last century in our economic
dIlI SDCldl IllC, anu lliol NoI'ONidi-
" in the economic and social CON
diticns surrounding agricultural
production, the rural school more
than any other one instrument
today controls the food-supply of
the nation.
If TIE disaster and danger re'a-
tive to the food supply of the ma
ton were as imminent as Presi-
dent Eggleston thought it was in
the light of facts brought out by
the census Of 1910, the situation
is certainly more serious and
threatening at the present time
because of the direful effects OF
the world war. If the rural
school is to play the part in the
solution of these problems that
President Eggleston says it must
the Central thought Of the Bcrea I
becomes para
issue for the nation.
A detailed program of the Con-
ference will be ready for distribu-
tion soon.