The New York herald., 1922-03-12

ply of milk, but the obligation to see
that this supply is pure and appro-
pirate for young children. Naturally
as cities become larger and organiza-
ton becomes more complex this supply
of fresh milk daily from the herd to
the consumer in the congested district
becomes matter of extreme difficulty.
This involves, Of course. not only the
proper treatment OF the milk. but mat
ters of such technical variety as re-
frigeration, replenishment of herds,
safeguarding against disease among
herds, in addition to transportation.
distribution and complex accounting.
This transference Of the maternal
functions of child nutrition from the
mother to state and private organiza-
tions involved not only the. main
tenance of great herds in close prox-
unity to the city and connected there
with by rapid transportation facilities.
It involved the creation by public
initiative Of organizations for public
milk feeding under the most approved
conditions. In 1894 there was estab-
lished in France the first milk station
(goutte de lait), instituted for children
who could not be breast fed. BY 1905
over 100 towns in France had these
stations, and the idea had spread to
other countries. This system proved
to he one OF the most serviceable lsys-
TENS in connection with the war.
In Central Europe Schools
The Students Union Rules
The. problem of milk supply is an
indispensable factor of state mother
hood in Europe to-day. The problem
is not yet solved. Certain geographic
and technical facts stand in the way
of it's early solution. But it is certain
that this service can never be sur
rendered by the state, and the genera
tions Of Europe will never be strong
until it is solved rightly.
When we come to the third great
question Of state motherhood, that
which refers to education, we enter a
field in which dogmatism has no place.
But certain clear tendencies are to be
seen. Education, which long ago
passed out OF the hands Of the family
into tho hands of the state, is now
passing into the hands of the children
themselves. This is surprising state
of affairs, but there is no reason to
haggle at the facts or to seek to
escape their meaning. The new ma
tions Of Europe have taken their
democracy in full doses, and the chill
dren are not to be left out of the
reckoning. In Germany, in Czecho-
Slovakia, in Poland, in Austria the
students union has become a fact in
school administration. This new par
ticipation by the student in the con-
duct of his own education has meant
an entire change Of emphasis in the
manner of his work. Strangely enough,
1t has introduced into education the
old dialetic system discarded at the
close of the so-called dark ages, when
the systems Of experimental science
came into vogue. 1t has meant the
discarding of the pure sciences for
applied and functional courses. 1t is
not as yet apparent that 1t involves
any loss in discipline.
Nowhere are the new movements in
education finding more striking cx
preston than in the universities and
technical schools. In the creation Of
the new life of Europe the old instruc-
tors are to have only such part as
their new masters, the students, assign
to them. Some Of these students are
under 20-too young. therefore. to
have had any part in the war. Many
of them are around 25. They are the
lxx,I, l,oI frnV
college halls by the armies. Now that
the war is over they are returning to
school. AS result of the leading part
these young men took in the war and
in the campaigns for national free
dom they are incorporating realists.
Young and old, both those who saw
their brothers die and those who
struggled through the years of war
and the first year Of peace, have dis
carded illusions. They have no pa
tience with any Of the old deductive
principles Of education. They demand
to know by experience. 1t would be
unsafe to say that any of these stu
dents come from any particular class,
so much have classes been broken to
pieces in recent years. Certain 1t is
that large numbers of them come from
the families Of the poor. both the old
poor and the new poor. And It should
be noticed that for the first time
women are admitted to practically all
the great universities of Central
Europe. f-s
Students Under New Plan
Willing to Work With Their Hands
It would be too much to expect these
students to permit the old systems Of
discipline and of teaching to continue.
Everywhere in Germany, Austria.
Czecho- -SlovalSia, Poland. the Baltic
States, the system of committee gov
ernment by students has taken the
place of the old faculty government.
The systems of student self-govern-
ment vary as to details, but are sim
liar in principle. They call for com
mittees representing all. nationalities
and all college classes, whose duty IL
is through contact with the academic
officers of the institution to regulate
all matters Of housing, discipline and
classroom regulation, exclusive only Of
the teaching itself.
BY all means the most interesting
feature in connection with the student
life Of Europe Is the willingness OF the
new student to do manual work. In
this respect he differs widely from his
brother Of the older regime. This
willingness to work, to carry his own
load, is doing much to solve the prob
lem Of the new student life in Europe.