ft5( 18^3 THE GIFT OF i .A.:...^..!^.(f..^jL. ■^//iP/.f.P.. . _ Cornell University Library LC6211 .A51 1893 Handbook of university extension / oiin 3 1924 030 626 174 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924030626174 Camall. University Library Q O '3 ,J e ^^^^ tfD(,|;jL,| HANDBOOK "nvcaSlii OF UNIVERSITY EXTENSION EDITED BY GEORGE FRANCIS JAMES, M. A. GKNERAI, SECRETARY Second Edition — Revised and Enlarged With an Introduction by Edmund J. James, Ph. D. President op the American Society PHILADELPHIA AMERICAN society FOR THE EXTENSION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING 1893 Copyright, 1893, by the American Society for the ^tension of University Teaching. CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction. Some General Considerations Concern- ing University Extension. By Edmund J. James... vii The American Society for the Extension of University Teaching i The Essential Differences of Elementary and Higher Instruction. By William T. Harris 5 The Endowment of University Extension 11 History of a Branch Society 16 How to Organise a Local Centre 21 Notes 27, 62, 93, 122, 163, 196, 235, 267, 302, 332, 363. 397- The Prospects of University Extension in England. By Michael E. Sadler 33 American Women and University Extension. By E. I*. Head 40 Extension Teaching at Brown University. By John Howard Appleton 50 What is University Extension ? By George F. James. . . 51 Why Teachers Should be Interested in University Extension. By George F. James 56 University Extension in the South. By Wm. Preston Johnston 65 The Influence of University Extension upon the Uni- versities. By Edward T. Devine 74 The Unit Course. By Willis Boughton.. 82 Oxford Annual Report 89 The Oxford Summer Meeting of 1891, By Ida M. Gardner 97 Summer Schools in Botany. By W. P. Wilson 108 iv UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. PAGB Students' Associations in Great Britain. By G. C. Moore Smith 115 The Educational Value of , European History. By James Harvey Robinson 12^ Recent Developments in England. By Walter C. Douglas 136 The I,owell Institute in Boston. By I^ilian Whiting.... 146 Introduction to University Extension Study of Political Economy. By Edward T. Devine 151, 17& Some Tsrpical Courses 158 The National Conference 169 The Sham and the Real in University Extension. By Charles F. Thwing 175 The English Miners and University Extension. By John U. Barrow 184. University Extension Colleges. By Henry W. Cortland, 190 A Step Forward 201 The University Extension Lecturer. By Edmund J. James 207, 250 The Universities and the Elementary Schools. By Elmer E. Brown 218 Economics. By Edward T. Devine,... 222, 261, 295, 351, 387 The Ideal Syllabus. By Henry W. Rolfe 230 University Extension. Why? By A. E. Winship 241 The Education of Citizens. By Halford J. Mackinder, 245 The Chicago Society for University Extension. By Charles Zeublin 273 University Extension in the Southwest. By Frank W. Blackmar 278 Class Work in University Extension. By Josiah H. Penniman 305 The Extension Work of the University of Wisconsin. By Frederick J. Turner : 311 University Extension Work in Mathematics. By Edwin S. Crawley 325 An Unknown Quantity and One Possible Value. By Harry Pratt Judson 327- CONTENTS. V PAGE "University Extension in Canada and in England. By- Thomas Adams 337' The Circuit. By Wm. Clarke Robinson 344 The University Extension Seminary 356 Will University Extension Starve the College Staffs? By Michael E. Sadler 369 The University Extension Class. By Edward T. Devine, 377 Biblical Work in University Extension. By L. W. Batten 383 Schedule of I^ecturers, Courses and Centres for the Aca- demic Years 1890-91, 1891-92 401 I/ist of I^ocal Centres with Courses Given at each during the Academic Years 1890-91, 1891-92 411 Index 412 ERRATA Read C. F. Himes for C. F. Hines, . page 237 " Max Muller " Max Muller, . " 338 " J. C. Freeman " J. E. Freeman, " 239 " J. E Kerchner " J. B. Kerchner " 126 " Andrew D. Meloy " Andrew E. Meloy " 237 " communities " committees " 319 INTRODUCTION T^HE movement for popular education known as University Extension should be a matter of pro- found interest to every American. It has a message for men and women alike ; for the educated as well as for the uneducated ; for the rich no less than for the poor. It seems likely to prove one of the great organizing and initiating forces so necessary and as yet unfortunately so rare in the educational and social life of the United States. University Extension is a widening of the doors of the college and university so as to take in classes of people who are not now directly benefited by the higher institutions of learning ; it brings to busy people at their homes the opportunity of securing university aid and direction in carrying on their studies while engaged in the round of daily toil ; it renders possible a much better utilization of existing educational facilities. If University Extension did nothing more than this ; if it simply made the higher learning possible to those who are thirsting for it, who for any reason have not been able to share it in their youth or have fallen out of contact with it in their advancing age, it would still be a movement in which every thoughtful student of human progress would be interested. But it means vastly more than this. It begets and feeds an interest in higher things, which but for it would never, be awakened. It stirs many a mind from a weak and (vii) VIU UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. slothful intellectual lethargy into a new and strong activity, with all the countless and widening circles of influence which such an awakening on the part of even one mind begets. It puts new and worthy objects of thought into the lives of people who have been content to live on in intellectual sloth and barrenness. It turns the current of thought and discussion in whole commu- nities from the every-day gossip and tittle-tattle of small social cliques and circles into the great and broad stream of human history and science. It sets them to talking about Shakespeare, and Milton, and Copernicus, and Napoleon, and Bismarck, and Gladstone, instead of about their neighbors ; it leads them to think of the possibility of public reforms and improvements instead of giving all their time to a discussion of the weather and its influence on their crops or investments ; as Mr. W. T. Harris so neatly says of the gi-eat newspaper, at the very worst it replaces village gossip with world gossip to the immense advantage of the community. The reflex action of such increased intellectual activity on the individual and community is simply marvelous and constitutes a service which would alone justify the existence of the great agitation. But these are not by any means the only services which this great movement performs, or at least may perform, for our American society. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to formulate in one sentence all the purposes of such a many-sided agency as this ; but the English Extension workers have given us one statement which is full of insight into the deeper nature of this great subject. The purpose of the Extension movement, •they tell us, is to make education, i. g., self-culture, one of the serious and permanent interests of human life. INTRODUCTION. ix It is to be put side by side with religion, with business, with politics, with amusement, as one of the great cate- gories of humau existence. The individual shall give time from day to day, year in and year out, to this sub- ject as religiously as he does to his spiritual relations. It would be considered ridiculous for a man to propose to devote two or three or four years to religious observ- ances, study and reflection with the idea of dispensing with the necessity of ever thinking of them again. It is no less ridiculous for a man to drop the process of systematic self-culture after leaving school or college. From this point of view University Extension has a distinct mission, viz, , to preach the doctrine of the duty of systematic self-culture — a duty resting on every man and woman alike. It should not be content with merely ministering to the wants of those who are already alive to their needs ; but it should leave no stone unturned to bring home to the conscience, as well as the conscious- ness of every man, the obligation resting upon him to take up and pursue a course of education lasting as long as his life. University Extension offers, furthermore, an oppor- tunity — such as the world has never before seen — ^to preach a sound doctrine to the masses as to their duty to take up and care for the educational interests of the community. The welfare of American education depends in a peculiar way upon public interest in its pur- pose and instrumentalities. In European countries the ministry of education is charged with the special function of canvassing from time to time the educational needs of the people and of taking stock of the educational agencies; and if it appear that there is a need which is not pro- vided for by any existing educational institution, it X UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. becomes the duty of the ministry to provide for the establishment of such an institution. In this country we have no corresponding system of ascertaining and providing for public educational wants. We must depend entirely upon the more or less accidental consciousness of a need on the part of the community and the possi- bility of arousing the people to action. As a result, our educational system, with all its excellencies, shows serious faults — of omission as well as of commission — which could be easily remedied if public attention could be attracted and enlightened. The University Exten- sion movement offers an excellent opportunity to do' this work. The public come to hear of Shakespeare, or his- tory, or economics ; they are glad to remain to hear of education. The Extension lecturer who misses this oppor- tunity, either through wilfulness or ignorance, has not only failed to utilize one of the most efficient means of interesting the public in the movement, but he has become untrue to one of its highest functions. There is still another educational function performed by the Extension movement which is of immense im- portance, and that is the education of the general public as to the functions and organization of our colleges and universities. In the United States, as in England, one of our fundamental defects is our indifference to science, an indifference which Matthew Arnold has excellently characterized in his various educational essays and reports. It is difficult, even in our best and richest institutions, to secure the application of their funds for the promotion of advanced scholarship and learning as distinct from elementary teaching, while in the less favorably situated colleges and universities almost nothing is done for the advancement of science. Professors and INTRODUCTION. XI students alike spend their time and energy in mastering ^ the facts contained in printed books, without ever making one honest effort to widen the sphere of human knowl- edge. This condition is not likely to improve until there is a more general appreciation on the part of the public of the value of science — knowledge systemati- cally pursued and prized in and for itself — and until the community recognizes the cultivation of science as a chief end of our university system. The University Extension lecturer has a magnificent opportunity to iinpress this idea upon the public mind and to arouse its interest and enthusiasm in the work of our higher insti- tutions of learning. The colleges and universities of America perform a function as vital to our national wel- fare as do our railroads, our courts of justice, our army or our navy. But the average American citizen does not realize this fact. He thinks of the university as an institution which serves the purposes of a few classes in our society. The future lawyer, clergyman, physician or teacher may find it worth while to go to college ; but neither the college nor university has a message for any one else. University Extension offers an opportunity to correct this false notion, and there is no doubt whatever that the result of the University Extension movement will be to bring students, public sympathy and support, private gifts and benefactions to the work of higher education. Fittally, there is another great function which Uni- versity Extension may perform for our American society, and which it is already performing in England to a limited though growing extent, and that is its work in the direction of social reform. This educational means offers an opportunity to preach to the public in a con- xii UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. vincing form and relation the great doctrine of a higher and nobler life. By its appeal to all classes, by its emphasis of the elements which should be of common interest to all intelligent people, it is a powerful, practi- cal force in the direction of a higher and nobler social form. Our modem industry, our social tendencies and even our education, while they have given the death blow to the class and caste system of the last century, are all steadily working in the direction of building up new class distinctions — erecting new barriers between indi- viduals, communities and orders of society against which even the strong tendencies of modem religious and philanthropic effort have hard work to make headway. University Extension comes as a powerful ally of all those forces which tell for the common brotherhood of man. It is a part of its very nature to bring men and women of all classes and ages and religious faiths nearer together, for it emphasizes those things which are of interest to men as men. The great underlying truths of natural science, the course of human history, the beauties of literature, the science of society and govern- ment are all subjects which may and do bring men together, and differences of opinion in the realm of poli- tics and history give way before the common desire to learn the truth of these things. University Extension has proved one of the most powerful social solvents. * It has succeeded when all other agencies have failed in uniting in one common effort the Jew, the Roman Catholic, the Protestant — whether Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist or Presbyte- rian. It has brought together in one undertaking the laborer and employer, the rich and poor, the professional man and mechanic, and has demonstrated in a new and INTRODUCTION. XIU convincing way that the interest in higher things and capacity for their enjoyment is by no means limited to the college graduate, or to the male sex, or to the well- to-do. The elevating, unifying, conciliating, educating influences of our modern society are not by any means so numerous that we can afiFord to dispense with any single one in the great and trying times of social reform toward which we are rapidly drifting. University Extension then, whether we look at it merely as a widening of the opportunities of our existing institutions, or as a means for satisfying the intellectual wants of hungering souls ; whether we scrutinize it simply from an administrative and financial point of view as a device for rendering more serviceable our educational plants; whether we regard it merely as a powerful agency in stimulating to intellectual effort the minds of thousands of people who without it would have gone through life as in a dream, or as a means of purifying and elevating the tone of our social life in city, village and country, or as a movement with an educational mission to stir and arouse every one to the importance to himself and the community of sys- tematic education along higher lines, and his consequent duty not only to pursue a systematic process of self- culture, but also to urge it upon Tiis friends ; whether we consider it as a most efficient means of enlisting the sympathy and support of the community in educational matters as a whole, or as a device to get public and private support for our higher educational institutions, or finally as a great movement in the direction of social reform, which promises to be a most powerful ally of those tendencies to a higher social life in whose growth we all take so much interest — ^whether it is regarded from xiv UNIVBRSITY EXTENSION. one or all these points of view University Extension must present itself to the thoughtful American citizen as a force which it is his duty, as it should be his delight, to conserve and increase in every possible way. Before indicating the lines along which the friends of University Extension may assist in its development it may be well worth while to note one or two additional considerations which supplement the fore- going. University Extension has been a source of strength to our higher institutions in more ways than in directly arousing and strengthening public interest in their work. The history of education abounds with illustrations of the fact that educational institutions may very easily fall out of sympathy and touch with the great movements of the life and times about them. Our own history is full of such examples, although Oxford and Cambridge toward the close of the last century, and for a good part of this, furnished the classic illustrations of this fact. It may be well doubted whether in all history there were more striking instances of waste and misappropriation of funds than those univer- sities furnished. And finally in spite of the enor- mous pressure of a few reformers within the insti- tutions and the general public without, it took two parliamentary commissions in order to start these great schools on the road of adaptation to modern require- ments. So flagrant were the abuses at Oxford and Cambridge that they have led many educationists to the view that educational endowments injure the interests of education ; and this view is undoubtedly correct if the endowed institutions fall out of the line of pro- gress and fail to react to the stimulus of a new epoch. It is safe to say that no institution will be in danger of INTRODUCTION. XV doing this which keeps itself in touch with the life of its own time by means of University Extension. It does not merely educate the public in this way. The public educates it also — ^very greatly to its advantage. Another consideration should not be lost sight of in this connection, and that is the value to the University instructor himself of work in University Extension. The best as well as the laziest of college professors falls easily into a habit of regarding means as ends ; of look- ing on the University as existing primarily for his own sake. Our universities are, and should remain, educa- tional institutions as well as centres of scientific investi- gation'. They are for the training of youth as well as for the promotion of human knowledge. They should be distributors as well as creators of science. In prepar- ing himself to perform the function of teacher and trainer of youth, the university professor can hardly find a better means than work in the University Extension field. The necessity of putting his knowledge in such a form as will appeal to the interest and intelligence of a mixed audience of adults calls upon him to take an entirely new attitude in the presentation of his subject, which cannot fail to react most favorably upon the whole pro- cess and methods of his teaching. That this is so is the uniform testimony of those who have taken pains to study the effect of Extension work on the college instructor. The method by which University Extension accom- plishes its work of molding and fashioning the conver- sation and action of a community is most interesting. The Extension lecturer, who recognizes and utilizes his opportunities, puts the whole community, so to speak, at school for the time being. Everybody reads more or less upon the subject of the lectures, the few who xvi UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Study carefully before and after the exercises talk of their work and study to every one they meet, and soon a debate starts up and continues to grow until the people are as much excited over the relative merits of Queen Elizabeth and Cromwell as they were a little while before over the last church quarrel or village scandal. In the meantime there is such a demand for the standard histories of England that the local bookseller is perhaps quite unable to furnish sufficient copies. As a result of the whole matter the village becomes painfully conscious that it has no public library and a movement is imme- diately set on foot to secure this most necessary public improvement. In the meantime the whole intellectual and social life of the community has moved up to a higher plane and thenceforward ever}' good cause is better supported than before. ^ Perhaps a lecturer on art comes into the community. He succeeds in enlisting public attention for a short time in the function and history of art in the life of nations. He creates an interest in architecture, paint- ing, sculpture. He helps people to an appreciation of the service which art has rendered to civilization. He sets them to thinking and reading upon this most inter- esting department of human achievement. He makes them painfully aware of how little they have done in util- izing for the life of their own community the glorious lessons of the past in this field. He points out perhaps what can be done by way of beginning the cultivation of the art sense in their children and themselves. Before he leaves, a new era has dawned upon the community, and for all time to come it will feel the happy results of his stay. Another and no less fundamental and important result may be the outcome of such a visit. We all know the INTRODUCTION XVU diflSculties of the child of genius bom with powers amd aspirations destined to carry it to the skies, but which no wise counselor and friendly voice is at hand to guide and aid. How long a road it must travel before becom- ing conscious of its own strength, and how much longer that road before it learns where to seek the aid and training it needs. Many a good seed goes to waste before reaching the fruitful ground, or dries up under the dessicating influence of uncongenial surroundings. To a soul thus in need of guidance a University Exten- sion lecture may come as a voice from heaven, revealing to it, while descanting upon the beauties of the acropolis or the magnificence of St. Peter's, its own destiny and proffering the knowledge and sympathy necessary to give aid and comfort. In this way, many a valuable talent, that otherwise might have perished, is saved to the community and the nation. University Extension properly organized and xiarried out would be a most efficient means of revealing to thousands of young men and women their own strength and the career they should follow. It would appear from the foregoing that we lay great emphasis on the stimulating effect of University Exten- sion so far as its direct results are concerned ; but its indirect result must be to increase enormously the actual power of the next generation. There are hundreds of thousands of men and women in the United States who could be reached by a general organization of University Extension throughout the country. They would not in very many instances become scholars themselves. They certainly could not in any large numbers become chemists, or physicians or biologists or economists or architects or artists or musicians ; but they could all become so xviii xmrvERSiTY bxtension. interested in chemistry or physics or biology or art or political economy or music that this intellectual interest would purify and sweeten and enlarge their own and their neighbors' lives. It would above all bring new opportunities to their children and their communities, and with those new opportunities many children would doubtless become scholars and artists and musicians, whose talents would otherwise have gone to waste. University Extension oflFers a systematic plan of searching out and developing our national talents along many lines and in many places now almost absolutely neglected. ■ Before closing this brief introduction one thing more must be said as to the means by which the friends of University Extension can aid its progress. It is very plain that University Extension in order to accomplish the results indicated above can not be self-supporting in the ordinary sense of that term. In this respect it is like all higher education. If the attempt were made on the part of any of our great universities to collect from the students in the shape of fees a sum of money suffi- cient to run the institution the result would be such a scattering of the students as would bankrupt the institu- tion within a year. No institution can be a great teach- ing centre and a great centre of scientific investigation if it must depend on fees of students alone. University Extension can not do the thorough work which it must do, nor the widely extended work which it .is desirable that it shall do, without very considerable financial aid from an extraneous source. The efforts of friends of University Extension, there- fore, should' be directed toward securing proper financial backing for the enterprise. If our wealthy universities INTRODUCTION. xix will set aside a portion of their funds for this purpose, well and good ; if they will not, and there is little like- lihood that they will, give any large sum to it, then private individuals or the local communities, or the State government must give financial aid. The most promising and hopeful source of aid is the gifts of public-spirited citizens, and all friends of University Extension should lose no opportunity to call the attention of their friends and of the public to the desirability of aiding by small and large donations the organization and prosecution of this work. In proportion as funds are placed at its disposal can the scope of the work be enlarged and its character improved. But this is not by any means the only, and perhaps not the chief, means of aiding this movement. Univer- sity Extension is essentially a missionary enterprise and it can be carried on only in the missionary spirit. Those who are interested in its welfare must not neglect any chance of urging its claims upon their localities. Every village in the United States should be a centre of Uni- versity Extension work. There are colleges and univer- sities enough to act as the centres of life and influence for this movement and they can all be brought into line if the friends of University Extension will undertake the work of doing it in the right way. To the friends of University Extension work, both near and far, we send the most cordial greeting, promis- ing them our co-operation and aid wherever possible and bespeaking theirs in return. Edmund J. James. The American Society for the Extension of University Teaching, Philadelphia, 1893. Press of AVIL PRINTING COMPANY 3941-43 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. University Extension. THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE EXTEN. SION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING. The American Society for tlie Extension of Univer- sity Teaching was Organized in response to a widely- felt want for a national association which might assist in proriioting the cause of University Extension. Various attempts have been made at different places to introduce and carry on the work of popular education, by means of the plan first systematically prosecuted in England, under the name of Extension Teaching. In all these effortSj some of which have been highly successful, and some of which have been almost failures, there has been a common need — that of more accurate and detailed information as to the proper methods and plans of work suitable for this movement — and, although each person or institution engaged in the matter has felt this need, there has been no concerted action looking toward satisfying it. Each institution and each locality has, so to speak, tried to solve the problem for itself without aid or encourage- ment from any other institution or locality. Where it has not been so bad as this, each institution has, at least, had to collect the needed information for itself, at a very great expense of time, labor and money, and in most cases only with very unsatisfactory results. The outcome has been what might have been expected 2 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. under such circumstances. In many places so little has been accomplished that many of those who undertook the work with high hopes of success have become discouraged and are inclined to look wijh suspicion on the whole move- ment. Those who have succeeded in the work have taken no pains to make their success known, and hence, so far as any effect it may have on the progress of the cause, their success has not been so very different in its effect from a failure. It was felt by many persons interested in the welfare of University Extension -that the time had come for a gen- eral forward movement along the whole line. It soon appeared that three things were absolutely necessary to accomplish the desired result. In the first place, the col- leges and universities must be interested in the work. Secondly, the general public must be aroused and made to feel conscious of the great opportunities which are within their reach. Thirdly, some scheme must be devised by which the results of the experiments, which should be tried in different places, should be made known to all other places in which this work might be going on. The most feasible means of doing this seemed to be a national society for the promotion of the work. This society, while having no official connection with any par- ticular institution, should try to secure the co-operation of all the institutions in the country. By the formation of branch societies it might contribute toward exciting a gen- eral interest in the public mind favorable to the cause. By publishing a journal which should be the organ of the national society, and the medium of communication be- tween it and the local branches, it would have a most effi- cient means of collecting and publishing the results of experimentation in this field at home and abroad. In pursuance of this idea an organization was effected to which the name of American Society for the Ex- tension OF University Teaching was given. The co- operation of many of our leading institutions of learning THE AMERICAN SOCIETY. 3 was secured from the outset, and many others have since indicated their interest in the enterprise. The society is ^governed by a council, in which all the institutions inter- ested in the cause will be represented, and in which promi- nent laymen in different parts of the country will also have a place. It is intended to hold meetings of this coun- cil, if practicable, in different sections of the country, for the purpose of considering the problems of the work which are peculiar to the respective sections. An attempt will be made to organize local branches of the society, which will have for their chief function to arouse interest in their localities, and to manage the courses ■of instruction given under their auspices. The present journal — University Extension — has been established to serve as the organ of communication with members. The journal will contain full information as to the progress of the work, both in our own and foreign countries. To carry on this work satisfactorily, large funds will be required. At present these funds are obtained from the iees of members and from the voluntary contributions of friends of the movement. The annual fee has been fixed at five dollars and the life membership fee at fifty dollars. No great work in education along higher lines has ever been self-sustaining, in the ordinary sense of that term, and we shall be obliged to rely on the public spirit of our citizens, rich and poor, for funds to carry on the "work. The small contributions of many people and the large contributions of a few will provide ample funds, and the appeal is confidently made to all who believe in a broader and higher education of the masses to lend a help- ing hand to this movement. If every one who believes that this enterprise is a good ■one would join the society, and persuade his friends to join it also, there would be no lack of funds to carry on the work. It is also confidently believed that people interested in the promotion of education in general will see that this branch of it is also worthy of aid, and will come to its as- 4 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sistance as they have come, and are coming, to the aid of our other educational institutions. The methods of work adopted by the society, includ- ing the lecture courses, classes, paper work, home study etc., will be fully explained in this and the following num- bers of University Extension. THE ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCES OF ELEMEN- TARY AND HIGHER INSTRUCTION.^ OUR elementary school system teaches children how to read ; but it has not yet taught sufficiently well what to read. In view of this fact, there have been for some time tentative efforts in the direction of an extension of the benefits of the school by conducting courses of reading at home, so that the impulse gained at school may not be lost, but continue throughout life. The pupil once taught how to read, shall continue his education through well- selected books and become learned and cultured. Inasmuch as every step gained is a new instrument with which to gain more, the capacity for acquirement of mental power will increase with age, and there is no limit to the progress in knowledge and power of thought that may be attained. Some years ago the great universities of England com- menced a movement known as "University Extension," with the express purpose of connecting those famous seats of learning more directly with, the people. Lectures and courses of study have been laid out, and in numerous towns there are groups of students pursuing lines of reading and investigation under the direction of professors and fellows in the universities. The practical advantage of this is the hold which it gives those great institutions upon the thoughts and opin- ions of all classes of people. It is a conservative influence in an entirely good sense of that word. The institutions where the broadest and soundest views of the world are elaborated can, by the aid of this univerisity-extension scheme, ' Extract from an address delivered before the National Educational Association at St. Paul, July, 1890, by Hon. W. T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Education. 6 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. mould the thoughts and opinions of the people. But they are to mould not by mere dogmatic teaching of cut-and- dried doctrines. They will arouse and challenge investiga- tion of grounds and reasons. They will teach the people how to think for themselves, and that too on sufficient premises. Here in this country we need University Extension for all the reasons that exist in England and for this, additional reason: we wish to draw an increasing num- ber of youth to complete their school courses in our colleges- and universities. The extension movement will bring college professors into direct relations with large numbers of earnest and aspiring youth, and the result will be the happy one of inducing an increase of attendance on insti- tutions of higher education, besides giving them far greater influence on the thinking and acting of the masses of the people who do not go beyond an elementary school course. Higher instruction differs from lower instruction chiefly in this : lower instruction concerns to a greater extent the mere inventory of things and events, and has less to do with inquiring into the unity of those things and events. Higher instruction deals more with the relation of things and events. It investigates the dependence of one phase upon another, and it deals especially with the practical relation of all species of knowledge" to man as individual and as social whole. This latter kind of instruction, it is evident,, is ethical ; and we may say, therefore, that it is a character- istic of higher education that it should be ethical, and build up in the mind'of the student a habit of thinking on the human relations of all departments of inquiry. In the lower instruction the ethical is taught by precept and practice. In higher education the mind of the student is directed toward the ethical unity that pervades the worlds of man and nature as their regulative principle. The youth is emancipated from mere blind authority of custom and made free by insight into the immanent necessity of ethical principles. Hence it is evident that philosophical ELEMENTARY AND HIGHER INSTRUCTION. 7 investigation must constitute a leading feature of the metliod of higher instruction. Not a mere inventory, not a collection or heap of mere information, is demanded of the university students ; not even the systematization of the facts and events inven- toried, the mere classification or arrangement such as is done by secondary instruction, will suffice for the univer- sity. It demands profound reflection; it insists that the pupil shall see each branch in the light of the whole. It directs him to the unity underlying and making possible the classifications and systems as well as the inventory of the details themselves. It seeks as its highest aim in its instruction to give insight to the mind of the student. Let us look at the idea of insight for a moment, and try to see for ourselves why the curriculum or course of study laid out by the university for its own work and for the preparatory work in the secondary school has taken the present form. The general principle which determines the character of insight-giving studies is this : They must be of such a kind that they lead the individual out of his immediate surroundings, and assimilate him with the atmosphere and surroundings of an early historical age of the people to which he belongs. Each stage of culture is a product of two factors : the activity of present social forces, and that of the previous stage of culture. Every stage of culture goes down into succeeding ones in human history as a silent factor, still exercising a determining influence upon them,, but in an ever-weakening degree. The education of the child first proceeds to take him put of himself and bathe him in the rare atmosphere of the childhood of his race. Even the nursery tales that greet his dawning conscious- ness, and later the fairy stories and mythological fiction that delight his youth, are simply the transfigured history of the deeds of his race. With the education of the school begins a serious assimilation of the classics of his people, wherein he becomes by degrees conscious of the elements 8 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. of his complex being. He finds one after another the threads that compose his civilization — threads that weave the tissue of his own nature as a product of civilization. This insight of which we speak cannot be obtained except through study, exactly equivalent to the Latin and Greek studies which are required in our higher schools. To assimilate the antecedent stage of our civilized ex- istence, we must come into immediate contact with it — such contact as we find by learning the language of the ancient people who founded it. Language is the clothing of the inmost spiritual self of a people, and we must don the garb in which they thought and spoke, in order to fully realize in ourselves these embryonic stages of our civilization. What we have lived through we know ade- quately ; and when we have lived over Roman life in our dispositions and feelings, and then realized the forms of its imagination as it embodied them in its art and poetry, and finally have seized it in the abstract conceptions of the intellect, and grasped its higher synthesis in the ideas of reason — then we know it, and we know ourselves in so far as we embody it in our institutions. The present spirit and methods of scientific investiga- tion bear me witness that to know an individual we must study it in its history. It is a part of a process ; we need to find its presuppositions in order to make it intelligible. Only in the perspective of its history can we see it so as to comprehend it as a whole. If a man is not educated up to a consciousness of what he presupposes ; if he does not learn the wide-reach- ing relations that go out from him on all sides, linking him to the system of nature and to the vast complex of human history and society, he does not know himself, and is in so far a mere animal. Such existence as we live un- consciously, is to us a fate, and not an element of freedom. When the Scholar learns his presuppositions, and sees the evolution afar off of the elements that have come down to him and entered his being— elements that form his ELEMENTARY AND HIGHER INSTRUCTION. 9 life and make the conditions which surround him and fur- nish the instrumentalities which he must wield — then he begins to know how much his being involves ; and in the consciousness of this, he begins to be somebody in real earnest. He begins to find himself. His empty con- sciousness fills with substance. He recognizes his per- sonal wealth in the possession of the world and the pat- rimony of the race. Now this essential function of education to culture man into consciousness of his spiritual patrimony, to give him an insight into the civilization whose vital air he breathes, is attempted in our high schools and colleges. There are many other threads to this education — notably those of mathe- matics and natural science. But the pith and core of a cul- ture that emancipates us is classical study. Measuring our fellow-men by power of intellect, we rank those the highest who can withdraw themselves out of their finitude and littleness, out of their feelings and pre- judices, up into the region of the pure intellect, the region of unbiased judgment, so as to survey a subject in all its bearings. The thinker must be able to penetrate purely into the atmosphere of a subject until he feels it throughout, and his vision and sentiments are no longer merely his own per- sonal impressions, but he feels and thinks his subject in its entire compass, and comprehends it. This power of self-alienation hinges on the power to withdraw out of one's own immediateness into his generic existence — to withdraw to a standpoint whence he can see all his presuppositions, the complex of his surroundings, and take them into account. This power is attained through classical culture. The measure of this power of self-aliena- tion is the measure of the mental power of man. We all call the man who cannot withdraw from the narrow circle of his everyday feelings and ideas a weak man, and say that he possesses no insight. The university (and in this paper I have used the word university as synonymous with college, notwithstanding 10 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. their original difference of meaning) — the university, I say^ in our time, has most need of extension. In the age of the newspaper and the universal common school, people all re- ceive primary education, and very many go on, in adult years, to acquire secondary education; very few, however, of the merely " self-educated "• now get what may be called a higher education. There is a lack of philosophic insight — of that insight which sees the true moving principle of things. Consequently we have as the highest product of the self- educated multitude mere iconoclasm — mere negative ac- tivity, and but little constructive effort. The University Extension will, when it is fairly inaugurated, give better' occupation to this negative phase of culture by directing it to the study of the origin of institutions, and to the more humanizing work of interpreting literature, art, and history. With the multiplication of public high schools, there has come about in this country a tendency to neglect the college or university. Secondary instruction seems to many of our leaders in education to be more practical than higher education. But, if my opinion is well founded, this claim for secondary instruction must be held to be an error. The most practical of all instruction is that which finds the unity of all branches of knowledge, and teaches their hu- man application. Ethics is certainly the most practical of all branches of human learning. All friends of a sounder education will therefore bid God-speed to this movement for University Extension, and all will hope that through it the university standards of thinking and investigating will become known as ideals, and that once well established it will have the effect of increas- ing the precentage of youth who complete their education in the university itself. THE ENDOWMENT OF UNIVERSITY EX- TENSION. jThe motto of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching is to help those who help themselves. Its efforts will be directed toward stimulating each locality not only to bear the support of what may be called the purely local work, but also to assist the National Society by contributing toward its general expenses. The costs of carrying on the University Extension may be divided into two classes, which may be called gen- eral and local respectively. I. The general charges comprise such as are necessary to carry on that part of the work which is common to all the centres and which can, therefore, be better and more economically done at one place. They include : (i) The expense involved in presenting the matter properly to the public in such a way as to excite such a general interest in the country at large as will make the work of exciting the necessary local interest vastly easier. The people of a locality are naturally attracted by a move- ment which is of a really national character, and yet in which they can take part in such a way as to benefit their own community directly. Individuals and associations are naturally interested in those things which they find are interesting other individuals and associations. This work of arousing public interest can be best accomplished by a society which makes this one of its special functions. It is only proper, therefore, that the communities which profit by this result should assist in some measure in bring- ing it about. This general interest in the movement is, moreover. 12 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. necessary not only to excite local public interest, but it is quite as necessary in order to secure the hearty co-operation of our higher institutions of learning, without whose aid, of course, nothing can be done. The teachers in our col- leges and universities are so hard pressed already that they look with a little suspicion upon any proposition to increase their work unless it is very plain that there is such a gen- eral public interest as will secure for their efforts a perma- nent value and recognition. University and college boards of trustees have so many demands upon their funds and such limited resources with which to meet their many obligations that they naturally hesitate before seeming to take any interest in a movement which looks as if it might involve them in expense unless they see clearly that there is a public demand for this service. (2) The general charges include the cost of collecting and putting into available form for use the experience of all the different localities along the various lines of work. This is absolutely necessary to the success of the move- ment in the broadest way, and it can only be efficiently ■done by a national society which can keep itself fully in- formed of all that is going on at home and abroad. The results of this experience will be printed in the University Extension Journal and will be incorporated in the numer- ous circulars, bulletins, blanks and forms of the society which will be placed at the disposal of local organizations at cost price. The expense of preparing the most efficient statements of plans and methods is very heavy and can be most properly and cheaply done by one organization; for much of this work can be done once for alL (3) The general charges include, moreover, the expense of preparing. and printing the syllabi, instructions to lec- turers, instructions to local societies and centres, etc., ■etc. It is desired to place these at the lowest possible price to persons wishing them ; and this can be done when there is the largest co-operation of all parts of the country in this general work. THE ENDOWMENT OF UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. I3 (4) Finally, the general charges include the expense of discovering college and university men who are best adapted to this work and enabling them to devote their at- tention to it, by guaranteeing them the necessary income. The great bulk of the instruction in University Extension must be given by the men who are themselves actually teaching in educational institutions. This is necessary for two reasons : In the first place, in no other way can the necessary number of specialists be found to carry on this work, and in the second place "in no other way can the work be kept from sinking to the level of dilettanti instruc- tion or amusement, such as is characteristic of the lyceum bureau. The movement must be held close to the colleges and universities by enlisting their teachers in the actual work of instruction. On the other hand, the work is in many respects pe- culiar. Some teachers have greater ability for it than others. These should be enabled to give a relatively larger share of their time to it. It is, moreover, necessary to have a small number of devoted men, who will take up the work as a career — men who can both lecture and organize. These men must be guaranteed a livelihood, and they will naturally fall for a part of their expense on the general so- ciety. II. The local charges, on the other hand, include the expense of conducting the local work along the lines laid down by the National Society. They include : (i) The lecturer's fee, which will vary with time and place. It has been found in and around Philadelphia that a fee of ;^20.oo per lecture is about all that the ordinary local centre can afford if it proposes to hold several cour- ses. This may be increased in some places, and will prob- ably be diminished in others. The fee charged for a six- lecture course would, therefore, be ^120.00, to which must be added ten or fifteen dollars for incidental expenses, and a varying sum for travelling expenses of the lecturer. (2) The local charges would include, further, the rent 14 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. of a hall or meeting place, if one could not be found rent- free. Usually, however, the use of a school-house, or church-parlor, or club-room can be obtained free or for a nominal cha.rge. (3) The local charges include, also, the cost of printing admission tickets, advertising the course, administrative expenses of the Local Committee, such as Secretary's and Treasurer's books, etc. It is proposed to pay the lecturers in every case for their work. In so far the Extension work is on a purely business basis, and it is proposed to pay such a sum as is necessary to get suitable lecturers — men of scientific stand- ing and good teaching ability. Now it is evident to every student of educational history that this work cannot be made to pay for itself in the ordinary sense, if its character be maintained as it .should be. That is to say, we cannot hope to collect in the form of fees of admission to these various lecture cour- ses a sum which should be sufficient to meet all these gen- eral and local charges. That would be like expecting Cor- npll or Michigan or Pennsylvania to collect in the form of tuition fees money enough to maintain those institutions. •Consequently we must rely on contributions to the general work to enable us to carry it on as it should be. It is important that at the beginning of the work, the .starting of courses in the local centres should be made as «asy as possible. To this end local associations should be formed at least in the larger cities which can undertake to assist in making up by subscription the necessary funds to supplement the efforts of the local centre. These associations can guarantee a certain remuneration to lec- turers, and if the fees collected from the local centres are not sufficient to defray the expenses, the association can make it good. The larger the subscriptions to the National Society the lower can the general expenses, as indicated above, be- come, and the easier the beginning be made for the various communities. THE ENDOWMENT OF UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 1 5 This work offers a rare opportunity to men of wealth to assist in an efficient way in the development of our American educational system. They can either con- tribute to the local centre, to the local association, or to the American Society for the Extension of University T-eaching. They can endow lectureships in the society by which the local charge for good lectures can be very much reduced and the participation in the advantages of higher education opened to an ever-increasing number of their fellow-citizens. Every dollar spent in this way will stimulate the local raising of five times that amount. But it is not merdy the man of large means who may aid in the University Extension movement. Every one who contributes to the guarantee fund of a local cefltre, •or of a local society, or who becomes a member of the American Society and pays his annual fee, can feel that he bas to that amount aided this great cause and shared in an ■efficient way in the improvement of our educational system. THE HISTORY OF A BRANCH SOCIETY. (-J-ENERAL interest has been aroused in the work of Uni- versity Extension, and in many cities of the United States the inquiry is being made as to the best method of organizing and prosecuting the movement. This inquiry can perhaps be "answered in no better way than by giving a sketch of the movement as it has been successfully developed in the city of Philadelphia. At the same time it must be noted that no other city will ever have to encounter all the difficulties that were met by this first effort to introduce the system of Extension Teaching into this country, owing to the fact that the American Society has done the pioneer work. In the iirst months of 1890, there was in the United States not only no particular interest in the definite work of University Extension 'but no clear idea as to what the movement really is or what the methods are which it em- ploys. Attempts had indeed been made to introduce here and there some particular idea or phase of the work. These, however, had excited little attention, and even when meas- urably successful had hardly tended to make the details of the system known or its results appreciated. This condition of things has greatly changed. It is no longer necessary to appeal to transatlantic experience when a question is asked as to the purposes, methods and results of Extension Teaching. The objection cannot now be made that this system may be good for England, for Den- mark or for Austria, but is not adapted to American con- ditions. One year's trial of University Extension in Phila- delphia has made it henceforth easier to introduce the work throughout the country. HISTORY OF A BRANCH SOCIETY. \J In consideration of this fact, it is hardly possible to overestimate the service of the man who first saw the need of Extension Teaching in the United States and the great opportunities it offered to the cause of popular education. To the clear foresight, the active initiative and characteristic generosity of Provost Pepper, of the University of Pennsyl- vania, is due in great measure the establishment of this- work. In February, 1890, a number of the leading educa- tors of the city met by his invitation and at his house tO' discuss the movement and the advisability of organizing it.. It seemed to all that the work offered great opportunities, for the whole country, and it was proposed to make the first trial in Philadelphia. T,he plan met the approval of those present and of all who were consulted during the succeeding months; the co-operation of the neighboring higher institutions was pledged; and on June ist, 1890, the Philadelphia Society for the Extension of University Teaching was formed, with Provost Pepper as President. In order to commence the work with the advantage of an intimate acquaintance with English methods, the Secretary was sent to study the system as organized in Oxford, Cambridge and London. On his return in the Fall, he drew up a "Report on the University Extension Move- ment in England," which was published by the society, and contributed greatly to a clearer understanding of the ' work. The first local centre was opened at Roxborough, a suburb of Philadelphia, on November 3d, with a course on Chemistry. This centre was established in connection with the St. Timothy's Workingmen's Club and Institute. It has been the constant aim to co-operate to the fullest extent with all existing societies and institutions in their efforts to promote the cause of popular education ; and to this was largely due the success of the first year. Libra- ries, institutes, guilds, clubs and associations ' gave great assistance in the work. The largest centre of 1 890-1 891 was in the hands of a committee of the Young Men's. 16 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Christian Association. Wagner Institute, the Neighborhood ■Guild, the United Club and Institute, the Woman's Chris- tian Association and Wright's Institute in Philadelphia; the New Century Club of Wilmington; the Fortnightly, •in Camden ; in West Chester, the Public Library ; in Had- donfield, the Athenaeum Library aided the formation of centres and afforded them many facilities. Under such favorable influences the work progressed rapidly. A great impetus was given the movement by a public meeting on ]^fovember 19th, at which addresses were delivered by President Patton, of Princeton, Provost Pepper, Mr. R. G. Moulton, of Cambridge, and President MacAlister, of the Drexel Institute. The faculties of the Universities of Penn- sylvania, Lehigh and Princeton, of Haverford, Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Colleges were in hearty sympathy with the work, and lecturers were freely drawn from them for the different centres. The special conditions offered by the large population of Philadelphia and its easily accessible suburbs were also a great factor in the development of the work. During the first season from November ist to the 1st of May, there were established twenty-three centres, where over forty courses of lectures were delivered to a total attendance of nearly sixty thousand. A noteworthy feature was the nature of the audiences, which usually showed a wide variety of occupations. The afternoon courses were, however, attended mostly by ladies, and many of the evening lectures were arranged specially for workingmen. The most popular subjects proved to be literature, history and the different physical and natural sciences. In one centre a course in Advanced Mathematics was given for the first time in the history of Extension Teaching, and somewhat strangely to a class of working- men. The success of the Philadelphia movement became early apparent, and led to many inquiries for information. HISTORY OF A BRANCH SOCIETY. IQ from all parts of the country. Requests for assistance in forming centres came from such a wide area that the local organization was unable to satisfy them, and a national society was determined upon ; and on December 23, 1890, the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching was established, and the Philadelphia society became the £rst branch. From that time the difficulties that had been encountered by those active in the work were more easily overcome. Those who had looked with some indifference on a merely local movement became interested in one of national scope, and those who had been striving for the cause before were cheered by the consciousness of larger participation. The advantages which the general society conferred on the local association were thus quickly seen. The first season closed for the Philadelphia Branch with many enthusiastic centres and applications for several more. The financial responsibility that had been thrown on the centres was well borne, and several had large bal- ances available for the expenses of the next winter. The results accomplished in one year by the Philadel- phia Branch were equal to those of the London Society after sixteen years of organized labor, but these can be easily paralleled by any society that will take hold of the work with vigor and profit by all the advantages that are offered. Philadelphia had to send to England for informa- tion which is now made accessible to all through the jour- nal, circulars and bulletins of the American Society. Wherever sufficient interest is shown, this society is ready to send a representative to aid in the organization of the work and give full explanation of all the methods and de- tails of the system. A year ago little was known of Uni- versity Extension in this country, while now one can hardly take up a magazine or a paper without seeing some refer- ence to the movement. The example has been set by the generosity of one city of guaranteeing liberally the expenses of the work, and this will doubtless be followed wherever Extension Teach- 30 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ing is undertaken. If there is anywhere a desire for the establishment of this work, the necessary steps are, first, to interest a number of the leading citizens and the facul- ties of the neighboring colleges and universities, by dif- fusing the information contained in the publications of the American Society and by personal interviews ; second, to apply to the nearest branch of the American Society for a representative to consult with those interested; third, to form an organization, with President, Treasurer and Secre- tary ; fourth, to call a public meeting where addresses will be made by influential men, and the people of the commu- nity aroused; fifth, to secure the pledge of a guarantee fund for the general expenses of the branch. When this has been accomplished the field is ripe for the work of the Secretary, who should further the formation of local cen- tres in the different wards of the city and in the suburbs and neighboring towns. HOW TO ORGANIZE A LOCAL CENTRE. TThe organization of the American Society for the Ex- tension of University Teaching consists of three ele- ments. The American Society has the important task of arousing general interest, of first creating and then satisfy- ing a demand for information in regard to the movemeat and for assistance in developing the work. The Branch Society has the same duties in a given locality, and within its own limits performs similar functions. Assisted by the American Society, it perfects its own organization, stimu- lates popular interest by spreading the information con- tained in the different publications of the society, gains the co-operation of the nearest universities and colleges, helps in the formation of Local Centres, and arranges for them the courses preferred. On the Local Centre, however, falls the real responsi- bility of the movement. Without the American Society and the Branch, the work of Extension Teaching would still be possible, although the difficulties would be vastly greater. The Local Centre, on the other hand, is abso- lutely essential, for here the actual work of teaching is accomplished. It is, then, a matter of first importance to learn how a Local Centre may best be organized, and what are the conditioils of its success. One of the most experienced lecturers in University Extension has said that wherever one person is interested in this cause a Centre may be formed. This seems at first blush to be an extreme statement, but the history of Extension Teaching amply justifies it. Such a one can send to the nearest Branch for circulars in regard to the work. By means of these the movement is made clear to 22 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. a few of those most likely to be attracted by the possibili- ties of higher advantages and best able to secure these for the particular locality. When a half-dozen are found who are ready to further the work, application should be made to the Branch to send a representative, generally the Secretary, to explain personally all the details of the sys- tem and the best means of inaugurating it. At this meet- ing a temporary organization is effected and a provisional committee appointed to obtain public support for the movement. The first step in this direction is the forma- tion of a Local Committee, which should be thoroughly representative of the town. To this end the leading pro- fessional and business men and the most influential ladies of the community should be asked to become members. Especially should the ministers of the different churches and those connected with the school system be early brought to identify themselves with the cause. In every case the full co-operation of the local press is very impor. tant and generally is easily secured. The first meeting of the Local Committee will usually sanction all the acts of the provisional committee and con- tinue it as the Executive Committee of the Centre. A president, treasurer and secretary will be chosen, and the courses selected from those offered by the Branch which seem best adapted to the local conditions.. The financial question comes up at this point. The organization of Extension Teaching in the United States has put the bur- den of this work largely on the Local Centre ; in other words, on those who profit directly by it. The Local Centre must then guarantee to the Branch the lecturer's fee and travelling expenses, plus a small sum for the syllabi, and assume the local costs of advertising, printing and hall rent. In some cases the lecture course will be self-support- ing, and all expenses can be paid from the price of the tickets. This, however, will and perhaps should be the exception. In such cases it is almost fair to assume HOW TO ORGANIZE A LOCAL CENTRE. 2$ either that the charge is so high that many who should share the benefits are kept from it by the cost, or that the lectures are simply popular, rather than instructive and at- tractive at once. The Extension lecture is not like that of the lyceum bureau ; it is for purposes of education, and is the less likely to pay for itself financially in proportion as it accomplishes this end. Three plans have been employed for covering the ex- penses of the courses : the first is by a guarantee fund available in case of a deficit, each guarantor being then called on for his proportion of the entire amount. The second plan is that of a subscription, payable in advance. If the course proves self-supporting, or nearly so, this fund, or a large part, may remain as a permanent endowment of Extension Teaching in the town, it may be used indirectly to aid the local work by offering prizes of free tickets for succeeding courses to the best students, or, as has been done in England and this country, a contribution may be made to the General Society and thus the advantages of University Extension be made possible for poorer com- munities. The third plan is by collecting promises to take tick- ets. This may be done through the influential members of the Local Committee, or by some one eager to share the advantages of the course, which, perhaps, only become open to hini by means of the commission granted on the sale of tickets. Each one of these methods has been suc- cessfully tried, but it may be found well to choose either of the latter rather than the first, although often a combi- nation is most effective. The expense of hall rent may often be lessened or entirely avoided by gaining the co- operation of some local organization which has a place of meeting. The sum due to the Branch is always fixed for each course, and the expense of advertising and printing of tickets is so closely estimated that the entire cost of the season's work may be known in advance. Interest in this movement will always be best aroused 24 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. by personal visits of the Local Committee. Another ex- cellent means is a public meeting, where addresses are given by the leading men of the community, and by those who can speak of the results in other places, and here again every class should be represented. The faculties of the nearest institutions should have some of their number present to speak on a work which is destined so greatly to affect their own standing and influ- ence. The clergy, local societies, clubs, libraries and in- stitutes should be asked to formally pledge their help. By such a meeting the idea of the possibilities of the move- ment will be impressed on all minds. In these ways the practical success of the Local Centre may be assured. There are, however, two or three special points which the Executive Committee will find it well to keep ever before them. The iirst is in regard to the proper nature of the lecture course. The aim of Extension Teaching is to bring As many as possible within the influ- ence of the work. It is evident enough that to get hold of busy men and women after their daily tasks the subjects must be inherently interesting and must be treated in an attractive way. On the other hand, it is a great mistake to assume that the best results will be obtained by offering courses to the public that are simply popular in their nature. One likes to be amused or interested for a time, but such a motive will not take men or women from their homes even once a week through successive months. There must be a deeper charm than the pleasure of the moment, and this charm may be found in the intrinsic value of the work. The Local Committee which tries to cover expenses by arranging merely popular courses will find that the short- sighted policy defeats itself. It will succeed for a year or perhaps two, but is fatal to the permanent usefulness of the Centre. The ideal course is not the one that attracts a thousand hearers, but the one that stimulates a hundred students* HOW TO ORGANIZE A LOCAL CENTRE. 2$ The second point, of almost equal importance, is in regard to the proper connection or sequence of the courses. The one objection to which this system is especially open is that of the aimlessness of the work. The Local Com- mittee, anxious still to cater to the popular taste, not only selects what appears to be an interesting rather than an instructive course, but also varies the subject repeatedly in its efforts to reach all classes, and there is a bewildering kaleidoscopic succession of botany, history, economics, literature and transcendental philosophy. All these sub- jects are of real importance, but such mingling is destruct- ive to the steady mental growth which is sought in this work. This, too, is a plan which will attract larger audi- ences for a while; but when those who have attended regu- larly for two or three years find that there remains only a confused idea of half a dozen widely-varying and, to them, unconnected subjects, they will become dissatisfied, the courses will be unattended, and the Centre, from being a seeming success, will be a self-confessed failure. The only way to get real good from the Extension movement is to do real work along some few lines which, followed through several years, will have something of the logical sequence of a college curriculum. The Branch stands ready at all times to offer such connected courses, and the Centre should choose them. If this is done, it will be found that the work has a real value, that it will be recognized if desired by the nearer universities and colleges, and that their stamp will at once give added dignity in the eyes of the community. Cam- bridge University set the example by excusing the students of Affiliated Centres from one of the three years of resi- dence necessary for a degree, and where this work is of high standard our own universities will doubtless be ready to do the same by accepting Extension work as a substi- tute for the corresponding courses of the curriculum. In order to make this work most profitable at the time and directly and indirectly conduce to its permanency 26 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. in the town, one additional thing is necessary. The Local Committee should encourage, as far as possible, those who are ready to do thorough study by furnishing, at the ex- pense of the Centre, the books of reference required in the course. Often arrangements can be made with the Branch to furnish what is called a travelling library, which is at the service of the Centre during the actual progress of the course. It is much better, however, to have the books a permanent possession of the Centre or of some local library. It will not be difficult certainly in any town to get hold of the score of books necessary to one course, for which some portion of the subscription fund may be used. If this is done, the students of the Centre will nat- urally band themselves together for further prosecution of the subject during and after the close of the course. They will look forward to the work of the coming year and en- deavor to prepare for it. These Students' Associations will be a nucleus for the continuance of the Centre and a vauable aid in keeping alive public interest, and for their own sakes will insist on the desirable sequence of the courses. This is how a Centre may be organized in such a way as to be the source of real and of constant good to the community. Experience has shown that one course of lectures often changes the entire thought and talk of a town for weeks. Who can measure the effect of an active, earnest Centre through successive years ? NOTES. Prof. Louis Bevier, of Rutgers College, has been ap- pointed to organize the work of University Extension in connection with that institution. The Superintendents of Instruction of nearly all the States of the Union have written to express their sympathy with this movement and offer their co-operation to the American Society. Prof. Jeremiah W. Jenks, of the University of In- diana, who has done excellent work in Extension Teaching in Indianapolis, has accepted the chair of Social, Political and Municipal Institutions in Cornell University. Prof. Herbert B. Adams, of Baltimore, deserves the credit of being one of the first promoters of this work in the United States. Wherever he has found opportunity and by all the means in his power he has furthered the cause of Extension Teaching. Mr. Seth T. Stewart, Secretary of the New York Society, has greatly helped in making the cause of Univer- sity Extension known throughout the country. The real worth of this movement is best seen in the character ol the men who are devoting themselves to it. Prof. Wilfred H. Munro has been chosen superinten- dent of University Extension by Brown University i»> Rhode Island. Excellent work was done during the past winter in Providence. President Andrews says: "It has much more than met my most sanguine expectations, both as to members and interest." 28 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Among the prominent men who have recently joined the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching are Dr. Phillips Brooks, Bishop of Massachusetts, ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes, Erastus Wiman, Oscar Strauss, Franklin McVeagh, W. C. P. Breckinridge and Sir Daniel Wilson. The Philadelphia Local Board of the American Insti- tute of Sacred Literature has joined with the Philadelphia branch of the American Society for the Extension of Uni- versity Teaching in offering courses on Biblical work. For the next year these courses will be in Hebrew, in the Greek New Testament and in the English Old and New Testa- ment. The Academy of Science of St. Paul has made a be- ginning of work in Extension Teaching. Courses were of- fered last winter in history, botany, geology, electricity and mechanics. The courses were of twelve lectures each, and were given by members of the faculties of the Uni- versity of Minnesota, Carleton College and Macleester College. President Charles F. Thwing, of Western Reserve University, is one of the most enthusiastic members of the council of the American Society. Through his influence, steps have already been taken to introduce this method of teaching into Cleveland. Meetings have been held with gratifying results, and a strong committee has been ap- pointed to take charge of the local movement. The University of Denver is the most important ele- ment in the development of Extension Teaching in Color- ado. The Colorado State College and the University of Colorado will also co-operate in the movement, which was successfully organized in Denver this spring. Preparations are being made for a thorough carrying-out during next winter of all the features of the system as outlined by the American Society. NOTES. 29 There will be many American visitors at the summer meeting of University Extension students at Oxford in August. Among others in attendance will be Mr. Walter C. Douglas, General Secretary of the Philadelphia Y. M. C. A., Miss Ida Gardner, of Providence, and Professor Chas. B. Atwell, of Northwestern University. Full re- ports of all points of interest will appear in later numbers of University Extension. One of the foremost of those interested in this move- ment in Illinois is Dr. Chas. DeGarmo, Professor in Peda- gogy in the University of Illinois. The men who have made a special study of educational problems are the first to see the opportunities of Extension Teaching, On the other hand, it is not surprising to find it taken up soonest by our great State universities, whose form of organization brings them nearer the people, and which are quick to see the increase of strength to them, from popular interest in this work. There is in the 'London/oumal oi January, 1 891, a ref er- encetothe establishing of this system in Austria : " A begin- ning has recently been made in connection with the Vienna University and the 'Volksbildungs-Verein' (Society for Popular Instruction) to introduce the University Extension system to the Austrian capital. Dr. Bauer, who visited this country in the summer, writes that a society has been formed, under the auspices of which, courses of lectures have already been arranged in science, history and economics, in various parts of the city, and on the eve of the coming census a series of lectures will be given on the ' Stafistics of Population.' Lecturers have also been asked to give courses to the soldiers and officers in barracks. The major- ity of teachers are graduates of the university, or men of acknowledged literary or scientific training, and the work is thus of university stamp. " The financial difficulty has quickly asserted itself, and it is proposed to apply for aid to the "Landtag" (Provincial Parliament), and any grant 30 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. tnat may be forthcoming will be controlled by a "curato- xium," consisting of certain members of parliament, pro. fessors of the university, and members of the society. The work of University Extension was formally or- ganized in Chicago on June loth. The affairs of the society will be managed by a council of twenty-four. Among the members already chosen are President Rogers, of Northwestern University, President Roberts, of Lake Forrest University, ex-Regent Peabody and Dr. Chas. DeGarmo, of the University of Illinois, and Franklin Mc- Yeagh. No better place could be. found in the West for the establishing of this system, and under good manage- ment it will doubtless attain a great success. The People's Institute of Milwaukee has outlined an excellent system of courses to be given under their direc- tion both in Milwaukee and in other large cities of the State. It proposes to work in harmony with the University of Wisconsin along the regular lines of Extension Teaching. This is a very strong association, which, through its read- ing and conversation-rooms and Saturday-evening lectures and debates, has already exerted great influence. The new departure will certainly "increase vastly its powers of doing good. Mr. Robert C. Spencer is the very efficient presi- dent of the Institute. The action of the Legislature of the State of New York, in voting ^10,000 for the inauguration of University Extension in that State, is largely due to the enthusiastic efforts of Mr. Melvil Dewey. By making use of the pub- lications of the American Society, he succeeded in bringing this cause clearly before the members of the legislature, with the above result. At the Albany Convocation of July 8-10, this subject came very prominently to the considera- tion of those present, one entire session being devoted to it. President Low, of Columbia, Prof. Adams, of Johns Hopkins, Secretary Henderson, of the American Society, and several others made addresses. The discussion which NOTES. 31 followed was evidence of the widespread interest in the growth of this movement. Within one week the University Extension move- ment was a leading subject of thought and discussion in five great gatherings. On Thursday, July 9th, George Francis James read a paper on this movement before the Pennsylvania State Teachers' Association at Bedford, Pa. On the same morning Prof. Willis Boughton spoke to the State Teachers' Association of Maryland, at Ocean City, Md. ; and in the afternoon Prof. H. B. Adams addressed the Ohio State Teachers' Association at Chautauqua. On Friday the session of the University Convocation at Albany was devoted to a discussion of Extension Teaching, and the De- partment of Higher Education of the National Association considered the subject on Thursday, July i6th, at the meet- ing in Toronto. It is worthy of remark that the idea of University Extension has taken root in other than English-speaking countries. A Danish correspondent writes to the Oxford Gazette in regard to work in Denmark : " About five years ago the undergraduates of the University of Copenhagen undertook to give free instruction to the working classes and others who were in need of such instruction. Courses were given in languages, natural science, and all subjects commonly taught in high schools. The rooms in which the instruction was given were lent free by the schools and otlier institutions. The movement succeeded, and after three years the Organizing Committee applied for and got State aid, to which, however, no conditions were attached. It was only an encouragement given to the brave efforts of the students. The undergraduates now give free legal advice through competent men, and the movement is ex- tending in every direction. Branches of the central society in Copenhagen have already been established in the chief towns of Denmark, and it is only a question of time when the whole country will be covered by a network of similar instruction." 32 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN CURRENT LIT ERATURE. In the March number of the Andover Review and in the April number of the Quarterly are valuable articles on this work. Miss Lilian Whiting, of Boston, will have a very at- tractive paper on University Extension in an early num- ber of the Cosmopolitan. In the September issue of the Arena will appear an article on this movement in America by Prof. Willis Boughton, of Ohio University. The University Magazine devotes several pages to University Extension in the August number. The article is by F. Churchill Williams, and shows an intimate knowl- edge of the progress of the work. Prof. Herbert B. Adams, of Johns Hopkins Univer- sity, has written for the July number of the Forum and of the Review of Reviews an interesting sketch of the growth of Extension Teaching in this country. Two excellent articles have appeared in Lippincott's Magazine on University Extension — one in October, 1890, the other in May, 1891. Both were written by Prof. Sydney T. Skidmore, who has been active in the local work in Phila- delphia. There are two magazines, published in England, which are entirely devoted to the furtherance of this cause. The University Extension Gazette is the organ of the society at Oxford, and the University Extension Journal is issued by the London Society. The object of these magazines is largely the binding together of the diffierent centres, but in them have appeared many articles of general interest. University Extension. THE PROSPECTS OF UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN ENGLAND. ©IFTEEN years ago you might have found a man here and there who believed that University Extension had a future before it. Five years later the company of enthu- siasts had grown a little. Some, it is true, had fallen away, grieved by repeated failures, but newcomers had taken their place and thus the number of those who had faith in the future of the work gradually increased. At last — almost suddenly as it seemed — the outlook grew brighter. New energy seized the leaders, new ideas began to suggest them- selves and were promptly turned into practical schemes, most of which happily succeeded. A rapid increase in the number of lecture centres indicated the growth of public interest. Newspapers began to give prominence to informa- tion about the work. Inquiries began to pour in from parts of the country which had been previously untouched by the movement. Venture proved venture, and one develop- ment led to another. University Extension was a success at last. You cannot measure its success by mere figures. An intellectual influence cannot be really fitted into a formula. Statistics, of course, will give you the attendance at the lectures, the number of students who scribbled in examina- tion-rooms, the number of certificates which came back to them as a sort of ironical acknowledgment of their industry. 34 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. But all these big totals and elaborate calculations, though they are comforting enough in their proper place, do not really tell you what you want to know — whether any good was coming out of all the fuss and expenditure and advertisement and organization, whether the crowds which thronged the lecture-rooms carried home with them any new ideas and disquieting aspirations — whether the move- ment was really alive.* Happily we have evidence that it was. To some, the lectures had come as a revelation. New interests had been quickened, curiosities had been aroused, life seemed fuller than before. The great cloud of dullness was a little less dense. How dense it had been outsiders had failed to notice. It had crushed down all kinds of capacity, hindered all sorts of possible developments, and more than this it had put down even mutiny itself. It had made its victims patiently satisfied with their own disappointments. There is no longer need to argue that intellectual capacity, when it is discovered, should be encouraged, given scope, allowed to come to its full stature and assert itself. Repression is no longer a fetish. But what does still need fighting for is the idea that,' under ordinary conditions of middle-class and still more of lower-class life, certain important .kinds of intellectual capacity hardly get the chance of the most rudimentary development. The environ- ment is against them. The plant may push up its seed- leaves, but its further growth is nipped. Parents in the position of life of which I am thinking are not on the look- out for unusual gifts. They prefer, and are ready to wel- come, the more homespun kinds of ability. But literary, artistic, even scientific promise is hardly recognized, or, if recognized, is regretted as disappointingly unsuitable. •For those who after all think figures are firmer ground, it may be added that over *5,ooo persons attended University Extension lectures and classes in England during the winter of 1890-91, UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN ENGLAND. 35 Accordingly the child does not get a fair chance, grows up with an awkward, uneasy, nervous feeling of discontent which it cannot explain to itself, much less remove, and •often, through mere want of appropriate training and stimulus, grows up into a rather fretful, unsatisfactory man •or woman — a human being which, through no fault of its own, or, indeed, conscious neglect on the part of anyone ■else, has simply missed its chance. Who even in his own narrow experience does not know a dozen such ? This middle-class tragedy is com- mon enough, and in lower classes commoner still. But it is terrible waste, and if we notice all that the victims miss, sad cruelty too. I do not speak, of course, of cases of •commanding genius. Real' genius, perhaps, manages to elbow its way out of the most unpromising surroundings. It has the knack of making itself actively disagreeable until its wants are attended to. Possibly, however, we flatter ourselves too easily even about genius; much, perhaps, •even of it is wasted and suppressed by mere want of sym- pathy. But, whatever be the case with genius, very much -ability of the second rank is lost to the world for want of proper handling and education in early sensitive years. And it is to the interest of the public, as well as of every- one more immediately concerned, that this leakage of ■ability should be stopped. Not that the ability which it may thus save from being ■wasted will necessarily attain any very conspicuous distinc- tion. It may never be heard of outside its own tiny circle. JBut it will give the next generation a better chance. Men and women, whose own tasks and predilections have heen properly considered and developed, will be more likely to do the same for their own children in their turn. It is in this way that the effects of higher education are cumu- lative. The refinement and mental quickening of one gener- ation improves the surroundings in which the next grows up. 36 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. This is the great work which University Extension is undertaking. It seeks to bring the stimulus of higher education within the reach of everybody. Its promoters believe that it is worth while to do so, that there are undis- covered stores of talent, undeveloped capacity everywhere, and in every rank of life, and that the world will be the better for a little more of what the Socialists call " equality of intellectual opportunity." Those who sympathize with this point of view will not be disappointed if for a long time University Extension teaching contents itself with a kind of work which some people contemptuously turn up their noses at as " popular." If a thing is popular it has at all events caught the public taste, and if, in spite of the inconstancy of public approval, it continues to remain popular, the probability is that it contains elements of permanent valiie and lasting edification. The Venus of Milo ,is popular as well as the most transient comic song. Now, if we are seriously going to try to establish a great popular system of higher education, we must not begin by being pedantic. We must be bold enough to interest our clients and to keep them interested. And this we shall certainly fail to do if we carefully make ourselves as dry as dust. The fact is that everything which is worth knowing at all can be made intensely interesting to the commonest understanding, but it takes a clever, and, what is more, a sympathetic teacher to make it so. The apparent dullness- of so much knowledge is due to the second-rateness of the abilities of many erudite persons. A first-rate teacher can take a very ordinary audience with him to the root of most matters which it is of any importance for them to know. A second-rate teacher quickly convinces his patient and pathetically respectful hearers that learning is a murky labyrinth. It is a pity that instead of giving gold medals to prom- UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN ENGLAND. 37 ising boys at school, we do not sometimes reward them, as a consummate honor, with half-an-hour's talk with one of the intellectual giants of the generation which is passing away. No lad would ever forget the words of counsel, of encouragement, of warning, which might be given to him in such an interview. Coming to him at the most sensitive point in his life, weighty^ with the speaker's venerable dig- nity and prestige, such words would remain with him as a living inspiration to his dying day. But if a man thus remembers the few words which he hears in boyhood from some admired hero, what doubt is there that even a short course of six or twelve lectures may leave in the same way its indelible imprint on the mind of many a hearer ; may stimulate dormant' faculties, give new life to faded aspira- tions ? Happily the grateful evidence of hundreds of people makes it needless to put the question. Let us then not lose heart if for a long time University Extension work chiefly consists in the arrangement of short courses of lectures. We are sowing seed. The one essen- tial proof of the value of the work will be found in the attendance of the hearers. If they come over and over again, come steadily for course after course, come without compulsion and pay for coming, it means that there is something in the lectures worth their while to come for. Mere levity palls on most people ; those , who instinctively prefer levity find the best kind of it in music-halls. People will not come to course after course of lectures unless the teacher has stuff in him. "They may not go in for examina- tions ; they may be too old and shy for that. Home or business duties may interfere with the writing of weekly exercises ; but if they will steadily attend course after course, lecture and class, they are gaining something by the process, and we should hold ourselves fortunate in being able to supply this need. •» It would be a pity, too, to become squeamish as to the 38 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sequence of subjects. Provided that the hearers are left free to choose their own teacher and their own subject, sequence may in the long run be allowed to look after itself. There is no such thing as an invariable sequence in higher study, any more than there is an invariable sequence in love-making. The course of intellectual development is often inscrutable, and so long as an intelligent audience is given a succession of invariably good lectures and of invariably good lecturers, some sort of sequence will be secured, if not in the actual subject of the lectures, at any rate in the standpoint of the lecturers or in the minds of the students. Moreover we should not forget that there are two kinds of sequence — sequence of subjects taught and sequence of good teachers to teach them. Of the two the second is not the less important. But though University Extension will always take the form in most places of occasional courses of lectures — a little detached in point of subject, a little isolated perhaps, in point of time — we are beginning to feel our way in England to rather more elaborate efforts at organization.. It is always tempting to try to do too much of this kind of thing because it pleases the academic Philistine. He despises a course of lectures, but he can understand a college. That is to say, his own experience helps him in the one case, but he does not get properly helped by his imagination in the other. So when he girds at University- Extension for being casual and disconnected and incom- plete, he is comforted or rather silenced by being told that these scattered courses of lectures will in due time be properly focused into the more conventional form of a college. He does not see that occasional courses of lectures may be more adapted to the needs of rather timid, self- distrustful adult hearers than the more pompous apparatus of a college with which he himself is familiar. He doe.s not understand — I am only speaking of the academic' UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN ENGLAND. 39 Philistine — that if you want to spread the love of learning, you must arm yourself with weapons which are appropriate to the situation. But it consoles him to believe that, if he bears with you a few years longer, you will in the end make yourself respectable and drop the shabby clothes which a well-conducted university is ashamed of seeing on any of her children's backs. , However, in a sense, the Philistine is quite right We should all of us lose heart with University Extension if we did not believe that in time it would grow into something bigger. And, no doubt, in the end, the University Exten- sion College will come. But it will only come gradually. A new generation may have to come out of the nursery before there will be in any of the smaller English towns a sufficiently steady demand for organized higher education to make it possible to establish anything so permanent and costly as a college. Secondary education, which with us is all at sixes and sevens, will have to be reorganized before the public seriously takes in hand the no less important task of permanently establishing higher education for adults. In the meantime we are in the ridiculous position of spending millions of money on a too clerkly kind of elementary education, without taking any trouble to see that the children keep up even their interest in book learning after they leave the school. But, against the time when public opinion will wake up at last to the national importance of these questions. University Extension is doing a great work. And what its promoters have to do is to keep their powder dry : that is to preserve at all costs a staff of experienced, stimulating and enthusiastic teachers ; and above all, not to get impatient with the day of small things, but while missing no opportunities of higher organization and new development, never to lose touch with the needs of the struggling would-be students, who want a litde help and much encouragement, but would be repelled and 40 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. frightened by elaborate schedules of progressive study. Somebody said a few years ago that the University Exten- sion system was the Salvation Army of education. I remember we were rather put out by the remark at the time, but there was a grain of truth in it after all. Our work lies among those who have hitherto lain outside the influences of University Ijfe and our task is to win them, through their instructive interest in all that is pure and noble and of good report in human learning, to a new appreciation of the worth of knowledge and a new respect for the dignity of laborious self-culture. To do this we must never fail to cultivate the missionary spirit — the spirit of sympathy — which indeed is the spirit that maketh alive. MICHAEL E. SADLER. Oxford, July, i8gi. AMERICAN WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ■p^EFORE attempting to define the position to be taken by ■^^ the women of this country in regard to the Extension of University Teaching, a few words in relation to its incipiency may not be amiss. University Extension had its origin in the efiforts of a few large minded and highly cultured Englishmen to extend the privileges of university education to all persons who aspired to such teaching, and were mentally able to receive it, but who were debarred by their occupations as laborers, or their sex as women, from obtaining it. A movement springing from so wide a philanthropy, seeking, as it were, to correct evils and ignorance resulting from ages of injus- tice, could not fail to receive popular recognition in so enlightened a nation as England. It is evident that this liberal impulse comes in philan- thropical succession second only to the work of Robert Raikes, who started the Sunday-school system among the very poor of England in 178 1, for the purpose of giving instruction, both secular and religious, to the unfortunate children, who were unremittingly employed during week- days in the mining and manufacturing towns. It is, there- fore, quite easy to understand that in explaining University Extension to American audiences, the lecturer may often be obliged to meet the erroneous impression that University Extension also was primarily intended for the industrial classes alone. In reality it was intended for all who would accept it, being a system, sufficiently Catholic and elastic, to meet the demands of all. 42 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. That women of birth and education were among the first to recognize and accept its privileges is attested by the large numbers of such women found in the classes that sprang into existence, as by the magic of a fairy's wand, at the opening of the lectures. These women became eager recipients of the knowledge, now so freely dispensed, formerly so difficult of access, and with efficiency and energy have shown their appreciation of its value to them- selves, by co-operating with its generous originators in diffusing the system far and wide over England. As mem- bers of Local Committees, as active agents in forming Students' Associations, as Auxiliary Committees to raise funds necessary for defraying the current expenses of the lectures, they have been of incalculable assistance. The success of University Extension in the mining and manufacturing districts, is partly due to the interested participation of educated women, who are glad to stand as students on the same level with workingmen and women in order to obtain the advantages offered to all. As an instance, we are told that in a certain course of study the best examination was passed by a miner, the second by the heiress of a wealthy banker. This remarkable interest evinced by the women of England in University Extension constrains us to believe that, quite aside from the grand opportunities it affords for philanthropical work in new fields of usefulness, the women of America will find in it an institution peculiarly appropriate to their own individual wants and conditions. For the women of America, like their English sisters, live mostly in the home. And however the exigencies of modern civilization or the development of their powers may open to them new occupations or indus- tries, higher education — meaning the training of the mind in higher branches of learning that goes regularly forward into adult life — will be in the future, as it has been in the past, the rule for the men and the exception for the women ; AMERICAN WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 43; unless, indeed, by this organization of an itinerant method of university teaching, higher education can be brought to the home, or within its immediate possibility. For,, while our modern colleges for women mark an era of im- provement and progress unparalleled in the story of humaa progress, two distinct factors are still at work, keeping all but a favored few of our girls from the privileges of college life. First is the consideration of expense, which is important, indeed, in an age that places a higher value upon man's than upon woman's work of equar worth; because while it is evidently practicable as a good business investment to train highly the faculties of the boys even at a large pecuniary sacrifice, the same is not always apparent in relation to the girls of a family. The other and still more weighty factor, bearing most heavily upon those to- whom money is a secondary thought, is the repugnance parents feel toward sending their daughters away fronx home, thus depriving themselves of the society of the girls, at what promises to be a most charming period of hfe. It is true, that this temporary deprivation is repaid a hundred- fold by the increased power and self-respect accruing to the girl, but the proportion of parents is still small who foresee this and who are sufficiently wise and unselfish to make the sacrifice. In addition, we must remember the great numbers of cultivated girls, whose services are demanded in the family, before they are fairly out of school by the need of younger children and tired mothers, and whose unselfish instincts, forbid them to leave home. Many a brave girl quietly wipes away the unseen tear as she sees her brothers pre- paring for college life, and perceives that to her the door is shut to learning and its pleasant ways. Her school-days are over, and if they have taught her anything worth knowings she has learned that she has only made a beginning. 44 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Can we wonder that to such girls, mothers, wives, and nnmarried women, who have been such girls, whose mental faculties are longing for activity, amid the monotonous though pleasant duties of home, the Extension of Uni- versity Teaching is an event of tremendous significance ! It makes feasible the continuance of an education, inter- rupted at the very time when the mind was best prepared to receive it. In the diversity of subjects offered, it presents opportunity of choice to all varieties of intellectual tastes. The amount of work required being optional, more or less time and labor may be given to study, according to the ■circumstances, mental habits, or duties of the student. The low rate of charge for entrance-fees, brings the various ■courses of instruction within the reach of all, from the richest to the poorest, and bids fair to introduce a genuine •democracy among women, in which only good sense, industry and intellect will be conspicuous. Much has been said of the benefits from University T^xtension that may accrue to women who have not had ■college training ; but still more is true of its possibilities to the young woman who has completed a college' course, has lived four or five years in an environment of learning and •culture, and comes home to find, perhaps, that in order to be in sympathetic relations with her feminine friends gen- ■crally, dress, servants, teas, games, perchance even gossip, must serve her for topics of conversation. Very likely she lias made good resolutions before leaving college : the part- ing words of valued teachers linger in her mind, warning her of this change ; but unless she becomes a teacher, or -adopts some other absorbing mental occupation, she will ^nd her intellectual position not only lonely but somewhat precarious. She has left college, but she knows her own •deficiencies far better than when she entered it. The ■absence of intellectual and spiritual ozone in the atmosphere ■of her life is depressing. She would gladly continue her studies. But how ? AMERICAN WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 45 Therefore, beyond all others, our college-bred woman must find, in this sending by the universities of their most accomplished and capable lecturers to various easily acces- sible local centres, a stimulus for herself to continued exertion and an aid in elevating the intellectual tone of her friends that should impel her to employ all her energies in securing its success. Probably the greatest boon conferred by University- Extension on a college girl, will be this elevation of the intellectual tone of the neighborhood; the sympathetic interest in matters pertaining to art, science and literature, which she will thereby find in her own sex, her mother, her sisters, and her friends, who may now all become her fellow students. One of our ablest exponents of University Extension said- last spring : " The best effect of this system of instruction is, that wherever it is adopted, the entire tone of social life under- goes a change. At home, in chance meetings on the train, at teas and lunches, people talk about the lecture they are hearing, the books they are reading, the papers they are writing; and planning and organizing for mutual welfare take the place of trivialities." During the past season we realized how keenly this change was enjoyed in this city, especially by cultivated women. Taking the foregoing suggestions as conceded facts, it would seem that had the Extension of University Teaching- been ordained for women of Ihe well-to-do classes alone, it would have been an invaluable assistance to the progress of civilization, in substituting aspiration for apathy, earnest- ness for triviality and love of instruction for devotion to amusement and fashion. But we must remember that to the drudging lives of the poor seamstress, the weary mill girl, the ever tired mother of a large and struggling family. 46 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. this same open sesame of knowledge and mental recreation is offered, as freely as to the highest woman in the land. Therefore, we cannot but confess that the advent of a more Christ-like Christianity is involved in this generous fgiving of instruction to humanity, and we realize that it is not alone a highly intellectual, but a grandly spiritual movement, in which by the presentation in literature of noble ideals of character, the weak may be strengthened against temptation ; by truthful and skilful delineation of history, the unvarying order in which nations rise and fall may be shown ; by scientific demonstration, the wise and immutable laws which govern the universe may be proved. It is difficult to say which aspect of University Exten- sion should prove most attractive to'American women. As lovers of art, science and literature, they must enthusiasti- cally welcome this new dispensation of learning, by which .^elf-culture will be made compatible with home duties. As patriotic and generous women, they must hail with deeper pleasure a system of instruction which strikes at the roots of vice and ignorance, and which promises to solve the problem of educating the nation at large, sufficiently to insure a continuance of republican institutions. As philanthropists, they will find in it more paths of benevolent activity. Much of the success of University Extension in a given centre depends upon the choice of lecturer and subject. These should be selected with a view to finding a ground of democratic interest, upon which all imay stand. Women as a rule are fonder of art and literature than men ; perhaps for that reason the sterner realities of life, as represented by politics, history aqd science, would better complement, their more emotional natures. This and many other questions remain to be proved. One fact is assured : as members of local committees, students' associations, advisory boards and lecturers, American women will be fully AMERICAN WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 4/ represented in University Extension, and in securing its success, they will find ample scope for the intelligence, courage, self-denial and generosity, for which they are justly celebrated, which as "The best treated women in the world" they should manifest in all that pertains vitally to the nation's welfare. E. L. HEAD. J'kiladelphia,Jiily, i8gi. EXTENSION TEACHING AT BROWN UNIVERSITY. N the autumn of 1890 the authorities of Brown Univer- sity commenced courses of University Extension. The work was taken up with great enthusiasm by President Andrews and some ■ of the professors. Interest in the undertaking was very much increased by the visit of Dr. R. G. Moulton, who gave one lecture before the university — a lecture characterized by his usual brilliant and effective style and productive of the enthusiasm that always follows his efforts. The formal courses undertaken in Rhode Island were four in number : First, a course in astronomy by Professor Winslow Upton., This course dealt chiefly with the motions of the heavenly bodies, and was attended by thirty persons. The second course was by Professor W. W. Bailey in botany. Twelve lectures were delivered to thirty pupils, and the hearers manifested increasing interest in the suc- cessive discourses presented. The third course was conducted by Professor Alonzo Williams. His lectures — on certain periods of German literature — were attended by something over thirty persons, including ladies and gentlemen. In connection with this course, fuller details of the system of Extension Teaching were developed, the pupils receiving lists of books for collateral reading and study, and having regular meetings with the lecturer for further consultation and criticism upon difficult points. The fourth course was conducted by Professor Hermon C. Bumpus. Its subject was the anatomy of the sense- organs, and especially of the eye. While the other courses mentioned were conducted in the thriving city of Pawtucket 48 EXTENSION TEACHING AT BROWN UNIVERSITY. 49 (adjoining Providence), this course by Professor Bumpus was conducted in the biological laboratory at Brown University. Those in attendance, thirty in number, were mostly teachers coming from different parts of the State. It was distinctly a laboratory course, the pupils being instructed in dissecting and in the -use of the microscope. At the end of the course examinations were taken by such of the pupils as desired. In all these courses, the interest manifested and the service done in the stimulation of thought and direction of energies, as well as in the communication of knowledge, were most marked. The encouragement offered was so great that the government of Brown University is now making epctensive preparations for decided enlargement of this form of teaching for the coming winter. The country tributary to Providence offers some great advantages for University Extension. Our community is densely popu- lated and has many industrial centres not very remote from Brown University. Our people are composed largely of two classes — excellent both as respects general character and appropriateness for this kind of undertaking. There are large numbers of most intelligent mechanics engaged in work incidental to the fine and varied industries of this section. The immense jewelry interests in our neighbor- hood employ very large numbers of men and women of a high degree of skill and intelligence, and receiving large pay ; many of them are truly artists. The fine art-metal work of the Gorham Manufacturing Company suggests at once a single admirable illustration of an establishment requiring a superior class of artisans. Again, in certain of the cities and towns gathered about Providence as a centre, are in the aggregate large numbers of persons representing old New England families, persons itt once of high intelli- gence, of studious tendencies, and well-to-do financially. Such persons are ready and anxious to take up studies 4 50 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. appropriate to University Extension, and will be bright and ■critical pupils who will have a most stimulating influence upon the lecturers. Brown University has definitely started the work for the coming year by the appointment of one of its professors as Director of University Extension. We refer to Professor Wilfred H. Munro, a Rhode Islander by birth, an alumnus ■of Brown University, a gentleman of large experience in college teaching and school management, a fine writer, speaker and teacher, and one who offers the greatest promise of conducting his important charge with success. Under Dr. Munro's management it is expected that during the coming winter there will be a very great increase in courses in the various branches of science, philosophy, economics, literature and history. The details and the exact methods have not yet been formulated sufficiently to admit of publication. Enough has been said, however, to show that our institution is awake to the rich promise in University Extension and will not be slow in the future to develop largely its opportunities for this region. The authorities of Brown University, moreover, appreciate the importance of the work done elsewhere and the advantages of cordial co-operation with associated branches in other parts of our country. It can hardly be doubted that we shall work harmoniously with well- digested central and leading organizations so far as ouf circumstances and opportunities admit, and that we shall pursue our work in accordance with such methods as efforts in other sections of the country have demonstrated to be the best — hoping, by our own invention and ingenuity, to render them more efficient by adapting them to our special conditions. JOHN HOWARD APPLETON. Brmon University, July, iSgt. WHAT IS UNIVERSITY EXTENSION? VOhere is a certain inclination on first hearing the phrase " University Extension " to think of it as something new, as referring to a particular phase of nineteenth century- progress, if not indeed as belonging only to the last decade. As a matter of fact, the idea of this movement antedates , the foundation of the universities. This idea is simply that of the universal right of all men to learning. That it should now demand and receive special attention is only another example of the old saying that " history repeats itself." More than a thousand years ago it occurred to the mind of a great conqueror that learning was not perhaps after all intended to be the exclusive property of the monks — that if it was well for the Church that learning ' should flourish in the cloisters, it might be well for the State that it should be cultivated by the people. He saw that the influence of the priesthood came as much from their superior knowledge as from the sanctity of their office, and determined that such a factor in civilization should not be restricted to the few. The underlying prin- ■ciple of Extension Teaching was in the mind of Charlemagne when he invited Alcuin from England to assist in estab- lishing schools throughout his realm. The results of their joint work were still apparent in France at the time that Abelard realized more fully this idea by drawing thousands •of students from all parts of Europe, and laying the foun- dation of the great University of Paris. Those who study the rise of universities will see that one of the earliest extension movements was that which brought learning from the cloisters and gave it an abode in a score of famous institutions. s» 52 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. We find another appearance of this idea in the inven- tion of printing. The instinctive feehng that all should share the mental products of each stimulated the search after means proper for this end, and led to an invention, whose results were soon as evident as they were far-reaching. Where before it was possible for one student to go to Oxford or Prague or Padua, it was now possible for a dozen to study Arigtotle and St. Augustine in the masterpieces of Elzevir and of Caxton. The idea that led to the found- ing of higher institutions had a fuller realization in the wide influence of printed books. Attendance at the uni- versities indeed diminished, but the number of those, to whom a knowledge of higher things was open, was greatly increased. The invention of printing, however, affected very sen- sibly not only the attendance biit the essential character of the universities. The great institutions that had been founded in the Middle Ages for the people, and often ex- pressly for the poorer of the people, became gradually a place for the prosperous. It had been the custom formerly not only for all classes but for those of all ages to throng the lecture-rooms. But when the attendance was exclusively of the richer class, there came naturally only the youth, for these were at liberty to choose the age best fitted in many ways for study. As time passed the requirements for entrance and graduation became more strict, as was right when the students were freer to give all their time to academic duties. As Mr. Moulton has remarked, there arose thus three natural but erroneous ideas in regard to the essential nature of the university. Men came to think of the education offered there as belonging to a particular class, since it had been adapted to those who alone under the changed conditions made use of it. The days were over when the most distin- guished students of the universities thought it no shame to WHAT IS UNIVERSITY EXTENSION? 53 beg their bread from door to door. If a boy of no means went to the university, he found admission only under the most humiliating conditions, as servant to the college or to his richer fellows. Sometimes it was possible for those of rare ability to get temporary aid from the authorities, and finally by their scholarship secure respectful recognition; but this was open only to few. The mass of the people, there- fore, looked on the university as the place for the well-to-do and intellectual, and as something far removed from their daily lives and practical needs. Learning became divorced from the ordinary relations of life and no longer seemed a necessary or natural possession. Again the education of the university was associated in the popular mind with the thought of years of continu- ous effort, of uninterrupted study. The old conditions were changed. Men of all ages and occupations no longer ■devoted what time they could spare from their regular labors to the purpose of acquiring knowledge. Only in the Scottish universities and at the public courses of the Sorbonne and College de France do we occasionally see in these days men who have laid down the trowel and the plane to take up the not^-book and pencil. This again is simply an accident in the development of our educational system. It is no more true now than formerly that even the busiest man or woman has no time for study or cannot profit by occasional opportunities. The history of this movement gives conclusive proof of the possibilities that may be opened to all and of the e,ager- ness with which these will be seized upon by people under the most varied circumstances. The third misconception that grew up was the idea of university studies as very abstruse and difficult, requiring years of arduous preparation. The fact is, however, that university education is not necessarily connected with one subject more than with another, but is equally applicable to 54 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. all. The real difference between elementary and higher in- struction is not found in the kind of subject or even in the comparative advance in the study, but rather in the mode of treatment. University education is for adults, and its- essence is the consideration not of facts, but of their rela- tions. For the apprehending of these relations, a long course of academic training is a great assistance, but even more important than this is a thoughtful bent of mind and a store of acquired experience. Here again we appeal tO' the history of Extension Teaching which shows that the training of practical life is a great aid in every kind of mental acquisition. The benefits of university education are reserved for mature minds, but the particular conditions of their growth and development are a matter of secondary importance. In the light of what has been said, it must be sufficiently- clear that most of the difficulties suggested by the words University Extension are not connected with the essential nature of higher institutions, but result rather from their variation from the original type. These no longer embody the idea of their founders. Learning has been imprisoned in a new cloister, from which it needs to be brought. The restrictions which hem in advanced instruction are opposed to the democratic spirit of our age. This principle of equal right to learning will not stop short of a revolution which will exert as powerful and lasting an influence as those which gave men religious and political liberty. It is so essential to human progress that, after having found two partial realizations, it now seeks a third which shall complete them both — one which shall on the one hand recall the universities to their first function of satisfying, not individual, but universal longings, of ministering, not to one class, but to the people ; and on the other supplement the invention of printing which gave the material of knowl- edge by teaching the true use of this material. WHAT IS UNIVERSITY EXTENSION? 55 This, then, is University Extension. It is the bringing of the university to the people when, under our social and economic relations, the people can no longer go to the university. The privileges of knowledge shall be no longer only for those who are able to satisfy the conditions of aca- demic residence, no longer for those alone who can go through years of careful preparation and devote additional years to the sole occupation of study. Once more, the uni- versity was founded for the people, and the aim of this movement is to have the people share as largely as may be in its benefits. . GEORGE F, JAMES. FhiUxdelphiaJuly, iSgj. WHY TEACHERS SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. [niversity Extension as an educational movement of the people is necessarily of interest to every indi- ^vidual. In a state of society such as ours, there is a solid- arity that makes each, one closely touched by anything that changes the moral, intellectual oi* physical life of any member. Some have thought fhat Extension Teaching is intended only for the poorer classes, who are unable to take advantage of our existing schools. If this were so, still every man and woman in the country should be at- tracted by it. This is, however, not the case. What is offered in this movement is for all, and wherever the work has been carried on, people from every class, even the most cultivated, have shared its benefits. Especially have those who are interested in intellectual things been found in Extension audiences. The lectures are given by special- ists in each field, and are helpful to all who wish a knowl- edge of any subject and who feel the need of inspiration to study and of guidance in the choice and use of means. Naturally, teachers have been an important element in these courses, for there is no class so quick to take ad- vantage of every opportunity of culture. So plain, indeed, has been their interest that courses, both of lectures and for home study, have been arranged for them on subjects con- nected with their special work. The teacher is thus individually interested in this movement, both as it affects all through the general nature of the work and as it affects himself alone through the courses especially adapted to aid him in his profession. S6 TEACHERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 5/ It is not, however, as an individual but as one of a great fraternity that the teacher should be most deeply interested in this cause, and for two reasons — on account of its reflex action on his own position, and on account of the responsibilities of that position. There has been for years a slow but steady change of opinion in regard to the comparative difficulty and impor- tance of the teacher's calling. The time has been, and not so long since, when every aspiring youth who, after trying this or that, showed no aptitude for any. particular work, who was apparently not fitted for the duties of lawyer, doctor or dry-goods clerk, turned naturally to teaching. Even now teaching is considered a respectable temporary occupation for a young man who has not yet decided to what he will devote his abilities, or for the young woman who has finished her education and wishes some work with which to fill the time between school and married life. As has been said, this condition of things is changing. Teachers are themselves coming to a clearer idea of the true merits of their vocation and are preparing themselves carefully for a work which now seems worthy of their best and lifelong efforts. In proportion as this consciousness spreads among the teaching fraternity, and in proportion to their increased fitness, public recognition of the dignity of their calling is becoming more universal. The teacher never occupied so high a position in popular esteem, he was never so well paid in every way as he is to-day. This is due partly to the direct personal influence of better teachers, but there is another element in the change which merits attention. If we analyze the ordinary conception of a teacher, held twenty years ago, we find in addition to the idea, too often just, of his poor preparation and inferior ability, a singular indifference to the work he is called upon to do. It is natural to think that parents would have been quick 5 8 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. to see the great responsibilities of those who had charge oftheir children during a large part of their waking hours through successive months. The only adequate explana- tion of this indifference is to be found in the relations which then existed, and do still exist to a less degree, be- tween the common school and the life of the people. The average child remained in school only four or five years, or at least was so irregular in his attendance that he learned no more than could be easily acquired within that time. He went out from the school with some knowledge of reading, writing and easy computation. How slight this knowledge was may be seen in the little reading that was and is done by the ordinary man, and in the fact that generally the composition of the briefest letter remains permanently a laborious and distasteful task. Since the common school affected the individual so little, it was only to be expected that there should be a low opinion of its functions. With the improvement of the teachers, however, has come an inprovement in the methods of the school. More has been accomplished by and for the pupil within the same time. These results are apparent in later life, and the man who still feels the influence of the school has more esteem for the benefits it conferred. But there is a limit to the possible improvement of methods — a limit to what can be gained within the few years of school life. It will hardly be practicable under our conditions to lengthen materially this period. How, then, may this respect be strengthened ? Evidently the influence of the school should be aided by favoring circumstances in after-life. He who as a boy has learned to read, and to read intelligently, should, even" in the midst of active affairs, be encouraged to keep up the habit and to choose always what is really good. The desire for mental occupation should be fostered in every way. TEACHERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 59. One agency is the public library, which often is, however, an injury rather than a benefit because of the uncultivated taste of those who seek from it mere excitement instead of healthy interest and growth. The common school and the free library alike need and demand a supplementary- force in order to fulfil their great work. Such a force has been found in the Extension move- ment. It offers the favoring circumstances that will stim- ulate and direct the intellectual life of the people. It is in. no sense an experiment. Methods of work that had been tested in other countries, have been successfully adapted to American conditions. Many evidences can be given as to- the effect in a community of even a single course of lec- tures, such as are offered under the auspices of the American Society. We hear from one place that the whole tone of conversation has been changed for weeks at a time, from another that the demand on the libraries has been increased in amount and improved in kind. Men and women, who- have thought themselves too busy for anything but their own duties, have been surprised to find how much may be accom- plished by a persistent employment of odd moments, and how far subjects that had been thought of as abstruse and almost incomprehensible can be made intelligible even to those without special preparation. Every teacher knows that one of the great difficulties he has to contend with is the indifference of parents. When once these are led to show interest in the studies of their children, the effect is immediately apparent in the school. Such an influence is exerted by this movement which arouses mental life in the community and provokes an interest in everything connected with knowledge. Thus the teacher's work is made easier at the time and more permanent in its results. Again, the higher respect which is shown the teacher and his vocation is due to the gradual weakening of that 60 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. merely material view of life which has been so long char- acteristic of American society. Wherever there is appre- ciation of intellectual pleasures we find increased consider- ation for all who have sacrificed mate-rial success in their desire and striving for higher things. In its influence on the teachers' position, University Extension has, then, a double claim as directly aiding and supplementing their work and giving them greater appreciation from the public, and as affecting public opin- ion by resisting the bread-and-butter spirit of the time and bringing intellectual employments into higher repute. The second point, in reference to the responsibilities implied in the teacher's calling, is even more important. As the teacher comes to occupy a more influential position in the community, as he has greater opportunities of moulding public opinion, his duty toward every good work is proportionately increased. Ours may fairly be con- sidered the opening of a new era, which shall be called that of education. To the .teacher belongs the future. There are a thousand signs of it on every hand. No subjects are even now of such vital interest to the nation as those with which he has to do. Our daily papers are quick to take up and discuss the slightest change in the school sys- tem. Leading magazines are devoting more and more space to the educational topics, which are seen to interest thousands of readers. The names of leading school men are becoming household words. Hundreds that could not tell who is Mayor of Boston or even Governor of Massa- chusetts are familiar with the name of Eliot. On any great occasion men now turn instinctively for a leader to one who has a reputation in this field. How often has Provost Pepper been the representative of the city of Philadelphia, not only on account of his distinguished grace and pleasing address, but because he is the recognized and influential head of one of the greatest educational institutions of the land I TEACHERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 6 1 This is an irresistible force which, as the result of years of patient toil on the part of all at work in education, is bringing honor where honor has long been due. The posi- tion of a teacher is henceforth fixed. He needs only to continue worthy to have his part in this magnificent in- heritance. With increase of honor comes, however, in- crease of duty. Every movement which aims at the hap- piness and welfare of the people, has the right to claim the hearty sympathy and co-operation of the entire body of teachers. It is not even for the latter to wait until the ad- vantages of any work be forcibly impressed upon them. They should be quick to see whatever promises to be widely beneficial and ever aid it with all their power. Especially great is their duty toward any educational movement. When any advance in this field is proposed, the teachers in every community are the ones who largely decide whether it is to be made. They have a peculiar responsibility in the consideration of any change within their own profession, and should weigh carefully the possi- ble benefits of every new step. That University Extension is a work which merits their cordial support, cannot be doubted in the light of what it has already accomplished. The appeal is there- fore made confidently to teachers as individuals and as merhbers of a great profession to throw their influence on its side. It has been said that the success of this move- ment is certain in any place where one person is earnestly desirous of its advancement. If the teachers of this coun- try resolve to do what they can, and if each one will make himself a missionary of the cause, its future is doubly as- sured. GEORGE F. JAMES. miadelphia July, tSgi. NOTES. Since the close of last season centres have been established in connection -with the Philadelphia Branch at Conshohocken, Wayne and Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania and in Burlington, N. J. Many others are forming in Philadel- phia and its suburbs, as well as in other parts of Pennsylvania and in Delaware and New Jersey. Some of the most interesting newspaper articles on Extension Teaching, :notably those in the Chicago Inter- Ocean and the New Orleans Times-Demo- crat, are from the pen of Miss Lilian Whiting, editor of the Boston Budget. In the columns of her own journal Miss Whiting has made very helpful suggestions on the development of the work. The August number of the Oxford University Extension Gazette has a paper on " The Universities and University Extension," which quotes largely from the inaugural address of 'President Gates of Amherst. The friendly warning of that address is mentioned as one of the many lessons that England lias learned from America in the development of the system. On July 29th a strong appeal in behalf of University Extension was made by Dr. Asa Dalton to the Maine Chautauqua Union at Fryeburg, Maine. The ;same movement was the subject of an address on August 6th before the Sea- side Assembly at Avon-by-the-Sea, N. J. The address was made by George Francis James and was followed by a keen discussion of the system of Exten- sion Teaching. The faculties of half a dozen colleges were represented and the sentiment in favor of the movement was all but unanimous. The leading paper of this issue of University Extension is by the Secre- tary to the Oxford Delegacy, Michael E. Sadler. The efficiency of the Oxford movement in Extension Teaching has been largely due to his talent for organ- izing and his versatility in the adaption of means to ends. One of the best sources of information as to the work in England is the volume entitled, " University Extension; Has it a Future?" written by Mr. Sadler in connec- tion with H. J. Mackinder, Staff Lecturer to the Oxford University Extension. Our Canadian neighbors are apparently more influenced by the results of ■one year's work in America than by the record of twenty years of Extension Teaching in England. Inquiries and reports of progress are coming from many of the provinces, all indicating the spread of this idea consequent on the agitation in the United States. Hearty co-operation will be hastened through the consideration of this subject by the National Educational Association at the Toronto meeting. Dr. H. B. Adams gave an address on that occasion and the discussion was led by Dr. E. J. James, President of the American Society. Among those who have joined the American Society .since our last issue are Hon. William C. Endicott, Miss Frances Willard, Rt. Rev. Leighton Coleman, Bishop of Delaware, Edmund Clarence Stedman, President Reed, of Dickinson College, President Gatch, of the University of Washington, Prof. C. T. Winchester, of Wesleyan University, President Strong, of Carleton 62 THOUGHTS ON UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 63 College, President William H. Black, Supt. Sabin, of Iowa, Congressman John E. Reyburn, Editor John Brisben Walker, of the Cosmopolitan, Prof. S. F. Osborn, of Columbia, Elizabeth C. Agassiz and Major A. A. WoodhuU. The South- Western University Extension Journal is published quarterly at Exeter, England, by the SouthrWestern Association. In a recent number the editor takes decided ground in reference to the necessity and advisability of State aid. Until recently this idea was strange to the promoters of this work, but now it has been accepted by all with the single exception of the London Society. In England public appropriations have been made so far by the County Councils from the proceeds ($3,500,000) of the Local Taxation Act. The County of Devon m^de this year the first move in this direction and the experiment has been so successful that over a thousand lectures are already arranged for next year from the Oxford staff alone. As many courses have been engaged from the Cambridge Syndicate, it will be seen how widely the County Councils are availing themselves of the opportunities offered in Exten- sion work. In accordance with the established principles of the County Councils these courses are all in the line of technical and scientific instruction. The University Extension movement has been aptly compared to the " itinerant" feature of the Methodist denomination. Mr. Talcott Williams, whose influence has been so favorably felt in the work, notices in this connec- tion that one of the pioneers of Extension Teaching, Mr. R. G. Moulton, is himself the son of a Methodist preacher. This suggests the fact that the greatest results in popular education in America which have been so far ' achieved, have been gained by one of the bishops of this denomination. No one can think of the education of the adult masses of our population without appreciating the influence of the Chautauquan organization. Dr. Vincent has accomplished great things in developing the idea of Home Study, and has made further progress in this general direction vastly easier. The key-note of future effort was struck at the Paoli Meeting of the W. C T. U. on August 1st. George Francis James led a Round Table on the joint subject of University Extension and the Chautauqua movement, and Superintendent Walton announced the purpose of the new association formed there, as " the promotion ■of Chautauqua reading in the home and the establishment of University Exten- sion centres in the villages and towns." Mr. Willis Boughton, the newly appointed secretary of the Philadelphia branch, gave a very effective talk on the entire harmony of the two movements and the results that may fairly be •expected from united action. THOUGHTS ON UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. " The movement for University Extension marks the progress of the democratic ideal in education." — Nation. " The development of this University Extension movement and its extra- ordinary success, are the most significant facts in the modern history of educa- tion." — George William Curtis. " In my opinion it is fully time that the Universities of the country take up the work of University Extension. I do not think there was ever a time when it was so important as now." — Hon. W. T. Harris, Commissioner of ^Education. 64 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. " I have the honor to accept membership in the Council of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching. It seems to me the plan has a sojmd pedagogical basis, and that the method is good. I shall be very glad to be of any service in my power." — Col. Wm. Preston Johnston, President Tulane University. " University Extension will be justified in proportion as it brings not university studies alone within the reach of the people, but a perception of University standards and methods and aims. The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, is the keynote of the work, and in the insistance upon that and upon scholarly standards University Extension finds its field." — Boston Tran- script. > " One of the most gratifying recent experiments in University Extension in America has been in the city of Philadelphia, under the auspices of The American Society for the Extension of University Teaching, Individual or partial attempts had previously been made here and there in the United States, but Philadelphia deserves the credit of really establishing University Extension in a thorough and systematic way, which promises to be of practicad service to the whole country." — H. B. Adams in July Forum. " University Extension will cost money, but a wonderfully small amount compared to the results achieved. The cost of a single University as the Leland Stanford, for example, would be sufficient to endow the university for the people of the whole country. There is no lack either of wealth or public spirit in America. Once let the value and importance of the work of Uni- versity Extension be known to the men who control fortunes, and there will be no lack of funds for its development." — Albany Journal. " I believe that with the rise and growth of University Extension will come a higher and a better and a nobler life for all our people. It will reach all the schools ; it will reach the workshop ; it will reach every class and con- dition of the community ; and while we grow rich and strong and powerful with our manufactures, we will grow intellectual and humane, and have aspira- tions after those higher and better things, which, after all, must become the abiding life of every people." — James MacAlister, President of the Drexel Institute. University Extension. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTH, ^^HE movement for the extension of university education ^ meets my heartiest approbation and sympathy. In certain localities, and under favorable conditions, it will do much good. We have every reason to hope that it will accomplish excellent results in the hands of the rich and powerful universities which inaugurated it in Pennsylvania and New York, and, indeed, wherever a dense and intelli- gent population, collected in towns and villages, is readily accessible by quick transportation to the missionaries from the centres of intellectual illumination. Other institutions, less fortunately placed, may have to proceed more cautiously, and with smaller outcome from their efforts. The salient features of the movement are now pretty well understood, and it will not be necessary here to enter on any extensive discussion of its principles and merits. It may not be out of place, however, to mention a few of these that especially claim our attention. As the chief object of education is to learn how to think aright, a large part of the process must be self-conducted. From this point of view some persons have even magnified a great library into the true university. Of course the trained student does, at a certain period, reach a point where he finds better teachers in masterful books than in ordinary men ; but he can never wisely dis- pense with the intellectual collision of other men's minds. The fundamental thing in education is a teacher and a body of disciples. To attain the best results, the teacher must be able, and the disciples eager for truth. For though a 5 «s 66 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. strong book be a good thing, yet it is but a tool after all, not a teacher ; too often, indeed, it is a mere fetich. It is only in the hands of those trained to use them that books have their full value. They serve their master only ; to others they carry very crooked messages — this or that. In the personality of the teacher is more than half his strength. His meth'od may be good or bad, but his power is through inspiration. It is in the quickening of the spirit that force chiefly is felt, and the human clod glows and fuses and is transformed. A man, with his voice, his eyes, his electric thought, is the greatest teacher of rrian. In this fact we find the power of the pulpit, the hustings, the forum, the tribune ; and in this we find the justification of the public lecture. But education, to which inspiration is the breath of life, needs, in order to live that life, an evolution which comes through a habit of thought, through the unfolding of the reason, the growth of the soul, else why rituals, ceremonials, paraphernalia, all the props and pageantry of Church and State ? Act, repetition, habit, conduct, character, consum- mation, this is the series ; and training is the mode of evolu- tion. Now it is just in this that the mere lecture system has evinced its chief defect, and hence has fallen short of best results. It has done much, achieved much, through inspiration, through the kindling of thought, through indi- rect latent processes coming out in remote effects ; but its successes are exceptional. In the masses of the audiences that have listened to the best lectures, amusement, or emo- tion, was the only result ; the reason was scarcely touched. Even in the mere matter of information, the hearers often gained only the crudest, or most fallacious, conceptions of the speaker's meaning. It was not in his power to note, or correct, their extraordinary mistakes as he developed his own thought. I recollect that in my youth a shop-keeper who had been attending the lectures of that able astronomer. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTH. 67 Professor Ormsby Mitchell, seriously explained to me that the orbit of the earth cut the figure 8 in going around the sun and moon. As a rule the audience merely accepted what they heard, but did not assimilate the information, because they did not think it out. It went in one ear and came out of the other. Like "the seed that fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth," the facts and thoughts, " because they had no root, withered away." This was the ' radical defect of the public lecture system, crippling its usefulness and dwarfing its benefits. If the public lecture embraced all there is in the movement for the extension of university teaching, it would soon be accounted an old story ; but, while adopting ft, the new system has added to and engrafted upon the lecture a good practical method that compels the listener to take account of what he has • heard, and, by self-inquiry as to the subject matter, in some fashion to define and formulate his knowledge, and in the end to verify and correct it through the teacher's criticism. To those who faithfully carry out this plan, it will be, without doubt, a partial education. Many practical diffi- culties suggest themselves to the mind ; but a weekly symposium, though at best but a half loaf, is not to be despised, if the bread be leavened with a right leaven. But even for the mere listeners who do not pursue their studies fully, who "stand and wait," it is a great improvement on the lecture ipure and simple. The mental exercise of following and observing the intellectual athletics of lecturer and pupils will serve as a stimulus to thought, and the teacher's correction of the errors of the more zealous students will serve a like purpose for the mere hearers. Hence we must conclude that University Exten- sion will prove a powerful impulse to literary and intel- lectual activity in a certain class of people, a most desirable consummation. 68 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. It has seemed to me that the advocates of University- Extension may lose ground, however, by claiming too much. This is the great danger in all movements where enthusiasm is the motive power. If held up as an equiva- lent, or substitute, for university education it will lead to disappointment and disaster among those whom it should benefit. Yet the title Extension of University Teaching does give color to an erroneous view of the extent and limitations of the system, which should be duly understood and noted. The difference is radical, fundamental ; not to recognize it can lead to mischief only. The subject matter of education is information, the knowledge of things; its method is training, intellectual discipline; its aim, the self-conscious freedom of human thought, the co-ordination of reason and will. The univer- sity proper, in the fulfillment of its highest functions, sets the capital to this stately column. Before it lays its liberal hand to the task, the shaft should have risen by slow degrees through the toil of the builder. The information contained in books should have been imparted ; and the training of the school and college, each in its degree, should have uplifted the youthful mind upon a sure foundation. Thorough mental discipline is an essential condition and preliminary of real university work. This is necessary for an entrance on that career of self-dependence in which the university student, with self-reliant purpose, seeks culture or the ultimate forms of knowledge by independent research. The basis of college teaching should be broad, ample and expansive, training all the faculties by exercise and discipline ; but the trend of the university is ever upward, not outward, and its methods must be intensive and aspiring. True university education is concerned, therefore, with a body of trained thinkers, whose main object is growth and progress in the intellectual life. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTH. 69 On the other hand, the Extension movement deals with the general public, with persons for the most part untrained, but actuated by a wholesome desire for knowl- edge, and willing to supplement defects in their previous education by wisely dedicating a part of their leisure time — a respite from business or ransomed from idle amusements — to higher and better things. As a rule they have mastered the primary, and more or less of the secondary, education, have acquired a certain fund of useful informa- tion, and are animated by a desire for improvement. These constitute favorable conditions for intellectual advancement, and, properly treated, should bear fruit. But it is plain that the body of students, gathered occasionally for partial courses of study, necessarily somewhat superficial because popular in character, differ totally from a university corps in kind and degree of training and in extent and thorough- ness of knowledge. They are as unlike as the novice to the all-round athlete, or as volunteer militia to soldiers who in barrack and camp and battlefield have tried all the edges of military life and proved their own mettle. Again, while the Extension affords agreeable and use- ful excursions into the fields of thought, the University is for the time the very life of its members. Its atmosphere of thought, which is their environment, the constant pressure and reaction of mind upon mind in professor and student, and the sympathetic glow of companionship and the frater- nal pursuit of a common end by fellow-students constitute a round of existence not elsewhere found. In solitary study, or occasional instruction, these in- citements are lacking; and, moreover, errors in thought abide in the mind, which would be duly corrected in a band of quick-thinking and free-spoken university men. In a word, university education is one thing, and the Extension is another ; and it would seem that the title of the latter, cis it tends to confusion, is a misnomer, and, unless care- 70 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. fully guarded against, may lead to unfortunate mistakes and educational failures. , But even though the name " Extension of University Teaching " be admitted to be misleading, are we to con- clude hence that the movement is to be contemned ? By no means. What has been already stated sufficiently evinces that it is a valuable adjunct, and in its own way an extension of popular education, lifting its plane and extend- ing its area. We cannot help, therefore, encouraging and commending it. But if it be not an extension of univer- sity teaching how are we to justify the university for under- taking it ? To me it seems that the question of how far it falls within the sphere of university effort is rather one of practical expediency than of logical consistency. The great realm of education has, it is true, its pro- vinces and divisions, to each of which is assigned its appro- priate tasks. The public and private schools accomplish the primary and most of the secondary education. The academies and colleges should complete the gymnastic studies of the learner. But, practically, they do not, and the universities, under the influence of their traditions and growth of their historical development, have reached over into this border-land and taken up work that logically belongs to a Ipwer plane. Harvard and Yale even have not forgotten that they have been colleges, and still do college work in a college way ; Johns Hopkms has its academic annex, or college ""epartment; the University of Virginia has no standand of admission, matriculating students with- out an entrance examination whereby High School " chips " pass current as University coin in the academic world. Until the great American universities cease to do college — i. e. gymnasium — work, except in a distinctly lower department, they cannot arrogate to themselves any Brahminic exclusiveness of function ; nor need we be too particular as to the kind and degree of educational work UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTH. 7 1 fostered or undertaken if it be assuredly useful. Such usefulness is sufficient apology for much of the work done by a university not strictly cognate to its primary purposes. The most important functions of a university are the conser- vation and transmission of knowledge and the training of a select body of students who shall maintain its traditions. To these must be added the privilege and duty of research and discovery, the augmentation of the body of knowl- edge. But it is, or should be, also, a centre of illumination, whose rays penetrate to the obscurest nook and corner where ignorance crouches and hides. Its esoteric teach- ings are not intended to create a caste of learned pundits, but to equip a corps of laborers as ministers of humanity. And where other educational agencies fall short, or fail, it should, to the extent of its powers, supply their defects; and all its efforts should aim to raise the general level of education by its indirect influences, when possible, by its direct agencies when necessary. It is from this last point of view that I consider the able and energetic inaug- uration of University Extension by the University of Pennsylvania not only a praiseworthy, but a memorable event in the history of American education. It was in recognition of this principle, but with entirely inadequate means, that the authorities of Tulane University, at its organization some seven years ago, began in New Orleans a form of University Extension which has proved of inestimable value to the people of that city. Courses of free public lectures were established which have grown in favor until their influence is felt in every social circle, and the unorganized culture and intellectual aspira- tions of the city have developed into permanent and vigor- ous forms around the University as a centre. A free reading-room, a free museum and an incipient art-gallery were thrown open and have aided the good work. But •]2 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. the most far-reaching and systematic effort at Extension was the establishment of free classes of drawing and industrial art. These have been taught in night-classes four times a week and day-classes on Saturdays for nearly six months in each year. More than 3,500 students have been enrolled, and, allowing for double counting in classes, more than 2,000 individuals have received instruction. Some 1,200 have finished their classes, and many have gone on to a high degree of proficiency in architecture, ' art-decoration, clay-modelling and wood-carving. All the public school teachers attended these free classes in drawing, and their increased knowledge and skill have widened the range of instruction to all the school children of the city. The administrators of Tulane University felt justified in thus stepping beyond the. narrow verge of strict univer- sity education, because this teaching created an atmos- phere of art and aesthetic training in New Orleans, and aided in organizing a clientelle of students properly equipped for collegiate work, in which the city was lament- ably deficient. They only wished that their means were adequate to make this and similar aids to education as efficient as they should be. As it is, we will do what we can. It is in such intentions and efforts that the University of Pennsylvania and other powerful institutions will find an additional justification for further and more expansive undertakings in this direction. Finally, I come to the practical difificulty of doing in Louisiana and other Southern States just what is being easily accomplished at the North. Our population is sparser and poorer ; our towns smaller and further apart, less accessible by railroad, and not so well organized for such undertakings ; while our universities and colleges are not so well endowed as to furnish unremunerated instruc- tion. It would not be possible for a university professor — UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTH. 73 always a fully-employed man with us — to leave his regular duties and engage in this work without neglect of his classes and other duties. To carry on such a scheme successfully would require supernumerary instructors — and only men of approved ability would be acceptable r— and to pay these a special fund woul.d be required. As yet the evidences of enthusiasm for education shown in generous gifts by the rich men of New Orleans have not been such as to encourage us greatly in the hope of immediate extended usefulness ; but there must be somewhere somebody anxious to do this and other good works for our people, and we are patiently awaiting his coming. In the meantime we wish our more fortunate brethren God-speed, and promise to do what we can as fortune affords us the opportunity. WM. PRESTON JOHNSTON. THE INFLUENCE OF UNIVERSITY EXTENSION UPON THE UNIVERSITIES. ^^HE opposition to University Extension has been mainly ^^ confined thus far to those who, while professing sym- pathy with the object aimed at, the spread of higher educa-. tion among the people, have believed that both lecturers and students are apt to exaggerate the benefit really obtained, that the tendency to exalt the courses into an equivalence with those offered in established colleges is unavoidable and that as a result, the whole cause of higher education suffers. These objections have been very fully and satisfactorily met wherever offered, and it cannot be said that the progress of University Extension has been seriously hindered by opposition on such grounds. More recently, however, a criticism of a vital character has been urged. It is claimed that the American University itself is passing through a critical period of its development, that unless its growth into an institution more in harmony with the highest educational demands of the country and more nearly on the level which has been attained by those of certain countries of Europe be favored by the concentration to that end of every available agency, whether of endow- ment or of organizing power, it will fail to reach this level as it otherwise might in our own day. It is claimed that the greater part of whatever attention is given to University Extension is necessarily withdrawn from university up- building, that there is danger that " if we devote our energies to the Extension of University teaching we may find in the end that we shall have little that is worth while to extend." 74 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION AND THE UNIVERSITIES. 75 There is no evading the issue thus presented. If uni- versity extension is incompatible with university intension or strengthening, it is a dangerous system. The question is, however, a part of a more general question, which in the agitation for University Extension has been largely ignored, viz., the influence which this kind of work has upon the institution which initiates and encourages it. The effects upon the communities, upon the various classes of society, and even upon the body of lecturers, have been more or less fully described, but the effect upon the institution itself has nowhere been adequately discussed. In attempting to determine whether or not there is ground to fear the evil results indicated, it will be well to distinguish the college and university in which an increased endowment and an increased number of students are earn- estly desired, from the few richly endowed institutions in which the lack of students, if it exists, is not especially deplored. The interests of the two in relation to the Extension movement may coincide, but still be found to rest upon somewhat different grounds. The first need of the average institution is for money. The immediate demand may be for buildings, library appa- ratus, increased teaching force, or endowed scholarships, but in any case it may be resolved into that ever present and ever justifiable need for increased endowment. The source from which it can be obtained may likewise be re- duced to one — ^the pocket of the individual citizen. He may give it direct to the educational institution, he may contribute with others to a church educational collection, or he may vote it through his representative in the Legisla- ture. It comes to the same thing in the end. Whether it shall be given depends ultimately upon the free volition of the individual. The second need of the university considered as organized and in working condition, is for students. They must come from the homes. Whether the homes of 76 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. a particular community shall furnish college students de- pends to a limited extent upon its material wealth, to a more limited extent upon the direct agitation of college agents or friends, but to a very great extent upon the college traditions, the college sentiment which has been implanted in the course of succeeding generations. The ordinary boy remains without a college education because the idea has never entered his head that it would be suffi- ciently to his advantage to justiiy the necessary effort to secure it. The ordinary family neglects to send the daughter or son to college because of the fact that at no time has the attention of the family been fixed upon the subjects studied in a college course. The whole set of ideas connected in the minds of educated people with that of university or college study is utterly foreign to the minds of the great majority of the people. This is a hard saying, perhaps, but its truth is difficult to realize only for the man who is ignorant of the life of the people as distin- guished from that of the aristocracy of the schools, if by that term I may designate the class of persons who come into contact with few save scholars and students, and with these only in a professional way. The problem, then, for the great majority of the colleges and universities, including even most of those which have an honorable record in the educational history of the country, is two-fold : how to place in the hands of educational agencies an amount of money more nearly adequate to meet the just demands upon them, how to place an increased number of young men and women, the raw material of the country's most valuable product, under educational influences. A large part of the energies of the presidents of the educational institutions and of the heads of departments is devoted to the solution of one or both these problems. After temporary expedients are exhausted it will be recog- nized by thinking persons that the main reliance must be UNIVERSITY EXTENSION AND THE UNIVERSITIES. "jy upon systematic effort to create and strengthen this college sentiment to which reference has been made ; and if the best as well as the average mind is to be attracted tlie agitation must be not in the interest of specific institutions, not in behalf of particular schemes of instruction, but in behalf of the higher education itself. Interest must be aroused not in books, nor in men, nor in institutions, but in science, in literature, in the subjects with which the higher education has to do. A time comes, doubtless, when the individual man of wealth may well have his attention called to the needs of some particular college, or to an opportunity to accomplish a particular educational object but long before and far more persistently should the lesson of the real value of the education itself and of the tangible results which contact with it brings to the student be taught to every community. So the time comes for advising the young man to enter college, if circumstances justfy that course, but no response may be expected from the average community, unless the families composing it have been already represented in college halls, or have learned by some means that it would have been well for them to have known more of the higher things of life. The popular catchword of the movement, indicative of its missionary spirit, — where the people cannot go to the university, the university will go to the people — may be adapted to exhibit also the practical advantage which the university will gain. The university will go to the people in order that the people may go to the university. The immense labor involved in extension lecturing, will be freely undertaken in order that the message of the university need not be carried to the people solely through the imperfect medium of printed announcements or the uncertain and at times misleading, even if enthusiastic, commencement occa- sion. The message is one of invitation to young men to invest their time, and to men intrusted with wealth to invest 78 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. that also in a business which brings safer and surer returns than any other of like magnitude and importance. This then is the first reason why the universities should welcome the extension of such teaching beyond their own class-rooms : that their own efficiency and, indeed, their very existence is dependent upon the popular interest in educational subjects, and the popular thirst for knowledge, and that among the available agencies for cultivating this interest and directing the people to the sources whence may come means for satisfying this thirst, none equals the great popular movement known as University Extension. But there are other effects upon the educational insti- tutions which may naturally be expected to follow from active participation in the movement. It is true that the higher educational system of. the country is being rapidly remodelled. At its present stage of development there are scarcely any general principles governing the formation of the curriculum itself which are everywhere recognized as of binding force. Even in the largest universities there is indecision within the governing bodies on the most vital points. In other institutions on which the popular eye is not fixed with so much attention there- is little to prevent radical changes on the most trivial grounds, or on the other hand a yielding to conservative influences long after the conditions ' call imperatively for change. The question arises whether there is in fact no general principle in ac- cordance with which changes may be made when needed with some certainty that they will not prove disastrous. This ultimate test may be found in the extent to which such changes are adapted to the social and educational, environment, the extent to which they meet clearly recog- nized educational needs. The untested speculations of an educational organizer may be shrewd, but before being em-" bodied in university legislation they should be submitted frankly to the people, by whom they must finally be judged. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION AND THE UNIVERSITIES. 79 Skill in anticipating and if necessary influencing their ver- dict is one of the elements essential to his success. Not only may broad lines of policy be allowed to shape them- selves in University Extension teaching to advantage, but new branches of study, and new combinations of old branches may be tested here with a freedom that the more permanent courses of an established university will not admit. The individual lecturer may find greater opportunity to look upon all phases of his general subject and may decide more correctly after a more thorough investiga- tion on what particular portions it will be advisable for him to concentrate his own energy. The second point which is here made for University Extension is that it furnishes an invaluable means of establishing tentative courses, of testing without serious risk the advisability of introducing new features into the university itself. This consideration applies with peculiar force to the great universities which are so situated that they can act as pioneers in the reorgan- ization of the educational system. Attention is invited in the third place to the fact that education is to become, if it is not already, an organized unit. A more perfect unit because its parts are clearly dif- ferentiated. In this scheme, higher or university education, in which I include all teaching not of the elementarj' grade, will have its recognized place independent of its connection with educational centres. In an address before the American Society in November of last year, when the movement was organized, Mr. Moulton went so far as to declare that uni- versity teaching has nothing to do with universities, that is, that it has no necessary connection with them. University teaching must be judged by its purposes, that of advancing the domain of science, and of giving to a very large body of learners the concrete results of scientific investigation. The second of these two aims is not inconsistent with the 80 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. first. Without the teaching the investigation must be crip- pled. They are two parts of the one unit. What extends the teaching, so that it be true teaching and not a sham, strengthens the work of the scientific investigator. The posi- tion of the latter becomes dignified in so far as the efforts of the teacher to interest the people generally in the subjects investigated cause their recognition of his services to be expressed by financial remuneration and the more precious reward of avowed respect for his calling. Not jealousy, nor suspicion, nor indifference should mark the relations between the university professors and instructors and the other branch of university teachers to which they both will belong, but encouragement, support and sympathy. The extension secretary and lecturer will bring back to the university a store of knowledge and experience which it has at times given painful evidence of needing. They will tap sources of income of which the university authorities were ignorant. They will do much for the communities — of that it is not my purpose to speak — but if the real demands of our higher educational life be considered in its broadest scope it will be found that the work of the exten- sion societies will do even more for the educational institu- tions. This final argument for University Extension from the standpoint of those interested in higher educational instruction may be briefly restated as follows : The educational system, as a whole, includes the work of the colleges and universities, but it already includes much more. As it is carried nearer to an ideal system it will take on new features, some associated with its higher, some with its elementary phases. So soon as these have demonstrated their utility by strengthening the educational work at any vital point they should be embraced in the educational scheme without dissent. If their continued success is dependent on the support of older educational agencies that support should be ungrudgingly given. The UNIVERSITY EXTENSION AND THE UNIVERSITIES. 8 1 success of University Extension is due to the good-will of the universities. Its future success is contingent on the continuance and strengthening of that good will. But the returns to the cause of higher education are great. If the position here taken is sound, University Extension, instead of becoming an obstacle to the development of the univer- sity, will prove an important factor in that development- Those who have at heart the interests of that cause wilt welcome the ultimate spread of University Extension tO' every portion of this country. EDWARD T. DEVJNE'. THE UNIT COURSE. N every community Extension work necessarily passes through several stages of growth. In the early stages there is manifested a timidity on the part of the local man- agement that renders it impossible to do the best kind of educational work. The student part of the audience will then be in the minority, and the tendency will be to cater to popularity. The first season's work at a centre being largely experimental, it is apt to be short and without any definite aim. The second year's work will be entered upon with more assurance, and may be planned with more firm- ness and positiveness. In order to meet the tastes of audiences of all degrees of maturity. Extension study is arranged in courses, as the various branches of study are arranged in the college cur- riculum. In Extension language, then, a course is a series of connected lectures, classes, paper exercises, and an exam- ination upon some educational theme that maybe made the basis of study for several consecutive weeks, and the Unit Course is the smallest practical division of that work. In England the Unit Course consists usually of twelve lectures and exercises and extends over a period of twelve weeks. In its inception in this country it has been found that the timidity of local committees renders it inexpedient to attempt to introduce such an extended course, and it has been necessarily shortened. The Extension year naturally falls into two parts on either side of the holidays. Counting backward, twelve weeks from Christmas brings one to early October, when people begin to plan a profitable or agree- able way to spend the long evenings of the winter. It is THE UNIT COURSE. 83 then that the college or university opens, and that literary- clubs, and reading and Chautauqua circles begin their winter courses. This seems also to be the best time for com- mencing University Extension work. There is time for twelve weeks' work in this period. So, too, after New Year's twelve weeks will bring the lengthening days of March when all feel induced to abandon reading and study for outdoor recreation or pursuits. It seems convenient, there- fore, to make the Extension year of twenty-four weeks' duration, equally divided by the holidays. As new local cenires are often -unable, or unwilling, to undertake to raise the money for such an extended course, the most practical division of the work has been into courses of six weeks' duration. This divides the Extension year into quarters, and places the work within the reach of every community. The Unit Course in America then is a series of six lectures and classes, occurring at regular intervals of one week, thus giving the busy student time for consider- able home reading and study. While such is the practical Unit Course, the audiences and the subjects for study will not always permit of an arbitrary division of the work. Some centres want, and can pay for, eight or ten lectures, and some branches of study demand a like number. In such cases the American Society endeavors to supply just the amount of work demanded. So the tendency is to in- crease the number of lectures to twelve, which will make the course more nearly correspond in length to the college term. The expense of a Unit Course will vary with the locality of the centre and the management of the local committee. Ordinarily it includes the lecturer's fee and his traveling expenses, hall rent, local advertising and local incidentals. By judicious management the last items may be cut to a nominal figure and will not materially increase the expense. The lecturer's fee will also vary, although , the American Society has so far endeavored to make it 84 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. uniform, at least in the case of its regular lecturers. The Philadelphia Branch may, perhaps, be taken as an example. The lecturer's fees for a Unit Course have been fixed at ^130. As the lecturers are mostly professors at Pennsyl- vania, Princeton, Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore, the traveling expenses will seldom exceed one dollar per night, incidentals ought not then to exceed $-^0 to ^40 per course. In cities there are usually one or two centres that have superior facilities for attracting and managing large audiences. They are thus enabled to pay large fees to bring celebrated educators from a distance. It is one of the functions of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching to supply such centres with lecturers that will insure success. On the other hand smaller com- munities in all parts of the United States and Canada can draw lecturers from neighboring institutions and thus reduce the expense to a minimum. A word as to where a Unit Course may be supported may satisfy some inquirer. Of course the advantages are with densely populated districts. A city may support several courses at as many centres as it has churches of one denomination more easily than a rural community can a single Unit Course. There it is the question how to judiciously distribute its centres rather than whether they can be supported. By careful local management, towns of 700 to 1,500 population, if in the immediate vicinity of some Branch, may annually support one or more Unit Courses. The local committee must be popular and energetic, not afraid to make a personal canvass of the town and the vicinity, the villagers and the farmers. In small places it is advisable the first year to try no more than one or two Unit Courses. Success will render it possible to increase the number the next season. If the town is at a distance from the Branch, a prac- tical way to bring the lecturer within its reach is by the THE UNIT COURSE. 85 formation of a circuit. Six towns so arranged that a lecturer may make their circuit in a week, spending one day in each town, may unite in sharing the traveling expenses of an Extension lecturer. On the other hand, the latter can spend six weeks upon such a circuit with no loss of time in making long journeys. The American Society hopes to be able to furnish circuits, with the services of trained specialists, at a cost little exceeding that of the centre nearer the Branch. The way is so open then that the extension teacher may in time reach the isolated town, and no village need be without its annual Unit Course. From an educational point of view, the first requisite of a Unit Course is continuity. That is, there oughtin every, course to be a theme running through and connecting the several lectures, and that theme ought to be carefully developed by the course. A single lecture upon Long- fellow may amount to little from an educational point of view, but six lectures upon six American poets, may be made a method of treating the subject of poetry. The lecturer must bear in mind then, that six isolated lectures will not make a course in University Extension ; they must be linked together by a theme, and must have some educa- tional object in view. The second requisite of the Unit Course is popularity. The object of Extension work being educational, the idea of popularity must be modified to suit the case. The audi- ence will be as mixed as the ordinary church congregation, and every individual must find something in every lecture to please and instruct. Then the interest in the work should be further intensified so as to awaken in the hearer a deter- mination to begin class work, or at least to pursue a syste- matic course of reading upon the subject under considera- tion. It must stimulate to an effort in this line. In preparing his Unit Course the lecturer ought to have not only his theme in mind, but also his audience. There 86 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. will be several grades of workers. One portion will attend purely for pleasure or diversion, and will be satisfied with the lecture if it is popular. Another will become so inter- ested in the work as to desire all that can be gained from it without attracting too much attention to themselves. Shy and over-sensitive, or timid, they may attend class, but take no active part. The third grade will be the earnest active students that, through their anxiety to improve themselves, will spend their leisure during the week intervening between lectures in hard study — such w ill do class and paper work, hoping to receive the fullest educational benefit from the course. Another point that the lecturer must bear in mind is that the students are all adults, and are by no means to be treated in the same manner as the immature. Though they may not have had the elementary training, they have the capacity for knowledge that is often lacking in the college student. They will demand some return for their time and money ; they will be critical ; they are men and women and must be fed with the food of adults ; they will measure the value of the work by the amount of knowledge and inspiration that they receive. But the audience will be further mixed ; it will contain college-bred men and women, who, while busy with busi- ness or domestic duties, do not wish to lose connection with the University. Through University Extension such persons will be enabled to keep in touch with the advanced thought of the time. The lecturer must have something for all these various elements. But withal the knowledge as set forth must be simply though earnestly told. He must remember that he is a specialist and the simplest ideas to him may be deep problems to his listeners. Let him not talk above his audience. One of the temptations of the lecturer is to try to cover too much ground by a Unit Course. The student may THE UNIT COURSE. 87 be mature, but he has only a limited amount of time to devote to study. By the real student, everything should be sacrificed to thoroughness. The Unit Course must be thorough so far as it goes. The ordinary Extension student may be able to devote two hours per day to his study. This is perhaps the maximum limit of his leisure, and the Unit Course ought to be arranged upon that basis. It is need- less to say, then, that a single lecture upon Emerson can treat of only one feature of Emerson's work, and ought to be confined to the feature that is in keeping with the theme of the course, for Emerson is a subject comprehensive enough for a basis to a full Unit Course. The Unit Course then should aim to cover a definite field, restricted so that the man whose leisure is limited may be able to thoroughly master it. The examination that follows the Unit Course is in- tended to test the work of the student. In England, the universities give the examinations and are thus able not only to test the work of the student, but to oversee the work of the lecturer. It is the ultimate aim of the American Society to perform the same office. While University Ex- tension must leave the various Centres to exercise the utmost freedom in the conduct of the work, there must be some supervising body. By exercising this function with care, the American Society hopes to give to its certificate an educational value that will be everywhere recognized. In the past whoever failed to enter college in his youth was obliged either to remain forever without the pale of educated circles, or else, by a mighty effort, to struggle along in a solitary path, gaining at last the honorable dis- tinction of a self-made man. So are there persons strug- gling to-day, and to such the Unit Course will bring many of the advantages of college residence. There will be the specialist to guide the work ; there will be the personal con- tact of student and instrjictor; and there will be the effort 88 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. on the part of an anxious inquirer after knowledge — three requisites in order to gain great results from an educational standpoint. But to the less earnest Extension student a Unit Course has its value. By it the tone of his life may be largely changed ; new fields are opened in which he may wander at will. People often read light and trashy litera- ture, not so much because of a depraved taste, as because they have had no one to plan for them better lines of read- ing and to point out to them the beauties of higher litera- ture. By a single Unit Course/the reading of whole com- munities has Been changed; dealers have been unable to supply the demand for Milton and Chaucer after a course of lectures upon those authors. Such results have been and are still to be accomplished by the Unit Course. But in order to attain the greatest educational results, the work must be still further systematized. It is proposed in time to so plan Extension work that several consecutive courses may be taken upon similar or allied subjects. If the two courses of the first half of the year can be so arranged as to be consecutive and as to treat of the same general subject, an earnest student may make it equivalent, as far as his information is concerned, to a single study for a like period at college. Further, the work may be arranged in courses, such as Science, History, Political Economy and Literature, each course extending over three full Extension years of twenty-four weeks each, or embracing twelve Unit Courses. By continuous work, the student may gain a somewhat thorough knowledge of a branch of study. In England the value of Extension work has become so estab- lished, that one university accepts such a three years' course for one year's resident work. It will be the aim of the American Society, in time, to fix a like value upon its work. This can be done only by exercising the utmost care in granting certificates, so that the unworthy shall not hold them. . WILLIS boughton. OXFORD ANNUAL REPORT. %T IS well known that the first agitation in favor of ^ University Extension was made at Oxford University as early as 1845. The first course, however, given under this title was by the sanction of the authorities of Cam- bridge University in 1873. Three years later the movement was localized at London under the charge of the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching. Oxford University, where the reform was first discussed, did not enter upon active work until 1 878. For many years after that the efforts of those connected with this University did not meet with the success they merited. One reason for this may perhaps be found in the fact that an attempt was made to maintain courses of twelve lectures each even in the smaller towns. At any rate a marked increase in the efficiency of the Oxford movement is noticed immediately after the adoption of the "short course "of six lectures. The change in the unit course of University Extension was used as a reproach against those connected with the work at Oxford, but after some time it appeared that centres had been established and successfully maintained in places which would never have ventured upon a twelve lecture course. This fact seems to justify the adoption of the shorter course, especially since we notice that more recently the tendency has been strongly developed in favor of more extended courses. The annual report of Oxford University Extension lectures for the year ending July 31, 1891, has just been 89 go UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. issued. It shows that during the past twelve months the University Extension work under the supervision of the^ Oxford Delegates has made greater progress than in any previous year. Since June, 1890, 192 courses have been delivered in 146 centres by thirty-three lecturers. The courses were attended by 20,248 persons and the average period of study covered by each course was twelve and one-half weeks. It must be noted in this connection, however, that many courses were given at fortnightly intervals. Exami- nations were held at the end of 132 courses. 1,388 candi- dates entered for the examination, and 1,165 received certificates, of which 508 were certificates of distinction. The following figures show the growth of the work in the last six years. The number of courses has increased in successive years since 1885, from 27 to 67, 82, 109, 148 and 192. The number of Lecture-Centres from 22 in the season of 1885-86, to 50, 52, 82, 109 and 146. The number of persons reported by the Local Committees as having been in average attendance at the courses has increased from 9,908 in 1886 to 13,036, 14,351, 17,904, 20,248. The average duration of the period of study covered by each course, from the date of the first lecture of the course to that of the last lecture, or when held to the date of the final examination has inAeased from 8j4 weeks in the season 1887-88, to 9^ weeks, 10^ weeks and 12^ weeks. Dur- ing the past year ninety courses were delivered on Histori- cal subjects ; sixty-four courses on Natural Science ; thirty- three courses on Literature and Art, and five courses on Political Economy. These figures show a small increase in the number of courses on Literature and History ; a decrease in Political Economy, and a very marked increase in the number of courses on Natural Science. The latter increase i# partly due to the operation of the new County Council Grants received by local organizers of University OXFORD ANNUAL REPORT. 9 I Extension Teaching since the beginning of 1891, and con- fined by law to the assistance of teaching of scientific and technical subjects.^ The delegates note with pleasure that at several centres in the north of England the courses of lectures are regularly attended by many hundreds of artisans. Several of these courses were, as in former years, paid for out of the funds of societies of workingmen. During the year the Examiners have prepared general reports of the character of the papers submitted to them on the final examinations held at the end of most of the courses. The final examination of a course of lectures is never conducted by the Lecturer himself, but by Examiners appointed by the delegates, who select, as far as possible, former Exam- iners of the University. As showing the standard obtained by many of the candidates in the final examinations of University Exten- sion courses, Mr. York Powell, one of the Examiners, is reported as saying : " The papers classed as ' distin- guished ' would have been accepted in Oxford as distinctly belonging to the Honor Class. The ' pass ' standard is that which would be adopted in the Oxford ' Pass ' school." Mr. Lodge reported: In awarding distinctions, I have looked for a standard of knowledge and ability that would do credit to a candidate in the Honor Class of the Univer- sity. In this connection it may be well to refer to the statement of the distinguished astronomer. Dr. Young, of Princeton, that papers were handed him by Extension students in Philadelphia fully equal to those received from the senior class of Princeton. It is interesting, also, to note that the delegates, as the directors of University Extension work are called at Oxford, insist upon the importance of arranging the » Cf. UmvtrtHySxtttuitH, August, j»gi,p»gt €3.- 92 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. courses in systematic sequence so that the student may not merely acquire scraps of isolated knowledge. They report that a large and increasing number of courses is being thus arranged in sequence, and that there is good ground for hope that similar arrangements will become more general. The importance of sequence in Extension courses is equally clear to those who are interested in the movement in the United States.^ ^ Cf. Book NewSf September, Group Courses, p, 34, NOTES. The University Extension movement is still growing rapidly in America. The cities which have most recently taken up the discussion of this work have been Topeka, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Beyond the border the work is being undertaken by Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. Since the last issue of University Extension, centres have been estab- lished in connection with the Philadelphia Society at the Young Men's Christian Association,' Wilmington, Del., at Moorestown, N. J., and the New Century Guild in Philadelphia. Arrangements are almost completed for new centres at Woodbury and Vineland, N. J., and at Newtown, Pa. A very attractive outline has been issued by the Indiana University of proposed courses in Extension work by that faculty. There are no less than eighteen departments in which lectures will be offered. The methods to be employed are those 6f the American Society, adapted, in some respects, to local conditions. President John M. Coulter, recently elected to that position, is thoroughly in sympathy with the movement, and doubtless the efforts of the Indiana University will be well directed and vigorously supported. The September issue of Book News has made a special feature of the work of University Extension. The articles which are contained in this number have reference to the actual operation of the system. Details in regard to the formation of a centre, the methods of work in different branches and the requirements in the way of reference libraries are given. Two articles are upon the natural relation of this movement to the Young Men's Christian Association and to the Women's Christian Temperance Union. All interested in University Extension have doubtless read the excellent presentation of the movement in the May issue of Book News, and will be equally attracted by the September number. In the August number of the London University Extension Journal there is a reference to the work of the London Society in the season of 1889-90, to which the latest published figures have reference. The total number of courses was 102, given at nearly 70 Centres, with a total attendance of 120,670. The regular weekly work for the lectures was done by nearly twenty per cent of the students. Of the 102 lecture courses 99 were of ten or twelve lectures and three were of six lectures each. The^total enrollment of students was 12,067, which approximates the average attendance at the 94 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Philadelphia centres during the past year. It must be noted, however, that the number of lectures in each course was nearly twice that of the courses given in connection with the Philadelphia Society, and it is thus evident that much more was actually accomplished than would be indicated by the com- parison of the average attendance which was made in a recent article in University Extension. The first article in the present issue of University Extension is- by Col. .William Preston Johnston, President of Tulane University, and member of the Council of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching. There is nothing more encouraging to those who have the interests of the movement at heart than the evidence of the wide-spread discussion and adoption of this system of teaching. It is hardly to be doubted that the New South, which has progressed so rapidly in all material ways, will advance equally in educational matters. There is good evidence that the white popu- lation, of the Southern States is providing more liberally for the support of schools than any other class in the United States. To those who are aware of this, the noticeable improvement of recent years wiU be no cause for surprise. Many who have heard of the broad lines of Extension work which have been laid down by the founders of Tulane University will be interested in this clear indication of what is being accomplished in New Orleans. There has just appeared the eighteenth annual report of the Society to Encourage Studies at Home. The Society was founded by Anna E. Ticknor, of Boston, in the autumn of 1873 with a committee of ten, six staff correspon- dents and forty-five students. A plan of correspondence was adopted by which students were to report each month. From this there has been developed a system of monthly reports of the work done and progress made which resem- bles a system of memory-notes subject to the examination and correction of the teacher. In less than twenty years the Society has developed the strong organization which offers now twenty-nine subjects of study. It has had during the past year over five hundred students. The library now contains several thousand volumes. Instruction is given by one hundred and ninety-two cor- respondent teachers. These offer their services free of charge, and the mcome from students' fees is thus free to be applied to the increase of the library and the furnishing to each student at slight cost of the necessary volumes. There is abundant evidence to prove the excellent results obtained by this Society, the excellent management of which, as well as the unselfish spirit of the mana- gers, cannot be too heartily commended. There is a rapid spread of interest in the movement throughout Pennsyl- vania, and many applications have been received for centres in the various parts of the State. It is evidently a matter of no difficulty to arrange for Ex- tension centres in and near the large cities, and in the neighborhood of the different colleg»s. In many cases, however, there is a desire for lectures iii NOTES. 95 places remote from these conditions. A satisfactory solution of the difficulties thus presented has been found, it is thought, in the establishment of circuits. The necessary conditions for these are the location of a half dozen towns within such range of one another that it is possible for a lecturer, with not too fatiguing trips, to go from one to another on successive days and reach all the towns in one week. Arrangements may easily be made for the lectures of the different centres to be given on successive evenings. The traveling expenses, which fall on the centres, will be comparatively light, and the entire cost of a course not appreciably greater for one of these distant towns than for any im- mediate suburb of Philadelphia. It is, however, necessary, in the case of a circuit, for all the centres to choose the same lecturer in a given subject, and for the course to open in all the towns during the same week. In this w3y the services of an excellent lecturer can be secured at a minimum cost. In some cases it may be well to arrange for a partial circuit. This can be done by two or three towns within easy range one of another choosing a particular lecturer on succeeding days. The only expense of a partial circuit over a full circuit will be in the traveling expenses of the lecturer from and to his home each week during the course. It is expected that several such circuits will be arranged in the course of the season. In a recent number of " The Critic," Mr. Melvil Dewey outlines the probable development of University Extension in the State of New York. The jJlOjOOO voted by the Legislature for the work will be used in establishing a University Extension department of the University of the State. The function of this department will be to stimulate interest by printed matter, local addresses, correspondence and the maintenance of a central office at the Capitol. It is proposed to adopt the English custom of lending selected libraries for use during the course, and furnish illustrative material for the lecturers; and, in general, to have the State do what it can do most cheaply, and furnish what individual towns could obtain only at considerable cost. One great advantage is possessed by the New York authorities in the excellent system of examina- tions held under the supervision of the University of the State. By reason of this it will be possible to introduce immediately the inspiring effect of systematic examinations,which has been only slowly developed in the experience of the work in England, for by employing the State system a great sparing can be effected in the cost of the examinations. In conclusion, Mr. Dewey mentioned certain conditions, which seem to him especially prophetic of the success of University Extension; the increasing difficulty of keeping students in college long enough to complete a course, and the tendency to shorten hours of labor, and thus to leave a margin of leisure in the lives of working people, which may be best devoted to securing the advantages offered in this movement; lastly, the grow- ing inclination of our higher institutions to offer their facilities to those who could not enjoy the advantages of higher education under the condition of ^academic residence. g6 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. On the afternoon of August 27, there was held at the General Offices of the American Society, a meeting of the local secretaries and committees of the Philadelphia Branch. The various centres were well represented, and the meeting was an enthusiastic one. The representatives of the centres reported that their local committees were entering upon the work with zeal, and planning for a. greater number of courses than last year. Already more courses have been arranged for the season of '91-92 than were given during the whole of last season, and only half of the Centres have completed their schedules. The new centres that are being rapidly established will probably double the number of last year. The two subjects under discussion at the meeting were the grading of University Extension work, and a pennanent financial organization of local centres. The representatives of the various centres reported the plans adopted during the past season for meeting the necessary expenses, and there was a formal presentation of the different methods adopted in this work under varying circumstances. In regard to the grading of University Extension work, a. report was made by the Secretary for Philadelphia, of a plan for the establishment of continuous courses in four or five popular branches at some centre in the city, Tljis to be succeeded the following year by more advanced courses, and again the third year by further courses on the same subjects at another centre, thus making it possible for a student in Philadelphia to carry on the study of a special branch through a three years' course, at the end of which time it is hoped that a careful exam- ination would disclose results measurably comparable to one or two years' work in residence at some college. Such a plan, if successful, should certainly meet the approbation of university authorities. To a student who has completed all these courses, a certificate might well be given, covering the work of the first year or year and a half of the college curriculum. University Extension. THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 1891. JSThe Oxford Summer meeting has become one of the ^-^ great attractions of England. Each year finds an increasing number of Americans among the hundreds of Extension students who throng the spacious halls of the New Examination Schools, and enliven .the streets of old Oxford by their presence. It is a delight to feel one's self a part of this great body of alert, happy, vigorous students. " Go where you will in Oxford during these twelve magic days,"" writes a student, present at the first half of the meeting,, " you meet only eager, happy faces ; busy feet treading * the High ' with a delightful and unwonted elasticity of step; cheery voices greeting unexpected friends with sl joyous ring of welcome, or discussing, with happy serious- ness, the last lecture or the next social engagement ; oldi and young, men and women, gentle and simple, all hurrying, in the direction of the Schools, having a look of purpose 7 9!^ 98 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. without distraction, of concentration without strain, of brightness without excitement, of unity without monotony." It is this joyous content and satisfaction, this suggestion of hungering souls, not hungering now, that runs like a mag- netic current through the whole mass, and makes the •X)xford Meeting unlike all others. How came this great factor of University Extension 3n England, into existence ? The idea of a general summer meeting of the University Extension Students, was first suggested by Mr. Charles Rowley, of Manchester, to a small committee which had met to consider the possibility of introducing into England, a system of reading circles, similar to our own Chautauqua Circles. It was at once felt that a summer meeting in one of the university towns, would enable the Extension movement to avail itself of the services of many professors and instructors, who, though in cordial sympathy with the movement, were too burdened with their university duties to take any active part as lecturers during the winter. Aside from the advan- tages which such a meeting would afford the students, in the way of access to university museums, collections and libraries, and in stimulus, through intercourse with one an- other, the element of " residence " — an important element from the university point of view — would be added to the Extension scheme. Oxford at once took up the idea ; and the details of a program for a large meeting of students, were worked out in the Oxford Extension office. The, first University Extension Summer Meeting was held in August, 1888. It lasted ten days, with an attendance of nine hundred students. The mornings were occupied with short courses of from three to six lectures ; the evenings, by addresses on literary and scientific subjects. Conferences of Local ; Secretaries and other organizers were held, and ideas of lasting benefit to the movement v/ere evolved. Many new THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 1 89 1. 99 t:entres were formed through the influence of this meeting. The second meeting was longer, consisting of Part One, similar in character to the meeting of the preceding year, and Part Two, an additional three weeks devoted to quiet study in class. Of the thousand students who came to the second meeting, one hundred and fifty remained through the entire session. This plan of dividing the meeting into two parts, has been retained ; and each year the numbers increase of those who remain to the end. A North- country student writes : " Though the second part, in its longer courses of lectures, and its quiet hours of reading, may be of greater educational value, yet we students cannot help feeling that, even in three lectures, such light may be thrown on a subject, and such stimulus given, that, when opportunity offers, further study can be taken up with new interest and a wider outlook. Until the real student spirit is more fully awakened in us, we owe a debt of gratitude to Oxford for stooping to our level, and, in far-seeing hope, adopting less perfect methods, in default, as yet, of more perfect students." The opening lecture of the Summer Meeting of 1891, , '" A Brief Survey of the Thirteenth Century," was given by Mr. Frederic Harrison, who thus prepared the way for a sequence of sixty-eight lectures on Mediaeval history, litera- ture, architecture and economics. This was the first year of a cycle of study, extending over four years ; the lectures of each year, while following in logical sequence those of the preceding year, being so arranged as to form courses of study independent of the rest. Another group of lectures for this year was a sequence of thirty-four lectures on Greek history, literature and art; a third group, fifty-nine lectures, on natural science. A review of the subjects of the first group will best illustrate the thoroughness and breadth of treatment which charac- terize the work : " Some Authorities on Mediaeval History;" lOO UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. "The Frank Empire;" "The Norman Conquest;" "The Early History of Parliament ;" " The Constitutional History of England;" " Church and State in Mediaeval England;" " The Empire and the Papacy ;" "The Monasteries;" "The Mediaeval Town, as Illustrated by Mediaeval Oxford;" " Mediaeval Venice " (Illustrated) ; " Chaucer ;" " Dante ;" " Mediaeval Romance ;" "The Mediaeval. Drama;" "Medi- aeval Allegory ;" " A Mediaeval Art Student, His Life and Training ;" " Mediaeval Architecture " (Illustrated) ; " Gothic Architecture " (With illustrative excursions) ; " The Medi- aeval Land System;" "The Craft-Guild;" "Work and Wages in the Fourteenth Century." It was a notable feature of the lectures that most of them were as closely analyzed, as finely worded, as polished, as if prepared for the cultured audience of a university town. They are truly " university lectures, delivered to a non- university audience." It was a keen pleasure to study those earnest faces ; to note the close attention, the courteous bearing, the enthus- iastic reception accorded to the lecturer on his second ap- pearance; to overhear, as one must, the comments, the original remarks, that make the interval between two lec- tures a time of revelation. While we were waiting for Mr. Wickersteed's second lecture on " Dante," a young girl near by was indignantly protesting against the idea that Dante loved Beatrice. " You needn't tell me that Dante loved Beatrice ! It wasn't Beatrice at all that he loved ! It was just the ideal of her that he had formed in his own mind, and that had not a spark of actual existence !" The mornings were fully occupied with lectures ; but ^ a part of each afternoon was spent in visiting the famous colleges, the Bodleian Library, the Clarendon Press, the Divinity Schools, etc. A limited number of students received permission to read daily at the Bodleian Library. THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 1 89 1. lOl Oh the opening Sunday, a special sermon was preached to the University Extension students, in Christ Church Cathedral, by Canon Scott Holland, of St. Paul's. It was a most excellent sermon for the occasion. Recognizing the rapid diffusion of knowledge in our day, the eagerness of his hearers in its pursuit, inspiring them with higher ambi- tions by his vivid delineations of great scholars and their attainments, Canon Holland established in the minds of all, the conviction of his own appreciation and sympathy with the great movement of the day. Then came the lesson of the hour. The best things of life are acquired slowly, by steady, persistent effort. They must be acquired for one's self. No one can impart the intellectual' insight, the moral character, the spiritual character which he has gained. Yet every man by the correct exercise of his owri powers, may " bring forth fruit in due season." Each year special effort is given to arranging the Sunday services ; and in the opinion of the students, these services are as much a part of the meeting as the lectures themselves. Speaking of one of the Extension sermpns, a student writes : " If such sermons were common, many who have left the Church, and no longer believe in the teachings of Orthodoxy, would again place themselves within the sphere of religious influences." Durimg the week which closed the first part of the meeting, the program included a pianoforte recital, by Miss Fanny Davies ; an organ recital in the Sheldonian Theatre, by Dr. Lloyd, organist of Christ Church ; a Shakespearean recital, by Mr. Brandram ; a visit to the Ruskin drawing school; an interpretative recital of the Bacchanal Women of Euripides, by Mr. R. G. Moulton ; and a concert by Mr. and Mrs. Henschel, for which there was an extra charge of sixpence. On Wednesday, Sir William and Lady Markby gave to the Extension students a reception at Balliol College. I02 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. It was a perfect afternoon. The sunshine flooded the' quad- rangle. The light costumes of the ladies, and the gorgeous uniforms of the band, stood out in sharp relief against the sombre background of the ancient buildings. An old resi- dent of Oxford, gazing on the lovely scene, gave utterance to a profound truth : " The Summer Meeting has given Oxford new life. The University never did so much to make others happy, and it is reaping its reward." At four o'clock tea was served . in the great hall. Sacred music in the chapel, by Mr. and Miss Farmer, added to our enjoyment, and, at five, a photograph of the entire assembly was taken. The camera caught the happy faces, but it gave no sign -of the hearts touched by Lady Markby's sweet and gracious courtesy. The Extension conferences held at intervals during the session were full of life. The first was presided over by the Marquis of Ripon; the subjects of discussion being " County Councils and University Extension," and " The Work of the National Home Reading Society." The pass- ing of the Local Taxation Act, which enables County Councils to devote the revenue from the new tax on spirits,, to purposes of technical education, while bringing aid to the science department of University Extension, opens up the possibility that the prospect of State aid in this direction may tend to induce neglect of the historical and literary side. The making of good citizens is of as great, importance as the making of good artisans, and the leaders of the Extension Movement have to face a very real danger. The spirit with which they have met and overcome the difficult problems of the past, will soon work out a solution for the present dilemma. The discussion of the relation between County Councils and local bodies, in administering^ the new endowment, is at present a question of purely local interest ; but with the growth of University Extension in America, the question of State aid may become an important THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 189I. lOJ one. The general opinion seemed to have prevailed among: the 'County Councils, that it was better for them to deal with the local centres than to deal directly with the uni- versities. The wisdom of this decision, in the present experimental stages of University Extension in England, is apparent. The varying requirements of different districts, and the power of the County Councils to see that the money is properly expended, were discussed ; also the probability that the Councils would not unduly interfere with lectures and examinations, but would leave these mat- ters in the hands of University Extension Committees, especially if the County Councils were represented on these Committees. The National Home Reading Union is not a branch of University Extension. Its object is to stimulate and guide reading at home. The outcome of the discussion of this topic was, that the Home Reading Union could aid Uni- versity Extension, by preparing its members for Extension courses, also by keeping the students together in the interval between two courses of lectures. The second conference was upon " State aid for the Local Organizers of University Extension." Eleven hundred and fifty-three students attended the first part of the Meeting, many of them returning for the second or third time, and following a definite line of studies in logical sequence. The second part began with about three hundred, nearly double the number remaining in any former year. The work now assumed a different character; Lectures gave way to classes in Practical Chemistry, Geology and Geographical Mapping, in Homer's Odyssey, in Herodotus, in the Constitutional History of England, ire Dante, in Gothic Architecture, with illustrative excursions,, and in Instrumental Astronomy. Twenty days' work of this character, added to the lectures of the first part, aided I04 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. by all the helps offered by the University, must be produc- tive of lasting results. What is the function of the Oxford Meeting in the Extension scheme ? Broadly stated, it is to develop the University Extension spirit, both in the people who are ready for it, and in the general public. Already it has convinced the universities of the importance of the Exten- sion movement. This great body of people coming up year after year impresses the imagination of the whole country. The best papers have always recognized Univer- sity Extension by giving it a place in their columns ; now all the papers chronicle its latest phases. Already there is a positive current in popular opinion that the splendid things represented by the universities are the better for being diffused ; a sentiment which no one can doubt, who reads the grateful words of ttudents of the Oxford Summer Meeting. " The mere sight of a place dedicated to the pursuit of learning, and brimful of association with a Past which it is impossible for a busy toiler in a manufacturing district, or in a sluggish agricultural neighborhood to realize, until he sees its results embodied in concrete form, is an enriching of life ; to many a busy worker the thought of that home of learning, that place rich in memories and abounding in hopes, will come as a refreshing breath from a higher life, in which he too shared for a time, and of which none can rob him ; ' for memory is possession.' " Another work is done by the Meeting, which no one can realize who has not attended it. It is a mere truism to say that much of the educational value of University life lies in the social intercourse, the play of mind on mind, the stimulating effect of a corporate life. We try, by Students' Associations, to supply some small portion of this important clement ; but it is at the Meeting that it is mostly attained. But this is not all ; friendships are formed which may THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 189I. I05 influence the whole course of a life. It is amusing and yet touching to watch how those who were strangers to each other at the beginning of one year's Meeting, are next year found sharing rooms and living in closest intimacy. Hard-worked people, who came up jaded and spiritless, too tired to be interested, too disappointed to hope, meet others similarly situated, but who have lived' down or lived through their difficulties, and many such return to their daily life cheered, started afresh, richer by the possession of a friend, ready again to take up the struggle of life. This is no fancy picture ; I speak from knowledge. In some cases not only are minds cultivated, but consciences are awakened, characters developed, lives remodelled by the influence of the Meeting. Sometimes unsuspected talents are brought to light, new studies are hopefully entered upon, and new fields of possible activity are opened up." " There is, in the Oxford Summer Meeting," writes another, " something that appeals to all that is best in our complex nature, to our imagination, our intellect, our moral sense, and our spiritual intuition. The surroundings appeal to our imagination ; we have what is venerable in the past brought into touch with what is vital in the present, and pregnant with hopes for a yet brighter future ; we have fresh matter for thought presented to us in a stimulating yet satisfying form, in the lectures which are much more than lectures, which are truly education in their power to stir and quicken ; we have the pleasant feeling of a common humanity lying far below the superficial distinctions of age and class, and ' views,' and degrees of education, brought home to us in a manner that warms our hearts, while it awakens our consciences to a new sense of mutual respon- sibility, and makes us realize that we are our brother's keeper, and stand in a definite moral relation to our fellow- men. Year after year the corporate feeling grows ; the same people come up year after year and greet one another I06 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. as old friends ; there is an exhilarating sense of universal brotherhood about the whole meeting, v/hich is utterly un- like anything else with which we are acquainted ; we are all friends, and talk to each other before and after lectures with a keen zest very unlike the languid commonplace of ordinary ' society talk ' ; we are conscious of a wide and deep basis of common interests, and we are all eager to give and get hints for the furtherance of our work." Again, the Summer Meeting is an immense help in organizing the winter's work. New centres spring up as the outgrowth of the interest awakened in August. Mem- bers of small centres are strengthened by contact with the strong, and with the great leaders of the movement. Their little local body is seen to be a part of a great national whole, and they go home with fresh resolves and aspira- tions. It is of vital importance that the centres offer good lectures each winter, or loss and disaster follow. The Summer Meeting affords the representatives of the centres an opportunity to hear a large number of lecturers and to choose those best adapted to the needs of their own par- ticular centre. The effect of the meeting upon the lec- turers themselves is no slight matter. They have an opportunity to hear one another, to study the best points in each, to form new standards of excellence. The princi- ple of " merciless rejection of poor lecturers " is working its legitimate result, in a corp of lecturers of whom any university might justly be proud. The character of their work receives commendation at the hands of the Univer- sity Examiners, who are already admitting that Extension students who pass the examinations given by the Univer- sity at the close of Extension courses, with the rank of " distinction," are equal to the " honor " men of the Uni- versity. What is to follow ? What are the universities going to do with the material which University Extension THE OXFORD SUMMER MEETING OF 189I. 10/ is bringing to their very doors ? Will they recognize their opportunity ? Already private generosity has offered a prize of twenty pounds for plans of a University Exten- sion College to be ready by October ist. What will be the next step ? Who has prophetic vision to outline the future of University Extension ? IDA M. GARDNER. Philadelphia, September, i8gt. SUMMER SCHOOLS IN BOTANY. O^HE Summer School, as an institution, had its origin in a >-' desire to make it possible for teachers, and others en- gaged during the winter, to attend courses of instruction. There are now, or have been, such schools conducted in almost every branch of learning. Many of the subjects taught in these summer schools could be just as easily, and as well, presented to the attendants in the winter as in the summer ; the materials being as readily procurable at one time as at another. This is quite the reverse for study in the different departments of Biology. Fresh and living material for courses of instruction in Biology is, as a rule, only readily obtainable in the summer season. As such courses in natural history are made valuable in proportion as they are fully and thoroughly illustrated with natural objects, it may be readily seen that instruction in both Zoology and Botany can be made most effective in the sum- mer season. There is no question but what in Botany the summer school may be used with astonishing advantage. Certainly the best time to study plant-life is when and where the largest variety of all the varied vegetable growths may be found in most abundance. This wealth of material, pre- senting, as it does, an almost infinite variety of forms, re- inforces the instructor and gives to the beginner, under proper direction, the needed opportunity for the comparison and contrast of a great mass of material. In winter the teacher is quite content if he can find now and then a plant Io8 SUMMER SCHOOIS JN BOTANY lOp to represent a whole group; while in summer the pupil easily picks up twenty or more of a kind with which to enforce the same thought. In winter dried specimens must mostly be used, while in summer the pupil has all the stim- ulus to help him on which comes with life. He studies in the laboratory a leaf or a flower and on his very next walk, with open eyes, finds a dozen more leaves of equal interest, or other flowers which excite his curiosity 'and interest even more than the one examined in the laboratory. It may be said that fresh specimens are always preferable to dried or preserved ones. With the fresh material you study the plant with all its natural surroundings. Its relations to soil, to other plants, to animals, and to climate may give you much of its history, its likes and dislikes, what it does to live, and how it does it. But let us see just what a Summer School of Botany means, and what it may do for the pupil. In the first place the location of the school should be, if possible, where there is great diversity of natural surround- ings. Both fresh and salt water, lake and river, swamp and highland, forest and field, each may contribute its quota of different plants for the illustrated lecture and the students' laboratory table. The instruction given to the pupils naturally divides itself into Lectures, Laboratory direction and Field conver- sations. The Lectures are designed to cover the general out- lines and many of the minor details of the whole subject presented in the course. The most favorable month for summer schools in the latitude of Philadelphia, if one must depend wholly upon wild plants for illustration, is June. If lectures were given on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, this would permit the professor in charge to give a course of twelve lectures during the month. A most excellent course for beginners, no UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. as may be seen from the list of subjects treated, could be presented in this time. The value of the lectures would depend largely upon the wealth of the material used for illustration. Living plants, collected in abundance, should illustrate every point discussed. Enlarged diagrams and charts of plants, and parts of plants, would serve to supplement the living specimens. The lantern could not be dispensed with, because, by the aid of both photography and microphotography, many plants not procurable could be represented with all the naturalness and native surrounding of their own habitat ; and the minute parts of plants could be shown to a large audience in the same condition as seen under the micro- scope. A syllabus of each lecture should be distributed to those in attendance. This would greatly aid such as were unfamiliar with note-taking. The lecturer's table should contain at each lecture the best and most available books on the subject discussed, in order that the pupils might read up points of interest and extend their knowledge in all desirable directions beyond the outlines and illustrations already presented to them. Under laboratory direction the pupils are taught how to use, first, a simple and then a compound microscope. Drawing from nature and with the camera lucida is practiced by all who can do it. Note-book work, carefully describing specimens given to each, is considered of great importance. All pertinent questions are answered and all needed help is given as the student gradually progresses in his study of plant morphology. Field conversations are conducted with all the pupils on the excursion days, which are Tuesdays and Thursdays. The special kinds of plants wished for determine the direc- tion of the party. Many of the general principles of plant SUMMER SCHOOLS IN BOTANY. Ill •development and relationship, the effect of soils and external influences on the plant, as well as the best methods of collecting and preserving specimens for the herbarium are •discussed in the field, where the illustrations are before the eye of the pupil. The latter part of the day is spent in the laboratory giving more careful attention to the plants <;ollected than could be done in the field. During these excursions the instructor takes special pains to show the pupils on what lines most careful study has already been given, and in what direction new or further observations should be made. Such a Summer Course in Botany as is here proposed would, then, extend through the month of June. There would be given three fully illustrated lectures each week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, at say from 9 to 10 A. m. ; or twelve such lectures during the month. A part of the forenoon and all the afternoon of each lecture day would be devoted to careful work with abundant material on the subject of the lecture. On alternate days, Tuesday and Thursday at 9 A. m., or earlier, an excursion would be personally conducted by the instructor, going in any direction best suited to illustrate the points in hand. Short discussions and field talks on kind, condition and location of vegetation would always be in order. Returning to the laboratory in the afternoon, the remainder of the day would be devoted to the care and study of the material collected. Let us see briefly what might be accomplished by the pupil in so short a time. For reasons not necessary to enter upon here the writer would limit the proposed course to the study of the Phan- erogams, or flowering plants. Beginning with a general discussion of the Seed and ■Germination, and following on with the Root, the Stem, the 112 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Leaves, the Flower, and the Fruit to the Seed again, a com- plete cycle of vegetable growth and development would have been presented. Each subject given should receive a comparative-treat- ment. To illustrate, under Germination the pupil would dissect one seed and carefully examine and study each of its parts. He would then be given many other seeds to dissect, each one varying in one direction or another from the type studied. The many varying changes during Ger- mination would be studied in the same way. Going out from a given type comparisons would be made extending over the whole range of differing forms. The parts of the seed considered in relation to their function, and the effect of external conditions on germination would be carefully considered. The material for illustration and laboratory work in such a subject consists of a great variety of seeds (twenty or more well selected kinds) to be made up into about ten sets, each set containing a sufficient number of each of the twenty kinds to supply one or more to every member of the classi Each one of these ten sets contain- ing all the different kinds are to be treated differently. From one set each of the pupils is to be supplied with all the different kinds, dry. From another set, each one is to be given all the different kinds well soaked with water. From a third set, which has been brought into the first stages of germination, all are to be supplied. The other seven sets are to be germinated and grown each a little longer than the other, and then given out to the class as the others were. This supplies material to trace the form changes in the germination of a great variety of plants ; also to follow the earliest formation of both root and stem, and make a large number of comparisons. After finishing the external forms the pupil would examine the parts of the seed under the microscope, determining which is food material for the embryo and which is not. Advanced students could go SUMMER SCHOOLS IN BOTANY. II3 further and conduct some experiments on the conditions o-f germination, such as the effect of an insufficient amount of oxygen, the presence or abseAce of moisture and of varying temperatures. The above illustrates the laboratory method and shows about the scope of the elementary work in one lecture- subject, which could be given in a summer school. The following are the subjects proposed for the twelve lectures, each one of which is to be worked over by the pupil in the laboratory in a similar manner to the one illus- trated above : I. The Seed ^nd its Germination. II. The Root — System of Flowering Plants — Its Forms, Modifications, and Functions. III. The Stem — Its Various Forms, Modifications and Functions. IV. The Leaves of Flowering Plants — Forms and Modi- fications. V. The Functions of Leaves. VI. The Flower and its Parts — Development. VII. The Typical Flower and its Modifications. VIII. The Function of the Flower — Pollenation. IX. Color, Odor and Nectar in the Flower — The Rela- tion of the Flower to_Insects — Cross-PoUenation. X. Fruits. XI. Seeds— Their Distribution. XII. Plant Foods — What are They and How do They Find Their Way into the Plant ? Quite young pupils, who have never done any work in Natural History are often among the first to success- fully carry on such courses, and no one can be too old, who feels any interest in the life about him to receive great benefit from study of this kind. Such schools might bring together pupils of widely 114 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. varying capacity for study and progress. These differences are all leveled, however, in the laboratory work. An abundance of material is furnished to both classes and there is always more than the most active and quickest scholar can use. Each goes just as far as he can, and each still finds an unexplored world before him. W. p. WILSON. I/nivtrsiiy af Pennsylvania, Settember, i8 of organizing the work in that city. Among those prominent in the effort are Supt. R. K. Buehrle, Prof. J. B. Kershner, Dr. J. S. Starr, and the lead- ing ministers of the city. It was resolved to make a beginning of the work, and arrange for at least one unit course before the holidays. Two centres have been organ- ized in Scranton, and the work is assuming form in Car- bondale, Pittston, Honesdale, Wilkes-Barre and other cities of that section. The Biblical Institute is to be held in Philadelphia dur- ing the holidays under the auspices of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching, and the American Institute for Sacred Literature, for the general discussion of " The Pentateuch." The Institute is to hold four sessions and the leading Biblical scholars of America are invited to present both sides of the question. There will be, first, a general discussion on the question and the problems that are involved in it. The special topics to be discussed are Arguments from Language and Style, Historical Material, NOTES. 1 27 The Religious Development of Israel, Effect of Biblical Criticism upon the Doctrine of Inspiration, Effect on Per- sonal Faith. Among the speakers chosen are President W. R. Harper, of the Chicago University ; Professor R. W. Rogers, of Dickinson College ; Professor E. C. Bissell, of Hartford ; Professor Francis Brown ; Professor Willis J. Beecher, of Auburn, N, Y. ; Professor E. P. Gould ; Pro- fessor William Henry Green, of Princeton ; Professor Syl- vester Burnham, of Hamilton, and Professor George S. Burroughs, of Amherst. In the article on Students' Associations, in this issue, our readers will notice the suggestion that where the exer- cises on the weekly lectures are discussed beforehand by the Students' Associations, the papers handed in are less likely to represent the independent work of the student. There is truth in the suggestion, but the experience of Mr. Mackinder goes to prove that such discussion is of great benefit in arousing the student to deeper thinking, and more original work. In a small company at Oxford last summer this point was considered. Mr. Mackinder spoke warmly in favor of the plan of previous discussion. If the student finds that his own thought meets doubt and dis- approval he is likely to study deeper to verify its truth or falsity. But there is another aspect in which the Students' Association is an important assistance to the lecturer. Mr. Mackinder has found it most valuable in suggesting topics for class work. He tries to secure some member of the Association as his weekly correspondent, to send him an account of each meeting of the Association. In this way the lecturer sees at a glance the difficulties to be cleared up, and what aspect of the subject needs fuller explanation. He thus goes to the class ready to direct work at the outset, instead of wasting time in finding out what needs to be done. 128 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The Lecture Association of the University of Pennsylvania, has just issued in very neat form, the schedule of lectures for the season of 1881-92. The list is a very attractive one embracing courses by Professor Boyesen, of Columbia, on " The Norse Sagas ;" by Mr. Ed- mund C. Stedman on " The Nature and Elements of Poetry ;" by Dr. John P. Peters on " The Religious History of Israel ;" by Mr. H. J. Mackinder on the " Great Commer- cial Cities of History." Other courses of an especially interesting nature are " The Old English Dramatists," by Mrs. Winslow ; " The Religious Drama of the Middle Ages," by Professor E. G. Daves ; " French Art," by Mr. W. C. Brownell ; " Phases of Ancient Worship," by Pro- fessor Morris Jastrow, Jr., and " Early Religious Ideas," by Mrs. Sarah Y, Stevenson. The Lecture Association was founded in the winter of 1887-88, and was, from the first, very successful. Many will remember the lectures by the distinguished Archaeologist, Lanciani, Governmental Director of Excavations for Italy. Other well-known men who have lectured under its auspices, are the elder Coque- lin, Professor Royce of Harvard, Dr. Henri Hyvernat and Mr. John Fiske. Mr. George Henderson was appointed Secretary of the Association during the past year, and within eight months the membership of the Association increased from 310 to nearly 1400. University Extension. THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. "... They themselves measuring themselves by themselves, and com- paring themselves with themselves, are without undeistanding." — St. Paul. JS^HERE is a strong and perfectly natural tendency to give ^^ to the history of our own country a prominent place in all our schemes of education, whether public or private. We involuntarily ascribe a high educational value to the study of matters intimately connected with our national development and look upon the history of other nations as of distinctly secondary importance. This opin- ion is reinforced by a patriotic pride in our own achieve- ments which, while laudable and often perfectly justifiable, may still lead us astray. Many who would occupy the standpoint which has just been described would reject without hesitation the idea that one must defer going to Europe until he has seen his own country : but do not both these beliefs rest on the same misapprehension ? Is the educational value of American history really commensurate with the significance of its subject-matter for Americans ? Or may not the history of other nations be from many points of view, a more significant feature of our college curriculums and projects for private study ? A careful con- sideration of what may be hoped for frorn historical study in general, is necessarily involved in the answer to this 9 "9 130 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. question. In the following brief article only some of the main points can be touched upon. Even if it be admitted that an understanding of our own institutions and their development be the aim of alarge part, at least, of our historical study, it may be doubted ■whether an exhaustive examination of these institutions themselves is the shortest and most satisfactory way to reach the desired end. We do not gain self-knowledge by looking in our own faces but by considering others and so becoming conscious of our peculiarities. It is a funda- mental law of all perception that it is dependent upon con- trast and change. Habit and familiarity blind us but sharp contrast awakens our perception. Now we are all Americans ; that is to say we have all been surrounded by a given political and social atmosphere from our birth. We are thus in no position to understand our institutions. The more vitally important these are and the more inherent the peculiarities of our civilization the less apt we are to become conscious of them. One might, for example, read an exhaustive treatise upon the right of Habeas Corpus and still miss entirely the true significance of the institution. One, however, who without even the least technical knowledge of the subject, learned some- thing of the elder Mirabeau and of his partiality for Lettres de Cachet could not remain ignorant of the true character of the famous provision in the Great Charter prohibiting arbitrary imprisonment. When Professor Dicey, in his admirable work on the Law of the Constitution, wants to make plain the true character of some of the most import- ant conceptions of the English law, he does it, not by a minute description of the law from an English standpoint, but by an account of the conditions which prevail in France. We must know wliat a thing is not, in order to preceive what it is. "The vale best discovereth the hill." To a aieglect of this principle many of the most discouraging EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY, I3I * failures in teaching may be attributed. The student has too often a considerable formal knowledge of a subject Tvhich is at first deceptive, but which upon closer consider- ation, proves to want the necessary basis which a grasp of the fundamental ideas alone gives. Thus an exclusive or ■even preponderating attention to our own development may defeat the end we have in view in undertaking a study of -American history. History has always been regarded, and very justly, as 'an excellent means for broadening the mind. Many, how- ever, who would be loudest in extolling this merit of histor- ical study and some even of those who had experienced happy results from an attention to history, would be puzzled to tell in what the broadening consists. They might thus ■easily fail to hit upon the best means for promoting this end. Broadening, or culture, does not consist, as is coming more • and more to be recognized, in knowledge, primarily or even :principally, but rather in a changed point of view — in a new attitude of mind which may help us to see any new fact or event which is presented to us in its true perspec- tive. All knowledge ought to subserve the purposes of culture, knowledge being undoubtedly one of the chief means we have of improving our faculties. No American could study carefully the history of our own Revolutionary War, or 9f the events leading up to the Civil War, without somewhat modifying his standpoint, and, perhaps, had he previously held an opinion based on hearsay, entirely altering his views. This, however, illustrates partial and specific changes in our attitude toward certain definite •events, rather than any general alteration of our mental make-up. If an equal amount of time devoted to any other topic would, however, produce such a general change and enable one to see the whole field of human development in a new and truer light, then, for purposes of culture, that ;subject of study would obviously be preferable to those 132 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. mentioned. There is always danger of exaggerating tlie importance of things near us and it is important that we should sometimes leave everything aside which could in the slightest degree relate to ourselves, or, if this is not possible, at least select something remote from us for con- sideration. We thus cultivate that most important side of true culture, objectivity, as the Germans call it. Intellectual culture, like moral culture, precludes selfishness. If this view of what " broadening " means is a true one, it is in the recently discovered history of Assyria, in phases of Grecian and Roman civilization, or in the peculiar conditions and thought of the Middle Ages, rather than from a study of the United States, England, or even recent continental history that we are to look for the most efficient means of culture. Unfortunately^ however, it is impossible to find any one subject of study which embraces all the possible advantages. The historical sources of these more remote epochs are either from the language in which they are written, or their inaccessibility in general, unavailable for the ordinary reader. This seems to be a great drawback. Heretofore any attention to the sources has been excluded by a false view of the meaning and intent of his- torical study. So long as our aim is to acquire information instead of culture, there is little time left for a consideration of the sources, nor would it be worth while to give much attention to them, for as facts they are relatively unim- portant. Sadly enough, this view of history is still preva- lent. It is rather the actions of individuals than the spirit of men that engage us, Voltaire, with all his faults as a historian, had at least a far more advanced conception of history than too many of his successors. " C'est encore plus d'un grand siecle que d'un grand rot que j'ecris thistoire." — " I propose to write the history rather of a great century than of a great king." There is a very general feeling that dates and history are more or less EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. 133 synonomous terms. Yet one who understands and feels the meaning of Nicolo Pisano's reliefs at Pisa or the Laurentian Library at Florence, or has amused himself with Cellini's cheerful memoirs, may know in this perfectly heterodox fashion more of the Renaissance than another who could give the names and order of Popes, Emperors and municipal despots during three long centuries. In the natural sciences everything is taught by types. The careful study of a characteristic organization is judged the best introduction to the whole animal or vegetable world. The method pursued in history, on the contrary, is to begin with the general, with names and numbers having absolutely no content for the beginner. " Charles the Fourth, of France, died in 1328," is an empty formula until some meaning be attached to the terms. The beginner knows neither what Charles the Fourth nor what 1328 means. A merciful friend of mine recently expressed his regret that Germany should have have had three Emperors in one year, in view of the expenditure of energy which the circumstance entails both upon the German boys and girls and for those who teach them history. " With- out a minuteness of detail sufficient to make its scenes dramatic and give us a lively sympathy with the actors, a narrative history can have little value and still less charm.* Among the good results which would be brought about by adopting the methods of Natural History and considering carefully short but important periods, would be the possibility of attending to the sources. An enlightened * use of the sources would have two main advantages. It would enhance the value of our knowledge by rendering it at once more vivid and more directly the result of our own efforts. Secondly, it would improve our judgment and increase our power of discrimination. ♦Prof. Bryce. 134 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The production of books is now carried to an extent unknown in the past and there is every reason to suppose that the rate of increase will be maintained. As only a relatively very small number of these can be used by any one person, and as the best should, of course, be preferred,, every means which tends to cultivate our critical faculties, should be encouraged. One with no literary discrimination left among the ever-increasing masses of printed matter is, certain to fall a victim to intellectual mal-assimilation and inanition. • The study of historic sources offers an excellent means for cultivating this most essential faculty. We learn to handle books with a certain tact the lack of which is so. apparent in the ordinary book review. By acquainting ourselves with the material for even a short period of" history, we trace the process of writing all history. We learn to estimate secondary authorities and become familiar with the pitfalls which await historical writers. All ex- perience of this kind will be found available outside the- department where we have gained it, often aiding us better to estimate work in widely different fields. It is, therefore,, a great misfortune that the periods which have most to offer the student are least easily approached in the original sources, and that our ignorance as a nation of all languages, but our own should exclude us in a measure from the most fruitful fields of historical study. Those who have a work- ing knowledge of Greek, Latin, French, German or Italian have a great advantage in this respect. Those who do not , possess this knowledge can, however, gain much from a study based upon the sources of some periods of English history ; for example, that of the Civil Wars, or even of one of the great crises in our own history. On examination it appears then that the educational value of the history of our own land is much inferior to- that of other history. And, furthermore, leaving aside the EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. 1 35 possible significance of history as a means of culture, and considering simply the knowledgfe of the true character of our national progress as an end, this progress may be easiest reached by a due attention to the course of develop- ment in other nations. Moreover, by approaching the study of history in a different way from that heretofore pur- sued we may not only gain a truer conception of all human progress, but, by digging deeper, reach at points the bed- rock upon which the structure of history rests. JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON. University of Pennsylvania, October. i8gi, ' RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. ^HE following paper is a report submitted by Mr. Walter ^ C. Douglas, General Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of Philadelphia, who was delegated by the American Society, to study, during the past sum- mer, the recent developments of University Extension in England. Dr. Edmund J. James. PRESIDENT AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE EXTENSION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING. Dear Sir: — I beg leave to submit the following report of my observations of University Extension abroad during the past summer : The first question investigated was the measure of recognition given to the University Extension abroad, first, by the great Universities ; secondly, by the Government of Great Britain, and, lastly, by other countries. The Universities of Great Britain have recognized it by direct participation, by control of its machinery, by University examination, by extending facilities of the Uni- versity buildings and laboratories, by pecuniary aid, and, lastly, by the recognition of results and honoring of certifi- cates. In cases where permanency is assured to centres, the Extension students passing certain examinations are admitted to the Universities as second-year students. In other words, the recognition is complete, that this is genu- ine University teaching and attains the same results of knowledge as are attained by resident students. 136 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. 1 37 The Government recognition of the work is no less complete. A Special Spirits tax has recently placed at the disposal of the British Government, annually, the sum of about three and a half million of dollars, which the Govern- ment finally decided to give to County Councils with an intimation or permissive suggestion that it should be used for technical education. The County Councils, although not primarily educational bodies, are acting upon this sug- gestion. The question presented itself, what will be the best agency for creating the necessary educational machin- ery and applying this money? The result has been the recognition of University Extension methods as the best and the practical endowment of the scientific side of Uni- versity Extension in the various local centres by this means. The West Ridings of Yorkshire alone appropri- ated $140,000 in this way this year. The question ot Government aid by a direct Treasury grant to the literary and historical side of Extension work is now being agitated. To make skilled workmen is good; to make intelligent citizens is even more important. The recognition by other nations of this as a new and permanent factor of higher education is equally strong. In Austria and Denmark it has taken practical form, and the French Government sent two Commissioners to attend the Summer Schools and study the movement in Great Britain this year. The effect of University Extension, both upon the Universities themselves and upon the people, is worthy of note. The Universities have gained sympathy and good- will from the masses. They are considered to be fulfilling their missions as national institutions as they have never done before. Popular prejudice has been tempered and to- day they are stronger in the regard of the English public than for generations past. In fact. University Extension in Great Britain has modified public opinion in an important 1 38 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. direction, and has wrought substantial gain for the Univer- sities that originated and are pushing it. The movement has, perhaps, been as timely for the Universities themselves as it has been for the masses needing and awaiting their aid. The next question was, what are the ideals of this work on the part of the Universities and on the part of the stu- • dents? What will be its ultimate development as to each? Here there was divergence of views among the leaders. There was agreement, however, that the result would not be the formation of permanent local colleges with resident professors, but a floating democratic national University with local committees, but non-resident lecturers, having local management and support, but always in touch with the great Universities. Thus the Universities in their scope would be truly national and University Extension would be co-extensive with the nation. The establishment of local colleges, with a resident professoriate cut off from the Uni- versities, would have its limited number of students, who would be largely " professional " students, would not touch the masses of people, would lack the spirit and the aims of University Extension, and would fail to reach the general public with higher education. The opinion seems to be that this has been the actual result where Extension work has resulted in strictly local colleges. The ideal of the student brought out an interesting discussion and a classification of Extension students into the professional and the amateur, i. e., the few who studied for the value of the certificate and the '* bread and meat " side of education, and the many who studied from a desire for culture and a love of knowledge. The great mass of students will be " amateurs " in this sense, and it should ever be kept so. The Universities have already, as stated, agreed to waive one of the three years of residence now re- quired of students taking certain courses at affiliated cen- RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. 1 39 tres. By their Summer Schools they are affording oppor- tunities of residence in the " University atmosphere," upon which so much stress is laid in England. Will this grad- ually be extended until by and by the Extension Student can obtain his University degree ? The Science and Art Department, which is a Government institution authorized to license teachers, and with which South Kensington Col- lege is' connected, now nominally recognizes University Extension certificates and an effort is being made to induce the London School Board to do the same. Immediately bearing upon, and, indeed, deciding this question, is that of consecutive work. The desirability of sequence of courses and of graded and thorough work, is recognized by all. This is the purpose of Extension. Long courses of twelve are better than short courses of six lectures. Sequence is better than jumping from one sub- ject to another foreign to it. University Extension, with a steady movement, is all the time approaching this end. But there are many other things to be considered as it goes along. University Extension must please and interest the public as well as do thorough work. There must be large meetings at first to impress the public imagination and arouse interest. The financial question abides with us. In other words, the consensus of opinion is that it will not do to be too dogmatic or doctrinaire about this ; there must be elasticity and a spirit of accommodation to local situations. There must be no dictation, but suggestion and advice to local centres. The control of a locality and its courses or standards of work is not by dictation, but by keeping ex- aminations and certificates in the hands of the General Association ; this is and will be the true and effective mould- ing power in the movement that will, by and by, secure a uniform standard and thorough work. Oxford still has a number of centres with courses of six lectures. But Ox- ford no longer issues certificates on six lectures. Press the I40 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. importance of this always, they say, but con suit the con- venience and wishes of localities and the present need and development of the movement. Higher education has never been maintained without endowment or State aid. This will be no exception, and we must create conditions and be practical about it. This naturally leads to the question of aid and endow- ment. There are two possible sources, munificence of in- dividuals and State aid. The latter has some drawbacks in the question of administration to merely local and perhaps transient University Extension committees and in possible interference by the Government and thus the loss of elas- ticity and adaptability on the part of Extension. But they seem to see a way out of all this abroad, and already, as stated. University Extension is now practically endowed locally on its scientific and technical side. They are also about to ask treasury grants for the other, the literary and historical side. The general societies have no endowment and depend upon the Universities and individuals for help. In this connection two forms of their work may be noticed. In Norfolk, the County Council made a grant for University Extension under the provision mentioned. It was thought that, as the teachers were nearer the people, it would be better to begin with them. Accordingly, the teachers met on Saturday mornings for Extension lectures and laboratory work ; the experiment was very successful. University Extension does a large work among the farmers through lectures upon the chemistry of common life and upon subjects relating to agriculture. They are taught to use their faculties of observation and reasoning. In these directions, perhaps in our own country lies the basis of State aid, for the reception and administration of which State organizations could be created. This suggests the question whether the benefits of this work can be ex- tended to the isolated student, the son and daughter in the RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. I4I American farm house, as well as to the grocer in the village. After experimenting with home work, it has practically been given up for the present by the Extension Societies. An organization known as the Home Reading Union is doing a large work in the line indicated by its name. The leading men of the University movement agree, that for the present, all energies and resources had better be directed to work at centres. It is proper here to state that the con- ditions in England, both as to the numbers and intellectual characteristics of the occupants of farm houses are very different from the United States, which fact is appreciated there as well as here. The matter of country or district work and the secur- ing of co-operation of groups of centres is growing. A small number of centres acting together can take the en- tire time of a lecturer. Their representatives meet once a year and agree upon courses. This secures economy and efficiency of work. Practically Extension lecturers must reside for the season in the neighborhood; and this they can do by this co-operation of centres. They have given thought to the representative character of local committees, which becomes very important in view of State aid. Many centres have suffered by gradually falling into the hands of a clique. In reply to the question " What are the most fruitful sources of failure ?" only two answers were received, viz. : poor lecturers, and Jocal cen- tres falling into and remaining in the hands of a clique, /. e. ceasing to be representative of all the important elements of a community. Existing institutions, all sects and par- ties, school boards or public municipal bodies and the stu- dents themselves, should be represented on the Committees of Management according to the present English view. The suggestion of poor lecturers as the other cause of failure, brings up a vital question, viz. : Whence are to come the lecturers for this field ? As the present regular staffs 142 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. of Universities have their hands full, this new calling must be supplied from other sources. As a matter of fact, there is in England a distinct and permanent staff of University Extension lecturers. They are tested and in some cases a fixed sum is guaranteed to them. They have their own style, and unite the University standard of teaching with popular platform qualities. There are young scientific and literary lecturers, imbued with the new, the University Ex- tensions spirit, enthusiastic, understanding people, and with fine power of exposition. But the question of the future is the securing of sufficient endowment in some form to make it possible to reach brilliant men and hold them in this work for the earlier years of their life, at least. The suggestion of having bright Extension students repeat the courses of older lecturers to smaller centres has been tried with fairly good results, but it is not regarded with favor by lecturers. There is a grave danger in organ- izing new centres ahead of the visible supply of lecturers. Poor lecturers will cause failure and reaction, and will set back University Extension in a locality for years. The question of fixed syllabi has had both discussion and experiment, and both are against the attempt to force upon lecturers any syllabi other than their own. The scientific and art courses in England suffered by rigid syllabi. At first a small outline is printed, and if that is successful, then a full abstract. They are prepared by lec- turers without extra charge as part of their duties. The syllabi generally pay. For instance, in London, 500 were printed for ;g22.6o, and 250 sold for ^31.25. In one society the lecturers print their own syllabi and thus take the risk of profit or loss. As to correspondence work in languages, there is none being done, although in a class upon Dante, 6 pupils inci- dentally acquired a fair knowledge of Italian. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. 1 43 The finances demand much attention. The London Society receives money from individuals and from the guilds or companies of London. They are considering the advisability of increasing the privileges of subscribers by giving to them lectures by eminent men in large centres. This society uses popular lecturers to prepare the way for University Extension. The Gilchrist Lecture Fund was left to further the interests of education in any way that might seem best to the Trustees. They have decided that this is a most effectual way, and accordingly give short popular courses to prepare the way for University Exten- sion work. The practical endowment of the technical and scien- tific side of University Extension work in Great Britain has brought to the front a very important question. In the rage to-day for technical and scientific education, and in view of the large appropriations for this purpose it is felt that there is great danger of neglecting the historical and literary. The danger in England on this point is great. University opinion, however, is thoroughly aroused. Observation has shown that those who have taken scientific studies not so immediately applicable to technical work are better students and more valuable men. They have better trained minds than those tempted away by the bribe of- immediate money-making application. There is too much tendency to be devoted to applied sciences rather than to the broader studies and abstract sciences allied to historical and literary study. There seems no danger that with the aid offered the technical and scientific side will be neglefcted. Therefore the historical and literary side should be emphasized in programmes. It is felt by many, how- ever, that both in towns and in the agricultural districts, the technical, the bread-and-meit side, must be pressed at first, so as to secure attention, and thus lead to the higher and more abstract studies that make the citizen. It should always, 144 ' UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. however, be made plain that University Extension deals only with the sciences that underhe or bear on these prac- tical things, not the arts themselves. The question how to meet the danger to the historical and literary side from the many inducements offered to the scientific and tech- nical, was also met by the suggestion that universities offer further recognition to sequence of study in these things. It is claimed that every advance that has come has followed such offer of recognition from some University. The Summer School unquestionably fills an important place in the English movement. At Cambridge it enables students without those privileges at local centres to spend some weeks in laboratory work. At Oxford, it gives opportunity for conference, and presents highly interesting, stimulating and" suggestive courses of lectures to the leaders among the Extension students of England, who gather in large numbers. A system of scholarships enables deserv- ing students to avail themselves of these schools, which also afford valuable help and suggestions to new lecturers. Students' Associations in a number of places have proved an undoubted force in the work. One function of these is to continue interest and study between terms. They generally continue to meet after the courses. Quite a feature of their work is to organize excursions of various kinds in connection with the studies. As to the English views on organization, they may be summed up by stating that London affords their model of organization for large cities ; for the nation, it is the co-operation of Universities. It seemed very desirable to secure the presence at the headquarters of the American Society, for even a short time, this winter of Mr. M. E. Sadler, University Extension Lecturer, Secretary of the Oxford Society, Officer of Christ Church College, and a leader in the whole Extension work, second to no one in Great Britain. The difficulties in the way of Mr. Sadler's leaving England for even a short RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLAND. I45 f \)kte seemed very great, but the importance of giving aid in its formative period to a similar work in a nation of sixty- five millions of English-speaking people was also great. Mr. Sadler's own consent was finally secured, and then a recommendation to the same effect from the officers of Christ Church College. His presence with us this winter will be full of suggestion and helpfulness. I have lightly touched upon the above points and entered into no discussion of them, for reason that they are fully considered in recent English publications now in our hands. These publications and the full set'of blanks and lit- erature of London, Oxford and Cambridge, already delivered, also illustrate and explain the methods of the work abroad in all of its aspects. WALTER C. DOUGLAS. Philadelphia, Octobtr, iSqi. THE LOWELL INSTITUTE IN BOSTON. ^ELDOM has there been established in any city an educa- '^ tive work so valuable, so far-reaching, and so direct in its results as that of the Lowell Institute in Boston. Nevter was there a great work that was perhaps so wholly free from any elaborate machinery, and almost, one might say, without material expression. There is no Lowell Institute in the form of a building; the " Institute " is wholly immaterial, and is an idea rather than an edifice. To the stranger in Boston who might inquire as to the locality of the Lowell Institute, the resident could only reply as did the character in Mr. Aldrich's clever story, " There is no Margery Daw." Possibly few of the great -concourse of people who avail themselves, year after year, of the benefi- cent opportunities offered in the noble courses of free lec- tures delivered under its auspices have ever paused to consider that never was a people's college — for it is practi- cally that — more entirely held true to the intellectual idea alone, in no way mingled with material paraphernalia, than is this institution, which, in the usual sense, is not an insti- tution at all. The idea of the Lowell Institute dates back a little more than half a century — to 1830, when a noble and great- hearted man, John Lowell, left a bequest of ;$237,ooo, one- half his estate, " to found and sustain free lectures on speci- fied subjects ; to provide for regular courses of free public lectures upon the most important branches of natural and THE LOWELL INSTITUTE IN BOSTON. I47 moral science, to be annually delivered in the city of Boston." John Lowell was the son of Francis C. Lowell, for whom the manufacturing city of Lowell, Massachusetts, was named. He was a man of refined tastes, of vigorous intellect and of profound and extensive reading. But his powers ot endurance were limited by very delicate health and this, with a fondness for change, made him a noted traveler in the days when extensive foreign travel was the ' happy exception of the more favored lives rather than the somewhat matter-of-course routine of the present. While in Thebes he wrote a supplemental codicil to his will, giv- ing more definite instructions regarding the conduct of these lectures. He appointed a near relative, John Amory Lowell, to be the trustee of this bequest, which at that time was the largest sum ever given to the cause of public edu- cation, save the bequest of Mr. Stephen Girard. Mr. Lowell's will provided that none of this money was to be used for buildings, and that ten per cent, of the income of the fund was to be set aside annually for its perpetuation. An- other condition of the bequest is that each succeding trustee is to be a lineal descendant of the Lowell family, and a curious feature of it is this : that each trustee, within one year from his accession to the trust, must file in the Archives of the Boston Athenaeum a sealed paper contain- ing the name of his successor, and that " some name unknown to all but the trustee must be so deposited." The accounts are to be annually exposed to the trustees of the Boston Athenaeum, they having authority, however, only to view them. This seems to be devised as a moral safeguard, only, in place of any legal one. Although no portion of the fund may be diverted for building purposes, it may be drawn on for rent. The selection of the lectures is absolutely under the personal control of the trustee in charge. I4>5 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Beside provision for the lectures, it was also stipulated that a system of free instruction in drawing, for mechanics and artisans, should be arranged, and this was continued until 1878, and is now developed into the Lowell School of Practical Design. Previous to 1 878 the lectures were delivered in a build- ing, now removed, that stood on Washington Street, between Winter and Bromfield and was entered through one of those odd passage-ways in which the older part of Boston abounds, and which is now occupied by the Arch- way book store. It was on December i, 1839, t^^* the Lowell Institute was inaugurated by an address from Edward Everett who was then the ideal orator of Boston. His presence threw a glamor of enchantment on every occasion, and no festival of scholarship was complete without the crowning grace lent by the elegance and polished beauty of his eloquence. The most eminent lecturers of England, America and Germany have been heard on this platform. To have lec- tured before the Lowell Institute, indeed, is a cachet of the highest and most coveted distinction. It is here that the great Agassis was first publicly heard in America, and here that the ablest modern thought in science, belles-lettres, sociology, art, archaeology, political and moral science, has been presented. Here have been heard Sir Charles Lyell, Silliman, Tyndall, Palfrey, Charles C. Perkins, Lowell, Whipple, Howells, Bayard Taylor, Dr. Wilder, Professor Rogers, Prof Lanciani of Rome, Dr. Edward Freeman Dr. Holmes, Edmund Gosse, Charles Eliot Norton Dr. Carl Lumholtz, the distinguished ethnologist. Dr. Humphrey Storer, Dr. Walter Channing, Dr. John C. Warren, and many another whose name is famous in art, science or literature. John Lowell died at Bombay in the thirty-seventh year of his age. His character was one of those that have gone THE LOWELL INSTITUTE IN BOSTON. I49 to make New England, and through New England an entire country, nobler and more exalted ; the characters that stamp life with true ideals, and hold it amenable to standards of genuine worth, of faith, of enthusiasm for humanity, and reverence for God. Mr. Augustus Lowell is the present trustee. His brother, Mr. Lawrence Lowell, is known as a writer on poltical science, and far more widely is known his son, Mr. Percival Lowell, as the author o£ one of the choicest and most exquisite works ever written, entitled " The Soul of the Far East." It is a work profoundly introspective, and full of delicate divination and exquisite interpretation of the mystic inner nature of Oriental life. More than fifty years ago the noble intellect and generous sympathies of Jdhn Lowell conceived the pos- sibilities of a great work which foreshadowed that of University Extension. It was the first approach in America to the work that is now assuming grand proportions and thrilling the hearts of all who realize the brotherhood of humanity, and who feel, with Mr. Emerson, that " It is as great a loss to us that others should be low as that we should be low, for we must have society." While the lectures are free to all, the art of selection is held by means of tickets, without which the public are not admitted. The method adopted is to advertise in all the daily journals of the city that on a designated morning the tickets for a certain course of Lowell Institute lectures will be given to applicants at a designated place, not more than four tickets being given to one person, and the order is merely that of line, and the " first come, first served " prin- ciple. Provided with these the audience assembles, and when the room is filled the doors are closed. Huntingdon Hall, in the Institute of Technology, has been used since 1878 for the lectures, which usually open i;0 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. in November, and continue until April, being given on Tuesday and Friday evenings of each week. The unfailing beneficence of this bequest, which has already given such noble opportunities to successive gener- ations, is one that can be referred to only with the gladness of gratitude. The Lowell Institute is an intellectual fountain flowing without money and without price that whosoever will may partake freely. LILIAN WHITING. Boston, October, j8gi. INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY EXTENSION STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. [The first of a series of lessons on Political Economy will appear in the January number of this journal. The present paper and one which is to follow in the December number are introductory to the series and are intended to present (i) certain preliminary distinctions, and (2)' certain helpful practical suggestions.] PRELIMINARY DISTINCTIONS. J3^HERE is a simple but vital distinction between the ^^ manner in which an economist and a historian, say, or a social philosopher looks upon questions which over- lap their different fields of investigation. The standpoint is a different one. This is sometimes expressed by saying that the question is to be separated into its historic, economic and social elements. But any practical attempt to separate the elements after this fashion will show that the real point of the distinction has been missed. It is better to say that exactly the same question has been con- sidered from different points of view. If, for instance, the immigration question is to be dis- cussed, nothing will be gained by getting from an econo- mist his opinion as to the effect on wages, on the produc- tion of wealth, etc., if we then turn to the social philosopher to ascertain from him the effect on the moral nature of the people, on the standard of civilization, etc., and to the statesman to balance the various items contributed by the experts in the other sciences and to make a practical decision ; and yet this is the course apparently advocated by some who insist on the " obvious advantages " of dis^ 152 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. tinguishing the various elements and treating each separately. Suppose, however, that the economist (or the states- man equipped with the necessary economic training) dould give us a clearpicture of each of the two economic conditions, — one in which the immigration has been allowed to con- tinue unchecked, — the other in which the existing popula- tion has been allowed to remain uncontaminated with for- eign elements ; every influence which would in any way modify either condition is noted ; agencies, physical, moral, social and educational, are considered ; everything neces- sary to sharpen the contrast and to aid the judgment, is noted. He who has succeeded in obtaining such a mental image Qf the two conditions, differing 'as they would at many points but differentiated by a force mainly economic, will be in position to form an intelligent judg- ment. It will not be necessary for him to balance ethical considerations against economic considerations, which is implied in the first method, but which is clearly impossi- ble. He will have considered the whole question in all its bearings from an economic standpoint, which is a very different matter from pronouncing a judgment upon an infinitesimal part of it, merely employing economic forms of expression. The student should recognize further, at the outset, the distinction between the subjective and the objective view of industrial organization and progress. The economic signifi- cation of these terms does not correspond precisely to the meaning assigned to them in philosophy, but is analogous to it. The mental images which exist in society, as a whole, the mental motives to action, and the distinctly social agencies are put in contrast with those conditions which are mainly physical, which lie outside the realm of mental growth, which act upon man, furnishing him in turn motives to action, but which are not involved in his EXTENSION STUDY OF ECONOMICS. 153 own development and which may be considered as chang- ing independently of changes in man. Upon a clear recog- nition of this • distinction depends the student's ability to avoid the confusion connected with frequent and uncon- scious shifting of the point of view. Even before consider- ing the most primary conceptions of political economy, therefore, we may introduce illustrations of this distinction which will be readily understood, though involving ques- tions that could be fully discussed only at a much later stage. If we should undertake to discover why more laborers do not accumulate capital, we might find that it is because of their lack of appreciation of future needs, because of the fact that their saving instincts are not normally developed, which would be a subjective explanation ; or we might find the explanation instead in a physical law which insures that population will continually press on the means of sub- sistance, leaving no margin for saving. We may attribute the failure of the North American Indian to provide for the future to his own improvidence — a subjective explanation ; or as Professor Cunningham sug- gests,* to the great difficulty in preserving meat, which forms so large a portion of his diet. If the task be to explain the origin of interest, it may be found objectively in the increase of product due to the employment of capital. The arrangement which secures to the owner of the capital that, when it is loaned to be devoted to production, it will be returned to him with this increase would be a part of the objective explanation. But the payment and receipt of interest may be looked upon, instead, as an act of exchange. A future enjoyment is re- linquished by the borrower, who receives in return a pres- ent enjoyment. The lender is deprived of the opportunity of •Use and Abuse of Money. 154 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. expending his money for present gratification, but expects to receive in the future that which will enable him to enjoy a greater pleasure. The amount of interest would then be; determined by the difference in subjective valuation of the two enjoyments, each of the parties to the exchange plac- ing a higher valuation on the future goods and agreeing, therefore, that it will take a greater quantity of the future goods to offset this higher valuation of the present goods. At every stage of investigation, from the framing of the simplest definitions to the discussion of the most diffi- cult problems it will be important to note whether subjec- tive or objective conditions are mainly in mind, and if both are taken into consideration whether we are looking on man or his environment as being modified by the influence of the other. The tendency of recent political economy is to substi- tute subjective theories, explanations and laws for the ob- jective, and at times purely, physical laws and theories of the older economists. But each point of view is legitimate if held consistently, and if care be exercised in transferring to one kind of discussion the terms and explanations which are current and the results which are obtained in the other. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. It is obviously absurd to suppose that iix order to understand the principles of political economy it is neces- sary to begin by reading dilligently all the obsolete text- books on the subject however standard they may once have been. There is a time when the texts which were written when the science was forming may be read to ad- vantage, but it should be at a time when they can be mas- tered; i. e., when the student will not be deceived by such of their arguments as may be fallacious and betrayed into their errors, when the student, in fact, can become their master and can introduce their helpful portions into a sys- EXTENSION STUDY OF ECONOMICS. I55, tem of knowledge of which he is already master. It is true in a sense that all economic works yet published may be said to have appeared at a formative period. It will be well, therefore, to read first such books as embody most nearly a complete positive system and have it at the same time attracted sufficient attention to have been subjected ta searching and persistent criticism, such as will be likely to- have exposed the gross errors, cleared up obscurities, and fixed those particular points, which, even after the publica- tion of the work must still be regarded as unsettled. The works which at the present time come nearest meeting these requirements are Walker's Political Economy and Mills' Principles of Political Economy. These works may, therefore, be recommended for the general reader who wishes to obtain a working knowledge of the principles of political economy; but for the reasons indicated they should be suplemented by a close examination of the later literature to which they have given rise. This is in eacli case somewhat extensive. The study of current economic periodicals and of the the contributions by economists to the discussion or economic questions in the general periodicals is in itself one of the best methods of overcoming initial difficulties, of strengthening an interest in economic subjects, and of giv-^ ing a definite scope to investigations which the student majr wish personally to undertake. Membership in one of the scientific associations, several of which are open to any earnest student whose claims are clearly presented, will^ besides securing the publications of the- associations, give to the student who succeeds in making a noteworthy con- tribution to science, however modest it may be, the benefit of an impartial examination of its merits and will frequently- secure publication for papers which might not otherwise:^ have attracted the favorable attention of publishers. 156 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The writer has in mind especially the American Economic Association, with headquarters at Baltimore, which has published a series of valuable monographs ; the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which has an economic section ; The American Social Science Association ; the American Statistical Association, and the American Academy of Political and Social Science, with headquarters at Philadelphia, which has secured a very wide circulation for its publications and which is especially adapted to the giving of assistance of the kind suggested. Few students will be satisfied to pursue the study in any^ prescribed conventional order and there is no reason why specific problems should not be studied sooner than is customary in most class-rooms. Many of the subjects which are still unsettled because of insufficient data will furnish to the zealous student material for inductive research. Later the results of this research will give occasion for comparison with results obtained by other persons or by the student himself in different lines, and for deductive reasoning. The precautions usually insisted on by econo- mists of the Historical School will be especially applicable to investigations of this kind. Accuracy of observation, patience in collecting materials, avoidance of even the semblance of partizanship, a desire to follow the truth, regardless of the results, and a constant recognition of the relation of the discoveries made to the existing body of knowledge on the subject are the virtues to be especially emphasized. Proximity to any manufacturing industry will provide an opportqnity for an investigation as to the exact manner in which production is carried on. The steps by which any industry has been successfully established furnish one of the most interesting subjects for careful study. One •who is interested, on the other hand, in studying the markets will find abundant examples of variations in •demand and will easily ba led to study these movements EXTENSION STUDY OF ECONOMICS. IS7 and their causes. He will not proceed far without reveal- ing, perhaps unconsciously, one or the other of the tendencies referred to above. He will look for and find changes in men giving occasion to new subjective valua- tions which in the markets find expression in objective values — or he will look for and doubtless find changes in machinery, in the agencies of production, in the condition of scientific knowledge which will be thought adequately to explain the market changes. EDWARD T. DEVINE. SOME TYPICAL COURSES. "J^HERE is, perhaps, no subject that has received so much ^^ attention from our leading magazines and from the most influential of the newspaper dailies of the country during the past few months, as has University Extension. The origin of the movement, both in England and in this country has been clearly depicted, its purposes have been •explained with the utmost fullness and the different elements of its system of teaching with the function of each have been accurately defined. In no case, however, has there Iseen a full explanation of the exact nature of the courses offered under this title. Perhaps, then, a clearer idea can be given in no better way than by referring at some length, to the courses given on various subjects at Philadelphia under the auspices of the American Society. The most generally known of the lecturers engaged in this work •during the past winter was Mr. R. G. Moulton, who, for successive weeks, delivered courses at different points in Philadelphia and the immediate vicinity, on such subjects ^s — the Literary Study of the Bible, Stories as a Mode of Thinking, and the Paradise Lost of Milton. These may perhaps, typify well enough the literary side of the work of the first year. No better example of the scientific courses given during the first season, can be** found than the one on Astronomy, delivered to large audiences at the Young Men's Christian Association Hall of Philadelphia, by the ■eminent astronomer. Professor Young, of Princeton. The success of the winter's work of 1890-91, both in •its popular and in its instructive aspect was so great as to 158 SOME TYPICAL COURSES. I 59 increase the interest of our best- teachers in the movement. The best guarantee of the standard of University Extension is to be found in the men who, recognizing the' real worth of the system, are using what time is left from their regular University duties in giving public courses under the general title of University Extension. An- item in the morning paper notices the engagement of President Coulter, of the University of Indiana, to deliver a series of lectures on his special field before a University Extension centre in the city of Louisville. Certainly this scholar would not undergo the fatigue of a long railway trip and devote the little leisure that his executive and professonial duties leave him, to such work as this unless the recognition was clear of its great utility both in the way of inspiration and direct knowledge for the audiences addressed. The American Society has been fortunate this year in securing the services of Dean J. O. Murray, of Princeton College, who is lecturing at this time before the people of Trenton, N. J., on the "Earlier Plays of Shakespeare," the course including the most typical tragedies and comedies of our literature. The first lecture was on "Love's Labors Lost," followed by others on the "Comedy of Errors," "Two Gentlemen of Vienna," "Midsummer Night's Dream," "Richard III." and Romeo and Juliet." Professor W. B. Scott, of the same college, is engaged for courses on Dy- namical, Structive and Historical Geology, and Zoological Geography. These courses are illustrated and their popu- lar and instructive nature is seen in the following brief out- line of the course on Dynamical Geology. Lecture i. Destructive processes. Action of atmospheric agencies. Rivers. " 2. Ice. Marine agencies. Subterranean waters. Springs. " 3. Constructive powers. Action of the rivers and the sea. l6o UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Lecture 4. Volcanoes. " 5. Earthquakes and other igneous forces. Geysers * and hot springs. " 6. Organic agencies. Formation of coal, lime- stone, etc. The broad fields covered by Extension work and the adaptability of its system to the needs of different classes, is best disclosed in the course offered especially for teachers by President Charles DeGarmo, of Swarthmore College. The course is of six lectures on the best methods of teaching common school branches. The lectures are at once scientific and practical in their nature, and form an admira- ble introduction to pedagogical study, basis for which is laid in succeeding courses which are already planned. In many cases those courses are found at once most popular and most inspiring which can be fully illustrated in various ways. An example of these is a course of six lectures on the Wave Theory of Light, by Professor Henry Crew, who has just been called from Haverford College to the Lick Observatory, the outline of which gives a sufficient idea of the nature of the course. "Wave Theory of Light." 1. Historical introduction. 2. Explanation of reflection and refraction on Wave Theory. 3 Diffraction and Solar spectrum. 4. Radiant energy. 5. Electromagnetic Theory of Light. 6. Ideas of Maxwell. Experimental demonstration of Hertz. Another course which is not only popular but which inspires to furnish study, and gives a clear conception of the best methods to be pursued, is by Professor Paul Shorey, of Bryn Mawr College, on Tennyson. A brief outline of these lectures is given below : SOME TYPICAL COURSES. l6l " Tennyson." 1. State of English Poetry in 1832. Tennyson's early poems. Style and vocabulary of the new poet. Influence of Keats, Shelley and Wordsworth. 2. Sources of Tennyson's inspiration. Tennyson a literary poet. Tennyson and the classics. 3. Same subject continued. Tennyson and the Eng- lish Classics. Tennyson's imitations. 4. Tennyson and the poetic interpretation of nature, 5. Tennyson and modern thought. Can poetry interp- ret modern science and philosophy ? 6. Tennyson the great poet of the century. Tenny- son and Browning. Many of the leading professors of the University of Pennsylvania have joined heartily in the work, and courses have been offered by Professor Barker, on Physics, by Professor J. B. McMaster on the People of the United States ; Professor Robert Ellis Thompson, on English Litera- ture, and Professor Francis N. Thorpe, on American History and Government. The system that has already been attained and the sequence already found possible in extension work are shown by the following series of courses, offered by Dr. Francis N. Thorpe, which embrace seventy-two lectures on the subject of American History and Government. Course I. Europe finds America. The period of exploration and discovery, 1 492- 1 606. Course II. The Period of the Charters, 1606-1776. The Period of the American Revolution, 1776-1789. The Beginnings of Government in the United States. II l62 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Course III. The Constitution of the United States, 1787- 1789. Period of the Formulation of the National Idea. Course IV. The Development of the National Idea, 1789- 1840. Period of the settlement of the United States east of the Mississippi River. Course V. The Struggle for Nationahty, 1 840-1 865. Period of the extension of the National Idea and of the Determination of the National Domain. Course VI. The New Nation, 1865- 1893. Period of the Development of National Resources. Course VII. The Government of the People of the United States. An Examination of our Government as it is To-day in Cities, Counties, States and in the Nation. Course VIII. American Statesmen. The Colonial Period. The Period of the Revolution. The Period of the National Development. The Period of the Struggle for Nation- ality. Course IX. The Civil Development of the United States, 1606-1892. Course X. Epochs of American History, 1 606-1 892. Course IX. The History of Political Parties, 1789-1892. ^Course XII. The Administration of Government in the United States, 1776- 1892. NOTES. University Extension centres have within a few weeks been formed in Rhode Island at Hartford, Pawtucket, Bristol, Wickford, Olneyville, New- port, Warren, Providence, and at Attleboro and North Attleboro, Mass. Professor F. W. Blackmar, of the State University of Kansas, is lecturing for the Kansas City University Extension Society on the subject of Political ' Economy. This will be followed by other courses, all of twelve lectures each. Under the auspices of the Topeka, Kansas, Free Library, a course on Electricity by Professor Blake, of the Kansas University, has begun. There will be given twelve lectures, and a strong Students' Association has been already formed. The People's Institute of Milwaukee, has received from wealthy citizens a guarantee already of three courses of Extension lectures. The hearty co-operation of the University of Wisconsin is greatly assisting the work throughout that State. New centres are being cohstantJy formed in connection with the Phila- delphia Society; the latest one being in North Wales, Pa. Other meetings to fiirther the establishment of centres have been held recently in several towns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Sea Isle City and Chester Springs. There is every indication of a large attendance at the annual meeting of the American Society on November loth. Distinguished members of the Advisory Committee will be present, and many who vnll be unable to attend have written to express their hearty sympathy and their appreciation of the progress of the work. The Committee of Regents, of Iowa State University, has reported in favor of the appointment as Director of University Extension of some member of the University faculty. His duty shall be to prepare a plan of Extension courses, to give the necessary information in regard to the work, and to stimulate the formation of centres throughout the State. A very successfiil centre of the American Society has been established at Reading, Pa. The first course chosen is one on Political Economy by Mr. Edward T. Devine, fellow of the University of Pennsylvania. The first lecture was given on Tuesday evening, November 3d. Over three hundred course tickets have been sold, and such success attained as to insure succeeding courses. 163 164 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The attention of all interested in the subject of University Extension is directed to the opening article in the November issue of the Popular Science Monthly. It is by Professor C. Hanford Henderson, who, it is worthy of notice, was the first lecturer under the University Extension system in Phila- delphia. Reprints of the article, have been ordered by the Society and a copy may be obtained by application, inclosing ten cents, to the General OiKces. it has been decided by the Executive Committee of the American Society, to hold the Mid- Winter Conference on University Extension during the week following the holidays. A most interesting programme has been arranged for the occasion, and the presence of leading educators insures at once the pleasure and profit of the meeting. One of the most attractive features will be an address by Mr. Michael E. Sadler, Secretary of the Oxford Delegacy, whose lectures under the auspices of the Society have been already announced in these pages. A committee in Syracuse, N. Y., has taken charge of a course of twelve lectures on American History. Several of these are single lectures by such men as Andrew D. White, General Slocum, Professor Morey, of Rochester, and Professor Mace, of Syracuse; while Professor Wickes, of the Syracuse High School, is engaged for a series of five lectures. The Buffalo Library, where a course of lectures similar in nature to those of the University Exten- sion movement, was given some years since by Dr. E. W. Bemis, has now a course on- American History. The first Extension course in Louisville, Ky., was opened on October loth, by Professor O. B. Clark, of the University of Indiana, with a lecture on English Literature. This course is to alternate with one by President John M. Coulter, on Botany. Both courses are under the auspices of the Louisville Educational Association. Another centre has been formed by the Polytechnic Society of Kentucky, and it is proposed to offer at least four courses during the present season. The first lecturer is Dr. James Lewis Howe, and the subject of the course is chemistry. As foretold in the excellent article of President William Preston Johnston, of Tulane University, in the September issue of University Extension, the South is becoming rapidly conscious of the advantages offered by this movement. A course is soon to be opened in Nashville, Tenn., by Dr. E. W. Bemis, of Vanderbilt University, who offers six lectures on " The Economic Questions of the Day." Steps are being taken by those interested in the work to form a circuit in the State, and with the excellent higher institutions of Tennessee, this should certainly not be difiicult. One of the aims of the American Society has been from the first to enlist the warm support of the Universities for this movement. That this is being accomplished is apparent in a recent decision of the University of Kansas, NOTES. 165 which has so far sanctioned Extension courses as to oiTer under its seal certificates of courses and a diploma to all who satisfactorily complete nine "courses of twelve lectures each. To those who hold the degree of Bachelor of Arts from institutions of equal rank with itself, it offers on the same con- ditions as the preceding, the degree of Master of Arts. The Indianapolis Society of University Extension held a public meeting on the evening of October 24th. The programme included addresses on " The Origin and Growth of the Work in Great Britain," by Professor Alex- ander Smith, of Wabash College; and on "The Relation of the State University to University Extension," by President John M. Coulter. Repre- sentatives were present from DePauw and Butler Universities, and the public school system was represented by Superintendant Lewis H. Jones, in a paper entitled, " What University Extension may do for our City." The progress of University Extension in foreign countries finds its latest phase in the proposal of leading Englishmen to introduce the system into the Cape Colony. Canada has taken up the matter with zeal and centres have already been established in Nova Scotia. On the evening of November 5th, there was held a mass meeting in the city of Toronto, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, which was addressed by President Edmund J. James, of the American Society. Action has already been taken by the ■corporation of Trinity University by sanctioning a course of lectures on His- tory and another on Literature, in connection with St. Helen's College. On the evening of October 27th, the Third Annual Meeting of the Con- gregational Conference of Eastern Michigan was held in the City of Detroit. The session was devoted to the consideration of University Extension, the leading address being by President James B. Angell of the University of Mich- igan. Dr. Angell gave a careful review of the development of the movement, indicating what might fairly be expected from it, and noticing in some detail the differences between the conditions in England and America, respecting the work. He was followed by Prof. M. L. D'Ooge, who analyzed the difterent elements of its system of instruction, and showed the rapid progress it has made both in England and in the United States. The subject of University Extension is attracting great attention from the teachers of the country. It occupies a leading position on the programmes of the State Teachers' Associations of several States and will be discussed at most of the County Institutes during this fall. On Friday morning, October 30th, it was presented before the forty-seventh annual meeting of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, at Providence, by Mr. George F. James, of the American Society. He was followed by Professor Wilfred Munro, of Brown University, who discussed the prospects of the work in Rhode Island. During the same week, an address was made before the Alumni Association of the Providence Normal School by Miss Ida M. Gardner, of Philadelphia. 1 66 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. On the evening of October 24th, a large number of the representative citizens of Chester, Pa., met at Holly Tree Hall for the purpose of instituting a centre erf the American Society. Professor George Gilbert, of Chester Academy, presided. President Charles DeGarmo, of Swarthniore College, presented in clear forcible language the fundamental ideas of the movement. The details of the system of Extension teaching were outlined by Mr. George F. James, of Philadelphia. A local society was formed with the leading educators and the most prominent citizens on the committee. It was decided to have the first course of lectures on the subject of American Literature, and Professor Albert H. Smyth, of the Central High School, of Philadelphia, was. chosen as lecturer. A large meeting was held in the Young Men's Christian Association Hall of Scranton, on the evening of October 8th. Representative citizens were present from Honesdale, Carbondale, Pittston, and other neighboring places, to consider the feasibility of joining with Scranton to form the first circuit of the American Society. An address was made by Mr. George F. James, Lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania. Such interest was mani- fested in the work, that an executive committee of which Mr. Wm. J. Hand, Jr , President of the Y. M. C. A., of Scranton, is a member, was formed, and it was determined to invite the co-operation of Wilkesbarre and the towns already mentioned. Since that time gratifying progress has been made, and it is certain that the first course, probably on English Literature, will soon be opened. Among the most- interesting features of the World's Columbian Exposi- tion will be the meetings of many different educational bodies and learned societies. There has been established a department of management, called the Congress Auxiliary, of which Mr. C. C. Bonney is President. It haa seemed to many interested in the movement of University Extension that such an occasion should not be neglected for an inlernational conference on the movement at which representatives from the different European countries, and from all parts of the United States and Canada, where this work has been inaugurated, shall be present and all its phases fairly considered in the light of the experiences under widely differing conditions. Arrangements are accord- ingly being made by the American Society, and the necessary dates for the meeting are being arranged with the committee having such Congresses in charge. In reference to University Extension in Austria, Mr. John Quincy Adams, writes from Vienna of the beginning of the work in that city : "The People's Educational Union of Vienna and vicinity is a branch of the Central Union, founded at Krems in 1885. The object of this Union as stated in its by-laws is : (a) The establishment and maintaining of people's libraries and free reading rooms, (b) To provide free popular lectures on all NOTES. 167 branches of knowledge which can ennoble the people, (c) To publish and distribute printed matter which will serve to educate the people. "The money necessary to accomplish these ends is raised by endow- ments, membership fees, gifts, etc. The members are divided into three grades ; regular members who pay an annual fee of twenty cents ; supporters who pay an annual fee of forty cents or more, and founders who pay into the treasury not less than twenty dollars at one time. The rights and privileges of the three grades are the same except the first two must pay twenty cents a' year for the official organ called the People's Educational Journal, which is published monthly. The lectures are given by the educated men of Vienna, very many of the University professors devoting considerable time to this work. During the first years the lectures were on all sorts of subjects and were not systematized, but last year the Union began regular courses, and this coming year it is talking of elementary examinations at the end of each course. The lectures are given on Sunday afternoons at the same hour in the different wards of the city. Last year there were two hundred and twenty-five (225) lectures delivered, which was a gain of fifty per cent, on the number delivered the preceding year. These two hundred and twenty-five were given on twenty successive Sundays and were attended by forty thousand (40,000) listeners. In order to attend these lectures a person must simply sign his name to a slip of paper before the course begins; this he hands to the committee in his ward and he is then given a ticket of admission. Of course the ticket costs nothing. " They have at present libraries located in different wards. Together the ' libraries contain twelve hundred volumes, (a gain of thirty-five per cent, on 1889), and the reading-rooms, one hundred and fifteen (HS) newspapers and magazines, (a gain of twenty-seven per cent.) The total expenses for 1890 were four thousand five hundred dollars (84,500). Last year they asked the parliament for a gift of $425. Thougn it was not given, it created quite -A discussion, which made for the Union many friends who think it quite certain that in the coming session of parliament a donation will be voted it." An interesting attempt is being made at the present time in New York to extend the good results that have been so far attained by the Neighborhood , Guild in the tenement portion of the city. For this purpose there has been formed the University, Settlement, of which Mr. Joseph B. Gilder, of the Critic, is Secretary. It is proposed to establish settlements in various parts of the city, modeled on the Neighborhood juild, which is itself to become the first of these settlements. Here there will be resident workers endeavoring to make each settlem^t the town-hall and club house of its particular locality — the place where the people of the neighborhood may come together for social purposes, lectures, concerts, etc. — where Suual clubs and educational classes may meet. In every instance where the experiment has been tried, whether as hall guild or settlement, excellent results have been accomplished, and it 1 68 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. has been demonstrated that educated men and women, living and working among the poor, associating with them as equals, but introducing into the tene- ment-house all that trained intelligence and friendly sympathy can give, can make themselves a most efScient means of bettering and elevating the mental, moral and physical condition of the people. In this country, as in England, many have recognized, as Arnold Toyn- bee did, the fact that a vast number of our people live in such a way as to make materialism and fanaticism almost inevitable among them ; and, seeing this, have labored to understand the sources of the evil, in the hope of successfully combating it, and raising the people to a higher level of civilization. As a field for social and economic study — as a social experiment station, so to speak — a centre of work for college men in the tenement districts bears the same relation to Political Economy and Social Science that the hospital bears to medicine, or field work to the study of engineering. This belief led to th6 founding of Toynbee Hall, whose buildings and whose atmosphere re- mind one of Oxford or Cambridge, where the opinion that made Toynbee came into being. Here men live for study and improvement of themselves and their fellow-men, and while enjoying much that has made their college days, perhaps, the best of their lives, do earnest, practical work under the incentive of association with others of like interests. Each man has his own rooms, and there is a common room for intercourse and society. The University Settlement Society, following the plan successfully adopted by the Women's College Settlement Society, will consist of a council made up of representatives of colleges having a membership in the Society and of non- collegians ; of the usual officers ; and of an Executive Committee, appointed by the Managers, in charge of each settlement. It is proposed that college men shall retain the control pf the Society, although its membership and man- agement will not be limited to collegians. The dues oi undergraduates shall be one dollar per annum, and of graduates and others, five dollars per annum. The Council will determine when and where settlements shall be estab- lished, exercise a general supemsion over them when in operation, and raise the necessary funds. Each settlement will be under the direction of an Ex- ecutive Committee, composed principally of resident workers, of whom there should be from three to eight in each settlement, one of whom should be a permanent resident, devoting his whole time to the work ; while the others should remain in residence for periods of three months or more, and devote a portion of their time to the work, giving their services and paying board not ex- ceeding five dollars per week. The experience of the Neighborhood Guild goes to show that there are many desirous of undertaking such work, and there is reason to believe that, among the number of men coming to New York to study professions, a sufficient supply of workers can be found to whom a " University Settlement" will offer attractions as a place of residence, a field for work and an opportunity for the study of social and political problems. University Extension. THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE. ^he National Conference on University Extension which ^^ opens its sessions at Association Hall, in Philadelphia, on Tuesday evening, December 29th, of this year, marks a new era, not only in the movement for the Extension of University Teaching, but in higher education in this country. It is not only the first general meeting devoted to this sub- ject alone which has ever been held in the United States, but the programme adopted serves to show that a stage has been reached in the progress of the work which few even of the warmest adherents of the movement expected would come so soon. It is evident from the questions to be dis- cussed that the callers of this meeting regard the move- ment as finally beyond its initial stages on this side of the water. ^ It is no longer a question of. What is University Ex- tension ? Is University Extension adapted to the wants of this country? Can it be introduced here? These ques- tions have b(een answered within the last year in an aiiSrma- tive manner from Maine to California. In nearly every State of the Union a new impetus in affairs of higher edu- cation has come from the agitation of the University Extension question, and all over the country, at widely sep- arated places and in many different forms, University Exten- sion work is now being done. The initial work is over, the second stage is entered, and this fact is reflected at every I/O UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. point in the preparations for the National Conference. There is no longer doubt of the fact that the movement will continue to spread and that much time and money and effort will be spent in its prosecution. The practical questions now come to the front : How can the work be carried on in the most effective manner ? How can the educational opportunities be most effectively utilized ? How can University Exten- sion be made permanent ? Four classes of people ought to be interested in this Conference. First. — The college and university presidents of the country, together with the other leading and directing col- lege authorities. Our higher institutions must take a posi- tive and definite stand toward the whole matter and assist directly or indirectly at every point. It is not merely the great institutions, either, for only a small portion of the possible good which lies in this movement can be accom- plished if the medium-sized and small colleges scattered throughout the country shall take a hostile or even negative attitude toward it. At the same time the whole question of the relation of the higher institutions of learn- ing toward the movement is beset with difficulties. Our American colleges are poorly endowed. They have few professors ^nd are over-burdened with work as it is. It is not by any means an easy question how they shall actively aid in this movement without at the same time interfering with the work they now have and for which they have been specially established. The attitude of the controlling authorities will determine to a large extent the participation of the members of the faculties in the work. To how large an extent they can afford to permit this will be a prominent subject of discussion at this meeting. The heads of some of the largest institutions have the idea that only large in- stitutions should share in the work, because only they can do it successfully. Happy the institution which can spend THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE. I7I ten or twenty thousand dollars per year in this work. It- can accomplish great good, and its work should receive full appreciation. On the other hand, this is a great country. No one institution, or two, or half a dozen of them, even though they be the greatest, can undertake to do this work alone ; for two results would come from such an attempt. The work would not be adequately done on the one hand ; for no such group of institutions is equal to the task of covering this enormous country, and, on the other hand, such a limitation would mean the weakening of the small institutions scattered all over the country, to the great detri- ment of the general educational interest. The subject is thus beset with difficulties and it will need the hearty co- operation of all our best educational men to solve the problem. Second. — Our present college professors who are in full vigor and who may be inclined to assist in the actual work of University Extension teaching to such an extent as their time and strength permits, should be interested in this convention. University Extension teaching is of a peculiar nature. Not all college men will succeed in it ; not even all successful college men will do so. The dangers which the University Extension lecturer meets is either that he does the same thing as he does in a college class — which means failure along the whole line — or he makes simply a popular lecture such as many college men get up for lecture bureaus, in which case it becomes simply another form of the lyceum. Now how to steer between the Scylla and Charybdis of these two things requires skill and thought. At this Conference the question as to what is necessary to make a successful lecturer will be discussed. To make a success of this work it will be necessary to have the help as far as possible of mature men. Several attempts at University Extension work in this country have already gone to pieces on this rock. In some places the experi- 1/2 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ment was made of sending out students who were still in the first stages of graduate work and trying the effect of having them retail the lectures they were hearing in the University. AH such attempts have turned out failures, and rightly so. It is little less than an insult to a mature audience of men and women to turn loose upon them a callow stripling, who shows at every point that the matter he is giving them is really not his own, that he has not really assimilated the food which he has been consuming. The audience resents such treatment and soon deserts the hall. If University Extension work is to be a success it must be done by mature men, even if they be young. Third. — A third class of men who should be interested in this Conference, is composed of those young men who are looking forward to do some work as teachers in this line. After all the help is obtained from college professors which we can get, there will remain a large field which can- not be occupied unless we train our men for it. We must get young and promising men who have completed their special studies and have attained a certain maturity of mind and thought to interest themselves in this work and take it up as a serious business. It is perfectly plain already that there is in this field an opportunity for large numbers of young men if they will only properly prepare themselves for it. It is a new career which will present attractions of its own, and even if one does not choose to remain in it, it will soon be evident that it offers one of the shortest roads to a college professorship. One of the great defects in our present college and university system in this country is to be found in the fact that there is no recognized road to an academic career. Even if a man has prepared himself, by years of careful and special study to undertake college or university work along special lines, he may find it neces- sary to take up for an indefinite period other lines of work for which he has no fitness, or to begin as a drill master in THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE. I73 some lower school where he slaves away his life and loses some of his best years before he finds what he wants. In this field there is a chance to begin, even if in a modest way with the special subject for which he has prepared himself and stick at it until he has succeeded in making an im- pression on the public, when he is very sure to receive a call to a permanent position. But work 'in this line calls for special aptitude and special training. The discussion of these questions at Philadelphia will undoubtedly help many a one to set himself right in regard to the whole movement. Fourth. — A fourth class which should be interested in this work is the layman in education, the public-spirited citi- zen whose only interest is in helping on the great work of education. It is already evident that we have here a field in which the opportunities for usefulness are boundless, a field in which a little effort and a little money can produce astonishing results. The man or woman who is interested in knowing how and where to work to the best advantage in education will learn many things from this Conference. Many lay- men have become already interested in this undertaking and are often puzzled to know how they can do their part. This will also be discussed at the Conference. University Extension work can be carried on successfully only if the public co-operates heartily with the aplleges and universi- ties. How it can do this in the most effective manner will be a prominent subject of debate. Every person interested in popular education, then, will find something here in which he will be interested and from which he will profit. City Superintendents, State Superintendents of Instruction, the Managers of the educa- tional work of the Young Men's Christian Associations, College Professors, candidates for college professorships. College Presidents and College Trustees, Members of Local Committees, and Lecturers will all find a hearty welcome 174 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. and may all contribute something to the discussion and elucidation of this great subject. All present indications point to the largest assembly of college and university men ever held in this country, while from every quarter come assurances on the part of all in- terested in education of a hearty sympathy in the meeting and a determination to be present if possible. A cordial invitation is hereby extended to every one interested in education to attend the Conference. THE SHAM AND THE REAL IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. /©MERiCAN education, like American life, is obliged to con- J^ tend against the superficial and the counterfeit. The newness and the swiftness of American life and of American education are opposed to thoroughness. " Short cuts " in education are common. University Extension as a move- ment in American life already meets with the temptation of the superficial and of the sham. Each one interested in this movement is also interested in lessening or doing away with this evil allurement. In the removal of this temptation toward the counterfeit in University Extension it would be of advantage : First, to choose instructors who are conspicuous them- selves for thoroughness in method and worth in achieve- ment. There are instructors who are conspicuous for thor- oughness, and there are also instructors who are conspicu- ous for the rapidity of their work and for the extent of the ground of each subject which they cover. In instructors who are eminent for thoroughness, a peculiar quality of good teaching is prominent ; it is the quality of explaining. It is the function of the teacher to explain. Among instructors who are eminent for rapidity of progress in the study of a subject, the element that makes the orator is conspicuous — inspiration. The orator is fitted to inspire. He may or may not represent a higher order of merit than that em- bodied in the teacher, but the element that makes the orator is not an element favorable to thorougness of scholarly work. The classes of such a teacher may be larger, the enthusiasm he inspires greater, — elements which are of great worth. But these elements are so accompanied by the 176 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. peril of extreme superficiality that in University Extension they should be, I shall not say eliminated, but accompanied by corrective principles. The genuine in University Extension is also promoted by encouraging those students to enroll themselves who have a natural aptitude for thorough work. Such students give tone to a class. Even a single student of large ability will become of great worth to a class of a score of persons. Such a student of thoroughness will help to do away with the impression prevailing in some popular methods of edu- cation that this method gives as " 'good an education as a regular college course." One is chagrined by hearing a third- rate man or woman who has. had a fourth-rate education through one of these popular methods affirm, " Yes, I have not been to college, but I have got what is just as good as a college course. " The willingness to make such an affirma- tion proves that one has no proper conception of what a college course is. University Extension and every method for making higher education available to the people has its value, but its value does not approach the value of four years spent in a worthy college. Again, the real in University Extension is promoted by ' encouraging students to do the severer work of each course and also to elect the severer courses. It is evident enough that certain courses represent harder work than other courses ; the courses in constitutional history are more difficult than those in ordinary political history. It is also evident that certain phases of study are easier than certain other phases. A student may be content with the picturesque features ; such contentment has its value. But such contentment is not of value so great as that which is found in the mastery of principles, and the understanding of the worth of these principles as they are applied. Let each student be encouraged to do the severer work. For this purpose let him be encouraged to read well upon the THE SHAM AND THE REAL. 1 77 subject he studies, and ^Iso to submit himself to all exami- nations. He is, of course, his own master in a degree which the ordinary college student cannot enjoy. Let him be to himself a master more severe, stricter than a college profes- sor feels he ought to be to a student. The fourth suggestion which I would make for the pro- motion of the real and for the elimination of the sham in University Extension is careful discrimination as to tlie giv- ing of certificates. Let the certificates be exact in their statement, indicating precisely what the student has done, no more, no less; and also, so far as possible, the method by which he has received this training be made known. Let the certificate be absolutely truthful. Furthermore, let the certificate be of a character in size and printing suggestive that it is not a diploma. Some of those who take courses in University Extension will be inclined to think that a certifi- cate having the same number of square inches as a college sheepskin is as precious. Let us give no ground for such a false judgment. Let those who are responsible for the preparation and presentation of such certificates be more eager to encourage the students receiving these certificates to do further advanced work than to be content with work already done. CHARLES F. THWING. President's Office, Adelbert College, Cleveland, November, i8qi. INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY EXTENSION STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. .^The first of a series of lessons on Political Economy will appear in the January number of this journal. The present paper, and one which appeared in the November number, are introductory to the series, and are intended to present (i) certain preliminary distinctions, and (2) certain helpful practical suggestions. Copies of the November number can be obtained by addressing University Extension, 1602 Chestnut Street Philadelphia. PRELIMINARY DISTINCTIONS. Individual and Social. — Among the most important of -*■ the distinctions of which the student should De con- scious, is that between the individualistic and the social ■conceptions of the human race, and of the particular com- munities which are the object of his study. Just as the -origin of political rights may be traced either to society or to the individual as the starting point, but not to both, so the answer which the economist will give to innumerable ^questions will vary, and the arguments with which he will support the conclusions which he holds in common with those of the opposing school, will vary in accordance with the conception of society which he has placed at the basis of his economic system. In illustration of the distinction,* it may be inquired : Whether it is society or the individual which inherits such productive agencies as accumulated wealth, natural resources and scientific knowledge ; whether or not they should be employed so as to promote the prosperity of a particular political society ; whether the distribution of wealth should be such as will, on the whole, increase the degree and quantity of pleasure, or should conform to universal laws calculated only to secure to EXTENSION STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. 1 79 the individual his " natural and inalienable rights," regard- less of the effect on the total production of wealth ; finally, whether the economic forces and tendencies can be con- trolled by society, even where it is admitted that society suffers loss through unrestricted individual action. It does not follow because one opposes the individual- istic view that he must become a practical communist or socialist. It is maintained, indeed, that the only logically adequate answer to the arguments of communists is made by those who base the right to private property on the power of society to give a valid title, and that the best answer to modern socialism is made by those who demon- strate that society enjoys more wealth and conserves its own best interests by vesting in individuals the control of its productive agencies. PRiJiiTiVE AND Normal. — It is unfortunate that writers on Political Economy have as a rule emphasized primitive industrial conditions, rather than normal condi- tions. The illustrations have been drawn from isolated and primitive life for the sake of simplicity, but it is doubtful if the apparent gain has been a real one. As a matter of fact, readers understand the industrial conditions with which they are familiar better than those drawn from situations which, though not complicated by intricate social relations, are yet so unreal and foreign to those who use the illustra- tions, as well as to those for whom they are intended, as to lose their chief value as illustrations. It is no uncommon thing, for instance, for the authors of German works on Economics — writing mainly for professors and students of their own universities — to cite the experience of Robinson Crusoe, or of a pioneer on the western prairies of America. But the more serious objection to this emphasis on primitive rather than normal conditions is that many of the elements which really modify or even determine the out- come, are entirely absent from the assumed isolated and l80 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. abnormal conditions. It is apparently the almost exclusive consideration of primitive rather than normal society which leads Carey to conclude that landlords receive as rent only a return for their actual costs, which leads Senior and others to state that interest is only a reward for abstinence, which leads Henry George to the position that the economic tendencies are forcing, the whole gain from improved pro- duction into the hands of the landlords. There are, doubt- less, conditions concerning which each of these proposi- tions could be successfully maintained, but they are not the normal, actually existing conditions. It should be empha- sized, therefore, that while it is profitable to study primitive industrial society, it is dangerous to base on the results of that study conclusions which are intended to apply to a normail industrial society. . Distribution and Production. — The distribution of wealth is vesy generally recognized by economists as a de- partment of the science entirely distinct from production. But much of what it would have been possible to accomplish in the study of production is sacrificed in the current text- books to the advantage of adopting such a classification of the productive agencies as will sustain a particular theory of distribution. It is evident that when capital is defined as "wealth in exchange," or as "that portion of the wealth of the community fr.om which its owners expect to derive an income," that no attempt has been made to define capital from its function, with reference to its agency in production, but that at the very beginning of the study the laws of dis- tribution have been allowed to overshadow those of pro- duction, and the study of the latter has been made only in- troductory to discussions on rent, wages, and interest. But it may be questioned whether the time has not come for a more careful and thorough study of production itself, of the various agencies which really enable one community to pro- duce more wealth than another. It may even be questioned EXTENSION STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. l8l whether the orthodox classification of these agencies, as land, labor, and capital, should not be discarded entirely, if by re- taining it we are compelled to have in mind certain shares in the product, as rent, wages, and interest, at a time when our attention should be given exclusively to the productive agencies. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. Use of Words. — If political economy possessed a strictly scientific nomenclature, as chemistry does, or if writers were always successful in holding strictly to the meanings which at the outset they assign to their term's, it would be un- necessary to caution the student to be continually on his guard in reading even the best authors, to interpret, when necessary, every important statement and definition into words of his own vocabulary. Those who give rigid defini- tions, to which they announce that they will adhere throughout, will probably need even more careful watching than those who use terms as nearly as possible in their ordi- nary meaning, trusting to the context, or to qualifying words and clauses to explain particular deviations.* Confusion will arise more frequently from the attempt to introduce definite boundary lines where none exist, than from the use of forms of expression in conformity with the meaning at- tached to them in other than economic discussions. Wide Reading. — That wide reading "is not so essential as careful reading, on any subject which it is desired to master, is a mere truism; but there are special reasons why the student of economics may safely avoid much that has been written on economic subjects. The contributions of many writers are not only utterly valueless in themselves, but they become positive obstacles, because of the fact that •See Marshall : Principles of Economics, Bk. II., ch. I.; Bagehot: Postulates of English Political Economy, p. 78. 1 82 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. the writers start from totally different assumptions, have widely different goals which they desire to reach, and adopt different and conflicting views of society — some em- phasizing exactly those agencies of which others deny the very existence. Nothing but confusion can come from indis- criminate reading in a field which is thus not only varied and intricate, but unpromising of any valuable result. But if he who wishes to secure a practical working knowledge of the results now obtainable from economic investigation, for whose benefit mainly these suggestions are made, will remain persistently and patiently in some one portion of the field until he understands it, will hold to one point of view — as for instance the economic rather than the political, the subjective rather than the objective, the social rather than the individualistic, the normal rather than the primi- tive, until from that point of view the chaos of industrial life has assumed an intelligible order and a definite plan,, the lines of which he is able to trace — he will have no cause to regret a temporary ignorance of opposing systems and their advantages. Difficulties. — And, finally, the difficulty of the study has been greatly exaggerated. Many who have tried to master the elements of the subject have begun in the wrong way and have become discouraged, because they did not immediately find the results which they expected. A science which inquires whether money is circulating in sufficient quantities in the community, whether the distri- bution of wealth is governed by one set of laws or another, whether the production of wealth which takes place on the farm, in the mine, in the factory, in the office, on the street^ in the school-room, in the kitchen, is as efficient as it ought to be, whether we are making the best use of the land and other natural resources, cannot be uninteresting ; but the nature of these problems may be concealed by the intro- duction of irrelevant matter and of rigid classification. While EXTENSION STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. 1 83 there are difficult problems in Political Economy — problems not yet solved by the most acute thinkers — the writer believes that there is an approach to those problems not more steep or intricate than that which leads to the great difficultiea of the best defined and correlated bodies of knowledge. «• . EDWARD T. DEVINE. THE ENGLISH MINERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ^he following letter, addressed to Miss Ida M. Gardner, ^^ Delegate of the American Society at the Oxford Summer Meeting, will be of interest to the readers of University Extension. It is written by an English miner, in reference to the influence of Extension work among his fellows. 24 North Terrace, Backworth, November g, iSqi. Dear Miss Gardner : It gives me very much pleasure to fulfill the promise I made to you when you visited Backworth, viz.: to write and give you such information of University Extension and educational work generally as would be likely to interest you. I do not know exactly what line you wish this corre- spondence to take, and until I know your wishes in the matter I will confine myself to giving more detailed answers to the questions which you put to me- during our interview. I could not but feel after I had fully considered your ques- tions, that my answers must have appeared to you very lame and unsatisfactory. Your unexpected visit, coupled with the short time at my disposal, must be my apology for what I am sure must have been an uninteresting interview. I think your first question was : " What is the effect of University Extension on the character of the workingman ?" I ought to explain at the outset that the Northumber- land miners as a body are distinctly in advance'of those of a similar class in other countries, in point of intelligence, and 184 THE ENGLISH MINERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. l8S also, though not to the same extent, in moral character. Their shorter hours of labour, and more favorable condi- tions of working, their interest in public affairs, which is evidenced by sending two men out of their own ranks as their representatives in the British House of Commons, their trades unions and friendly societies, which have earned for them the reputation of being the best organized body of men in the labor world, these are all so many proofs of enlight- ened public opinion as a result of superior intelligence. It will be easily understood, then, that Northumberland would certainly appear to be a likely place in which to plant University Extension work, and I take it that it was pre- cisely for that reason that it was brought among us. But it certainly has not succeeded to the extent anticipated, and I account for that in this way. A common opinion prevails that the work of a University Extension course is such as only the most intelligent can do, and is quite beyond the powers of an ordinary workman. The term " University," in England, has been so long associated with all that is highly intellectual, that it becomes a difficult task to con- vince the average workman that the work is such as comes within his capacity. Science to him represents an infinity of difficulties, and the higher literary studies seem unattain- able except to the sound scholar. We know how difficult it is to unseat pre-conception and prejudice, and I take it that this has been the main cause of the comparative non- success of University Extension work in this country. On its first introduction many centres were established, but these gradually collapsed, in the first place from want of students, and in the second from want of audiences. Back- worth, however, has stood the test of a long experience. We have had many difficulties, and much to discourage, but we have also had a good deal of help, and have thus always managed to keep the scheme afloat, and the general effect of it has been to raise the tone of the social life of 1 86 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. the community, and, in the case of the students, to distinctly raise the ideal of life. Our working students are, without exception, steady men, anxious in the pursuit of the pleas- ures of knowledge. Tastes have been refined, appearance improved, character elevated, and there has been a general acceptance of the dictum that " man does not live by bread alone." Taken altogether the effect of higher education has been to increase in a corresponding degree an intelligent conception of the duties and responsibilities of life. You then asked : " What is its effect upon the work- man as a workman ? Does it make him discontented ?" I certainly do not think so, unless a clearer conception of what is right and a legitimate ambition to secure it, are interpreted to mean discontent. The employer who would refuse assistance to University Extension on the ground that higher education makes the workman discontented, must be one who does not desire trade-disputes or social difficulties to be settled on lines of reason. My own experi- ence is, that the intelligent workman is always more amen- able to reason than his ignorant brother. If education, properly conceived and properly accepted, does anything for a man, it trains him to think, and particularly is this so with University Extension. The lecture, the exercise, and the competition work of his fellow-workman, all act as a stimulus to thought, and train it in exercise and applica- tion. The training he thus receives he carries into all the practical details of his daily work, and surely it is to the advantage of the employer, in any dispute that may arise, to deal with men who can think clearly, rather than, with men who cannot think, or that only in a small degree. It is the unthinking majority which too frequently precipitate dead-locks between employer and employed, while the men of intelligence are noticeable for their desire to avert such conflicts and to secure a settlement on a basis of reason, compatible with justice and their freedom as workmen. THE ENGLISH MINERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 1 87 As the education of the workingman is proceeding, he is coming more and more to see that a strike ought only to be the last resource instead of the first one ; and thus I think that by assisting to increase that education the em- ployer will undoubtedly pave the way to more peaceable times, and where disputes do arise he will at least have the advantage of dealing with intelligent and consequently more reasonable workmen. An intelligent workman will also do his work more intelligently, and that is an advantage to.the employer. Tact, ingenuity, and practical ability, are often a resultant of increased or superior intelligence, and these applied to work produce profit to both master and man; while the lack of these will have an opposite effect. The intelligent workman will also be able to distinguish between the inevitable and^ the avoidable, and this means good to the employer. The ignorant man will often seek to mend that wliich cannot be mended, and raise strife in his endeavors. The intelligent man will only apply himself to the redress of reasonable grievances, and thus secure success. I take it that the application of University Exten- sion, or any other educational work to the workingman, must result in increased reason being brought to bear upon labor problems, and a clearer conception of the relationship which must exist between capital and labor. Surely this kind of " discontent" cannot be a disadvantage to the employer with a fair sense of justice. Your third question was : " Do you ever get a thoroughly ignorant man interested in University Extension ? " In reply to this I may say that thorough ignorance is rather a misnomer in these days of Board schools and com- pulsory education. Twenty or thirty years ago, thoroughly ignorant men might be found in scores among the miners, but in this generation every miner's son has the opportunity of getting the elements of education, which he may or may not increase as he gets older. There is a sense, however, in 1 88 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. which your question may be understood as applying to the miners of to-day. A number of boys, after they leave school, and commence work at the mines, easily forget nearly all they have, learned, and only retain sufficient ability to write their name, or labor through the pages of a book. These, I think, although not thoroughly, may be termed ignorant men. I will, therefore, understand your question as applying to these. When I had the pleasure of seeing you at Backworth, I mentioned one or two that I thought might belong to that category. A better instance has, however, recently come under my notice. We are at present having a course of lectures on " The Problems of Life and Health," with special reference to sanitation. The subject is an interesting one, and has provoked a good deal of discussion. At the beginning of the lectures two of the miners, at the mine at which I work, bought two tickets for the course. One of them "I knew to be a very intelligent man, and he has supplied me with some interesting facts concerning his companion. He says that when he first knew him he was a disso- lute, degraded man, caring for nothing but drink, gambling, fighting and every other thing that belongs to an evil life. They lived near to each other, and occasionally had some conversation. By and by they took walks together, and questions of interest were discussed in a simple way. One by one he dropped off his evil habits and sought the society of his intelligent friend. He abandoned drink and devoted his money to the purchasing of books. He took every means that was likely to afford him information, and sought knowledge wherever it was to be found. And now he is a student at the present course of lectures, and has already earned first-class marks for his exercises. This I think is a typical instance of what you require, and when I tell you that this man travels a distance of over five miles every Saturday evening in order to attend the lectures, and often THE ENGLISH MINERS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 1 89 does his exercises after a hard day's work at the mine, you will readily understand how keeii is the interest which has been aroused. I have answered three of your questions, at such length that I am afraid it will sorely tax your patience to read more. I will, therefore, reserve the other two questions until I write again. I am glad to tell you that our " Classical Novel Read- ing Union " continues to prosper in both interest and num- bers. It was received with some suspicion at first, but this is gradually dying away, and it is accomplishing the object for which it was started, viz. : to introduce the best class of fiction into a neighborhood where it was comparatively unknown. At present we are engaged on George Eliot's " Romola," a book of surpassing interest. Mr. Moulton commenced a series of six lectures, on "The Literary Study of the Bible," at New-Castle-on-Tyne, on Monday evening, November 9th. I was present at the lecture, which was listened to by an' immense audience. The course promises to be a great success. With many thanks for your kindness in sending me the books, I am. Madam, yours respectfully, JOHN U. BARROW. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION COLLEGES. ^T may seem a bold thing to prophesy of the future of ^ Extension Teaching in the United States in view of the brief test that it has had so far. To many it will seem in view of the large number of small, ill-endowed colleges in this country, a still bolder thing to prophesy good from an. increase of these in any form. Progress is rapid, how- ever, in America and already the first instinctive impulse resulting from Extension Teaching has been felt in more than one town in the direction of a local college. Assur- -ances- have been given by wealthy men in several places that whatever funds are necessary for increased educational advantages in the form of local endowment, will not lie -lacking. What can be said, then, for the local college in a •country where complaints of the existing number are so 4-ife? In the first place it should be remarked that we have not too many colleges, but that those we have are attempt- ing in most instances too ambitious plans of work, and are on the other hand too ill-endowed for the work which falls -within their natural sphere. The aim and end of education "both ideally and practically is to realize latent power. Can it be said that we have too many colleges when in scores of towns are hundreds of young men and women naturally fitted for much better work than they are doing, or with the ■earnest desire to fill better their present positions and lack- ing only the development which instruction in a few chosen branches pursued by liberalizing methods would give? Who can measure the intellectual force that is at present ■wasted through a lack of organized opportunities for its UNIVERSITY EXTENSION COLLEGES. ipi concentration and application ? How much undeveloped power is lost to each generation through our defective system of education will only be dimly suspected by future ages, wise enough to see in improved methods of instruction the greatest cause of present prosperity. This question of the needs of the smaller cities and towns, remote from intellectual centres, and of the possibility of their satisfaction through a development of Extension Teaching in the form of local colleges is the burning topic ■of the day in England. In reference to it Mr. M. E. Sadler "writes : " At present the chief flaws in University Extension ■work are the want of sequence in the subjects of courses ; the intermittent character of the influence of the teaching on the students ; and, in the choice of studies, the sacrifice ■of the needs and wishes of advanced pupils to the con- stantly changing fancies of the public, on whose support the local organizing committees are compelled very largely to rely. These defects are mainly due to want of money. Every year the local committees do something to remedy them, but, so long as' University Extension Teaching chiefly ■depends on the sale of lecture-tickets to the general public, the local organizers will be more or less obliged to avoid those subjects which are not popular enough to pay their own way. Financial reasons thus strike out of the ordinary programme of University Extension Teaching such subjects as Ancient History, Classical and Foreign Literature, Logic, Philosophy, advanced Political Economy, Constitutional History, and Mathematics. Nor, at present can the local organizers afford, except in special cases, to have teaching .all the year round ; they can only afford, say, two courses of twelve lectures — or even less — in a year. But this is not enough either for the student who is doing advanced work .and needs constant help, or for the less promising pupil, 192 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. who loses heart and zeal if the stimulus of the teacher and the influence of his fellow-students are suddenly removed at the end of the course, and not constantly maintained. It is very disappointing, too, for the best students to be compelled to take a different subject almost every term, because the less cultivated part of the audience demands incessant variety. Much has recently been done to arrange the courses in a more educational sequence, and there is clear proof that in each centre, a number of students desire such sequence. But they are too few in number — and likely to remain too few — to be able to afford to carry out their wishes. The aim of University Extension is to bring University teaching within the reach of persons who cannot them- selves come up to the University. At present we have brought courses by University men within the reach of such persons, but we have not succeeded (or have only very rarely succeeded) in establishing a curriculum as thorough, progressive, and systematic as we are accustomed to find in a local University College. All those who have seen the working of University Extension are agreed that the courses which have been already delivered have done a very great deal of good in awakening intellectual interests and in stimulating promising pupils to attempt serious study. But there remains a great deal more to be done. We have to carry on the work to a much higher point than it has been possible for it yet to reach. The ground has been broken, public interest has been aroused, in each of three hundred towns a nucleus of students has been formed. The next step should be to help the real students, while still maintaining the courses which have already succeeded in making so many real students out of loungers or idlers. There are, probably, in any town of twenty thousand inhabitants at any one time, about fifty or sixty young UNIVERSITY EXTENSION COLLEGES. I93 people who, by one cause or another, are debarred fronrr University life, but would like to make a serious study of one or more subjects under the guidance of University teachers. That is to say, if there were weekly lectures in History, Literature, Classics, Mathematics, and Natural Science, about ten students would undertake a systematic course of reading in each subject, and would persevere iiR it for two or three years. At present, in an ordinary town,, these students are deprived of almost every opportunity of. systematic study. There is no one with leisure to teacht them — possibly no one is even competent to do so. There is no students' library for them to use ; there is no building where they can meet and receive instruction. For such people as these, twelve or twenty-four lectures a year on various subjects are indeed better than nothing, but still utterly inadequate. The lectures may not be ore the subject which they are studying. The lecturer may be able to give sympathy but not advice. And yet, this small handful of people are worth taking trouble for. They are probably the pick of the town. In future years they will probably become its most influential inhabitants. It is very important, therefore, that, while young, they should be brought under the best possible influences, and not be stinted in educational opportunities.. As it is, some of them lose heart and interest in intellectual matters, others drift off into dilettantism." To those who have followed the progress of University- Extension in America, it is clear that this presentation of English conditions applies equally to our own country. The solution that has been proposed for this problem must be then of ever increasing interest to us as the system of Extension Teaching is more widely adopted. This solution, embraces the idea of the securing by four or five towns. of the entire time of as many lecturers, of the planning and carrying out of a continuous course in each of the more 13 194 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. important branches of the modern college curriculum, of establishing in a word a floating Extension college, which shall give to the young men and women of the various towns as systematic and thorough instruction, although in fewer subjects, as their more fortunate companions gain in the distant institutions which they are free to attend. It will be readily seen that this is in essence only a fuller development of the " circuit " idea which has already become a successful feature of University Extension in the United States.* There are four towns in Pennsylvania, which have united in securing the services of a lecturer of the American Society, who is now delivering the same course on successive nights in the different places. At least, one additional circuit will be formed in the same State after the Christmas holidays and others are planned in various parts of the country. At present, there is no guarantee that in any circuit the same subject ^vill be chosen for successive courses and no certainty that any young man or woman will have the opportunity of pursuing a special line of study in connection with Extension lectures for more than the six or twelve weeks of a single course. If, however, the lecturer were engaged by the towns for the entire college year of thirty-six or forty weeks and not one lecturer alone, but four or five in different subjects, it would be perfectly feasible to institute well-correlated courses, representing the sequence of a college curriculum and we should have immediately as the natural outgrowth of the circuit the University Extension College. It need hardly be said that such an institution would be no rival of our present colleges, for the very name indicates its appeal and offer of advantages •only to those engaged in the active work of life or hindered for any reason from leaving their homes, and in the nature of the case there could be no thought of establishing an *C/. University Extension, September, p. 94. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION COLLEGES. I95 Extension College save in towns remote from existing foundations. The cost of such a proposed college need not be more than ;?3000 yearly for each of the four towns entering into the arrangement. Four men could be chosen from the list of successful Extension lecturers and obtained for, say, ■^2000 apiece. Local expenses, such as hall-rent, light, fuel and printing should be cut down to a minimum at first. Apparatus, libraries and the other needs of the work could be gradually procured as necessity arose and opportunity allowed. No single town need be bound by the others in the matter of expense, aside from the lecturers' salaries, but naturally, a generous and salutary rivalry would spring up, leading to more and more liberal support of the work and probably to ultimate endowment in buildings and funds. From what has been already said it may be plainly seen that in the strict, money sense of the word, all this will not " pay." Higher and even secondary education has never paid in any country or any age. Americans are fortunately coming to see, however, as early as any people that in a far higher sense education of every grade yields the best returns of any investment and a thousand proofs of this confront us on every hand in concrete form. There is no town of twenty thousand inhabitants in the United States where it should be impossible or difficult to raise the necessary amount for an Extension College, if only it is undertaken in the right way. The logic of events points so irrefutably in this direction that one cannot doubt the early establish- ment of many such institutions, owing their origin to the present great wave of popular sympathy with lofty educa- tional ideals and true educational methods. HENRY W. CORTLAND. Waihington, November, tSgi- NOTES. Professor Judson of the University of Minnesota lectured on University- Extension in Duluth, on November 13th and assisted in the organization of a. local centre. Since our last issue new centres have been established under the auspicesi^ of the American society near Philadelphia, in Chester Springs, Laiighome,, Phoenixville and North Wales. The first University Extension lecture was delivered in Chicago om November 19th, by Dr. James Albert Woodbum of the University of Indiana. Dr. Woodbum is also lecturing on American History, in the city of Indian- apolis. From Rhode Island and Connecticut the idea of University Extension is spreading northward in New England. The interest of President Gates, of Amherst, in this movement is well known, and now Bowdoin College has re- solved to offer Extension courses by its professors. Attention is called to the interesting article of President Thwing of Western Reserve University in this issue of University Extension. Presi- dent Thwing is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Society- and is now organizing a branch of the Society in the city of Cleveland. The course of Prof. L. I. Blake of the Kansas State University, is being- largely attended in Topeka. Prof. Blake is also lecturing in Kansas City» where another popular course is being delivered by Professor F. W. Blackmar- A course in English Literature is to be commenced shortly by Prof. C. G- Dunlap. President R. H. Jesse gave an address before the Kansas City Society for- University Extension on November l8th. He expressed his firm belief in ihe- great advantages of the system, and said that his own institution would do its. utmost to fullfil its duty toward the people of the State, by enthusiastic support, of the movement. A centre of the American Society was formed, on November 6th, ii». Columbia, Pa. Hon. H. N. North was chosen President, Dr. H. Mifflin Vice- President, Miss Mary Welsh Secretary, and Mr. A. C. Brunner Treasurer. It was decided to have the beginning course on Literature and a guarantee fimdi of seventy-five dollars was subscribed. On November l6th a meeting was held in Ottawa, Canada, to consider the adoption of the University Extension system. Among those present were- Lord Stanley and Lord Kilcoursie, Sir James Grant and the leading educators. 196 NOTES. 197 «f the city. The discussions of the evening led to the establishment of a centre and Prof. Cappin was chosen to deliver the first course. The first circular of the Extension Department of the University of the State of New York has been issued from Albany, The substance of the ' =* OF moods all plant and animal life; it acts indirectly CLIMATE. ^^ ^YiQ production of commodities in its influence on human energy and industrial activity. In_ this chapter * A special science, agricultural chemistry, is occupied largely with an in- vestigation of the methods by which the fertility of soils may be systematically increased. For the large benefits which agriculture has received ftom chemistry see reports of Professor Johnson, of Yale College, Director of Connecticut Agricultural Station ; and the paper by Professor Atwater, to which reference has been made above. I The vegetable mould is technically termed Humus, and though not the chief source of fertility, as was formerly supposed, is still an important con- stituent of the soil. t The presence of clay tends to make the soil moist and tenacious, ob- structs the circulation of air in the soil and renders cultivation difficult. Sand, on the contrary, makes the soil dry, loose, and easy of cultiVatioii : v. d. Goltz in Schonberg's Handbuch, Vol. I, p. 29. 228 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. we are concerned only with the former, but it should be pointed out that climate which is most favorable to the natural preservation and increase of plant products may sometimes have a most unfavorable effect on man's energy, so that the total result may be a balance of these two effects instead of their sum. Countries which have a warm or temperate climate possess great advantages over colder regions, in the variety DIFFERENCES ^"'^ cxtcnt of the provisions made by nature IN for the immediate supply of man's wants. Even for the vegetation of the Temperate Zone a mixed climate, with relatively mild winters and warm, sunny summers, furnishes the best conditions.* In com- paring climates, however, from the economist's standpoint, much besides temperature must be • considered. The humidity of the atmosphere, the rainfall, the direction of prevailing winds and whether they are laden with moisture, the frequency and violence of storms, and the possibility of predicting their occurrence ; even the liability to earthquake, volcanic eruptions and magnetic disturbance, may be con- sidered in connection with climatic conditions. Differences in climate are caused by differences in distance from the equator and in altitude ; in proximity to the sea and to great forests; in ocean and atmospheric currents ; and in the situation with reference to mountain ranges, plateaus, and plains. The difference between an insular and an inland continental climate is very obvious. f * See a short but exhaustive study of this question, by M. Bergsman, in Nature. Vol. XXX, p. 392. •(■ While in green Ireland the Myrtle grows in the open air, as in Portugal, without having to dread the Cold of winter, the summer sun of this same climate does not succeed in perfectly ripei)ing the plums and pears, which grow very well in the same latitude on the continent. Guyot : The Earth and Man. ECONOMICS. 229 A somewhat slipilar effect is observed between a locality well-wooded and one which has been stripped of its trees.* The student of economics will have much to learn from meteorology, for on the atmosphere and its changes depend the development of plant and animal life, the currents and the navigation of the ocean, and the formation of soils by the disintegration and erosion of rocks. EDWARD T. DEVINE. [The writer would be glad to receive from any source further illustrations, suggestions or opinions, bearing on the subjects discussed in these lessons.] * Science has demonstrated to the satisfaction of all rational and semi-rational beings — ^including some very conservative rulers of Western Europe — ^that an animal flayed, or a tree stripped of its bark, does not perish more surely than a land deprived of its trees. F. L. Oswald, M. D., in Popular Science Monthly, Vol XI, p. 385. The effect on temperature and humidity of removing the forests recklessly, while Important, does not represent the chief loss sustained, which lies rather in the effect on the power of the soil to ret^n moisture. THE IDEAL SYLLABUS.* ^^HE aim of the University Extension lecturer is not so ^ much to instruct his hearers directly, as to stimulate them to independent study .of their own. His work is largely a failure if he does not lead them to think for them- selves, and moreover to think thoroughly. In writing the lectures therefore, in conducting the class, in criticising the weekly papers, the thing that he must especially have in mind is the necessity of developing thoroughness and inde- pendence. And, of course, this holds good of the making of the syllabus as well. It likewise must be con- structed with careful reference to these two results. Consequently it may be said that the best syllabus is the one which makes thorough study seem desirable and easy, and so tempts the Extension student to undertake it ; but which refrains, on the other hand, from guiding his steps with such great care that he shall have nothing to do but follow, and so shall lose all independence of judgment. Permit me to take up these two considerations some- what in detail. And first the question of thoroughness. What must the syllabus comprise, if it is to help the stu- dent to do thorough work ? For one thing, of course, it must give him full and accurate information in regard to the best books on the subject in hand. This information, moreover, must be well-ordered, discriminative. I cannot think that a mere list of titles can ever be sufficient. The student should be told plainly what works are abso- * Paper read at the National Conference, in Philadelphia, on December 30, 1891. 230 IDEAL SYLLABUS. 23 1 lutely essential, what ones stand next in importance, and what ones finally are good but yet of minor interest, or perhaps special in their nature, so that they should be used! only by those who wish to undertake comparatively exhaus- tive investigations. He should be told, too, in what order the books of each of these classes should be taken up, what prejudices and prepossessions on the part of their authors are to be guarded against, how one volume may be made to supplement the deficiencies of another, and so on. In a word, the lecturer should, in the syllabus, freely give to his pupils, as far as it is possible to do so, the full benefit of that knowledge of the literature of the subject which he himself has slowly accumulated. In my opinion he may well go so far as to specify editions and mention prices. And I cer- tainly would have him, in addition to the general hints of which I have been speaking, or in connection with them, sketch out both a major and a minor course of reading, somewhat in detail ; that is, both a leisurely rambling path and a short cut through the great field of study that he has mapped out in his preceding recommendations. Consider for a moment how the syllabus will be used,, and you will not accuse me of having laid too much stress upon this matter of a bibliographical introduction to it. Many intending students will turn to it, long in advance of the lectures, for hints in regard to preparatory reading. Students' Associations will be guided by it in the purchase of their works of reference. Libraries will avail themselves. of its suggestions, in their efforts to use their resources for the benefit of local centres. And, most important of all perhaps, the syllabus is likely to become, in some cases at all events, the hand-book of the solitary student, who, after being awakened by the lectures to a deep interest in some subject, will strive to continue its study by himself, for months and perhaps years, during which time he certainly- will need all possible assistance. 232 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. I pass now to the lecture outline. This has varied very much, sometimes being a mere skeleton of the lecture, in the form of a few short sentences or a series of bare catch-words, sometimes on the other hand presenting a careful condensation of everything essential in the whole discourse. The former method, that of short sentences or catch-words, would do very well if the object of this out- line were simply to spare hearers the labor and distraction of taking notes in the lecture room, it being understood that they would carefully write out the substance of what they had heard as soon as they reached their homes. But if the syllabus is to save them from all note-taking whatever, after the lecture as well as during its progress ; if it is to be made, as I believe it should be, a substitute for such task work, serving to recall at any time, however remote, all that the lecturer deemed of special value; then it should be fairly full, should be an epitome, a synopsis, rather than the barest and briefest summary. It will in that case go far toward insuring that thoroughness of work upon which I am now dwelling ; for it will render it almost impossible for the lecture, which is the first step in Extension work and thus in certain respects the most important, to be dealt with superficially and imperfectly by a student who is at all in earnest. I would ask your consideration now of a third feature of the syllabus, the questions, in answer to which the weekly papers are written. Upon the skill with which these are chosen depends very largely the value of the paper work ; and upon that, in turn, depends, more than upon anything else, the final worth of the entire course of study. So the questions should be contrived with the utmost care. They should not be so difficult as to repel the student, nor yet so easy that he may answer them with- out some measure of earnest thought. They should cun- ningly tempt him to read, consider, compare. They should IDEAL SYLLABUS. 233 suggest to him the maay aspects of the subject, its larger possibilities, the deep underlying philosophy of it. In fine, the questions are of the very greatest importance, and . demand in their preparation all the lecturer's art. Up to this point I have spoken of the necessity of making the syllabus of such a character, in every part, that the student will be helped, and indeed almost compelled, by it, to be thorough and careful in his work. Allow me now to call your attention to the necessity of developing within him independence as well. The lecturer will render him but a poor service if he teaches him to be ever so thor- ough, but in so doing represses his originality. So great pains must be taken to leave room for the full play of his judgment. Hence in the syllabus, as in the lecture, one must sedulously avoid dogmatic assertions, or a one-sided presentation of the matter ; must persistently maintain an attitude of inquiry, and a spirit of fair investigation and free discussion. Or, to be less general in my statements, one must refrain from giving too much advice about books and reading, too full an outline of the lecture, questions too searching and exhaustive. Leave the pupil something to find out for himself. It is better even to let him make fre- quent mistakes than to guard him with too much care against making any. The task, then, to sum up our conclusions, is to recon- cile in the syllabus, as well as may be, two somewhat conflicting requirements : the necessity of so guiding the student that he shall not find it easy to be superficial, and the no less imperative necessity of leaving him so free from guidance that he shall be forced to be somewhat independent and original in his work. I am well aware that a syllabus which should satisfy those requirements must be very difficult to construct- But so are all forms of Extension work difficult. And it is a fortunate thing that it is so. If thsy were easy, for 234 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. either teacher or pupil, this movement could not accomplish the great results that we hope from it. For strenuous effort alone can develop one's powers. It is pot to be re- gretted, then, that the syllabus is found to require much time and much study. And it is plain that the lecturer cannot be altogether successful who allows himself to think of it as a slight task, something that can be thrown off in an hour or two, perhaps even before the lectures are writ- ten. He should rather look upon it as one of the three important steps in the preparation of his course. He should feel that he has first to master his subject ; then to construct his lectures, with all his skill ; and then finally to devote unlimited time and pains to the making of this guide, this hand-book, this representative, always present with the student, of himself and his efforts. And now, as I close, permit me to commend to your notice certain concrete illustrations of what a good syllabus should be. I may not refer, of course, to the work of any of our American lecturers, lest I should seem to make dis- tinctions and comparisons, but I can and do suggest that all who are interested in the matter study the syllabi of our English visitors, of last year and this. HENRV W. ROLFE. Philadelphia, December ^o, iSgr. NOTES. It is a matter of note that the recent Conference was attended not simpljr by the friends of University Extension, but also by those not thoroughly con- vinced of the advantages claimed for University Extension. The presence, however, of such men as President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark University, who is not among the believers in the system, is, as was pointed out in another con- nection, one of the surest safe-guards of the wise direction of the movement. The first course of University Extension lectures was opened at Scranton, Pa., on November l6th, with a lecture on " Burns " by Dr. W. Clarke Robinson. The success of this centre was quickly guaranteed by the sale of nearly six hun- dred course tickets. Dr. Robinson was for several years lecturer in the Uni- versity of Durham, and is a peculiarly magnetic and inspiring speaker. He holds degrees from the University of France and from Heidelberg, and is the author of several volumes on the early literature of England. Carbondale, Honesdale and Green Ridge joined with Scranton in securing the entire time of Dr. Robinson for six weeks. The possibilities of co-operation on the part of the Church with those active in University Extension, were well exemplified by the deep interest of leading clergymen in the sessions of the Conference^ and such interesting addresses as that of the Rev. William Wilberforce Newton, of Pittsfield, Mass., who described so well the condition of things in his own town and in similar towns in Central New England as demanding imperatively such oppor- tunities as Extension teaching affords. Dr. W. W. Newton and his distin- guished brother. Rev. Heber Newton, of New York, have contributed much to the awakening of interest in educational and social affairs so characteristic of the Church in these days. Attention is called to the interesting article in this issue of University Extension by Professor Elmer E. Brown, of the University of Michigan. It would be difficult to find one more competent to speak on the subject of the " Universities and the Common Schools " than Professor Brown, who is one of the ever-increasing number of specialists trained in the best Universities of Europe, in the study of the various educational systems, and in the investi- gation of special educational problems. Professor Brown's suggestions as to how the relations between the University and the Common School may be strengthened through University Extension, come with special force, since his own University has entered with such vigor on the establishing of centres throughout the State, and in it$ report made such an exdellent showing at the National Conference. »35 236 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Prof. Isaac N. Demmon, head of the English department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, has been lecturing to large audiences under the auspices of the Detroit Institute of University Extension. Prof. Demmon has been identified with the State University for many years and has exerted a strong influencfi on the teaching of English throiighout the State. To him is due the introduction of the seminary method of study at Michigan University and many other reforms which have not only made his department one of the most popular in the curriculum, but also greatly advanced the general interests of the institution. University Extension has received the cordial support of the most prominent citizens of Detroit. The President of the Institute is Hon. Thomas W. Palmer. The Secretary is Mr. Henry A. Ford, of the Detroit Tribune, and on the Board of Directors is the Rev. Dr. C. R. Henderson, who has been most active in the work. The West Virginia Society for the Extension of University Teaching was organized by members of the faculty of the State University and other promi- nent educators, at Morgantown, October 16, 1891. The following gentlemen constitute the Executive Committee and officers of the State Society : Presi- dent, W. P. Wiley ; Vice-President, John A. Myers ; Treasurer, John I. Harvey ; Secretary, H. N. Ogden. Additional members of the Executive Committee are E. N. Turner, F. B. Reynolds and J. W. Hartigan. The first announce- ment of the Society pledges its earnest endeavors in carrying out the plans and methods of the American Society, to whose publications the successful estab- lishment of the West Virginia Society is largely due. Much interest has been manifested in this movement by the other higher institutions of West Virginia and everything points to a successful carrying out of this system of teaching under the efficient management of the officers mentioned. The statement has often been made in connection with the movement of University Extension that one great function is to use to better advantage the existing means of instruction. Many opportunities have so far been bound up in the foundations of higher institutions and have been available only to a very small number. A good instance of what may be accomplished by this system of teaching in extending advantages to those outside the university, may be found in a course in Biology offered at present by Dr. H. C. Bumpus, of Brown University. These lectures are for the benefit of the pupils of the Providence Normal School, the limited resources of which has prevented them so far from gaining the advant^es of higher scientific training. At little additional effort on the part of the faculty of Brown University and at little expense on the part of the Normal School, these lectures are given, and their results, both in the way of inspiration and of actual knowledge gained, are already evident. The munificence of Americans toward education has become almost pro- verbial. Perhaps no better illustration of the wise generosity of wealthy men can be found than the establishment of the Drexel Institute of Philadelphia. NOTES. 237 Not less than a million and a half dollars will be used to secure new advan- tages, especially in technical education through this institution. The direction of this new force in Philadelphia education is in the hands of Prof. James MacAlister. It is not too much to say that as Superintendent of the Philadel- phia Schools, Dr. MacAlister effected a practical revolution along many lines, and no one can compare the present condition of the public school system of Philadelphia with that of some years since without feeling the great Services that he has done the city. President MacAlister is a member of the Executive Committee of the American Society, and has steadily upheld the necesdty of developing most folly all the elements of this system of teaching, and the broad policy of the Society is largely a result of his liberal ideas. The Lancaster, '^a... News, of December l8th, says: " With this lecture closed the first series under the auspices of the American Society. Mr. Devine is to be congratulated upon his ability to arouse and sustain a decided interest in a subject about which few people have more than a very general idea and one which has never before the institution of University Extension methods been popular. The work done in class, and more particularly by students who have contributed papers, has been of a high and progressive standard of excel- lence." Much credit is due the excellent organization of the Lancaster Centre of Extension teaching and to those who worked so actively on the local com- mittee for the establishing of the Centre. President Stahr, of Franklin and Marshall, and many of his colleagues of the faculty of that venerable institu- tion, were in hearty and sympathetic touch with the movement. The success which Mr. Devme has secured during his first year of Extension lecturing is full of significance for young men looking forward to their life's career. That the opportunities in this direction offered by this work have not escaped notice is proved by the large number of young university tutors and post-graduate students who were in attendance at the National Conference. The attendance at the National Conference of those interested in Ex- tension work in Pennsylvania was large. Some of those present at the various sessions were: President Chas.DeGarmo, of Swarthmore College; President J. Edgar, Wilson College, Chambersburg ; Prof. Robert W. Rogers, Dickinson College ; Prof. August Phalmann, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg; Prof. Chas. F. Hines, Dickinson College; Prof. Andrew E. Meloy, State Normal, Lock Haven ; Prin. J. R. Dimm, Missionary Institute, Selins Grove; Prof. Arthur Beardsley, Swarthmore College; Prof. M. H. Richards and Prof Geo. T. Ettinger, Muhlenberg College ; President John S. Stahr, Prof John B. Kieffer, Prof J. E. Kershner, Prof Joseph H. Dubbs, Rector W. W. Moore and Prof John J. Rothermel, Franklin and Marshall Colleges ; President W. W. McKnight, Pennsylvania College ; Col. Charles E. Hyatt, President Pennsylvania Military Academy ; Prof. William P. Bimes, Dickinson College; Supt. Charles F.- Foster, Chester; Dr. Murray Gait Motter, Lancaster; Mr. T. E. Schmauk and Mr. S. R. Hoover, University •238 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Extension Society, Lebanon; Mr. Charles S. Prizer, University Extension Society, Reading ; President S. A. Martin, Lincoln University, and Supt. R. K. Buehrle, of Lancaster. The success of the University Extension movement depends largely on two factors, our higher institutions of learning on the one hand and the people on the other. The first must be interested in the work and alive at once to the possibilities of this system of teaching and the great responsibilities resting on them of promoting as far as possible, the interests of education in every form. The latter must be able to see the benefits that the movement offers them and to realize that the University is in fact brought to their very door and that many of the results of higher education can be secured by them, even under the restraining conditions of the active duties of life. It is clear that those institu- tions can best undertake the work which are nearest the people and can most readily draw them within the sphere of their influence. It is hardly necessary to say that our great State Universities are in this position. The University of Michigan, for example, is at the head of a great public school system, through which the children ot the State are brought by easy gradations to its very doors and in which the great public high schools are bound to it by the closest rela- tions. Such a University has its roots deep in the life of the people and can, if it will, enormously affect the tone of that life. Nothing in connection with the movement is more gratifying to its earnest supporters than the zeal and energy with which our State Universities have undertaken the work. The Universities of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and the Pacific States have outlined and undertaken far-reaching plans of Extension teaching. Their influence in general educational movements have always been strongly felt in our sectarian institutions and in the smaller colleges of the various States. That this new movement will be no exception in this particular is already clear. Among those attending the National Conference from a distance were the ollowing : Hon William T. Harris, Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. ; Bishop John H. Vincent, Chancellor of the Chautauqua System, Buffalo, N. Y. ; the Right Rev. Leighton Coleman, Bishop of Delaware, Wilmington, Del. ; Prof. Leslie A. Lee, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. ; President M. H. Euckham and Prof. F. M. Corse, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. ; Rev. William Wilberforce Newton, Pittsfield, Mass. ; Mr. R. P. Kaighn, Y. M. C. A., Springfield, Mass. ; Prof. Arnold ZuUig, High School, Watertown, Mass. ; Mr. Charles B. Davenport, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. ; Mr. Henry Baldwin Ward, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; Supt. William E. Hatch, New Bedford, Mass. ; President G. Stanley Hall, Clark University, Worcester, Mass. ; Prof. Wilfred H. Munro, Brown University, Providence, R. I. ; Prof. Henry E. Bourne, Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, Conn. ; Rev. F. B. Hartranft, Hartford Theological Seminary, Hartford, Conn. ; Prof. Henry Ferguson, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. ; Prof. George P. Fisher, Yale NOTES. 239 "University, New Haven, Conn. ; President S. P. Raymond, Wesleyan Univer- sity, Middletown, Conn. ; Secretary Melvil Dewey, University of the State of New York, Albany, N. Y.; Mr. Ralph W. Thomas and Mr. Fred Sherley, Albany, N. Y. ; Rev. A. B. Philputt, New York City ; Mr. B. C. Day, Colmnbia College, New York City ; Principal F. B. Pratt, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; President H. A. Buttz, Drew Theol<^ical Seminary, Madison, N. Y.; Prof. Franklin W. Hooper, Brooklyn Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Mr. H. E. Hayes, New York City; Prof. William Libbey, Jr., College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J.; Mr. H. I. Budd, Mount Holly, N. J.; Secretary W. A. Venter, Y. M. C. A., Trenton, N. J.; Mr. J. R. Howell, Mount Holly, N. J.; Supt. Charles D. Raine, Mount Holly, N. J. ; Supt. William Milligan, Woodbury, N. J. ; Prof. George A. Harter, Delaware College, Newark, Del. ; President A. N. Raub, Delaware College, Newark, Del. ; Principal E. O. Hovey, Newark, Del. ; Mr. Edgar G. Miller, Baltimore, Md. ; Mr. J. H. Hollander, Baltimore, Md. ; Dean John B. VanMeter, Women's College, Baltimore, Md. ; Mr. R. W. Grine, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md. ; Mr. R. B. Bigelow, Baltimore, Md. ; Presi- dent Thomas Fell, St. John's College, Annapolis, Md. ; Mr. David Kinley, " Baltimore, Md. ; Mr. D. I. Green, Baltimore, Md. ; President H. McDiarmiad, Prof. F. N. Dowling and Prof. L. C. Wollery, Bethany College, Bethany, West Va. ; Prof. Howard N. Ogden, University of West Virginia, Morgantown, W. Va.; Dr. Charles W. Stiles, Washington, D. C; President W. W. Smith, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va. ; Prof. W. O. SprouU, University of ■Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio ; President D. B. Purinton, Denison University, •Granville, Ohio; President Charles W. Super, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio; Prof. W. A. Merrill, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio ; Prof. James A. Wood- bum, University of Indiana, Bloomington, Ind., Prof. A. V. E. Young, North- western University, Evanston, 111. ; President Carl Johann, Eureka College, Eureka, 111. ; Prof. M. L. Sanford, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. ; President William H. Black, Missouri Valley College, Marshall, Mo. ; Presi- dent Edward C. Mitchell, Leland University, New Orleans, La. ; President D. R. Kerr, University of Omaha, Omaha, Neb. # The possibilities of Extension work in any one city and the influence this movement exerts in uniting different agencies, are well illustrated in the city of Milwaukee, from which President R. C. Spencer, of the People's Institute, sent the following report of the National Conference : " Milwaukee has taken the course in American History, the Colonization of North America, by Prof. F. J. Turner, of the University of Wisconsin. It was delivered under the auspices of the Chautauqua Club, in the Entertainment Hall of Plymouth Con- gregational Church, and has been successful, both in attendance, character of the audience and interest manifested. The expense of the course was guaran- teed by Hon. John L. Mitchell, Member of Congress for this district. Tickets for the course of six lectures were 50 cents. The course in English Literature, .by Prof. J. E. Freeman, is in progress at the State Normal School, under the 240 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. auspices of the faculty of that institution. It is also being given in the Guild Hall of St. Paul's Church, under the auspices of the Young People's Society. In both places the attendance is large and comprises our most intelligent and cultured people. The tickets for this course are 75 cents for six lectures. The course in Scandinavian Literature, by Professor Julius E. Olson, will be given after the holidays, under the auspices of a society auxiliary to the People's Institute. The expense of this course is guaranteed by Mr. John John- ston, cashier of the Wisconsin Marine Insurance Company Bank, tickets' for which are fifty cents for six lectures. The course in Economics, by Professor J. B. Parkinson, has just been concluded, and was given on successive Saturday mornings at half after 10 o'clock. It was attended principally by students from the various schools and institutions of the city and by teachers. It was given under the auspices of the People's Institute, and the expense was defrayed by the Spencerian Business College. It will be repeated after the holidays, Friday evenings, for the convenience of business men. The course in Bacteriology, by Professor E. A. Birge, wil'l begin after the hoUdays in the Science Department of the Public High School. The expense is defrayed by Mrs. E. P. Allis, for the benefit of students of this branch of science. This course will also be given before the Medical Society. The course in Electricity, by Dr. H. B. Loomis, will be given under the auspices of the Wisconsin Electric Club, of which Prof. A. J. Rogers, of the Public High School, is President. The railroads furnish free transportation within the State to University Extension Lecturers. Judge George H. Noyes, of the Board of University Regents, is chairman of the University Extension committee of the People's Institute, which has fostered and encouraged without attempting to manage or direct. Regarding University Extension as experimental in Milwaukee, it was deemed best to let it shape itself. The result is better than expected. Little has been attempted through the press or otherwise to create special interest in the movement, and it has, therefore, been spontaneous. If we may judge from our limited experience, Milwaukee will be counted as an auspicious field for University Extension work. Before the close of the season a meeting will be held of the societies, persons and profes- sors interested in the several courses of University Extension lectures given in Milwaukee, for the purpose of comparing notes and arranging plans for the coming year. University Extension. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. WHY? ^^he Chautauqua movement, the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor and University Extension have been matured from the first. They may be said to be aged respectively fifteen, ten and three years, though the last was earlier born in England. Without discounting in the -least an allegiance to Bishop J. H. Vincent, of C. L. S. C. fame, to Rev. Dr. F. E. Clarke, father of the Y. P. S. C. E. move- ment, or to Prof. E. J. James, the University Extension leader, it is safe to say that no such great popular enlist- ment would have been possible by any man or group of men but for a peculiar ripeness of conditions. What these men did was to utilize, focus and direct conditions that already existed. This may be easily illus- trated in the case of University Extension. It was " in the air;" there was a ripeness for it, as the following experience will tend to show: In the year 1881 the pastor of the Prospect Hill Congregational Church, Somerville, Mass., realized that there were in the parish a number of young people whose use or abuse of evenings was unsatisfactory. There had been a course of lectures and entertainments each winter, but the result, other than financial, was not entirely gratifying. The benefit was largely but for the evening, and bore no fruit by way of the home life or intellectual activity on other evenings. These cultivated a love for en- tertainments, but not for home or study. He sought some use of one evening each week that would be attractive and instructive on that evening, and would at the same time 16 '*' 242 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. give something to do and think about the remainder of the week. He chose as his theme "English History," which he feared would have no attractiveness ; it was chosen because he could prepare for it most readily. Notice was given that upon a certain Monday evening he would meet in the vestry those who would form a class for the study of English History, There was to be no concert or other side- show to draw them in; they were to come to study. Imagine his surprise when two hundred and fifty responded to the invitation ; the class was forced into the church, and the interest was kept up for twenty-one consecutive weeks. It would be the height of folly to assume that this interest was due to the pastor. It was " in the air." There was a ripeness of conditions. People wished something of the kind. The appetite was fully developed. The most remarkable fact is that bis methods were identical with those of the present University Extension plan. I would not believe the resemblance could be so close but for incontestable proofs in print. But for printed matter, it might be thought that the resemblance was a mere play of the imagination, which is in the habit of construct- ing such resemblances. The plan was to have a meeting of an hour and a half, the last half of the time being devoted to a lecture by the pastor upon a given period in English history. This was focused for the concentration of interest upon points which were to be studied by the class. They were then presented with a syllabus of the lecture, written in a readable form. It contained as much matter as four pages of an ordinary book. This was pre- pared by him each week, and always contained references to some twenty books, stating volume and chapter, in which they could find the special topics treated. All the class purchased some books, and they very generally used the public library, the librarian taking much pains to get all the .books they would use, and accommodating them with UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. WHY? 243 special tables. It was tlie testimony of the librarian some years afterward that historical reading became suddenly and permanently attractive in the city. At the close of every era the leaflet contained a series of review questions, covering every important event from the very beginning. The first half of each evening was •devoted to a recitation on the part of the class, and to a discussion of the lecture of the previous week. Before the course closed the syllabus had become a weekly paper styled Self-Help, which contained facts about the class and its work in addition to the lesson. The tangible fruit of that winter's work was enough to rejoice any heart. It is not easy to concentrate responsibility for result upon any one influence, but it is known that with many it revolution- ized the use of time, thought and money. A number of boys who had foolishly left school before completing the grammar school course entered upon studious habits. There is at least one clergyman and one editor whose in- ^spiration to make something more than clerks of themselves dates from that class. Seven young ladies became teach- ers ; six entered upon some phase of missionary labor; one is the wife of a college professor, and her husband is a col- lege professor largely through the direct influence of that class ; a brilliant wife of a prominent Massachusetts pastor owes more than can be told to that class ; and tens of thousands have sat spellbound before the eloquence of a woman who was working in a shop, when that class made for her an opportunity. It is the height of privilege and responsibility to take advantage of such a prepared condition of society, and I prize no memories so much as the privilege of having been that pastor, at that time focusing the conditions of the hour. What I did in one community is now being done in thousands, and the fruit of that winter's work is to be mul* tiplied a thousand-fold, not alone because of the organiza- 244 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. tion of the University Extension movement, but because that movement organizes all the forces, of which" mine was a solitary waif. From the C. L. S. C, the Y. P. S. C. E. and University » Extensison, let us learn to be in readiness to utilize promptly every condition that is developed by unseen forces. America cannot afford to make the world wait for its opportunity to harvest ripened fruit. A. E. WINSHIP, Boston, January i, i8gz THE EDUCATION OF CITIZENS. /gjNiVERSiTY Extension in England is passing through ^■^ the most serious crisis in its history. From the position of a private society, or rather group of societies, it is rapidly rising to the rank of a national institution. What will be its final organization, and precisely what place it will take in the scheme of national instruction no one can yet say. It is clear, however, that the decisions made in the present juncture involve far-reaching consequences and great responsibilities. Under such circumstances we need not wonder that a keen debate has arisen as to what is called " one-sided endowment " — ^the subsidizing by the •County Councils of scientific and technical subjects to the exclusion of history and literature. For the moment the latter sulijects are undoubtedly at a slight discount, but reaction cannot long be delayed. In the meantime, though the advocates of " arts " teaching are chafing at what they •consider the unjust fostering of the sciences, it is quite open to question whether the introspective characteristic of a time of trial will not bring them ample compensation in the long run. Let the historians take advantage of the slackness of their trade, to take stock of their wares, to rearrange their shop windows, and to improve their methods ■of business. The crisis is a local one, and affects only Englishmen, but any consequent improvement of the system involves general principles which may not be with- out interest to Americans. That it is the bread and butter side of the physical sciences which has attracted both the masses and the legislators go'es without saying, but whether this is a com- plete explanation of the present position is doubtful. University Extension is not the only organization which =« Vi.^^ V .litiXtJi. X X. offers scientific training to the young artisans of England. Many thousands of them have long been under the influ- ence of what is known as the "South Kensington" system — the " Science and Art " department of the Government — and popular lectures, such as those given under the auspices of the Gilchrist trustees, have until lately been almost entirely on scientific topics. But University Extension is ' the only large system which brings historical and literary teaching within reach of our average citizens, and it has long been a matter of regret that with the exception of a few brilliant experiments connected with such names as Moulton and Hudson Shaw, even University Ex'^ension lecturers have failed to interest any large numbers of young workingmen of the better sort in " liberal " as opposed to " technical " subjects. That these have been exceptions to the rule seems a fair indication that the methods of the average lecturer have not been wholly blameless. But deeper than this cause is another. Neither teachers nor learners seem to be inspired by any great ruling ideas. The intelligent masses are still for the most part, in the intellectual position of the cultivated classes a generation or more ago. They are still dominated by scientific analy- sis, still awed by the results it reveals to them, and as yet hardly touched by the spirit of the historical method. There are many workingmen geologists and botanists,, who rank as authorities in the scientific world on the rocks and plants of their localities ; but we have yet to hear of similar investigators into local institutions, a matter of end- less interest and variety in this old land of England. The truth of the matter is, that it is not wholly bread and butter which draw the artisan to scientific hobbies, but the practical atmosphere of the laboratory and the field so completely in harmony with his training and his experience in life. It is not wholly the labor for mere love which repels him from history. and literature, but the " booky " taint which hangs THE EDUCATION OF CITIZENS. 2\J round the lecture-rooms, so artificial and alien to his life And the artisan is right. The scientist appeals to his experience, carries him stage by stage from the well-known to the unknown ; the historian too often starts him in mid ocean, gives him no bearings,, and throws him ropes only in the form of literary references and intimations which his mind cannot possibly grasp. In America, to some extent freed from the educational prejudices of our old civiliza- tion, the contrast may be less marked ; but in England the forces working toward such results are only too obvious. In the University class-rooms the scientific lecturer encounters for the most part young men of the wealthier classes, whose school training has been mainly literary, and who are mere beginners in science. He has to effect more or less of a revolution in their mental attitude and to begin often de novo. His literary or historical colleague, on the other hand, continues in the ruts of the school, and appeals rightly, and with force, to the chief experience common to the whole of his peculiar audience — an experience of books A young artisan of one or two-and-twenty may know little of books, but his experience of life is often much larger than that of a richer contemporary who has never had to "rough it." It is an error, both of commission and omis- sion, to base history for such a man in books instead of life. The pity of it all is that the historian is usually far better equipped as a lecturer than is the scientist. In the matter of language alone he has far less to tempt him from the fount of pure English, and has had far more practice in its use. Could he throw off the academical gown, could he cultivate more assiduously the art of reading history — even ancient hisiory — in every detail of the present, he would have little to fear from scientific competition. For historical teach- ing is an art distinct, to some extent from historical research. The two are nearest, and the teaching easiest under the con- 248 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ditions of a University ; they are remotest and the teaching most difficult with an artisan audience. From this point of view it is not only the teachers who must look into their art, but the very system which must be reconsidered. The curri- culum limited to the old universities is not always the best for the People's University. There are as many modes of approaching a subject as there are students with differently prepared minds. Here, indeed, seems to be, the chief cause of failure in the historical and literary teaching of the University Extension system. Forgetting that a University is one thing, and University Extension another, we have sought too much to copy models at a distance, instead of striking out boldly along new lines ; and we have been thus timid and imitative, because we have not selected an idea on which to frame our methods of exposition and our curri- cula. In a democratic age what nobler idea on which to build a system of historical and economic teaching than the training of citizens ? Individual courses are giving place to sequences of courses. Let us arrange the courses over, say a three years' period, so that students may gain a broad and elevated view of the political or economic working of a nation. Such a study need not be confined to very modern periods, or yet to the native country. The histories of the Floren- tine or Athenian democracies would be admirable if treated from the right point of view, but at every stage the analogies and contrasts with familiar English or American " actuali- ties " must be brought to the front. Or if original docu- ments are to be studied, and yet foreign tongues are barred, what finer school than the collection bearing on the English Civil War which has been put in a single volume by Dr. S. R. Gardener ? So too with literature, the masses should be drawn to great books to find noble aspirations and ideals nobly expressed. The critical study of the academic; aimed at the training of revisers of texts, is not for them. THE EDUCATION OF CITIZENS. 249 Of course there will be criticism of such a position as that taken in this paper. Probably it will be attacked by those who wish for a higher, a more detached, a more objective attitude than that implied in citizen-education. That an elevated and detached point of view, the power of precise thought and the power of precise expression are the aims and the characteristics of" Culture '' is admitted. But they are none the worse for being attained to some extent unconsciously ; and in the present state of the world they are certainly not calculated to inspire a nation or a class with ideals in common, or to move them to united action. Oxford has surely not suffered as a training ground for England's youth from the waves of generous enthusiasm, the fleeting " movements " of which it is periodically the scene. In a word, I hold, that at a time, when, in England at least, history and literature are under a passing cloud, and at a time when we are called upon to chain our courses into logical sequences, we should not be governed too strongly by academic precedents, but boldly construct under the inspiration of large ideas. And in history, at any rate, we have, it seems to me, a key-idea in the training of enlightened citizens. HALFORD J. MACKINDER. Oxford, January, i8g2. THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. II. ^I^here are, however, other elements than the mere lecture V^ in the scheme of University Extension instruction. In immediate connection with the lecture is the syllabus or outline of lectures, and in the construction of that syllabus the University Extension lecturer has an opportunity to show all the qualities, except the mere one of pleasant and effective address, which he needs to employ in the prepara- tion and delivery of the lectures themselves. No one can help being struck who has taken the pains to read over the syllabi published in England by the various men who have lectured in this field and by the same efforts made on this side of the water ; I say no one can help being struck by the fact that the average syllabus is a poor affair, that it contains but little help to clear consecutive thought and that it contains but little help towards follow- ing up the lecture and the lecture course in a systematic way ; that it has but little to do in inspiring the student with the interest in the study which is fundamental to any great success along these lines. A mere summary of head- ings which the lecturer proposes to discuss has, of course, its value. A mere series of statements of principles, which the lecturer proposes to develop and illustrate, has, of course, its value ; but, if that is all which the syllabus con- tains, it falls very far below the level of efficiency which is easily within the reach of the skillful and successful lec- turer. The syllabus should be a sort of guide to the study of the subject which the lecturer proposes to present, a sort of cord which shall lead the student through the labyrin- thian windings of the mass of literature which exists on all THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. 251 these subjects and lead them carefully and steadily and co - stantly to the wide outlooks, to the important views, to the soul-stirring altitudes which should make up and mark his intellectual and aesthetic progress, so far as it is aided and directed by this particular course of study. It should give to the person who has it some definite knowledge as to what books on the subject and what portions of what books, are best worth his reading, if he wishes to view this field as the lecturer views it, if he wishes to get the same out- looks, if he wishes to pass through, to a certain extent, the same experience. It goes without saying that it should be systematic, as far as possible suggestive and interesting and inspiring; and, in short, should be a sort of guide to the study of the particular subject which the lecturer is treat- ing. That means, of course, very much more careful and thorough work on the syllabus than most University Ex- tension lecturers, either in England or in this country, have thus far been willing to give it. It means, alas ! more ability to pick out the salient things and put them in an. impressive and silent form than the average lecturer in this field possesses ; but we can, at least, all of us within the- range of our ability, as far as possible, approximate towafds- the best and most successful thing in this field which can be given. In close connection with the syllabus should be men- tioned the paper work of students, the questions which are presented to them to stimulate and stir their interest and inspire them to take an active part in the work and not to be content with the mere passive role of listener. The preparation of these questions calls for care and attention,, if they are to be successful it calls for skill and ability and a close adaptation and study of the conditions under which the University Extension lectures must be given. Just in proportion as the lecturer s able to get the members of his Extension audience to take an active and interested part in. 252 UNIVEKSITY EXTENSION. the pursuit of the subject in that proportion will he be able to produce permanent and valuable results. I do not mean to say, of course, that the lectures would be valueless, even if the people should not write the papers, but simply that the whole work will be of an enormously greater value to all those who do actually take part in it than it would be without it. Now, I am sorry to say that, if any of you will take the syllabi which have been prepared, either in this country or abroad, and go through them carefully, you will be rather struck by the careless way in which this work, on the whole, has been developed. I need not stop on this point longer, except to venture the general remark that, if the largest and best results are to be got from this paper work, the questions must be carefully thought out and must be carefully graded, so that every person who attends the course of lectures and pays close attention will feel that there is some question or questions in the list on which he may present an acceptable paper, if he will only put forth the effort. There should be other'questions which will call for the largest and fullest exercise of the ability to study and to present which the lecturer is likely to find in his audience. Finally, the class work is the other element in the dis- tinctively technical or educational work of the University Extension lecturer, which calls for special mention. To conduct a good class, even in college and the university, where you have your picked men, your men of homo-- geneous training, your men of thorough training, your men who devote all their time to the .vork, I say, to conduct a good class, even under such favorable conditions, calls for the exercise of one of the highest forms of ability which the teacher possesses. You all know how unutterably tedious and taste- less the hours that you have spent in many a college pro- fessor's rooms, in the so-called recitations, where there THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. 253 seemed to be, as you look back upon it now, no plan or method of work, no stimulus and little or no searching out of the hidden things in the minds and hearts of the students, no inspiration or stirring up to higher levels, to higher thoughts, and to more vigorous action. The condi- tions of successful class work in the University Extension audience are, many of them, more unfavorable than those in the college and university. In the first place, you have an audience which is very likely, indeed, to possess some rather obstreperous individuals, who are inclined to take all the time of the class and whom you cannot dispose of so summarily as you can of a college student of the same kind. You are apt to have very many, a much larger num- ber, of a retiring disposition, who are too timid to say any- thing, who are frightened if you call upon them to express their opinion, or, if you try to draw them out by question- ing. This class includes, oftentimes, the most valuable element in your audience and, if you persist in drawing them out by questions and showing up their ignorance, the result is very likely that they will leave your work and give up the whole class exercise. In the second place, in an audience of this class, you are even more likely to have your time frittered away by an infinite number of questions, some of which have a pos- sible relation to the subject in hand, but most of which have nothing to do with it. You are all well aware, of course, how completely a class of college boys can waste the time of the class and the teacher by asking idle and profitless questions, either on purpose or from ignorance. You can imagine how much more completely a popular audience, such as the University Extension lecturer obtains, may do the same thing, and how easy it is for a question to shunt the whole consideration away from the points that the lecturer is trying to make, and into a .wilderness of idle and profitless debate. If the lecturer were to undertake to :2S4 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. -answer all the questions which his class might ask he would simply use up an hour and produce almost no beneficial result whatever. Consequently, there is no greater oppor- tunity of showing his skill open to the Extension lecturer than is open to him in the conducting of a class, to draw out the diffident, to squelch the boisterous, to get such questions as will enable him to be helpful, and to direct the course of the discussion so as to emphasize and throw into still stronger belief, bring out more thoroughly, to impress more fully upon their minds the fundamental points of his presentation. To do thoroughly efficient work in the class calls for careful and long-continued attention on the part of the instructor, and nothing will be more helpful to him along this line than the papers which he will succeed in ■obtaining from the individuals who make up his class. If he can get a large number of them it will enable him to size up his class, so to speak, to find out the lines along which they are working or reading, to find out how far he is carrying them with him, how far he is inspiring them with an interest in the subject, as a class. As this is one of the most difficult tests of the lecturer's ability, so it is the ■occasion in which most of our average university and college men fail to come up to the standard. And I may say, in a general way, that in our short experience here in the work that is carried on immediately under the auspices of the American Society we have had more complaints ■ about the inefficient class-work of our lecturers than upon any other point. Our communities feel, in an instinctive way, and I think the feeling is the correct one, that the class, if properly conducted, is the one element which will bring more thor- oughly educational work into this movement than even the lecture itself. I think, perhaps, enough has been said to •emphasize what I may call the educational aspect and •educational function of the University Extension lecturer. THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. 255 The University Extension lecturer should be the man who can give us the kind of lecture which we have described in a general way, who can give us the kind of syllabus, who can give us the kind of class work, who can set the kind of questions, and who, at the end of his work, will leave his audience and his class and his community in a blaze of enthusiasm for the subject which he has been presenting, and for the great field of human science of which it forms a part. This, however, is not by any means the sole function of the University Extension lecturer. As I said above, the success of this work depends upon the University Exten- sion lecturer at more points than one. The large success of the work is going to depend, not merely upon the suc- cess of any one subject, not merely upon the interest excited for any one period of English literature for example, nor upon the interest excited for English literature as a whole, but upon the interest which is excited in human science as a whole, and in its relations to all the other sides of human life. Now it seems to me that having re- gard to the conditions of our American life, and having regard to the nature of this movement, the University Extension lecturer should do two things in addition to the ' particular work which we have already outlined. He should be an apostle and an evangelist for the University Extension movement as a whole, and above all, for the cause of education in general. He should not feel that, after giving his course of lectures, even if he be thoroughly suc- cessful in it, that he has done all that may fairly enough be required of him. This movement cannot be made general, it cannot be made permanent unless the men who are doing the actual work of lecturing will take it up in their hands and bear it steadily and persistently to the front, in con- nection with all of their University Extension work. 256 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. This, we all agree, is one of the great educational move- ments of the age. We shall derive great help from it from every point of view, if this fact be kept persistently before our notice , if every occasion be taken by the University lecturer to excite interest in the general cause of University Extension ; if he consider that he never goes out of his way when he can score a good point for the general move- ment itself; that, on the contrary, it is a part, a funda- mental part of his duties to keep the cause in mind, and wherever he sees an opportunity to advance it to do so. In other words, the Extension lecturer should look upon him- self as a man, one of whose special duties it is to enlighten the audience that meets him night after night, to enlighten the community from which his audience is drawn, as to the scope and functions, aims and methods of the University Extension work as a whole. In a word, he ought to leave his Extension audience, he ought to leave the community in which his course has been given, perfectly ablaze with enthusiasm, not merely for Shakespeare, if that be the part; nor for English literature, if that be the whole of his sub- ject, but for University Extension itself, which is carrying out, not merely Shakespeare and not merely English literature, but art and science and mathematics — education, training, culture — into the life of the nation. ^ Now, the ways in which this can be done are numer- ous. In the first place, of course, there is the local com- mittee, the element in whose hands is the management of the local centre, the people under whose auspices, look- ing at it from one point of view, the man is giving his lec- ture. If we are to succeed in carrying through and emphasizing the educational as well as the popular sides of this work, we can accomplish it only with the sympathy and hearty co-operation and support of these local com- mittees. We shall get that for the higher and better sides of the work only if we continually and persistently urge the THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. 2$J higher and better sides of the work upon their attention, only if we enlist their interests in the higher and better aspects of the movement. Nobody can do this so persis- tently, nobody can do it so directly as the University Ex- tension lecturer. He is sure to meet one or another mem- ber of the committee upon every occasion he goes to lec- ture. There is nothing in the way of his getting the com- mittee together for the purpose of giving them a special talk on how this movement is progressing and how it i* being taken up in different localities, and how the most suc- cessful centres conduct their work, and everything which will tend to heighten their interest in the movement, and clear their understanding as to its correct methods. In a word, the University Extension lecturer should look upon himself as the apostle of the movement and as having a special call to educate and enlighten the local committee and the community in such a way as to further most efficiently the permanent interests of the cause. But 1 do not think that the University Extension lecturer should stop with this. University Extension is not going to accomplish its fullest mission unless it succeeds in interesting the committee not merely in literature, in art, in science, as branches of human knowledge, but in educa- tion as one of the great fundamental interests of society, in education as a branch of human life and institutions which stand side by side with religion, with politics, with business, and with amusement as a great and fundamental categorjr of social existence. I believe that we have, in this move- ment, the greatest machinery for enlightening the public upon educational questions, the greatest opportunity for getting public attention to the importance and significance of educational problems that has ever been offered to us in the history of the world. If this work be properly organ- ized atid fitted into the other educational interests and agencies in the community, it may enormously increase the- ir 25 8 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. efficiency of them all by directing public attention and interest to the subject as a whole, in a way which has been hitherto unknown. Now, the man who is to do this for us and the only man who can do it is the University Extension lecturer. Surely we have the right to expect from the university and college man an interest in education as such — an interest in the great department of which his par- ticular work forms a very small, an almost iniinitesimal part. It is not too much to expect, it is not too much to demand that he should put forth a portion of his effort to assist the cause as a whole, to help education as a whole, as distinct from other interests of life, into that place ol prominence which it may fairly demand in modern life by its .importance and significance for modern civilization. The University Extension lecturer can do this in an inci- dental way and in such a form as to immensely heighten and stimulate the interest in University Extension and the interest in the particular subject which he is teaching. It is hardly necessary for me to go into the description of details as to what the lecturer may do and as to how he may do it, in the direction I have indicated. It may not, however, be out of place to suggest Some possible things and then ask the individual lecturers, here and elsewhere, to let us know about the work they are doing in this direc- tion and to pour in their suggestions upon us. For example, suppose the University Extension lecturer has under con- sideration the subject of literature. Suppose he takes a few moments, five or ten minutes at the beginning of his lecture, or at its close preceding the class for a little discus- sion of educational topics in one form or another. He will find the public very much interested in them, if he will take a little pains to put them into proper shape. He will find that people will go home and talk about them and, from that time, they will take a new interest in everything per- taining to education. Suppose, for example, on one occasion THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURER. 259 he were to talk about the function of the university in the life of nations, give them a little historical sketch of the rise of universities, of the place they have occupied in ancient and modern times, with some of the interesting incidents connected with the development of these institutions, and such instances are innumerable. Suppose he were to follow that, on another occasion, by a brief discussion of the rise of the modern university, of what it is in England, France, and Germany and of what it is in the United States to-day. Let him give an account of the rise and development of the American college, of the changes which it has undergone, of what its specific function is. Let him take up his own subject, English literature, give an account of its first intro- duction into the universities as an individual discipline, of its development and of its present state, of the way it is organized, of the methods of instruction, of its relation to other branches ; following that up by a discussion of the University Extension movement as such, as the last and latest outgrowth of colleges and universities. It would be perfectly feasible for him, by giving a few minutes each evening, at the opening of his lecture, to some of these general topics, to increase immensely the interest in his lecture course, without in any sense interfering with his educational work, thus interesting the community in higher institutions, in the University Extension movement, and briefly, in higher education as a whole. Some one may say that this is too much to ask of the college or university man, that he does not know enough about education in general, that he does not know enough about the colleges and universities, that he does not know enough about University Extension, even, to speak intelli- gently upon these topics. If this be so, and alas I am afraid there is too much truth in it, surely it is a bad state of affairs and one that ought to be remedied. Men who are engaged in, a great educational work ought certainly to 26o UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. be willing to take the time to learn something of the histor)^ of that work itself, what it means in the present, what it has meant in the past, if not to give some thought and reflection to the question of what it may mean in the future. I do not hesitate to say that the men who are going to do the most useful work in this field are men who will be able to do among others the particular things which I have out- lined above. I would not, however, say that no one could do successful work in this line who could not accomplish all the things just described, but certainly his work will be more successful in proportion as he is able to measure him- self up more nearly to the standard indicated in the above description. EDMUND J. JAMES. Philadelphia, January, i8<)2. ECONOMICS. Part I. Production. III. Psychical Conditions. — The theory of produc- tion calls for certain physical premises, of which five in number were discussed in the first section. Man PHYSICAL CONDITIONS in the lowest stages of civilization depends for IN ADVANCED ^hat wcalth he needs on the products of plant INDUSTRY. ^ ^ growth, and on commodities which he can pro- •duce with his limited knowledge of the necessary physical <;onditions. Man in the higher stages of industrial develop- ment depends to a certain extent on these, but he tries to ■discover also what can be done and what is being done by ■changes in men to increase the productivity of the natural forces. Nature produces some wealth spontaneously. Man's part in production is confined to the discovery and employment of methods of making the supply more abundant, more regular, and better suited in kind to the supply of his needs. But man's work is done as a member of society. The ■changes which he undergoes are determined in large part by the action of social forces, the growth of 'premi'sk'^ social ideals, the strengthening of certain mo- tives in the individual, and the weakening of others through changes in the attitude of mind prevailing in the entire group to which the individual belongs. As distinguished from the physical premises, these may be termed the psychical premises^ of the theory of production. * These correspona to the " subjective conditions" to which reference is made in Patten : Theory of Dynamic Economics. See chapter on the " Theory of Production." 262 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. and are a statement of the more important mental, psycholo- gical, or psychical conditions, which influence the character of production. A. The tendency to satisfy desire with the least possi- ble effort. This tendency may be regarded as universal, notwithstanding the fact that it is sometimes POSSIBLE hidden from superficial observation by the action EFFOET. ^£ other influences, such as those mentioned below. The " economic man " of the orthodox economists was supposed to be influenced by this motive alone ; but there is logically no more excuse for over-emphasizing this premise than any other. It is the general psychological condition, the resultant of all the various influences and tendencies that determines man's actions. B. Influence of the family relation. With primitive man the tribe is usually the unit in the consumption of acquired THE wealth. The reward of the chase and the booty FAMILY of conquest are shared, if not equally, at least with reference chiefly to the relation which the individual bears to the tribe. Where the guild and appren- ticeship system prevailed the apprentices lived frequently with the master-workman. For many purposes the unit for the enjoyment and consumption of wealth included a large number of persons. Now, however, where civiliza- tion is well advanced that unit is almost universally the family. This fact is of the greatest significance in deter- mining the character of the production of wealth. It pre- vents an industrial organization of society framed with the sole design of securing the largest product^ It furnishes on the other hand a new motive to exertion, and if steadi- ness of production be taken into account, a far stronger motive to efficient production than is supplied by the desire for mere personal welfare. The family in society, as ^ Just as in the Spartan political organization, designed to secure the highest military efficiency, it was necessary to abaadon virtually the family organization. ECONOMICS. 263 opposed to a communistic organization, causes the produc- tion of innumerable commodities for which there would be no occasion if the family did not exist^. C. Influence of the state. Industrially the state may mean much or little. What the production of wealth shall be is determined in part by. the ideal of the state THE STATE. , . , . '^ , ■' which society entertains. A society which looks upon all legislative interference as pernicious will have a different production, both in kind and degree, from a society in which the state is an active and significant factor in the industrial organization. An attempt has been made to classify certain industries as properly subject to direct state management under all circumstances, on the ground that they are ministerial functions ; but the classification is found when examined to be wholly arbitrary. The decision as to what industrial functions shall be assumed by the state, depends on the varying notions of the state itself, which prevail, and of its relation to the industrial life of society. D. Influence of religion. The mission of the church is to bring peace on -earth, to strengthen the moral fibre, to INFLUENCE aid man in his search for means of satisfying OF his spiritual needs.^ This activity exerts an RELIGION, influence on man's character which affects, inci- dentally, though powerfully, his capacity for the highest efficiency in production ; but besides this incidental influ- ence, religion and its agent, the church, exercises an influence on production, in that it causes a multitude of commodities to be produced,' and innumerable services to be rendered, which have no other purpose, primarily, than the direct satisfaction of these higher desires. Thus, the ^This last consideration belongs, strictly speaking, in a discussion ot consumption. The influence of the prevailing standard of consumption on the production of wealth will form the subject of a subsequent section. ^See Clarlc ; The Philosophy of Wealth, Chap. XII, for a discussion of the economic functions of the church, ''As churches, religious booK^ and periodicals, many works of art. 204 UNIVERSITY ISXTEJNSIUIN. religious ideals which prevail among men must be recog- nized in the statement of the psychical premises of the theory of production. E. Desire for association. Carey names association as man's greatest need.* George names association and equality as the two essential conditions of DESIRE FOR 2 t^ • r • /.• • «. i L progress. Desire for association is not to be ASSOCIATION, i^ S regarded merely as diminishing the force of other impelling motives. It is itself one of the most power- ful of the influences which determine man's actions; it furnishes the incentive to much of his industrial activity ; it modifies the form of that activity at every stage. F. Influence of the growth of credit. Where there is mutual, confidence in the business integrity of those who are brought into industrial and commercial CREDIT. , . , , . - , , relation, the production of wealth may assume a form with essentially different characteristics from that of the primitive production which prevails where it is absent. The possibility of employing credit may therefore be added to those physical conditions. G. Future welfare. There is a strong natural tend- ency to place a higher estimate on present desires and their satisfaction than on those that lie in the -WELFARE ^ut"*"^-^ But thc appreciation of future welfare increases with progressing civilization. When there has arisen in society a vivid realization of future needs and future pleasures, the industry will take on a new form. The number of commodities which are of use only for further production is greatly increased. Goods ready for immediate consumption do not diminish in quantity. 'McKean : Carey's Social Science, p. 37. ^Progress ar.d Poverty, p. 457 and p. 475. 'See Kohm Bawerk : Positive Theory of Capital for investigation •f the reasons for ifhi5 phenomenon. ♦ ECONOMICS. 265 but the relative number of " capitalistic " or future goods is augmented. Serial methods of production are found to be the most efficient methods, and the whole tendency of pro- duction is to look toward the morrow with its needs. H. Influence of public opinion. A part of the public opinion finds expression in modifications of the family and State organization ; in the growth of credit, OPINION °^ *^^ feeling of association and of other psychi- cal conditions. Through the edicts of fashion another part frequently goes further to determine the char- acter of a people's consumption than any other agency. But a not inconsiderable part remains to influence directly the production of wealth. Certain Occupations are held in higher esteem than others ; accumulation is stimulated by the increased popular respect for the man who possesses wealth, and public opinion imposes restraint on certain in- dustrial operations which, though calculated to increase the product are held to be personally injurious to those who engage in them or to others.^ /. Influence of education. There can be no doubt that ^he ideal of education which society cherishes is an im- portant influence in determining to what extent ' the conditions favorable to production shall be Bteadily developed and permanently insured. If there is a clear idea of the importance to future enjoyment of scien- tific and thorough development of the powers of the future workers, there will be a more ready acquiescence in the sacrifice necessary to secure it. The tendencies favorable to a large and rational production of wealth may be con- sciously developed by society and the result will be of permanent advantage to the race. ^ Public opinion in tliese matters frequently crystallizes into legislation, as wlien a law restricting the labor of women and children in factories is demanded. 266 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Whether acquired traits are themselves transiiitted, or whether the latent possibilities are only called into activity by the more favorable environment, it remains PSYCHOLOGY ^^^^ ^^^^ '^ °"^ generation systematically strengthens the tendency to devise economical means of attaining desired ends, to lay emphasis on the importance of the family and the State, to elevate public opinion, to encourage association and to dwell upon the greater pleasures of the future which can be obtained by sacrificing lesser pleasures of the present, it will be easier for the next generation to develop these same tendencies. A full study of the race psychology would require a detailed investigation of the psychical conditions which influence industrial activity. It would be impossible to overestimate the advantage to economics of such an investigation. EDWARD T. DEVINE. NOTES. Rapid progress is being made in Michigan in University Extension. Professor N. Butler, Jr., of the University of Illinois, began a course on English Literature at Urbana, on Tuesday, January 19th. Professor H. C. Adams is lecturing on Political Economy before the Detroit University Extension Society. Professor Isaac N. Demmon, after finishing his course in Detroit, has begun another at Grand Rapids. Local centres are being formed in Saginaw, Bay City and other places. The readers of University Extension will be interested in the article on " The Education of Citizens," by Halford J. Mackinder, Staff Lecturer of the Oxford University Extension, Mr. Mackinder is to lecture, under the auspices of the American Society, in this country, during March and April, filling engagements in several States. Extension courses are being given now in all parts of Wisconsin, includ- ing the following important towns and cities: Wauwatosa, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, La Crosse, Stoughton, Whitewater, Beaver Dam, Madison and Milwaukee. Beloit College has entered the field, offering lec- tures on philososhy, literature and science. A centre of Extension teaching was formed at Greeley, Col., on January 9th. A vote was passed to request afiiiation with the American Society, to adopt all the methods and conform to the requirements of the same. Chancellor McDowell, of Denver University, is to give the opening course of six lectures, the subject being " The French Revolution." Mention was made in a recent number of University Extension of the University Settlement of New York. By recent action the scope of the work undertaken by the Settlement has been greatly extended. President Seth Low, of Columbia, has kindly consented to become the president of the organ- ization and use his great influence in the city in support of its work. Mr. A. E. Winship, editor of the New England Journal of EdueaHon, contributes a very interesting sketch of pioneer Extension teaching to this number of University Extension. Mr. Winship is a firm fiiend of educa- tion and uses a keen pen in behalf of all well-considered reforms in the profes- sion. The movement of University Extension has had from the first his hearty approval and the benefit of his strong support in New England and through- out the country. «67 268 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Tulane University, New Orleans, has issued, under date of January, 1892, an announcement of Extension courses. The list includes " English Language and Literature," Professor Robert Sharp; " English History," Professor John R. Ficklen; " Le Drame en France," Professor Alcee Fortier; " Psychology," Professor Brandt V.B.Dixon; "Chemistry," Professor John M. Ordway; " Electricity and Magnetism," Professor Brown Ayres ; " Mathematics," Pro- fessor J. L. Cross. In Cleveland, on January l8th, was held a public meeting on University Extension. The speakers included Dr. Charles F. Thwing, President of Western Reserve University ; President Cady Staley, of the Case School of Applied Science ; Superintendent L. W. Day ; Prof. Charles F. Oiney, and Principal Edward L. Harris, of the Central High School. Much enthusiasm has been shown in the establishment of the work in Cleveland, and the facul- ties of the local institutions have been generous in offering courses. , The first Extension course under the management of Iowa State University was begun at Davenport on January 9th, by Professor Samuel Calvin. The topic for the course is the " Formation of the Earth." Professor Calvin is to be followed by Professor McBride, with a series of lectures on " The Vegeta- , ble Kingdom, and he in turn by Professor Nutting, who treats of " Animal Life," the whole forming a continuous course, entitled " The Making of the World." Professor Loos of the same faculty is lecturing before the Quincy, 111., centre, on political economy. On January 12th the subject of University Extension was considered by the Academy of Science and Art of Pittsburgh. The paper on this topic was read by Dr, Walter B. Scaife, of the University of Pennsylvania, and after a thorough discussion of the movement it was resolved that the Academy should take the first step in the organizatidn of a Pittsburgh Extension Society, and a committee was appointed to consider the ways and means, including the following gentlemen : W. J. Holland, W. Lucian Scaife, Prpf. Gustav Gutten- berg. Prof. F. C. Phillips, Prof. David Carhart, and Mr. J. A. Brascher. The Toledo University E>tei}sion Society was formed on December 14th, with the following officers : President, H. W. Compton, City Superintendent of Schools ; Secretary, Miss Mary Smead, Treasurer; Col. Isaac D. Smead. With the officers the following form the Executive Committee : Miss Emily Bouton, Prof. H. C. Adams. Rev. Dr. J. A. McGaw and W. S. Daly. At a later meeting the following courses, of six lectures each, were chosen : " Econo- mics," Prof. H. C. Adams ; " English Literature," Prof. Isaac N. Denmion, both of the University of Michigan; " Geology," Prof. G. Frederick Wright, of Oberlin University. These courses are to be given in succession. The first Extension course by a woman was opened at Wayne, on January 1 2th, by Miss Ida M. Gardner, under the auspices of the American Society. A course of seven lectures on the " Outlines of European History" is to be NOTES. 269 followed by six lectures on " The Renaissance." Miss Gardner is a specialist in Mediaeval History and has an enviable record as a teacher. The success of these courses is full of significance as pointing to a new career for our college- bred women. The Association of Collegiate Alumnae can add to its services to University Extension by not only fostering as in the past the establishment of centres, but also encouraging some of its brilliant members to enter this field. The New York Tribune of January i8th has the following special from Providence : " University Extension has done more toward bringing the college (Brown University) before the people of Rhode Island and causing them to take an interest in its welfare than any other means that have been employed in that direction. The Commercial Club of this city made University Exten- sion the topic of discussion last evening. The men in this club said they wanted to know something about the Extension movement, and they invited such men as are capable of explaining it fully to them. Among the speakers were President E. Benjamin Andrews, Professor Wilfred H. Munro, Director of University Extension (for Brown), and the Rev. Dr. Anderson.'' The Board of Education of the City of New York has just issued its Bulletin -of Free Lectures, being those of the Second Course of the season 1891-92. There are in all twenty-two lectures by well-known men on various historical, literary and scientific subjects. The lectures are under the supervision of Henry M. Leipziger, Ph. D., who deserves great credit for his enthusiastic and discriminating efforts. Dr. Leipziger proposes to increase still further the efficiency of this branch of the public school work by bringing the lectures into harmony, with the system of Extension teaching. Large audiences have followed these lectures in the past with interest and profit. The introduction of a well-ordered sequence in the lectures seems to be the one thing now needed. Dr. W. Clarke Robinson, after closing a very successful course on " English Poets," in Carbondale, Scranton, Hyde Park and Honesdale, is giving the same course before large audiences in York, Lancaster, Lebanon, Harrisburg, Columbia and Gettysburg, which have united in one circuit. Many of the most perplexing difficulties in Extension teaching are being solved by the gradual perfecting of the " circuit." The idea first adopted and put in prac- tice by the American Society is being considered by branch organizations in many distant States. For the success of this feature of the system a supply of lecturers is necessary who are able and willing to give their entire time to the work, and the securing of them is a problem which is receiving the most careful thought of all friends of the work. One of the most impressive speeches at the National Conference was by Mr, P. J. McGuire, representing the American Federation of Labor. He presented most emphatically the approval of this movement by American workmen and the possibilities that they see in it. At the last monthly con- ference of the Knights of Labor of Philadelphia, Prof. Simon L. Patten gave 2/0 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. a talk on the general idea of the work and on the special advantages for work- men connected with the Extension study of Political Economy. George Francis James gave an explanation of the system, and a motion was passed approving this work and urging the delegates from the Local Assemblies to bring the matter clearly before their members on the earliest possible occasion. It is hoped that several Extension centres will be established by and for the various Trade organizations of the city. The attention of the teachers and college men of the country is turning ever more strongly to the consideration of University Extension. At the recent meeting of the College Association of the Middle States and Maryland, in Ithica, N. Y., President Edmund J. James led in the discussion of this sub- ject. At the annual meetings of the Ohio State Teachers' Association and the Ohio College Association, during the Christmas holidays, much interest was shown in the progress of the work. At Springfield, on December 30th, President Rogers, of the Northwestern University, presented the movement to the State Teachers' Association of Illinois. President W. E. Knapp, of the Colorado State Teachers' Association, devoted a. large part of his Annual Address to the consideration of University Extension, and before the College Section of the same Association at Denver, on December 30, President Slocum, ■of Colorado College, urged those connected with the higher education of the State to use all their influence in behalf of the movement. An important meeting was held in Columbus, on January 21st, looking toward the organization of a State Extension Society. There were present. President Stubbs, of Baldwin; President Scott, of Ohio State; President ZoUers, of Hiram ; President Sanders, of Otterbein ; President Marsh, of Mt. Union; Professor W. A. Merrill, of Miami, and Professor C. B. Austin, of Ohio Wesleyan. Communications were read from the Presidents of Oberlin, Adelbert, Buchtel Colleges, and Ohio and Denison Universities, all favorable to the movement. After a careful discussion of the relation of the college to this movement, and of the best methods of organization, it was resolved to form the Ohio Society for the Extension of University Teaching. The membership is to comprise the faculties of the various Ohio colleges and such other persons as they may deem proper to elect. The management is to be in the hands of a Board of Councillors, of which there will be one member for each college. The Board is to meet in Columbus on March 8ih to complete the organization of the Society and secure its incorporation. Friends of University Extension look forward with confidence to the establishment of such a society in each State of the Union. The work of University Extension in America owes much to the help of our English visitors of last year and of this year. Their observations have taught them valuable lessons in turn, and now the organizers of the Oxford Summer Meeting have asked that a similar favor be shown them, and invited NOTES. 27 1 the presence of two of the most successful American lecturers on that occasion. These are Edward T. Devine, Staff Lecturer of the American Society, and Prof. Henry W. Rolfe, of the University of Pennsylvania. The work of Mr. Devine is already known to the readers of University Extension. After his very successful courses at Reading, Lancaster and Chester Springs he was asked to organize an Extension circuit under the auspices of a leading New England college, and again under the management of the Educational Associa- tions of one of the largest Southern cities. It seemed preferable, however, to strengthen the organization in Pennsylvania, and arrangements were made for courses by him in Wilkesbarre, Scranton, Plymouth, Wyoming and Kingston, and Bridgeport, Conn. Prof. Henry W. Rolfe is now engs^ed in lecturing at Reading, Phcenixville, Chambersburg, Coatesville, Pa., and Winchester, Va. Ke closed a very successful course at Wayne before Christmas, and has in addition done excellent work in organizing centres in four different States. It is the earnest desire of Extension leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to keep a close and vital connection between the English and the American movements. THOUGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE. " It is no longer an assumption to assert that every portion of our vast country is genuinely interested in University Extension, and recognizes more or less clearly that the movement is to play a great part.in the higher education of our people in the future. The entire country will follow with deep interest the deliberations that occur here, now and hereafter. To the suggestions and conclusions which flow from our discussions, all of us will look for light and leading, in the new and difficult path upon which we have entered." — Address of Welcome, Provost William Pepper. "If there is any one thing more than another that the church has pro- claimed on the housetops, it is this : That rank has responsibilities ; that special privileges have special duties to discharge ; and that from him to whom men have given much, will they require the more. We get only to give ; and, unless I misread it utterly, it lies in the heart of this movement to lift the University out of its sacred seclusion, where luxuriantly it has enjoyed its garden of pleasant fruits, and order it to carry its best systems, its best work, its best sons and daughters, out to those who are thirsting on the hot fields, and fainting by the dusty roadsides of crowding life. The church, working for the people and with the people, working to enlighten, working to turn the world upside -down that the right side may be brought up and kept up, the church must, and will, find one of her best friends and strongest allies in this great popular -educational, and revolutionary movement." — The Church and University Extension, Rev. John S. Mac-Intosh, D. D. 272 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. " It seems to me that this work reconciles culture and labor. The very political future makes work of this kind important. What can be more important than that men of all classes and stations, with their varied experiences, should meet together in the University Extension class, and frankly explain to one another their respective views ? We shall thus see that all good and honest- thinking men don't much differ in their final ideas of social reform. Surely the best way of obtaining true equality is, to give the best people in every rank of a nation every educational advantage ; and as we are now in a time when, as Emerson said, ' Things are in the saddle and ride mankind,' we should set before all ranks of our people an ideal of spirit, instead of an ideal of money- making. Our aim is not intellectual communism, but equalization of intellectual opportunities; and it is a significant feature that among our University Exten- sion students is the lady who, if she is spared, will some day be Queen of England, and an Oxford chimney sweep." * * « « The people of the street should be taken in. You may there get a cobbler's son who will be an Arkwright ; a butcher's boy who will prove a Wolsey, or a laborer's child who will turn out to be a Stephenson." — The Developmertt of University Extension, Michael E. Sadler. " The reason why the Young Men's Christian,Association should co-operate in University Extension may be summed up under two headsi The first rs because it has the facilities for doing the work. Three things are considered important in the establishment of a local centre for the Extension of University Teaching, viz. : An existing organization of fome kind to afford a nucleus of attendance ; a suitable hall or rooms for lectures and classes, and reference libraries, or conveniences for handling books. The Association possesses these requisites. In the second place University Extension, being clearly a movement of the highest public good, and placing educational privileges here- tofore denied them, within reach of multitudes of young men, the Association should gladly co-operate with it on these accounts. It should do so to that extent that will not interfere with its other work, or diminish what it offers to young men. This I take to be the only limitations upon it. The Association aims to give to the world, as a final product of its work, a young man, intel- lectual as well as spiritual ; and there seems no reason why its co-operation with the University Extension should not prove a union of forces that will greatly advance its efforts to realize this high ideal of an all-around \D3.tx.—The Y. M. C. A. and University Externum, Walter C. Douglas. University Extension. THE CHICAGO SOCIETY FOR UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ^^HE work of University Extension in Chicago was begun ^^ by Professor James A. Woodburn, of the University of Indiana, who has given a course of lectures at the Workers' Church on American pohtical history. This centre was organized in November, 1891, mainly through the instrumentality of Dr. Doremus Scudder, the pastor of the church. Before that, however, the subject had been often brought before the public, largely by the presidents of the two universities in the city, President Harper, of the Chicago University, having addressed various meetings on the subject and President Rogers, of the Northwestern University, having been engaged in organizing the Chicago Society for University Extension. This society was the product of the belief that co-operation is necessary to the attainment of the best, results. Several of the colleges which united in forming the society had already been engaged in Extension teach- ing. The University of Indiana had had a gratifying success in its two years' experience. The University of Wisconsin had begun the work in the early autumn and found much encouragement. Several of the colleges in the society are now carrying on successful independent work, A preliminary meeting of leading citizens of Chicago- was held on May 22, 1891, at the Newberry Library. President Edmund J.James, of the American Society, made an address explanatory of the movement and set forth •18 ^3 274 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. clearly and forcibly the great possibilities it enfolds. Much interest was aroused at that time. No organization was, however, effected until November 28, when the repre- sentatives of the Northwestern, Chicago, Lake Forest, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois Universities and Beloit and Wabash Colleges met at the Newberry Library. At this meeting it was decided to form a united society, to be controlled by two representative bodies, the joint university board, consisting of the president and two professors from each college, and an advisory council of Chicago citizens. A staff of lecturers was chosen, which at present includes sixty- five professors, who are offering eighty-five courses of six lectures. It remained only to appoint the advisory council and elect officers. At a subsequent meeting of the society, Mr. Franklin H. Head was elected President, Mrs. Charles Henrotin, Vice-President, Mr. Franklin MacVeagh, Treas- urer, and Mr. Charles Zeublin, Secretary. The organization having been effected so late the circulars were not issued until about Christmas time. It is consequently too early to prophecy of the success of the society. The territory which the society attempts to reach is largely unworked, but the principles on which the organ- ization is founded guarantee ultimate success. It is a purely disinterested educational project. The colleges unite for the extension of university advantages and not for self- glorification. There will be no inducement for any one to seek pecuniary gain or notoriety. The fee, ten dollars, adopted {is the minimum compensation for the lecturer is small. The support of the society comes from public- spirited and interested citizens. The only end can be to accomplish good. The first centre organized under the auspices of the society was that at Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, where Professor Butler, of the University of Indiana, gave the . first lecture of his course on English literature to an audi- THE CHICAGO SOCIETY FOR UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 2/5 ence of one hundred and seventy-five subscribers. Profes- sor Butler also opened the centre at the Newberry Library February 19. At the Workers' Church Professor Woodburn is to be succeeded by Professor Ross, of the University of Indiana, who lectures on economics. Six other centres are now being organized, and more than that number of places are taking such steps as to encourage« the belief that centres will be formed. It is a noticeable fact, that at the Workers' Church, Oak Park, the Newberry Library, and Evanston plans were almost immediately laid for two successive courses. In many cases where inquiries have been made, or encouragement appeared to be offered, it has seemed wise to the communities to postpone the work until next autumn. Plans are already being made in some instances for thorough work next season. In addition to the beginning made by the society similar efforts have been put forth, locally, chiefly by churches. The Union Church in Hyde Park, and the Wesley Church on the north side have Extension classes. There is every indication that the friends of the movement have reason to look for a bright future for University Extension in Chicago and vicinity. CHARLES ZEUBLIN. Chicago, February, i8ge. THE CLEVELAND SOCIETY FOR UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. J^HE Cleveland Society for the Extension of University ^^ Teaching was incorporated on December 14, 1891. The society has no official connection with any other society or with any educational institution, although it proposes to draw its instructors mainly from the Western Reserve University and the Case School of Applied Science. The officers of the society are: President, Hon. Samuel E. Wil- liamson; Vice-President, Gen. M. D. Leggett; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Charles F. Thwing, President of Adelbert College and of Western Reserve University ; Secretary, Emerson O. Stevens ; Treasurer, Charles J. Dockstader. The office of the society is at Adelbert Col- lege. The membership numbers now about one hundred and twenty-five of the foremost educational, professional and business men of the city. On Monday evening, January 18, a pubhc meeting was held in the Association Hall of the Y. M. C. A. build- ing, to inaugurate the work of the society. President Edmund J. James, of the American Society, had been engaged to speak, but was unfortunately prevented by illness. In his absence addresses were made by President Charles F. Thwing, Superintendent L. W. Day, Pro- fessor Charles F. Olney, and Principal Edward L. Harris, of the Central High School. The society offers twenty-three courses of study and has issued a neat pamphlet giving a full description of each course. Eleven classes have been formed in different parts of the city, and there are already over three hundred students. Other classes are being formed as rapidly as possible. Z7S THE CLEVELAND SOCIETY FOR UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 2// The society has thus far received only the most cordial words of approval from all sides. The press and the pulpit liave both spoken in strong commendation of its work and the movement it represents. The superintendent of the public schools of the city has prepared and sent out to all the teachers a special circular, calling their attention to the subject and urging them to avail themselves of the advan- tages which the society offers. One large class in American history meets in one of the public school buildings through the courtesy of the Board of Education. The officers of the Central M. E. Church, the largest in the city, have ■offered their building free of charge to the society for hold- ing classes. Two large classes, one in American history and one in Shakespeare, meet in the Y. M. C. A. building, where with equal generosity rooms have been offered them. The subject of University Extension in general is arousing much interest in Cleveland and vicinity. At the last meeting of the Congregational Club, an organ- ization with over two hundred members, composed of prom- inent men in the northern part of Ohio, including a score of college presidents and professors, besides ministers and professional men, the theme for the evening was "Uni- versity Extension." The secretary read an historical paper on the subject which was followed by a forcible address from President Thwing, and by several speeches by Adelbert and Oberlin professors. EMERSON O. STEVENS. Cleveland, February, i8g2. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. J?^HE State Universities of the West have from their foun- ^^ dation held a very close relation to the people. Created by State authority, they have endeavored to supply the peculiar wants of young, growing commonwealths. Composing a part of the great public school system, they have sought to be in every sense the schools of the people. But while they have entered into the sympathies of the people and endeavored to supply the kind and quality of education suited to their peculiar needs, on the other hand they have assumed the leadership in thought and learning of the State and country in which they have been located. The modern State University has had occasion to feel in a special way that it is truly the servant of the people and the commonwealth, and has therefore been more in sympathetic touch with the life of the people than perhaps many older institutions of different foundation. Consequently, while we find in western institutions, the instructors endeavoring to give full and complete instruction in the branches of the University curriculum and to develop individual students as far as possible in the way of higher learning, many of the instructors have been called from time to time to lecture to the people and to mingle with the public affairs of the State. Thus their influence has extended beyond the University walls to the community at large. Without ignoring other institutions, the University of Kansas is to be specially mentioned in this connection, A remarkable interest has been shown in agriculture, entomology, sanitation, natural history, geology, literature, the condition of labor, and all economic enterprises as well as in the common school educa- tion of the State. Papers have been prepared and read before 278 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 279 scientific, literary, and educational associations, and popular lectures have been given to the people. A number of instructors, in the University have been very active in thus supplying^; the demand for local lectures. The services of Chancellor Snow are worthy of special note in this field. He has been connected with the institution for twenty-five years, twenty- three of which were spent as instructor in science. In Snow Hall are found some of the visible results of his. labors in fine collections of minerals, fossils, birds, animals, and botanical specimens. The more important results of his service are best determined by an estimation of the aid he has given to the cause of education in Kansas. He is best known to the people of the State by his frequent lec- tures on science and education. Recently he has added to the fame of a name that already had become a household word by the discovery of a method of exterminating the chinch-bug and thus has saved millions of dollars to the grain- grower of Kansas. Prof James H. Canfield, now Chan- cellor of Nebraska University, spent many years as an instructor in the institution, and during this time was active in the diffusion of knowledge throughout the State. There is scarcely a town where his voice has not been heard in behalf of the higher education of the people. In fact it has become customary for all instructors to give single lectures in different parts of Kansas and western Missouri, when called upon for such services. During the year 1890-9B over one hundred such lectures were delivered by the faculty of the University. This disposition to carry the products of higher learning to the people, by means of lectures may be accredited to nearly all western institu- tions. Institutions of this nature take kindly to the Univer- sity Extension movement. It is only necessary to enlarge and systematize the work of the casual lecturer, and 20U UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. University Extension is accomplished. The recent Ex- tension movement, which spread so rapidly over the United States, reached Kansas just in time to take immediate and permanent effect. In the spring of 1891 it was fully determined to ma,ke an organized effort in this direction in the following September. It may be well to relate in this connection that one or two experiments related to the Extension idea were tried during the previous winter months. The two historical departments of the Univer- I sity, then under charge of Prof. James H. Canfield, and the writer of this sketch, organized two lecture courses among the farmers at the small towns of Vineland and Edwardsville. The subjects of the lectures were related to the economic problems of the day, and the persons attending the lectures, many of whom were members of the Farmers' Alliance, were deeply interested in the sub- jects discussed. Prof. Canfield headed the course with a talk on "Taxation," and he was followed by six of the more advanced students of the Historical Department, who gave lectures on the following topics : Commercialism in America, O. H. Holmes ; The Machine in Politics, F. L. Kellogg; Farm Mortgages, H. S. Hadley; The Deep Harbor Movement, I. H. Morse ; The Growth of Nation- ality, G. O. Virtue ; The Management of Public Debts, J. D. Bowersock; The Silver Question, by the writer of this paper, closed the course. The lectures proved highly profitable, both to lecturers and listeners. Much discus- sion was aroused and the University brought near the people and the people drawn into sympathy with the University work. Another method by which the University is kept in sympathetic touch with the people is through the corres- ponding members of the Historical Seminary. There are about twenty-four of these corresponding members, men prominent in the State, who come to the University to UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 28 1 read papers or deliver addresses on historical, economic or sociological questions. They generally read on practical topics in connection with some phase of real life, and thus bring into the lecture-room the views of men of experience. A vigorous discussion follows each paper in which students and instructors take part. The appearance of the man of practical affairs in the lecture-room tends to keep students and instructors in touch with the life that surrounds them, while the lecturers go away with a better acquaintance with what is being done in the modern university. The result is a closer union or identification of the life of the university with that of the people. As an example it may b,e said that the last paper was read by Hon. Frank H. Betton, State Labor Commissioner, in which he reviewed the work of labor commissions and gave a general survey of the condition of labor. In September, 1 890, the work of University Extension was formally inaugurated. It began in Topeka,^ Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, about the same time. The initiative of actual work was made by Mr. Beers, the librarian of the city library at Topeka, who was instru- mental in organizing a local association at that place. Prof. Blake, of the University of Kansas, was invited to deliver a course of twelve lectures on Electricity and Magnetism. A class of one hundred and twenty-five pupils was composed of many of the best people of Topeka. Electricity was conducted into the hall and apparatus for experiments furnished from the department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Kansas. The lectures are given in an attractive manner and each one amply illustrated with the best modern experi- ments. One lecture is delivered every two weeks, on •Topekaisabeautifulcityof about forty thousand people, and being the capital of the State It is essentially a centre of learning and educational enterprises. 282 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Friday nights. A short syllabus of each lecture is printed one week in advance and distributed among the members of the class for suggestive reading and study. These are arranged in a small book prepared for use, which also contains the list of authors and books to be studied. As the class is not completed it is impossible to tell how many will take the examination and try for grades at the univer- sity. As an illustration of the nature and grade of the work done an enumeration of the principal subjects treated and a typical syllabus will be given. Topics discussed. Scientific Conception of Energy, The Electric Current, The Electro-Magnet, Electro-Dynamics of Current, Am- pere's Theory of Measuring Instruments of Electric Cur- rent, Theory of Electro-Magnetic Potential, Electro-Mag- netic Induction, Alternating Current, Electro-Chemics, Static Induction, Electrical Radiation. The titles of the lectures varied somewhat from the above. The following is the syllabus of the seventh lecture in the course : LECTURE VII. (January 29, 1892). THE GROWTH AND VARIETIES OF CDRRENTS. Variable and steady flow of currents. Helmholtz's Equations. Time constant. Simple periodic current. Alternating currents. Polyphasal currents. Sir William Thomson's calculation of the distribution of a current in a conductor. Hughes' experiment on self-induction. Oscillating discharges. Application to lightning rods. QUESTIONS. 1. Why do the pole pieces of dynamo field magnets become heated? 2. From Helmholtz equations how would you make a quick-action telegraph relay ? 3. To produce a spark ^^^ inch long requires 1 000 volts (De la Rue). Explain then the spark on breaking a circuit of but few cells. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 2&3 Almost simultaneously with the movement in Topeka began that of Kansas City, Mo. It may not be inappropriate to state that Kansas City is a thriving city of about 140,000 inhabitants and that it is the metropolis of western Missouri and eastern Kansas. There are consequently many people in Kansas City who formerly lived in Kansas and still retain pleasant memories of their former home. Indeed the city is so closely connected with the State whose boundary it joins as to be logically named Kansas City. Although a- Western city, full of business enterprise, the people are wide awake to all kinds of available intellectual culture. Here are found graduates of Kansas and Missouri universities as well as graduates of Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Michigan and other institutions of the United States who are still interested in higher education. Desiring to form a Univer- sity Extension society they naturally 'looked to the nearest State institution for assistance — the University of Kansas. The writer was invited to address a meeting called for the purpose of organizing a local Extension' association. The association was permanently organized with Mr. E H. Allen, president of the Board of Trade, as president of the association, and Mr, John Sullivan as secretary. Later on a preliminary meeting was addressed by Prof. W. H. Car- ruth, of the University of Kansas, and the writer. Spald- ing's Hall, a large and centraUy located auditorium, was obtained for the meetings of the association and classes, and the secretary immediately wrote to all of the institutions in the vicinity asking them to submit a list of Extension lectures in courses which they were willing to deliver in Kansas City. The following is a partial list of lectures submitted. It is to be regretted that a complete list is not at hand, but those offered by the William Jewell and Park Colleges are not to be found at present. Constitutional Law, Alexander Martin, L.L. D, ; Semitic Languages, J. S. Blackwell, Ph. D. ; History of the English Language, E. A. 284 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Allen, Litt. D. ; History of Education, J. P. Blanton, A. M. ; History of Mathematics, W. B. Smith, Ph. D. ; Greek Life, W. G. Manly, A. M. ; Roman Religion, J. C. Jones, Ph. D. ; Roman Constitutional Law, J. M. Burnham, Ph. D. ; Homer and Homeric Antiquities, Walter Miller, M. A.; The Electro-Magnet, William Shrader, Ph. D.; Botany, G. D. Purinton, Ph.D.; Astronomy, Milton Updegraf, B. C. E. The above courses were offered by the instructors of the •University of Missouri, located at Columbia. The following courses were offered by the University of Kansas : The Chemistry of Every-Day Life, E. H. S. Bailey, Ph. D. ; Political Economy, Economic Problems and Sociology, F. W. Blackmar, Ph. D. ; The German Empire, E. D. Adams, Ph. D. ; Electricity and its Modern Applica- tions, L. L Blake, Ph. D. ; The Romantic School in France and the Development of the Novel in France, A. G. Canfield, A. M. ; English Literature of the Nineteenth Century, C. G. Dunlap, A. B. ; History and Philosophy of American Literature, E. M. Hopkins, A. M. ; German Literature, First Classic Period, and German Literature, Modern Period, W. H. Carruth, A. M. ; Municipal and Domestic Sanitation, F. O. Marvin, A. M. ; Astronomy, E. Miller, A. M. ; The Art of Piano-Forte Playing, G. B. Penny, B. S. ; Roman Poetry, D. H. Robinson, Ph. D. ; Botany, W. C. Stevens, B. S. ; Medical Chemistry and Sanitary Science, L. E. Sayre, Ph. G. ; Psychology, Olin Templin, A. M. ; Classical Greek Literature, A. M. Wilcox, Ph. D. ; Physical Geology, S. W. Williston, Ph. D. It was decided by the Kansas City Association to take the course offered above on Economic Problems as intro- ductory to the work. The preference in courses was deter- mined by replies to circulars freely distributed by the Association among the prominent people of the city and vicinity. A class of over one hundred was formed for the first course, ninety-two of whom registered for examination UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 285 and credits. The aim of this course was to discuss in a scientific manner the principal topics of the day, especially those in which the people are most interested in the West. In the lectures it was intended to apply all of the principal laws and principles of political economy so that during the twelve weeks students might observe the work- ings of political economy and discover its laws through its applications to present industrial life. The following is a list of the subjects of the lectures given : Money and its Circulation ; How a Nation Grows Wealthy (Production) ; The Division of Wealth Products ; Monopolies ; Socialism and Communism ; Immigration ; Taxation and Tax Reforms ; Irrigation of Arid Lands ; Transportation ; Social and Economic Reforms (two lec- tures); The Scope, Method and Services of Political Economy. A great deal of interest was shown on the part of the students, and permanent good resulted from the course. At the time of writing it is not known how many will take the examinations, consequently certain results may not be estimated. In the two classes referred to, one in Topeka and one in Kansas City, the membership was largely com- posed of teachers, lawyers, judges, business men and artisans.* A syllabus of each lecture was printed in the leading papers prior to the time of delivering the lectures. These outlines were quite full for the purpose of assisting students in their daily studies and of giving them a well-rounded idea of the subject. One lecture was delivered each week on Thursday evening. The first hour was devoted to'the formal presentation of the subject of the evening, and the second to the informal discussions and questions. Arrange- ments were made with the librarian of the city library to 1 In Prof. Blake's class there were 21 lawyers, 12 teachers, 12 students, 4 engineers 4nd physicians, electricians, operators, clerks, public officers, etc. 286 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. collect the books relating to the subjects of the lectures in a private reading-room for the consultation of those who were taking the course. Some studious ones availed them- selves of this privilege. The following syllabus of the ninth lecture, that on Transportation, will illustrate the nature of the work : I — Economic effects of transportation. To what extent is wealth produced by trade? The cost of exportation affects the division of labor. Rapid transportation tends to equalize prices. The extension of the agricultural area and the concentration of manufactures. General effect of cheap transportation. The economic value of good streets and roads. II — Railroad versus water transportation. The relative cost of railway, canal, ocean, river and lake trans- portation. Why water transportation has been neglected. Signs of a return to water transportation. The advantages and disadvantages of water communication. Ill — The railroad problem : How to avoid abuses that arise through private management. Complaints urged against the present management. Competition and combination. Is the present system necessarily expensive ? The work of railroad commissions, state and interstate. The steady reduction of freights and fares. IV — Comparative management in different countries. The French territorial system. ■ ' The Prussian and Belgian state management. Italy desires to return to private management. Effect of private management in England. The Austro-Hungarian zone-tariff system. V — Proposed government ownership in the United States. ' Review of the railway system in the United States. Dangers and difficulties of public ownership. The removal of present evils by judicious management. REFERENCES : " The Railways of the Republic " — Hudson. " Railroad Transportation " — Hadley. " Reports of Interstate Commerce Conraiission." UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 28/ " Statistics of Railways in the United States " — H. C. Adams. " Bulletins of the Eleventh Census.'' ■" Railroads and Railroad Questions " — C. F. Adams. ■" The Public Regulation of Railways " — ^W. D. Dabney. •" The Interstate Commerce Act " — Dos Passos. " Railway Secrecy and Trusts " — Bonhanj. " Railroad Accidents : Their Causes and Prevention " — C. F. Adams. " The Railway, the Farmer and the Public " — E. Atkinson. While this work was being inaugurated the Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri were not idle. They each organized for the work, sent a prospectus of the conditions on which the Extension would be made, and established a system of credits for students in the prescribed courses. To meet the immediate demands of students in these courses, the University of Kansas adopted the following regulations : " Persons who hold the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas, or from other institutions of equal rank with it, may receive the degree of Master of Arts upon the satisfactory com- pletion of nine University Extension courses of twelve lectures, each. These courses shall be accompanied by such study, reading, and examination as shall be prescribed by the professors in charge." "Persons not holding the bachelor's degree upon the satisfactory completion of nine University Extension courses of twelve lectures each, shall receive a University Extension diploma." "Work done under instructors from other institutions than the University of Kansas will be accepted upon examination for not more than four of the nine courses necessary for a degree or a diploma. This work will also be accepted as undergraduate work, a full course in the University Extension being reckoned as a two-thirds term in the University. Nine twelve-lecture courses will be .accepted as equivalent to a full year's work at the University." In making these rules the faculty of the University realized that only a comparatively small number out of the 288 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. large classes receiving University Extension lectures would care to avail themselves of these provisions. But it was thought best to make it possible for all who desired, to receive such credit extended by the University. All such persons are duly registered as students of the University of Kansas. The University of Missouri formulated similar provisions respecting credits in that institution. The second course, begun under the direction of the Kansas City local association, was that of English Litera- ture of the Nineteenth Century. This was also a large and interesting class and was successfully carried on by Prof C. G. Dunlap of the University of Kansas. The following list of subjects will indicate the scope of the work: Litera- ture at the Close of the Eighteenth Century, William Wordsworth, Samuel T. Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Lord Byron, John Henry Newman, The Novel (Thackeray and Dickens), Tennyson, George Eliot, Robert Browning. The association arranged for four other courses : One on Constitutional Law, by Prof .Alexander Martin, of the University of Missouri, and one on the Semitic Languages by Prof J. S. Blackwell of the same institution. Although classes were about completed for these gentlemen, owing to the unfortunate occurrence of the burning of the main building of the Missouri University, they found it necessary to give all of their attention to home work. These courses of lectures will probably be given next year. The other two courses arranged for are by Professors Blake and Carruth of the Kansas University, the former on Electricity and its Modern Applications and the latter on German Literature. Prof Blake's course is similar to that given in Topeka in many respects. The class has already been formed and numbers over three. hundred — the largest class yet formed. The course in German Literature will begin soon. The following subjects indicate the scope of the i UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 289 work: Martin Luther, From Luther to Lessing, Lessing (two lectures), The Storm and Stress Period, Goethe (four lectures), Schiller (three lectures). A new course has been formed in Topeka under the auspices of the Trades and Labor Assembly. This will be carried on by the writer after the course in Kansas City is completed. The subject is Political Economy, and the course is especially arranged for intelligent workingmen. Prof. E. H. S. Bailey, of the Kansas University, is conducting a very interesting course in the Chemistry of Every-Day Life at Olathe, Kan. The class is large and enthusiastic. The following outline will suggest the nature of the course : The Atmosphere, Combustion, Artificial Lighting, Water, Cleansing and Bleaching Materials, Foods, Sugars, Nitrogenous Foods, Fruits, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Digestion and Assimilation of Food. The following outline of a single lecture illustrates the nature of the instruction given : "NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES." History of their use and a general discussion of source. Division of such beverages into three classes. 1. The infusion of the leaves, as tea. 2. The infusion or extract of the seeds, as coffee. 3. The soup or guel made from the prepared seed, as Chocolate. Tea, its source and method for its preparation for the market. How tea should be prepared for the table. Influence of tannin on digestion. Varieties of tea. Adulteration and falsification. Action of tea on the system. Coffee-leaf tea. Coffee, its source and method for its preparation. Preparation of the beverage. Adulteration of coffee. Coffee substitutes. Action of this beverage on the system. Chocolate, Cocoa. Method for the preparation of the commercial article from the Cacao bean. Composition. Preparation of the beverage. Adulteration and falsification. Action on the system. A course of eight lectures is being given at Abilene, Kan., by various instructors of the University of Kansas. The lectures are all literary, but are given by different 19 290 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. individuals. Among those who have already been selected are E. M. Hopkins, A. G. Canfield, W. H. Carruth, O. Templin, A. M. Wilcox and C. G. Dunlap. Over ninety- persons have entered the class. This course is a little different from other courses, but is worthy of mention as a genuine extension of university instruction. The people of Abilene are so well pleased with the success of the enterprise that they have already begun to plan for other courses during the next academic year. This may also be said of the people of other towns. They say, " Next year we will know how to carry on this work in a more acceptable manner." Two courses of lectures will be given in Wichita on Astronomy and Geology. The former will be given by Prof. E. Miller, and the latter by Prof. S. W. Willston, both of Kansas State University. Each course will consist of six lectures only. This promises to be an excellent field for University Extension. While these lectures are being given to those who desire them, the single lecture system is kept up by the instructors of the University. They are called here and there over different parts of the State to give a single lecture for the benefit of some association, college or high school. Thus we have an account of the inauguration of University Extension in the Southwest. It will be seen by the foregoing statement that the movement is taking a permanent place in Western education. Many lessons have already been learned, but the enterprise is still in an experi- jnental stage and one cannot predict what will be the future -outcome. It would seem that as the work has sprung up of itself, unaided by any systematic urging, it has a fair -prospect of becoming permanent. The University of Kansas has not urged the movement in any degree. It has I endeavored to supply the demands and to give such informa- ',tion as has been sought for in the formation of local UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 29 1 associations. The instructors take up the work somewhat reluctantly, owing to the fact that they have plenty of work at home, yet they feel it a duty to respond to such calls when they can do so without interfering seriously with their regular work. It will be found that a reasonable amount of such work, bringing the instructor, as it does, in contact with the world outside of the University, is a great advantage to him for it tends to quicken him and prepare him for more vital instruction. ' The preceding brief review of actual work done has been for the purpose of indicating the amount and quality of instruction that has been given in this line and for the purpose of designating the general plan of operation. From the foregoing history and from the record of similar work done in other parts of the West it will be seen that the general plan of the work is well defined. Each prominent institution will be the center for the propagation of Extension ideas and for furnishing lectures. Around these centers local associations are being formed which will take the responsibility of arranging courses for the people, of forming classes, and attending to the financial part of the enterprise. Immediately connected with the people whose wants and whose ways it fully understands, a strong local institution is best prepared to carry on University Extension within the radius of its influence. This is its natural field and its legitimate service. It is a natural center of educational influence and the people look upon it with pride and are willing to be instructed by its professors. If such an institution be a living one, strong and vigorous, it is within sympathetic touch with the people and close to their lives and thoughts. While it may administer to their educational needs it will on the other hand lead them to enter the realm of higher learning or to complete the course which they have abandoned long ago. It will be seen by the foregoing outline that much of the work is of an advanced nature 2g2 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. and some of it is prepared for classes who have made considerable progress. There has been an honest, and I may say, successful endeavor on the part of the lecturers to suit their instruction to the needs of the classes under their charge. A great improvement might be made in some instances in the preparation of outlines of the lecture which are to be placed in the hands of the members of the class. These outlines might be more complete and be composed of full statements of facts and principles laid down instead of the suggested heading. These principles and facts might be illustrated fully, so that the student could carry in his mind a living syllabus rather than a dead one. Also it may be seen that the process of classiiication of the students must be entered into more fully than has been done if the Extension movement is to grow in thoroughness and efficiency. The registry for examination and for grades is a step toward this and in due time the problem will gradually solve itself But little is to be said about the lecturer. Not every one is iitted to be a successful lecturer, but if a person is well educated in the subjects he proposes to teach, is able to talk plainly and simply to the people, with much enthusiasm and no manuscript, and if he also thoroughly understands the people as well as his subject, there is little fear of failure as a lecturer in this field. But if he has not these qualities, all the manuals, and helps, and talk about how Extension should be carried on will be but clumsy instruments in his hands. Of course this implies that he should make his own outlines, prepare his own manuals and not attempt to use the work prepared by others. The way to carry on University Extension is promptly and actively to extend the University work directly among the people according to their needs and there will be vital results of the contact. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 293 One of the greatest difficulties of Extension work in the institutions of new countries is that the instructors are fully occupied at their own institution, usually on a moder- ate salary, and that the people who most need the educa- tion are not in a condition to pay much for it. But as lecturers from abroad are even more expensive, it only remains for such institutions to work earnestly until Exten- sion is made a regular department and well provided for in the financial administration of the universities. If insti- tutions will do as President Harper has indicated, will be done in the Chicago University, make an Extension depart- ment and provide special instruction in the same, much of the difficulty will be removed. An institution that does this is prepared to double its influence in behalf of higher education. Until this time comes the permanency of the movement of University Extension will not be assured. Until such time comes the movement will be somewhat fitful and irregular. It will be attended with alternate suc- cess and failure. But each live institution will make an honest endeavor to be a fountain of learning for the people in its vicinity. It will find it necessary to occupy more and more time in the Extension field, and of a necessity will be forced to systematize the work. It may be found ex- pedient to keep one or more men continually in the field, although it will appear that the ordinary institution will receive the greater benefit by shortening the regular time required of the professor in the university, and allow each to give one or two Extension courses each year. Except in cases of heavily endowed institutions by far more good can be accomplished in this than in any other way, for it has a direct influence on the quality of instruction given in the institution as well as in extending the university life to the people. Possibly among the older institutions in the East, a more formal method of Extension may be carried on, similar to that of the English universities. Years of :ijy4 uwivjEKsiTv isxtensiun. practice may yield similar work in the West, but just now it appears that the work as indicated in this paper is as far advanced as the demands and the conditions will warrant. The writer would not have it appear that the University of Kansas is the only institution in the Southwest engaged in Extension work. Such institutions as William Jewell, Park, Baker University, Manhattan Agricultural College, Washburn College, and the Emporia Normal School, have furnished many lectures to the people, but the University of Kansas has taken the most complete and radical departure in this respect of all the institutions of the Southwest. Already nine full courses of twelve lectures each have been com- menced, or are arranged for since last October, and the regular system of single lectures has been maintained. The limit for work of this nature, without interfering seriously with routine work, is in the neighborhood of about twenty courses each year of twelve lectures each. FRANK W. BLACKMAR. Lawrence, JCansas, February, 18^2. ECONOMICS, III. Part I. Production. IV. Future Goods. — In the last section attention was called to the growing appreciation of future welfare as one FUTURE of the psychical premises of the theory of produc- GooDs. |.Jqjj_ j^g outward manifestation is the increase in the number of goods which are not themselves destined for consumption, but which are employed in further produc- tion. These may be regarded as unfinished or future goods. The satisfaction which their production was intended to meet will not be realized until the commodity which is to be consumed has actually been produced. The plow, the wagon, and the reaper in so far as they are used in the pro- duction of wheat, may be regarded as wheat not yet ready for consumption. They have no reason for existence except as they bring nearer that for the production of which they were themselves produced. To be clearly distinguished from these future goods, are those which minister directly to the satisfaction of human PRESENT desires. Food, clothing and fuel used in protection GOODS, against cold are obviously present goods. Com- modities which satisfy higher desires — as paintings, orna- ments, and articles of household furniture — are of the same kind.^ The spoken oration, the musician's notes and the plunge of the surgeon's knife, are goods in the economic sense and furnish excellent examples of the class of goods under consideration. The goods which have ultimately taken form as present goods have been at various stages of their .production, future goods. They have become present goods through the operation of productive agencies. They were products ; they have become produce.^ ' Clark: Phiiosphy of Wealth, ch. I. 3 Patten Fundamental Idea of Capital, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol, III, p. 193. 296 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The future goods are of two distinct kinds. There are those which will reappear visibly in the finished product as ACTIVE wood, cotton, flax, and coloring matter in cloth ; AND leather in shoes, etc./ and those which will not thus FUTURE reappear as coal, bleaching material, lubricants,^ and GOODS, the buildings which have been required in the pro- duction. Goods of the first mentioned class are themselves on the way to the goal of consumption. Those of the second are aiding in the transformation of other future goods into present goods. If the produce of industry under consideration be bread, the labor that has been expended in its production has taken form on the one side, at different stages as plant food, wheat, flour and dough ; and the other as improvement on land, agricultural machinery, wagon, railroad, flour mill, and baker's oven. The latter are funda- mentally of the same type as the former.* Future goods of the first class are .called by Clark passive capital, those of the second active capital.* These products of human industry which owe their existence and their value not to their power to satisfy immediately human desire, but to the great fact ot the efficiency of serial production are future goods. Though material commodities only are ordinarily in- cluded in the term future goods, it should be pointed out that CAPITAL there are other productive agencies which are en-_ DEFINED, tirely analogous in their action. Andrews refers to some of them as " unembodied inventions," and cites the knowledge of chemical combinations used in the arts, etc. The patterns of a stove manufacturer, often very valuable, are of course future goods ; yet if the patterns themselves were destroyed they could usually be replaced at nominal ^ Andrews : Institutes of Economics, p. 49. •2 Ibid. ^ A plough is so many loaves of bread partly made, wliile a loom and the engine which moves it are partly made coats ; that is, society having determined to make some more bread and cnats, issofar along in the work that it has made a plough, a loom, and an engine to prope lit? Fatten as above. '^ Capital and its Earnings, in Publications of the American Economic Association, Vol. Ill, No. 2. ECONOMICS. 297 expense. The result of an invention whether of a pattern, a chemical combination, or a mechanical process is only under very exceptional circumstances wholly embodied in a physical form. The improvement of agricultural land may take such tangible form as to be easily recognized as a material product, a future good ; or it may consist simply in an improvement in the quality of the soil. Labor may be expended in the erection of agricultural stations in order to increase production. The result is then clearly a future good — a product of industry. Essentially the same thing is done when labor is expended in the training of laborers to greater efficiency. The qualities of man are improved as were those of the soil in the illustration above given. Finally labor may be expended in the production of future goods, such as machinery, tools, and factory buildings. It is better to reserve the term future goods for these material commodities, using the broader term Capital to designate the results of all labor exerted befpre that which performs the final act of transforming the future into a present good. Capital is embodied labor, but it is labor expended before- hand in order to increase the produce. Viewing the pro- duction of wealth rather than its consumption, looking not upon man's pleasures but upon the industrial organization, we thus get a clear idea of capital and its function. It does not include the means of subsistence or any commodities which will directly satisfy the wants of man and are desired by men on their own account. V. Capital. — Whether capital is a productive agency, ranking with land and labor, is a question of economic theory over which a severe struggle has con- powER tinned to the present day. The least that can °^ be claimed for the productive power of capital CAPITAL, is that the productive agencies are far more efficient where there is a relatively large stock of future goods in existence, where the serial method of production 298 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. is in full vogue, where a portion of the labor necessary to satisfy a man's desires is exerted long in advance of the period when the commodity is to be consumed.' The stream of human industry flows continuously under the management of man from its sources in the natural and social forces to its destination. The ^^agenoeJ^ stream is made up of products continually changing as it rolls on until at its mouth it discharges only produce. Four elements are clearly dis- tinguishable as we watch it : the products themselves, the physical energy which makes their motion and transfor- mation possible, the human labor which transfers that energy to the material product, and the intelligence which directs the general course of the stream. The observer who notices only the activity of the laborers as they in- dustriously move about in the midst of the stream con- cludes that only labor is a productive agency. One who has his attention riveted on the products themselves, seeing the changes in them but scarcely conscious of the work which man does, is inclined to emphasize capital and the industrial organization as chiefly responsible for the existence of wealth. One who is philosophically inclined will be tempted to attribute all wealth production to the physical forces or to the energy of which they are mani- festations. Socialists of the Karl Marx school are ob- servers of the first type. Those who describe industry from the extreme capital- istic standpoint are of the second. The French Physio- THEORiEs ^"'^^^ ^""^ *^^^'' descendants of the modern OF science over-emphasize the third element. It is ■ perfectly conceivable that under the influence of * The Talue of the unfinished commodity, the product of industry, depends upon the distance which separates it from the finished stage. When products are exchanged for produce it is always at a certain advantage to the holder of the former, provided he is able and witling to sacrifice thus a lower degree of pleasure in the present for a higher in the future. ECONOMICS. 299 the present tendency to exalt the entrepreneur's function in industry, some persons may get in the way of looking at the whole movement as if it were caused by his agency alone, to attribute to management that peculiar virtue which has at different times been supposed to reside in land, in labor, and in capital. But land is a chief factor in production only because it is through possession of land that man gets access to the natural forces. We are speaking figuratively only in terming land a primary pro- ductive agency. It is so of capital. The future goods themselves — ^the material commodities possess no pro- ductive power, but their presence in society is an indication that an efficient production is in progress, that man's labor is exerted in a more economical manner. It is evident that a society which maintains a judicious proportion between the quantities of future and present goods, will add thereby greatly to the satisfactions OF which it may enjoy. But it is essential further that FUTURE i-jjg various classes of future goods should bear to GOODS. ° each other a certain proportion determined in each case by the requirements of the industrial organization. If the object be to bring coal to the consumers, the future goods called into requisition are, among others, mine ma- chinery, road bed, and rolling stock. Individual producers sometimes put too large a portion of the available energy into the construction of railways, leaving not enough free for the production of machinery or for the mining industry itself*. The expenditure of labor too long beforehand is not to be justified. Production will be most efficient when the quantities of labor devoted to the various classes of future goods are most nicely adjusted. * Panics have sometimes ensued when too much of the national capital is in railroads. It becomes under such circumstances both fixed and specialiied. See next two paragraphs. ,00 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The distinction between circulating and fixed capital has long been current and is usefiil for certain practical purposes. Circulating capital consists of such AND future goods as fulfill the whole of their of- FixED CAPITAL. ^^^^ j^ ^j^^ production in which they are engaged, by a single use; fixed capital of such as exist in any durable shape and the use of which in production is spread over a period of corresponding duration ^. Much of what is ordinarily classed as circulating capital is, however, excluded entirely from the category, of future goods and consequently of capital as above defined. Nothing is more common in the political economy of the wage-fund period than discussions as to whether laborers suffer from the transformation of circulating capital into fixed capital. This discussion has no meaning unless we understand by circulat- ing capital mainly subsistence. But food and clothing are present goods — not capitalistic products — and they should not be reckoned as capital. The line between fixed and circulating capital has always been a very uncertain one, and since the line which separates future from present goods can be more distinctly drawn, the utility of the older dis- tinction is questionable. If it is retained and we seek an illustration in steamship transportation, we would place the vessel itself, as well as the permanent offices and the docks of the steamship company on the side of fixed capital; while the fuel consumed in the steamer, the supply of provisions necessary for the voyage^, and all those portions of the equipment of vessels, docks or offices, which need to 'be continually renewed, furnish the circulating capital. The paint renewed at every port, would figure in the circulating capital of the steamship line, though it would be less ^ Mill : Principles of Political Economy. Bk: i, ch. vi. ^ Until they are prepared for the table and actually placed before pissengers, ^hen they become present goods, and constitute an integral part of the " good " for which the passage money has been paid. ECONOMICS. 20 1 " circulating " than the fuel which lasts in the furnace but a few minutes. Specialized capital, by which is meant those future goods which, to avoid waste, must be carried forward to a SPECIALIZED P^^'ticular goal, as printing-presses to the pro- AND duction of books and newspapers, steam en' FREE CAPITAL. . . /■ r J i- ■ 1 • 1_ gmes to some form of production in which steam-power is required, and steel to the form of edged tools, rails, steel-plate, etc., is distinguished from free capital, which may with almost equal economy be employed in any one of many different kinds of production. This distinction is, also purely relative. A factory which can be transformed at small expense into one suited to the production of a dif- ferent commodity, is less specialized than one which if the transformation were necessary would require a greater out- lay in effecting required changes. Individuals suffer at times from changes in demand which leave them in posses- sion of specialized and useless capital. Production will be in this respect most efficient when changes are so success- fully anticipated as to prevent at such points a too great preponderance of specialized capital over that which is free. EDWARD T. DEVINE. NOTES. Professor H. L. Chapman, of Bowdoin, is delivering an Extension course at Rockland, Maine. Professor Miller, of the University of Kansas, gave the first lecture in a course of twelve on astronomy at Wichita, Kansas, on February 13. The Oxford University Extension Gazette for February quotes an inter- esting account of Extension work in England from the pen of M. Max Leclerc in the Revue Bleue. M. Leclerc speaks with the greatest enthusiasm of Mr. Hudson Shaw, who is to lecture in the United States under the auspices of the American Society during the coming season. Another centre of Extension teaching was established in Michigan, at Kalamazoo, on February Sth. Hon. George M. Buck was chosen president ; Professor S. D. Hartwell, secretary ; Mr. E. C. Parsons, treasurer. Kalamazoo is a very flourishing town, with two excellent local institutions, and within easy reach of Michigan University, from which its lecturers will naturally be largely drawn. The article in this number on " University Extension in the Southwest " is from Professor Frank W. Blackmar, of the University of Kansas, who has been one of the leading lecturers in that field from the start and than whom no one can speak with more authority or with fuller knowledge. This is the first of a series of reports on University Extension work which has been arranged for from the leading lecturers in different states. Dr. William Howard Tolman, of Brown University, contributes an inter- esting paper on Extension work at that university, to the February number of the Uuiversity Magazine. He instances an early example of Extension teach- ing in a course by Benjamin Waterhouse on natural history, which was given for the first time in 1785 for those not connected directly with the college. Brown University has ever since that time sought friendly relations with those outside of its walls, and its faculty have always responded to the calls of the State or of the municipality. The Georgia University Magazine reports the increased interest of the people of Georgia in University Extension. The course of lectures begun some weeks since in Atlanta, Ga., has awakened a wide-spread desire for university education, and an increased respect for university ideals and methods. Courses are arranged to be delivered during Frebruary and March by Professors MacPherson, Bocock, Strahan and Morris. In addition to these many are to be given at the Farmers' Institute throughout the State under the management of H. C. White, Professor of Chemistry, and J. B. Hunnicut, Professor of Agriculture. 302 NOTES. 303 The Academy has, in its February number, a timely article by Lilian Lee Gardner, of Bridgeport, Conn., on University Extension. Miss Gardner has shown her interest in the movement, not only in this article, but in her own town in connection with a centre of the American Society recently established there. It is significant of the broad scope of the Society and of the hearty co-operation of higher institutions, that this centre should have been established close to the walls of Yale University with the heartiest com- mendation of its president and professors. It has been possible in many instances for the American Society, through its staff lecturers, to foster the establishment of local centres in a territory naturally tributary to some leading college, and to leave the centre in such excellent condition that the respective college can carry on the work with little effort. Secretary Charles Zeublin, of the Chicago Society, who contributes a sketch of their work to this number of University Extension, is also secre- tary of Evanston Hall, the name by which the first settlement of the North- western University Settlement Association is known. The settlement is located at 143 West Division Street, Chicago, in the Sixteenth Ward. This ward has an area of one and one-fifth square miles, and a population of fifty-nine thou- sand, the largest number in any ward, and the most dense population of any in the city. The death rate is a fraction over twenty per cent. Only fifteen per cent, of the inhabitants are native bom ; thirty two per jcent. are Germans -, twenty-seven per cent. Poles ; seventeen per cent. Scandinavians ; and the remainder Bohemians and Irish. Considering the kind of population, the settlement is certainly located where it can accomplish great good as an exponent of resident work and study of social and religious conditions and personal contact with those who need help, both in a social and educational "way. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN NEW YORK. The following report has been received from the Department of University Extension of the University of the State of New York : Albany. — Professor J. W. Jenks, of Cornell University, gave the first lecture in his course on practical economic questions on Friday, January 28th. The attendance was about three hundred and twenty-five. The vice-president of the centre is James M. Ruso; secretary, G. W. Stedman; treasurer, Oren E. Wilson. Albion. A course on the American revolution, by Professor W. H. Mace, of Syracuse University, was begun February 1st. The president of the centre is Hon. Isaac N. Signor; vice-president. Miss Emma V. Hart ; secretary, F. A. Greene ; treasurer, Edwin L. Wage. Principal, F. A. Greene, writes : "I am more enthusiastic than ever over University Extension. Our first 304 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. lecture last evening was much better attended than any of us' anticipated. We Iiad Jf 230 in the bank yesterday afternoon before the lecture. Last night we took in $8s at the door, which gives us, you see, $3lSt and more to hear from who have been selling course tickets. I think our receipts will reach nearly J400. Our audience numbered about two hundred and fifty, and every one seems more than pleased with Professor Mace. We have organized a class in our High School composed of students, and any outside of school who are attending the course, both old and young. We intend to follow Professor Mace's lectures and secure as much reading and study by the class as possible. Kine came from a village four miles north of us, and they report more coming next week.'' Ballston — The first of the course of lectures on English literature, by Professor Charles F. McClumpha, of the University of the City of New York, was given on Monday, January 25th. The first half of the course consists of a brief historical survey of English literature and the remainder deals with authors of the nineteenth century. The attendance at the first lecture was about fifty. The president of the centre is Principal Bunyan ; secretary. Miss Jessie A. Seeley. Brooklyn. — The Brooklyn Institute has been registered as a Regents' Institute, " to conduct University Extension work in the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings.." During the month of February, lectures are given on every week-day evening, covering nineteen dMerent departments as follows : archaeology, architecture, astronomy, botany, chemistry, eleclricitv, engineer- ing, entomology, geography, geology, mathematical and economic science, psychology and zoology. Gloversville. — Librarian A. T. Peck, of'the Gloversville public library, is conducting a class of about fifty on the history of English literature, the work being based on the Regents' academic syllabus. Rochester. — Professor J. H. Gilmore, of the University of Rochester, began a course on English literature February l8th, before an audience of nearly eight hundred — three-fourths of them wage-earners. About half of this number intend to become students. Courses are also being planned in American history and political economy. Watertown. — Professor W. H. Mace, of Syracuse University, is giving a course on the American revolution, the first lecture being held January 15th, before an audience of two hundred and fifty. The class numbers nearly one hundred and fifty. The secretary of the centre is Principal J. G. Riggs, of the Watertown High School. Yonkers — Professor H. H. Boyesen, of Columbia, began January 7th a course on English literature, embracing as usual ten lectures. Students' aux- iliary societies are conducted by Professor A. V. Williams Jackson, of Columbia, the president of the centre. The secretary is Mr. Theodore Gilraan, who has been most active in organizing the work. The attendance is about three hundred. University Extension. CLASS WORK IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The absence of a taste for learning may be due fo either of two causes, first, to "gnorance of the. existence of sucji learning, or second, to the lack of any motive or stim- ulus to appropriate it. These two reasons suggest the nature of the lecturer's work. Having made his audience acquainted with the beauty and utility of his subject and the possibilities for individual work which it affords, he finds himself in the presence of two classes of people. The first class are those to whom the presentation of the subject is enough to arouse a desire for further knowledge, the second are those in whom little or no interest is thus aroused, but who by judicious management may be made to acquire it. The former need only instruction and guidance, while the latter require stimulus before they will attempt any work that requires guidance. One cannot guide a horse that refuses to move, but the beginning of motion and the beginning of guidance are identical in time, though not in order of causation. In Extension work the problem is to secure motion, and this is to be accomplished almost wholly by the contact of student and teacher in that insti- tution, peculiar to University Extension lectures, the class. As has been said, the lecturer's mission is twofold, instruc- tion and stimulation, and speaking roughly, these two divi- sions of his work correspond to the lecture and the class. 306 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. the latter of which, while impossible without the former, is nevertheless the more important owing to the opportunities which it affords for securing permanent results. On beginning a course the lecturer should make sure that his hearers thoroughly understand the real significance of University Extension. In order to do this he should emphasize the fact that the movement is purely educational in its aim, and that weekly papers and class work are integral parts of the course. It is always well to state these facts even in long-established centres, for people require constantly to be reminded of them, and there are always in the audience those to- whom the present course is the first. The lecturer cannot be too explicit in this, for much depends on a perfect understanding of his relation to his hearers. The question which now confronts him is how to induce members of the class to send the weekly exercises. The following suggestions in answer to this question are based on experience rather than on any preconceived theory of class work. Carefully avoid giving the impression that every paper sent must contain answers to all the questions on the lecture, but ask that answers be sent to any of the ques- tions or even to any part of a question in which the student may feel interested. Assure the class that they are per- fectly free to send to the lecturer questions on any point in connection with the subject on which th ;y desire informa- tion. This has a tendency to set them thinking, anri expe- rience has shown in many instances that if a person can be induced to put pen to paper or to exert himself in any way to ask a question, the transition to answering the questions of the week is an easy one. Diffidence can be overcome gradually, and the first step is always by far the hardest. When a student has sent one paper the sending of others depends almost entfrely on the lecturer. CLASS WORK IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 3O7 Let us now suppose that the lecturer has before him a paper containing answers, and it may be questions, in con- nection with the last lecture. In what way is this paper to be treated ? This is an important question, for upon the answer to it may depend the success of the course so far as it concerns that student. If the paper is a poor one, the answers being incomplete and inaccurate, it has been sent probably by that person to whom University Extension may be the means of entrance to a higher plane of intellec- ' tual existence. The true secret of Extension work is encouragement and stimulation. The fact that the paper under consideration has been sent is an appeal which must not be disregarded. Every good quality of the answers should be noted by the lecturer, and a kindly word of approval given together with suggestions as to the correct answers and sources of information on the subject. All this should be written on the paper, so that when it is returned the student may receive in permanent form the assistance required, and with it the personal assurance that his efforts, however crude and imperfect, are appreciated. If students are to send papers they must have some motive for doing so, and none could be more powerful than the knowledge that every paper will receive as careful treatment as if it were the only one. Of course this imposes upon the lecturer considerable additional labor, but experience has shown that this is well repaid. The discussion of papers in the class calls for tact on the part of the lecturer, for by hostile or unfavorable criti- cism it is possible for him, without intending it, to wound deeply the feelings of some one who has sent a paper. The answers may be incorrect or even absurd, but the lecturer should be very careful in his comments. It is never advis- able for him (unless indeed he knows with whom he is deal- ing) " to pick a paper to pieces " in any but the very gentlest manner. 308 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Sometimes it is unwise to say, in so many words, that a given answer is incorrect, even though it be. A better way is to take the essential facts which must form the basis of any answer, and from them gradually develop the correct one. Do this carefully and slowly, allowing due weight to all other facts which may enter into and affect the result, but do it in an entirely impartial manner, showing that one answer is right and another wrong, not because the lecturer thinks so, but because a consideration of the facts warrants it. Such treatment of a question will give to the student a valuable lesson in method besides exhibiting the inaccuracy of any statement, and all without the possibility of dis- couraging one who may be already too diffident. Students sometimes become so disheartened by having their papers unfavorably criticised in public that they stop sending them, but there are numerous instances where a kindly but indirect criticism of a paper has proved of the greatest value in stimulating to renewed and redoubled efforts. This shows that in University Extension work, as elsewhere, praise and encouragement are more powerful stimulants than fault-finding criticism. Of the manner in which ques- tions should be answered, W. W. Skeat has well said: " The student should study brevity, keep closely to the subject and avoid irrelevant matter. Thoroughly consider every question before beginning to write an answer. Make notes of the difficulties." In any department of mental activity method is all-important. The lecturer should con- sider this, and in his class work should recognize the fact that with many minds the chief difficulty is ignorance of how to study. When papers are treated in the manner described the greatest obstacle to class work is usually removed, for in this way those who through diffidence have sent no papers become reassured. Much good is to be derived from informal discussions in which the members of the class take part ; but while the CLASS WORK IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 3O9 truth of this statement is generally admitted the question is asked how are such discussions to be started ? " If we can induce one sheep to jump over the wall, the rest will fol- low." Apply this principle to a University Extension class and the problem is solved. The lecturer, like the magician, should have accomplices in the audience. Arrange before- hand with several members of the class to have them start the discussions, and soon there will be no further difficulty. These few thoughts upon class work, which have been merely suggested rather than discussed, are founded upon experience, but their soundness may be tested by compari- son with the pedagogical doctrine that " education is an impulse and not a fact." The educational value of any movement is directly proportional to its power to impart this "impulse." University Extension has noble aims, and its impor- ance should be recognized especially in a country like ours, where, as Washington said : " We must look to the intelli- gence of the masses for the safety and permanence of our free institutions." The principles of University Exten- sion are sound, but upon their application and upon the success of its class work depends its highest usefulness. If we can introduce the masses to higher learning we are doing them an inestimable good. It is to stimulate and arouse the dormant or undeveloped powers of men's minds that the Extension lecturer goes forth on his mission. His lec- ture brings before the people the richness of his subject; it points their minds to roads along which they may travel ; it gives them materials to work on and suggestions of how to work, but it is in the class that he is to drive home the truths which his lecture furnishes. The informal inter- change of ideas, the rubbing of mind with mind, often does more than anything else to draw out and develop the thinking powers of the student and secure permanence to results. While University Extension cannot for the pres- 3IO UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ent at least hope to furnish to its students all that is included under the term " a liberal education," still it can and should in its class work cultivate the mental powers of concentra- tion, distribution, retention, expression and judging, powers which President Oilman in a recent article has shown lie at the foundation of every liberal education. JOSIAH H. PENNIMAN. Universitv of Pennsylvania, March, jSgz. THE EXTENSION WORK OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. JN the catalogue of the University of Wisconsin for 1 888-9 ^ appeared these words : " It is no more impracticable to extend the popular range of University education than to extend the sweep of the University courses. It can scarcely be more prophetic to contemplate the higher edu- cation of the masses to-day than it was to look forward to the common education of the masses a few centuries ago. * * * There has recently been a very significent move- ment in this direction in England known as " University Extension," the salient feature of which lies in carrying forth to the people the instruction of the University by the means of lectures and local organizations. It is an effort to render available to the masses certain elements of the higher education. " Some features of the English system are impracticable for us at present but the University of Wisconsin has inde- pendently become a pioneer in an analogous movement, that may in its full organization and development, be not less conducive to the common end sought. This em- braces two co-operative phases : First, original investiga- tion and experimentation for the purpose of discovering and proving new truths ; and second, a series of publica- tions' and a system of local professional institutes, by means of which certain available aspects of the latest knowledge are communicated directly to the people. In other words, advanced knowledge is developed and pre- pared expressly for the people and conveyed directly to them. The effort has its manifest limitations, but thus far ha i proved eminently satisfactory. It is to be remarked 312 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. that the line in which this has been chiefly developed is that in which previous educational effort has proven least successful — that of agriculture. The system as here de- veloped consists of a co-ordination of agricultural exper- imentation and Farmers' Institutes." These words of President Chamberlain may be supple- mented by the comment of Charles Dudley Warner in Harpers Magazine for April, 1888. " Wisconsin is work- ing out its educational ideas on an intelligent system, ' and one that may be expected to demonstrate the full value ■of the popular method — I mean a more intimate connec- tion of the University with the life of the people than exists elsewhere. * * * The distinguishing thing, however, about the State University is its vital connection with the farmers and agricultural interests. * * * j know of no other State where a like system of popular in- struction on a vital and universal interest of the State, directed by the highest educational authority, is so per- fectly organized and carried on with such unity of purpose and detail of administration ; no other in which the farmer is brought systematically into such direct relations to the University." Although Wisconsin has, during the past year, devel- oped University Extension of the English type on an ex- tensive scale, as will be shown in a later part of this article, it is evident that her system of Farmers' Institutes above mentioned is of such importance that it requires prelimi- nary attention. This is her original contribution to Uni- versity Extension. Wisconsin is predominantly an agri- cultural State and a State in which there is a very large proportion of foreign-born citizens. Therefore, whatever is of service in fostering the interest of the farmer and bringing to him the higher educational influences is of peculiar importance in this State. EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 313 The Farmers' Institutes seem to have originated in the conversation of the late Hiram Smith, a regent of the University, a practical farmer and public-spirited citizen. Suggestions dropped by him resulted in the drafting of a wise bill by Charles E. Estabrook, recently Attorney-General of the State, and this bill became a law in 1885. Under the law as it exists at present the University is given ^12,000 annually for conducting Farmers' Institutes, which are managed by a superintendent (Mr. W. H. Morrison), who is employed as any other member of the faculty, and has his ofiRce in the Agricultural Building on the University grounds. These institutes are held at various parts of the State throughout the winter months. About sixty regular institutes are held annually, at as many places, each lasting not less than two days. The University, through it^ super- intendent provides four instructors for each institute, one of whom is usually some professor or instructor from the Agricultural Department, the others being selected from the intelligent practical farmers who have achieved marked success in some special line of agriculture. Besides the speakers furnished by the University, persons selected by the local committee assist, and free participation is encour- aged on the part of all who attend. No political or relig- ious questions are allowed. The day sessions are made as ■practical as possible. The University experts bring the fruit of their researches to the practical farmers, and in this way the most recent additions to agricultural knowledge are placed directly before the people and made available for their local needs. The evening sessions are given to such subjects as public school education, travel and other ques- tions of common interest. The subject of better roads, for example, is beginning to receive much attention at the institutes. Lectures have beea given by the professor of English literature on the agriculture of Holland, and Presi- dent Chamberlin frequently addresses these farmers' meet- 314 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. ings. The attendance varies from fifty, in very poorly attend- ed meetings, to fifteen hundred in the best attended ; but the usual attendance is from two to four hundred. It is not an unknown thing for a farmer to walk twelve miles to one of the institutes. Stimulated by the system, independent local organizations have been formed in many cases, which with assistance from Superintendent Morrison, hold institutes in. addition to the sixty regular sessions. The Milwaukee Sentinel 2l.w6. the Milwaukee Journal have special corre- spondents to report the sessions of these institutes. Each year at the closing meeting special preparation is made, and all of the papers and discussions are gathered up for publication in the annual Institute Bulletins, thirty thousands copies of which are printed and distributed gratis. In this connection it should be noted that the agri- cultural experiment station conducted by Professor Henry- sends out fifteen thousand copies of its annual report, and four quarterly bulletins of ten thousand copies each. The station has a mailing list of eight thousand Wisconsin farmers. By this means the University brings its work directly to the farmers. The improvement of the agricul- tural condition of the state effected by the University in thus extending its activity is remarkable. Many cases can be noted in which the industries of communities have been changed from unprofitable grain raising to horticulture,, dairy farming, etc., with accompanying prosperity and a rise in land values. It is not too mucli to say that the rapid pro- gress made by the State in the direction of dairying, horti- culture and improved stock raising, is in no small degree owing to the work of the Institutes. The farmers are be- coming more intelligent and more prosperous. They par- ticipate freely in the discussions, they learn self-help and co-operation at th^ same time, and become interested in public concerns. EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 315 As yet the full possibilities of the Institutes have not been realized, however. With increased means, and with the training of instructors who shall be at the same time scientific and popular, it is believed that the University can do even more effective work in the purely practical meet- ings of the Institutes. As yet its connection with the even- ing sessions has been far too limited. When the University shall be ready to offer to the farmers who attend these meetings, " education not only as a means of livelihood, but a? a means of life " as well, then this great popular organization, extending to every part of the State, and reaching classes greatly needing such influences, will prove of inestimable service. There is in this machinery a means for exercising a most quickening and elevating influence upon the village life of the State, and for carrying irrigating streams of education into the arid regions of the State. That the time for this work is near at hand is shown by the success of the University Extension work of the English type. It was not until the present year that this side of Uni- versity Extension work was entered into systematically by Wisconsin, but the germs of the movement had existed for some time. There had been, of course, many lectures given about the State by individual members of the faculty, and work had been done closely allied to the Extension move- ment. In January, 1888, the Contemporary Club, of Madi- son, acting on the suggestion of the late William F. Allen, professor of history in the University, arranged a course of free lectures upon the history of the Northwest. The list of lecturers included six historical investigators of Madison; two of them, Professor Allen and the writer, were of the University faculty, and one other, Dr. J. D. Butler, had for- merly held a chair in the institution. The course was sug- gested by the Old South work, of Boston, and the success of the course was in a considerable measure due to the 3l6 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. active interest of Mr. R. G. Thwaites, Secretary of the State Historical Society, one of the lecturers in the course. A syllabus was distributed, and courses of reading sug- gested. The following year a second course upon the his- tory of the Far West was given. Of the six lecturers three, President Chamberlain, Vice President Parkinson, and Pro- fessor E. A. Birge, were of the University faculty. This course as well as the first course was afterward given in Milwaukee, and calls for it were received from other portions of the State. In 1890 a third course was given upon the history of Kentucky and Tennessee, and two of the faculty were among the lecturers. The movement was eminently suc- cessful, and doubtless was instrumental in paving the way for the Extension work of the present year. In the winter of 1890-91 the writer, who had given Extension lectures while a student at the Johns Hopkins University, conducted courses of six lectures upon the Colortization of North America at two centres in the State. At the close of De- cember, 1890, President Chamberlain delivered an address before the State Teachers' Association at Madison, upon University Extension, in which he indicated the intention of the University to enter upon the work. The interest in the movement was increased by the address of Dr. H. B. Adams, of the Johns Hopkins University, before the State Historical Society two weeks later upon the Higher Education of the People. At the opening of the academic year in 1891 the University issued circulars offering lectures by ten mem- bers of the faculty. The unit lecture course was made to consist of six lectures. Upon completing the course and the required reading, and passing a satisfactory examina- tion, candidates were promised certificates entitling the holder to credit equivalent to one hour a week extending through one University term. The fee demanded was sixty dollars and the expenses of the lecturer (that is. ten dollars EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 3x7 a lecture and expenses). This small charge was chosen in order that the smaller towns might not be cut off. The local centres were required to supply the hall and pay the expense of furnishing the syllabus to the entire audience. The cost of these ranged from five to ten dollars per course. The syllabi were carefully prepared with bibliographies, , topics for reports, etc. Applications were considered from any suitable local organization. In many cases special Extension societies were formed. In the larger cities this was the usual organization. In Milwaukee the movement was particularly well organized, largely through the influ- ence of Mr. R. C. Spencer, working through the People's Institute. The courses were guaranteed by prominent citizens, and nine courses were given there. The following list shows the courses offered by the University of Wisconsin and the number of centres at which each lecturer gave courses : Physiology of Plants, Prof. Barnes, two ; Bacteriology, Prof. Birge, six ; English Literature, Prof. Freeman, seventeen ; Electricity, Dr. Loomis, two ; Scandinavian Literature, Prof. Olson, two ; Economics, Prof. Parkinson, three; Landscape Geology, Prof. Salisbury, seven ; Antiquities of India and Iran, Dr. Tolman; American History — Colonization, Prof. Turner, eight ; Greek Literature, Prof. Van Cleef. From this it appears that at the present writing forty- seven centres have been visited. Thirty-four cities are represented in these centres, five cities having taken two courses, and one (Milwaukee), nine. Invitations from twenty-four other cities were declined owing to the impos- sibility of meeting the calls. Of the invitations declined four came from Chicago, and three others from points m Illinois, two from Iowa, one from Minnesota, and one from Indiana. In all, seventy-eight centres, representing sixty- three communities, applied for courses. It is well under the mark to estimate that over seven thousand five hundred 3l8 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. people listened to the Extens'on courses offered by the University this season. The audiences ranged from six hundred to thirty-three (a class of physicians), but the usual audience was about one hundred and seventy-five. The class work is difficult to determine in figures. The centres were organized contemporaneously with open- ing the courses in the respective places, and there has been difficulty in getting a systematic class organization and in securing text-books as well as in library facilities. As nearly as can be ascertained between fifteen and twenty per cent, have done regular reading in connection with the courses. The number reporting for examinations is much smaller, but since many of the courses are still in progress figures on this point are not available. In most of the centres the majority of the audience (in several cases the entire audi- ence), remained to the class exercise, and the most lively interest was shown. But the number of those who took active part was somewhat limited. It has proved impracti- cable to secure oral responses to questions in class with any freedom, although one lecturer, Prof Salisbury (Geology), had classes whose members answered questions as would a college class. The classes asked questions freely, and handed in written papers where these were asked, but this side of the movement was not urged as it will be next year, owing to the impossibility of correcting a large number of papers and attending to the regular University duties. Next year the class work should be more carefully differ- entiated and organized. Doubtless the size of the class in many cases deterred persons from asking and answering questions. The University authorities are considering the advisability of requiring, next year, a perfected class organi- zation as a first step toward securing an Extension course from one of the faculty. The places visited vary in size, from Milwaukee, with a population of over two hundred thousand, to Poynette, EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 3I9 with a little over six hundred. The latter place, a country village, supplied an audience of two hundred people. At least two other committees visited had a population of less than seven hundred. Five places had a population of under one thousand ; ten, between one thousand and five thou- sand ; four, between five thousand and ten thousand, and eleven above ten thousand. Owing to the fact that lectures could be given on but Friday and Saturday evenings, as a rule, the remoter parts of the State were not much visited. No active efforts were made to secure calls ; the movement was so spontaneous and urgent that the faculty were unable to meet the demands made upon them. In most cases the expenses were met by the sale of tickets by local organiza- tions. In seven centres admission was made free, the ex- penses being met by private subscriptions. Very slight de- ficits are reported in three centres, but in many cases a considerable surplus remains to be applied to libraries, or used as a fund for Extension work next year. In some cases the sale of tickets for one course nearly covered the expenses of a second course. Two or three cities, notably Milwaukee, secured free transportation for the Extension lecturers ; in other cases the expense fell upon the centres. The character of the audiences has been complex. They have included business and professional men, city teachers, advanced pupils of the schools, and citizens gen- erally. Although, as a rule, the majority of the audience is made up of women, yet there is not so great a dispropor- tion as in the usual church congregation. The working- men have not been well represented. It will, perhaps, be necessary to offer specially adapted courses to meet their wants. Twelve of the courses were given in cities where the audience was in part composed of college or normal school students. Some other features of the Wisconsin system remain to be mentioned. There is in connection with the Univer- 320 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sity, and sustained in part by the State, a summer school, primarily for teachers. The sessions of this school are held in the Science building of the University during the month of July, and the laboratories and library of the University are open to the students. The school has now been in existence five summers. ' At its last session a faculty of eight instructors, chiefly selected from the Uni- versity faculty, gave instruction in psychology, pedagogy, Latin, zoology, English literature, botany, chemistry, physics, and history. A fee of five dollars was charged to students from the State ; to others the charge was ten dol- lars. The attendance reached about one hundred and fifty. As yet no organic connection exists between Extension work and the summer school ; but the propriety of such a connection is so manifest that the union is doubtless only a question of time. The sessions of the school immediately preceed the meeting of the Monona Lake Assembly at Madison, which is attended by thousands of visitors. A connection between the Extension work of the University and this encampment will probably be brought about in the near future. The well known beauty of the lakes of Madi- son — Sir Edwin Arnold has lately made us his life long friend by saying that Madison is the most beautiful city in the Union — and its libraries, aggregating over two hundred thousand volumes and pamphlets, point the city out as the future centre of the summer Extension work in the North- west. The University also conducts a series of Saturday afternoon lectures by members of the faculty and prominent citizens of the State, which are largely attended by the townspeople. Certain problems have been presented to the Univer- sity by its' work this year. One of the most perplexing of these relates to the teaching staff for next year. The pro- fessors who gave courses this year were, on the whole, chosen from among the ablest members of the faculty, and EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 32! many of them were among the most experienced class-room instructors, and knew how to present a subject in a way both scientific and popular. They have given freely of their time and energy this year in order to give the move- ment that successful start which its importance seemed to them to demand. It is obvious, however, that the work has grown so that they will be unable, without assistance, to meet the demands of next year without detriment to their original investigations, if not to actual class-room work. President Chamberlain, in his first address upon the subject, foreshadowed this difficulty and indicated the probability that a staff of special Extension lecturers would be needed. But here some questions arise. Will the public continue to give the same hearty support to the work when the well- known members of the faculty begin to retire in favor of the special lecturers ? Will these lecturers be able to con- tinue the distinctive University tone of the work, unless they are men equal in equipment to the present body of lecturers and unless they do instructional work in the Uni- versity itself? Where is this corps of lecturers to be ob- tained ? In answer to the first question, it is to be said that it is not proposed to create an entirely new force next year ; the new men will be chosen to lecture on the subjects that have proved so popular that the present faculty are unable to supply the demand. Moreover, the added attention that the special men will be able to give to class work, organiza- tion, and so forth, will in part compensate the disadvantages of their not being known at first. In answer to the second question, it is hoped that bright and well trained young men can be secured who will be competent to do instructional work at the University and Extension work at the same time. The season of Extension work is so short that they would be left a considerable part of the year to do investi- gation and advanced study. The University has already a system of fellowships which seems likely to afford material 1 12 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. for the Extension work. The fellows are required to do one hour a day of instruction in the University. At the end of two years they have frequently been chosen as assistants in the University or in other colleges. No doubt some of the future Extension staff will be recruited from the men who have held fellowships and have been trained under the eye of the faculty. The University's new School of Economics, Civics and History, under the direction of Dr.Richard T.Ely, will start next fall with a considerable body of graduate stu- dents, some of them former college instructors, or advanced graduate students. This school will also furnish some of the future Extension lecturers. A special field for those who have completed post-graduate study has been suggested by Presi- dent Chamberlin in his address before the State Teachers' Association, previously mentioned. He suggests the ques- tion : " Would it be practicable definitely to supplement the high school course by systematic courses conducted on the University Extension plan ? The suggestion is that a series of special lecturers, equipped in two or three particular lines, should form circuits of adjacent high schools and give their courses weekly in immediate connection with them, the .teachers and the older students forming the definite working nuclei of the classes, but drawing in as many adult citizens as practicable, the course to be given in the evening, and made as broad and open as may be. If a few of the branches that can least well be taught in the high school be selected and treated in this way, the high school work could be con- <:entrated upon the branches deemed most important and available. Without doubt, a course of twelve lectures, accompanied by collateral reading and discussions, handled hy an expert, would be more effective than twelve weeks in a text-book, taught without special preparation, equipment or adaptation. On the whole, this system would doubtless ibe more economical when results are considered. EXTENSION TEACHING IN WISCONSIN. 323 This suggestion is certainly worthy of careful consid- eration by students of Extension development. In another way President Chamberlin has proposed to utilize Exten- sion work. By a rearrangement of the courses of the University of Wisconsin the " group system " of studies has been adopted, giving the student opportunity to spe- cialize along a few lines of related studies after a year of broader preparation. In connection with this a requirement has been made that each department shall offer a series of ' " synoptical lectures," upon its subject calculated to give the student an insight into the methods and vital features of the various departments of study. Each group student will be required to take a specified number of these synop- tical lectures which are also open to the public. The plan will begin next year. So far as the writer is aware this in- corporation of the University Extension idea into the Uni- versity itself is a new plan. It is regarded by President Chamberlin and the faculty as experimental, but it is hoped that by this means, or by some modification, students who specialize their work may not lack general acquaint- ance with a wider range of studies. Of course, even within the group system, it is not proposed to narrow the work unduly. To the first year students the " synoptical lectures " will be helpful in that they afford an opportunity for determining more understandingly the choice of "groups." The University is aflSliated with the Chicago Society for University Extension and with the Chautauqua move- ment, but so far it has found itself so fully occupied in its own field that it has been unable to supply lectures to these allied organizations. The policy of the University is to recognize its primary duty to the people of Wisconsin, by discovering new truth, and rendering it available, indirectly, by the instruction of University students, and directly, by ^"i Dublications, and by operating through the various 324 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. organs of the Extension movement in the State. At the same time it throws open its fellowships to national compe- tition, and its graduate schools seem likely to be attended by students from all parts of the Union. It is obvious that Wisconsin has the materials for an original and complete system of University Extension. The Farmers' Institutes enable the University to reach a most important field, not so well reached by any other university. Her Exten- sion movement of the English type has been remarkably widespread and successful. When the two movements are brought into closer relationship, and the summer school work placed in organic connection with them, the University will have a system peculiar to itself To sup- ply the teachers for this movement she must train fellows and the students of her graduate schools. For the present year she has to report the opening of a work the interest in which has surprised even the most sanguine friends of the movement. " The great results of the Extension effort," declared President Chamberlain before the work of the year opene'd, " are to come not so much from what is actually taught and learned as from the spirit of inquiry and the habit of thought and study which it will promote." Judged by this test, the University feels that it has met with gratifying success. For the coming year there is the task of developing more systematic, organized class-work, stimulating the foundation of the much needed town-libra- ries, and co-ordinating the various branches of the Exten- ment movement in Wisconsin. FREDERICK J. TURNER. University of Wisconsin, March, i8g2. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION WORK IN MATHEMATICS. ^\UR English friends who are interested in University Extension work always express surprise when they hear of our classes in mathematics. In England no work of this kind has been done, while here it is eminently suc- cessful. In January, 1891, the writer had the pleasure one evening of meeting about thirty young men, to organize with them a class in mathematics for which they had ap- plied to the American Society. The most serious practical difficulty that presented itself was the want of uniformity in the preparation of the proposed students. After talking the matter over informally it was decided that the course (of twelve lectures) should be upon logarithms and trig- onometry, with such applications to mechanics as the time permitted. As the audience was to be composed almost entirely of young men in draughting offices, or connected in some way with the engineering professions, a sufficient knowledge of algebra and geometry for the purposes of such a course could be presupposed. The opening lecture was attended by about one hun- dred and fifty persons. Of this number one-third consisted of those who had come merely out of curiosity to see how such a course would succeed, or of those who found that the work was too advanced for them. This left about one hundred who took up the work in earnest. Among these was a small proportion of teachers and of those whose taste for mathematical study was their motive for attending. For the benefit of those unprepared for the trigonometry course a more elementary one in algebra was started at another centre under Prof. George E. 325 326 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Fisher, of the University of Pennsylvania, and was very successful. More than half of those who started in the trigonometry course persevered to the end, the average attendance being about seventy-five. An average t)f twenty-three written exercises upon each lecture was received ; and the attend- ance at the examination was twelve, of whom eleven passed. When it is borne in mind that the ground covered in this course was the same as that covered in the colleges in a course of fifteen weeks, three hours per week, and that the examination was as thorough a test as those held in the- colleges, it is readily seen that no little hard work was done by the students. The comparatively small attendance at the examination does not indicate the proportion of the class who could have passed it. The writer is personally aware of a number of others who might have passed had they chosen to attend. This same course was repeated this winter, and met with the same success. The average attendance, number of weekly exercises and attendance upon the final examina- tion were all about the same as in the first course. It may be remarked, however, that in this year's course the attend- ance was slightly less at the commencement, but the propor- tion that continued to the end was greater. The field that has thus been opened by the American Society should be cultivated further. By courses in math- ematics and in engineering young men who 'have been denied a technical education can be brought in touch with the same men from whom their more fortunate fellows re- ceive their training, and thus be put in a position to profit by the literature of their several subjects, much of the best of which is sealed to the man without a knowledge of mathematics. That such men are eager to avail themselves of privileges thus offered has been amply demonstrated. EDWm S. CRAWLEY. Lnivers'ty of Pennsylvania, March zz, i8q2. AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY AND ONE POSSIBLE VALUE. 1^0 one can do much work in the University Extension (^ movement without becoming greatly interested in- its future. It may or may not be the great intellectual evan- gel of the age, of whose potentiality " the half has not been told," as some of its zealous prophets proclaim. It may take a turn very different from any now foreseen, and lead to forms of educational activity unlike any yet devised. Its present methods may be quite ephemeral, and many of its present aims may be painted with rainbow hues by a hope that after all will prove futile. However all this may be, I at least am convinced that there is an idea at the heart of the thing which is substantial and is endued with no ficti- tious vitality. To get at this idea — to discern the fleeting from the enduring — to materialize in permanent form this essential something which now seems, perhaps, somewhat nimbous ; this is the problem that now confronts educa- tional workers in University Extension. That the movement in its present shape is a problem, and not an assured fact, some will deny. But that a prob- lem it is, I am confident will be admitted before long if not now. True, great things have been wrought in England. True again, under the impulse of the English idea numer- ous centres have sprung up in this country. But all this proves little. It is time and results that tell. English ideas, or German ideas, or French ideas transferred without change to American conditions of life and work are not always lasting or greatly fruitful. We have tried them all. We have been, perhaps, a trifle 328 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. over-imitative in all sorts of ways. We have beeii content to take our military tactics now from France, and now from Germany, as the varying changes of European war might dictate ; thus at one time the red-legged zouave, and again the spike-helmeted Prussian was our model. We. have been eager to get the cut of our clothes from Paris or from London as whims might vary. Just now, in most educa- tional matters, it is the German fetich that absorbs us. But in reaching the masses with culture our copy at present we find where our dandies look for theirs — in London. All this is natural, and to an extent wholesome. Our readiness to admire what others have done and to copy foreign excellencies is doubtless an amiable trait, and is perhaps incidentally an index of cosmopolitanism rather than provincialism of national character. Still, anything really lasting and permanently valuable, I suspect will be likely to take on American forms. In the heat of real war in 1861 we forgot most of our aping of Europe, and, perforce, evolved a system quite our own, a id tolerably effective, too, maugre Lord Wolseley's sneer. We are going to have universities genuinely American, not pale copies either of Oxford or Heidelberg. When we have groped our way to something substantial in Uni- versity Extension, it is perhaps not unreasonable to expect that as a resultant of American conditions it will have a peculiarly American shape. University Extension, as it is now, may be analyzed into a variety of elements. In the first place, there is genuine work of university character which many are doing. This is a thing to be seized at once as of prime value. Then there is the mere lecture element — the .old lyceum platform renewed. An instructive lecture is help- ful, doubtless is by no means to be despised. Still it does seem to me that one vice of the English Extension AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY. 329 method is the prominence of this pernicious lecture system — ^pernicious, I mean, as a principal means of instruction. It may be questioned whether the main benefit of that mediaeval system does not after all accrue to the lecturer. In the present case there is the additional danger of the trend to a mere " popularizing " of knowledge, to convert- ing the thing into the maximum of lecture and the mini- mum of individual work, to a mere "jug-filling " process. In the third place, there is in some respects a practical identity with the Chautauqua system. Now I imply no criticism on that work. It has a place and a value of its own. But whatever it is, it is distinctly not University Extension. It is sufficiently and efficiently filling its own field. There is no occasion for trenching on its ground. Another phase is an especial mission to the laboring classes ; to manual laborers, that is. Too much cannot be done to open to them opportunities for broadening the mental horizon. Whether we have hit on the most practi- cal way of reaching and helping them is perhaps open to question. But they can be reached and helped, and there is no part of the future of education in our country more grave in its import, and I am inclined to add, more hopeful in its outlook than just this. If University Extension evolves a practicable method for doing only this work the system will justify its existence without any other result at all. Partly in this connection it seems to me that we may now reach solid ground — that we have a solution that gives at least one value of the unknown quantity. We have in America what England has not, a great system of free public secondary schools. They belong to the people. To make their usefulness as wide as possible should certainly be our aim. I do not see why a large part of the ends that University Extension has sought in Eng- land may not be realized much more easily and fruitfully 330 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. in this country by extending the high school system so as to put it in reach of great classes to whom it is now alto- gether unavailable. This can be done in many cities and towns by pro- viding for evening sessions. Perhaps in most cases two evenings in the week would suffice. The plant is at hand — building and apparatus. The additional cost of instruc- tion and care would not be very great. A reasonable aid- justment of curriculum would multiply the value of these great public educational advantages many fold. What has been accomplished in St. Paul, Minnesota, during the present year, will illustrate the possibilities I have in mind. The evening sessions of the high school occur on Tuesday and Thursday of each week, from 7.30 to 9.30. Classes are formed according to the demand and also with reference to the fitness of applicants in a variety of subjects. As I glanced at the program board in the main hall of the St. Paul school a few nights since, I noticed that classes were busy with free-hand drawing, English literature, alge- bra, geometry, French, German, elocution, arithmetic, grammar and composition, penmanship, book-keeping, mechanical drawing, manual training, stenography and type-writing. All this is work of the same quality in every respect as that in the day sessions. The number in attendance at the evening classes is between three and four hundred. The number attending the day sessions is about a thousand. These evening workers are of various classes of people, all, or nearly all, actively engaged during the day in self support. There are teachers, dressmakers, salesmen, book- keepers and mechanics of several sorts. The last are es- pecially eager to avail themselves of facilities in mathe- matics, drawing and manual training, thus increasing their efficiency as wage earners. Teachers seek to extend or AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY. 33 1 freshen their knowledge in such ways as seem desirable. All are zealously at work. By reason of the maturity and earnestness of these evening students, their instructors are enabled to accom- plish with them in two evenings on the whole quite as much as with younger ones in a full week. I am inclined to think that this is something solid. It seems to me to open the doors of education to many people to whom they have been closed. It will at once be seen that it may easily pave the way to higher work, thus' per- haps, reaching that articulation with real University Exten- sion that the day high school and academy do with the regular university classes. It has other bearings of no little significance on which it is not necessary to linger now. One point, however, is certainly worthy of attention — a point of especial interest to the high school itself. There is a feeling in some quarters that this great system of public secondary education is after all rather limited in the reach of its benefits. Would not such an extension as above suggested materially lessen this adverse sentiment by minimizing the reason for it ? At all events, in the high school system we have a great' advantage over our English friends for the extension of solid study in evening classes. The mechanism is at hand. Why not use it? HARRY PRATT JUDSON. University of Minnesota, Marck, i8g2. NOTES. A generous gift of lijo.oo has been received from an English " well- wisher" of University Extension in America. The sum is to be devoted to the assisting of needy students. Mr. E. P. Brent is the chairman of the Extension centre recently formed in Oglesby, 111. The lecturers are drawn from the Chic^o Society, and the first course of lectures is being given now by Professor Charles W. Pierson, of Northwestern University. The Oxford University Extension work has doubled in amount since last summer. In the year ending August 31, 1891, one hundred and ninety-two courses were delivered under the supervision of the delegates. During the present winter three hundred and ninety-four courses are being given. The increase, which is almost wholly in scientific courses, is chiefly due to the County Council grants. Since the Oxford delegates recommenced their work in 1885, 1,018 courses of lectures have been delivered under their supervision, and it is estimated that 100,000 persons have attended these lectures. The Oxford University Extension Gazette for March says that the efforts of Melbourne University have been the means of bringing hundreds of men and women, during the last four months, under the systematic influence of University teaching. The cordial reception given to the lecturers, the success of the financial operations of the local centres (resulting in nearly all cases in a surplus, which is entirely at the disposal of the local committee), the ex- pressed determination of the centres to repeat their efforts at the earliest oppor- tunity, all mark the great appreciation evoked by the movement. Among the lecturers are Professor Marshall Ward, Professor Jenks, Professor Tucker, Rev. E. H. Sugden, Dr. Dendy, and Mr. Arnolds Tubbs. Interest in University Extension has become so widespread and the circulation of this magazine increased to such an extent that it was found possible to reduce the yearly subscription, commencing with the March issue, to one dollar and a half. In answer to many demands,' arrangements have been made for the reprinting of the first volume, ending with the June number, in substantial full cloth binding. The orders already received have justified the offering of this volume at one dollar, postpaid. Those desiring copies should send immediately, as the edition is limited. The volume will contain over four hundred pages, and will be, in fact, a complete handbook of the move- taent, giving clear explanations of the various elements of the system, with full reports of the results reached so far in the development of the work in America and abroad, 33' NOTES. 333 In the Nineteenth Century for Febraary Mr. Churton Collins says of University Extension : " There is everything to justify the belief that its progress during the next few years will be on the same scale as its progress during the last few years, and that at no great distance of time every town and every considerable village in the country, from Berwick to Penzance and from Monmouth to Hull, will be linked with the Universities, and will be receiving instruction of an academic standard from jicademic teachers. The work has grown, not in extent and popularity only, but in seriousness and solidity. . . . That the lectures are " merely popular " is a misrepresentation which may be easily corrected by an appeal to the report of the examiners in the various subjects. That lectures on Dante have been followed by classes for the study of Italian, and lectures on Homer by classes for the study of Greek, is at once an illustration of the ends at which these lectures aim, and the energy and in- telligence of the students to whom they are addressed.' The experience of the past year has taught many lessons as to the various needs of Extension teaching in America. Of all these none is more evident than that of suitable books to be used in connection with the different subjects of instruction. The syllabus, which has been evolved in connection T/ith this system, has become an absolute essential. But the syllabus is necessarily short, and even when concise and well written, must inevitably omit much that is needed by one who is following the particular course. It must, more- over, be in a sense a summary not of the subject, but rather of the lectures on . which it is based, and thus it is measurably unfitted for the use of any other lecturer. In order, then, to have a general reference book on any subject for the use of all Extension students there must be at once an amplification and modification of the syllabus. Such a manual, however, embracing the funda- mental idea of the syllabus, will, thus modified, differ even more from the ordi- nary text-book than from the syllabus. To perform, therefore a certain func- tion in Extension work a special manual must be prepared by one who is not only thoroughly competent in the particular field, but who is a master of all the details and needs of Extension teaching. These consideration have led the American Society to decide on the preparation of a series of University Extension manuals which will be edited under its direction and issyed by a leading publishing house. The Franklin Repository, oi Chambersbuig, Pa., says of the first Exten- sion course just closed in that town : " It is impossible at present to calculate the extent of the influence this movement has exerted in our midst. It has been beneficial to every member of the centre, even those who have merely listened to the lectures, while to those who have given it the proper thought and study it has been of untold benefit. It has stirred up in all a greater ad- miration, a greater love for those English authors who have been discussed. And has it not increased our love for English literature generally ? People are apt to fall into a habit of neglecting their reading. They do this uncon- 334 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sciously and involuntarily. This was the case among a great many of us here. Our reading was neglected. Our books were lying on their shelves gathering dust and mould ; books that contained inexhaustible treasures of thought and information that had never been brought to the light of day, or, if they had, were, like the books, gathering dust and mould on some forgotten shelf. The University Extension movement has brought about a new state of affairs in Chambersburg. The books have been taken down and are being diligently searched for their treasures. This is the case with the members of the centre. But they are mingling with those who are not members, and, like ' the little leaven, which leaveneth the whole lump,' are extending the influence. We might almost call it a renaissance in Chambersburg." The Philadelphia Local Board of the American Institute of Sacred Liter- ature has affiliated with the American Society for the Extension of Univer- sity Teaching, and courses of lectures are being given on a variety of Biblical topics. There are already two classes in New Testament Greek in successM operation, one for beginners and one for more advanced students. There is also a course in elementary Hebrew. It is a very gi'atifying sign of the times that even the laity, especially the women, are showing a desire to read their Bibles in the original tongues, but the course of lectures on the English Bible appeals to the largest number of people. The desire of the lecturers is to present in a popular and intelligent manner the results of the latest re- searches in Biblical study. It is difficult even for specialists to keep abreast of the discoveries that are being made and of the results of fresh inquiry,' and the great mass of busy people can only hope to obtain these results from such courses as are offered. The Rev. Prof. John P. Peters, Ph. D., has finished six lectures on the poetry of the Old Testament, and later on in the season he will give another course on the development of Messianic prophecy. President W. R. Harper, of the University of Chicago, has given a course of lectures on the divine and human element in the early chapters of Genesis, being an introduction to the study of the burning questions about the Pentateuch. The Rev. Prof. A. Spaeth, D.D., will give a timely course, especially im- portant to SundayTschool teachers on the beginnings of the Church, • on the basis of the Book of the Acts. Mr. Halford J. Mackinder, of Oxford, who is lecturing to large and enthus- iastic audiences in Philadelphia and neighboring cities, ^has kindly furnished the following outline of the Summer Meeting which opens at Oxford on Satur- day, July 30th. The studies on which special emphasis is laid during this, the fifth Annual Meeting of the Extension students of England, are history, literature and economics. On the period of the Renaissance and Reformation, lectures will be given by J. A. Symonds, R. G. Moulton, Hudson Shaw, Arthur Sedgwick, M. E. Sadler, Bishop Creighton of Peterboro', Halford J. Mackinder, and others. The sequence of these courses is a continuation of the lectures given last year on the Middle Ages. They will be followed up in 1894 and NOTES. 335 1895 by the study of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In all nearly one hundred lectures will be given, and the series will represent, perhaps, the best effort yet made in the University Extension system toward sequence and thoroughness of study. ■ In science. Professor Burdon Sanderson will give the opening address. Work will be continued in the University laboratories throughout the month and especial attention given to the study of protopl&sm not less than half a hundred lectures being giv^n on the subject. Courses bearing on theological subjects will be given by Mr. Gore, editor of Lex Mun- di, Mrs. Humphry Ward and others. Among the preachers to the Meeting will be the Bishop of Peterboro, and Dr. Paget, the new Dean of Christ Church. A special feature will be the lectures by Mr. Edward T. Devine and Mr. Heniy W. Rolfe, of the American Society, on Economics and American Literature respectively. It is to be regretted that owing to special local circumstances the Summer Meeting cannot be held in 1893. The full programme of the Meeting may be obtained firom the office of the American Society early in May. At the request of leading bankers of Philadelphia, an Extension course has been arranged by Professor Edmund J. James, to be given under the auspices of the bankers of Philadelphia and the Wharton School of Finance and Economy, on " The History and Theory of Money," the first of a series of courses on the general subject of " Money and the Mechanism of ExchangeV The course is being given by Dr. Sidney Sherwood of the Wharton School, and consists of twelve lectures, six on the history of money, and six on the theory. Many leading financiers have considered the great need of such courses as inculcating sounder ideas on the currency. President W. H. Rhawn, of the National Bank of the Republic of Philadelphia, who has done such excellent service to the country ih emphasizing the importance of road-making, is chair- man of the committee in charge of the series. This initial course was opened on February lOth, at the New Century Club, before a large audience repre- senting the business and banking interests of the city. The first speaker of the evening was Provost William Pepper, who lurged strongly the benefits of college education as giving a basis for a sound business training. He was followed by Hon. William L. Trenholm, late Controller of the Currency, who said that if the colleges of the country had been giving for the last fifty years such courses of instruction the country would not now be in such imminent danger of legislation in behalf of free silver and in opposition to a sound monetary system. Mr. Joseph Wharton gave sm interesting address on the "Unit of Value," and emphasized further the importance of educating the public in this direction. The meeting was closed with an eloquent tribute by Hon. E. S. Xacy, Controller of the Currency, to the life and public services of the late John J. Knox, who, only a few days before his death had written of his-great interest in the course proposed. The bankers of Philadelphia have certainly taken a most important step in the protection of all vested interests by furthering thus a conception of the true fimctions of money, and doubtless similar courses will be established in other cities. 336 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. In the February number of Education, President Charles W. Super, of the Ohio University, has an article on " Some Pros and Contras on University Extension." President Super vievfs the movement very broadly and while seeing clearly the dangers that threaten it from certain sides, is an earnest advocate of the inherent excellencies of the system. He recognizes that for the present the greatest advantage of the movement lies in its power as a stimulus to earnest and well-directed reading, and concludes that if it " does nothing more than to direct honest inquiries how to read wisely its existence will be amply justified." Abundant proof has appeared that the typical Extension course has power almost to revolutionize the thinking and the reading of the average community; even in large cities its effect is immediately apparent. The head of a public library in one of our leading cities affirms that the use of books under his care has largely increased in amount and improved in kind as the result of Extension courses. Although this is one of the best results of Extension teaching and any Extension comrse may be fairly judged by its influence in this direction, it must not be thought that the reference reading in connection with the work is in any case a fixed quantity. Many busy men and women have hesitated to follow an Extension course in some subject, because of the necessarily small amount of time which they can devote to reading, either in preparation for or in continuation of the work. Extension lecturers, however, constantly keep this fact in mind and so arrange the courses that the benefits of the work may be in exact pro- portion to the time it is possible to devote to it and the reading connected with a single course may be at the option of the individual, either that of a single book or chapter, or of a much more extended character. The follow- ing extract from a letter recently received, shows the influence of a single Extension course : " Being a teacher, I made myself believe that I could not stand much heavy reading in addition to my regular work, and I was really getting into such a state of mind, that I could not appreciate anything but fiction. It was a burden to me to try to read anything solid, but I am glad to say that this course in political economy has made me see that heavy reading does no harm, and I really enjoy the time I spend on these lines, and mean to continue my reading until I have a much better comprehension of the tubject." University Extension. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN CANADA AND IN ENGLAND /^T the stage of University Extension now reached almost J^ any particulars as to the present prospects of the movement in a country where it is new, or reminiscences of the work in a country where it is, though certainly not venerable, yet well-established, may possibly be offered without risk of tediousness or repetition. The writer hap- pens to remember the inception of the work at Cambridge England, under the auspices of Professor Stuart, whose descent (shall we not say) into politics has been deplored irrespective of party considerations by many of his admirers, who think he filled a unique niche in the temple of Uni- versity life, not only by his original way of developing the practical side of education amongst under-graduates in the well-known workshop, but also from his strong sympathies with non- University men and especially the artisans and colliers of the north. Some of his friends had a similar thought in the case of John Morley. A lady said to him in 1883 when he was elected for Newcastle — " You may become a Cabinet Minister, but we shall have no more ' Cobdens ' and ' Rousseaus.' " In the case of both these gifted men many think that Parliament and the country have not gained so much as literature and science have lost. Fortunately, though no one man, at Cambridge at least, „ 337 3;5o uwiviiKaixK jiAiiiiNsiujN. can claim the whole of Stuart's mantle, perhaps a double portion, two-thirds, I suppose, of his ability and all his enthusiasm have descended upon Dr. Roberts, who is now the Organizing Secretary for Cambridge. A visit to England in August, 1890, and a day in Oxford revealed to me what had to my Cambridge eyes before been hazy and dim, namely, the fact that Oxford was taking a part in the movement. She has made wonderful strides during the last seven years, and she has been quite willing to learn from Cambridge. In fact, the conference upon University Extension into which I stumbled on my second day in England on that visit was presided over by a Cambridge man, Arthur Sidgwick, whom I believe we have lent to Oxford, and delegates from the Cambridge Extension Syndicate were present, of whom I met one, Mr. Bell, Fellow of Trinity Hall. The conference was only one symptom in Oxford of the Extension fever. There were also classes going on attended by not less than an aggregate of a thousand students, and there was to be an after session, where a select few would remain up for more advanced work. The gathering was considered important enough to gain a special address from Max Muller and to warrant in Christ Church Cathedral a special sermon by Canon Paget, now Dean of Christ Church, on " Humility and Aspiration." In this he dwelt most forcibly on the effect upon a thoughtful man of a first visit to a world-renowned centre, such as Rome, London or Oxford. Dean Paget has since spoken of the movement as a most hopeful one ; for in England, though there are forty thousand students now enrolled at nearly one hundred and fifty centres, the movement may still be considered a new one. This refers to the session 1890-91. We hear that since that many more centres have been added, and the aid of County Councils given. The success of the movement was at first very doubtful, even in such a city as UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN CANADA. 339 York, though much above the average amongst cities of the same population in the number of cultivated people likely to appreciate a new educational movement. The success of the lectures there was quite fluctuating. A writer in the Atlantic Monthly has, I understand, somewhat deprecated the move- ment on the ground that it is not suitable to this continent. Probably just as strong arguments might have been adduced twenty-five years ago to show that such an innovation as was proposed was most unsuitable to England. It may be remarked here that the work should not as a rule be done by mem- bers of a college staff, for their own proper work is in gen- eral quite sufficient, but by a class of men set apart for the purpose, the supply of whom has followed wonderfully in the wake of the demand. No doubt this class of men has its- special temptations. Some of the lecturers on political science may think it is their mission to be the saviours of society or that the Extension platform is a stepping-stone to the House of Commons, but as a whole the movement has been wonderfully free from all traces of ambition and pe- dantry on the part of the lecturers. No doubt there is much difference between the conditions of University life and edu- cation on the two sides of the Atlantic. There is a more marked contrast in the old country between an alumnus of ' a University and one who is not. Leslie Stephen, in his well known ' Sketches of Cambridge by a Don,' contrib- uted to the Pa// .M?// Gazette in 1865, tells us that "the world is divided into two classes — those who have been to a University and those who have not. Of the latter class we may say, as a Master of Trinity once said of the mem- bers of the smaller colleges, ' they too are God's creatures.' " This kind of feeling and assumption of superiority on the part of the graduates was very seriously entertained, and may be so still, and this in itself was a very formidable difficulty in the way of the success of Extension at first. The movement has, in fact, very much broken down this 340 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. absurd idea of innate superiority. The idea is not unknown in a modified form on this side. One hears constantly that more is expected of " College-bred " men than of others. There is a truth underlying this, but to " put on side " is " bad form " in the " College-bred." It was stated that the magnificent distances of this con- tinent would prevent the grouping of towns for combination under one lecturer, an arrangement which prevails in England and which enables the same lecturer to work a circuit and thus obtain a sufficient remuneration. A man could work Hull, York, Scarborough and Harrogate by taking each town on a different night; but he must not work every night or he will not have time to look over the rather voluminous papers sent him every week by the members of his class. It is possible that this objection has some weight ; still much can be done in populous centres, even where there is a University already, for Extension lectures will always be in order for those numerous intelligent per- sons who have only a rather brief leisure wherein to study. My purpose is, however, not to exhaust the subject of English Extension, but to say something of what is being attempted or is about to be attempted in Canada. Probably your readers have heard of the meeting and conference held in Toronto in November, at which President James, of Philadelphia, was present, and in consequence of what was then said a Dominion Association for University Extension . was formed. This body appointed a Council, and the Council met on January 6th in Toronto. On both occasions, in November and in January, both countenance and counsel were given to the association by the well-known Minister of Education of Ontario, the Hon. G. W. Ross, who kindly placed the large room of the Education Department at the disposal of the Council. At this meeting it was decided that an Executive Committee should be formed of those UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN CANADA. 341 representatives of Universities who were on the Council. Unfortunately the University of Toronto did not send any representative to the January meeting, though Sir Daniel Wilson was present in November. The venerable Presi- dent was, however, ill in bed on January 6th, but we did not hear that his University had appointed any representatives. This was a matter of regret, owing to the very large sphere of that University's influence. The Universities repre- sented were Trinity and MacMaster, of Toronto, Queen's, of Kingston, Victoria, of Cobourg (now to be amalgamated with, the University of Toronto), the above from Ontario. From Quebec there were representatives of McGill Univer- sity, Montreal, and Bishop's University, Lennoxville, and from New Brunswick, Fredericton sent a delegate. The Secretary, Wm. Houston, Esq., a member of the governing body of Toronto University, but not an official representative of that University, was present. The chief work of the day was to organize the executive committee, to subdivide it into sections for. the different provinces and to give the committee instructions. The same body practi- cally met again as the executive and adopted the instruc- tions suggested to them. The results arrived at were briefly these. That all lecturers should be endorsed by the faculty of one of the Universities as well as by the executive com- mittee. Rules as to the minimum remuneration for lectures and the minimum guarantee from a lecture centre were passed. The English principle of local responsibility for all business details and pecuniary matters was fully adopted. It was thought advisable that, unlike the English system, the lecturer should be one of the examiners at the end of a course. It was also thought that each University should, so far as was compatible with general harmony as regards the policy of the board, pursue its own independent line with respect to locality or courses of lectures ; the 342 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sanction of the board being first obtained. Since the above meeting the sub-committee for Quebec has met. Professor Cox, of McGill, Montreal, a former successful Extension lecturer in England, was appointed secretary. After corre- spondence with the Abbe Laflamme, Secretary of Laval University, it was agreed that the French people should be left to Laval, McGill and Bishop's forming a joint board for the English-speaking people. The Abbe Laflamme had spoken enthusiastically in favor of the idea of University Extension at the Montreal meeting of the Royal Society of Canada in May, 1891. He hopes to work through the Institut Canadien, which has many local branches in this province. A joint board of McGill and Bishop's has jbr some years carried on with marked success school exami- nations analogous to the Oxford and Cambridge local examinations. McGill as the larger and better equipped institution will doubtless supply the greater part of the letturers, and will probably begin in Montreal itself Bishop's, which is at Lennoxville, 100 miles east of Mon- treal, can supply lecturers for such towns as Sherbrooke^ Coaticooke or Waterloo in the district known as the Eastern Townships, a beautiful and fairly well-settled district. That great leader in Canadian education. Sir William Dawson, is fully interested in the work and will be glad to promote the University Extension of which we speak ; and the marvellous internal extension and expansion of his own University of McGill may be a happy omen of a like success under the auspices of the University Extension movement in Canada. The McGill lectures to women, now embodied in the Donalda department of the College, were from 1870 to 1883 carried on in much the same way as Extension lectures. Systematic courses, partaking in some respects of the nature of Extension, but omitting many of the essential features of the system have of late been held in the city of UNIVERSITY EXTENSION IN CANADA. 343 Ottawa under the auspices of Queen's, in the city of St. John, N. B., under the auspices of Fredericton. In the meantime the outlook in Montreal is decidedly hopeful, and we trust that something will be done in the Eastern Town- ships, and if the Institut Canadien should respond to the advances of the Abbe Laflamme we shall have French lecturers gracing the Extension platform. THOMAS ADAMS, D. C. L, Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, April, i8g2. THE CIRCUIT. N a circuit the lecturer goes around visiting four, five, or at most six towns or centres in one week, repeating the same lecture at each centre ; in a circuit of six towns each lecture is thus delivered six times a week. The towns forming the circuit should be situate within easy distance of each other, so that the lecturer may not have too wearisome journeys nor the circuit too heavy railway expenses, for the circuit undertakes to pay the whole of the lecturer's railway fares. The circuit likewise defrays the lecturer's hotel bills for the six weeks of the usual course. Hotel and railway fares cost about $150, or some $2^ to each town — when there are six towns joined in the same circuit. Each centre also pays about ;^I20 for the six lectures, so that the entire cost to any town for the complete course of six lectures is generally from $14$ to $160 — varying with the railway dis- tances. This is everywhere considered a very moderate cost, seeing that a single star lecture often costs nearly as much as the whole University Extension series of six. The price of tickets to persons wishing to follow the course is usually fixed at ^i for the whole series, which would average some 16 cents for admission to each lecture, though the local committee generally fix the entrance fee to a single lecture at 25 cents. Indeed, attendance at single lectures is not encouraged at all, for the object of Univer- sity Extension lectures is not to give detached fragments of information, but the consecutive development and elucida- tion of some important branch of literature or science. The clearest idea of the working of a circuit can best be had by a special and typical example ; Let me take the case of the six Pennsylvania towns — York, Harrisburg, Lebanon, Lancaster, Columbia and Gettysburg, which 544 THE CIRCUIT. 345 formed themselves into a circuit last January to hear a course of six lectures on, " English Poets of the Revolution Age (1776-1848) — including the poets, Burns, Byron, Moore, Scott, Shelley and Wordsworth. York (20,849 inhabitants). The first lecture in this circuit was given at York, in the auditorium of the Collegiate Institute (which was lent free of charge). The lecture on Robert Burns began at 8 p. M. on Monday, nth of January, 1892. The fee for the six lectures was ^i, single lecture 25 cents. About 200 persons were present, including many teachers as well as professors, ministers and doctors. Ladies formed the majorityof the audience. The lecture lasted about an hour, and was followed by a class from 9 to 10 p.m., where the lecturer answered questions asked by the hearers, with a general discussion on the subject of the lecture. The greatesfattention and interest were manifested in every lec- ture of the course ; and almost the entire audience remained for the class. As this was the first lecture of the University Exten- sion system ever given in York, I drew attention to the questions printed at the end of the syllabus, and asked all students who intended following the lectures and the class- work closely, to send me written answers to the questions, addressing their letters to the post-office, York, where I would call for them on my visit the following week. On my next visit to York I found the letters of thirteen stu- dents who had answered the four questions in the syllabus on Burns. Twelve of these students continued to send in answers every week, and were therefore eligible for the examination held at the end of the course. Six students presented themselves for the examination, and they all passed satisfactorily and received certificates from the American Society. 346 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. The attendance in York averaged about 200 and varied very little throughout the course. The lecturer stopped in York every Monday night. Harrisburg {4.0,221 inhabitants.) The distance from York to Harrisburg is 29 miles. The course began in Harrisburg at 8 p. m. on Tuesday evening, January 12, in the Chestnut Street Market Hall, for the use of which the centre pSid ;^io a night. The sub- ject was Robert Burns ; four hundred persons attended, in- cluding a great many women teachers and high school scholars, with editors, reporters and business people, as well as ministers, doctors, legislators. Governor Pattison also countenanced the cause by his preseflce. All the news- papers gave good reports of the lectures on the following day. The attendance at Harrisburg showed a steady in- crease. About 450 persons were present at the second lecture (Byron) oft the following week ; about 46b at the third lecture (Moore). Some 510 attended the fourth lecture (Scott), and this was the maximum audience. The average attendance was about 450 ; and almost 400 stayed for the class. A very large percentage of the hearers sent in weekly answers to the questions printed in the syllabus, and their answers were exceptionally good. Indeed, so large a number of letters were sent me that the post-office was almost blocked, and the authorities requested me to have my letters delivered at my own house. But when I told them that a university lecturer was not af- fluent enough to keep a house in six different towns they consented to look after my letters between my weekly visits. In University Extension work I believe it is considered a good average if 10 per cent, of the hearers become students — i. e., send in written answers weekly ; but Har- risburg supplied 128 students, or about 30 per cent, of the whole audience, who did weekly papers. Of these 128 students 107 qualified for the final examination, 85 entered THE CIRCUIT. 347 for the examination, and 80 passed. Harrisburg has thus supplied the largest number of students I have yet heard of in any University Extension centre either in America or England. The answers were so full that I found it quite impossible to read them all through and enter them in my note book between the time of my arrival in the city and the hour for beginning the lecture. Indeed, it took the best ' part of the day or two following to read through all these excellent answers, some of which covered 12 foolscap pages, written very finely on both sides ! Under these cir- cumstances, I had to ask the students to enclose an addressed and stamped envelope, so that I could return their papers by mail after I left the city. To this request the students at once responded, and their letters were mailed at different post-offices along the railroad after I had read them over in the train. The lecturer remained in Harrisburg on Tues- day night, and on Wednesday afternoon traveled 26 miles to the next centre at Lebanon. Lebanon (/^,7j^ inhabitants). On' Wednesday evening, January 13, the course was opened with the same lecture on Burns, in the Lebanon Court House, which was given free of charge. The audience numbered about 200, consisting of teachers, preachers, lawyers, business men, and, indeed, most of the best people of the city and vicinity, and also of many working men and women. The attendance never varied very much and almost the entire audience remained till 10 P. M. 39 students sent in weekly answers; 32 of these were eligible for the final written examination; 15 entered for the exam- ination ; 1 2 passed satisfactorily and received certificates. Lancaster (j2,opo inhabitants). On Thursday afternoon, January 14, the lecturer went from Lebanon to Lancaster (some 35 miles), where he repeated the Burns lecture in the Moravian chapel, which was lent at a small fee. ' This was the opening lecture of 348 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. the second University Extension, course in Lancaster; a successful course on Economics was ended in December, 1 89 1, by Mr. Edward T. Devine, who came each week from Philadelphia, a distance of 69 miles. The first audience here numbered 225 ; the second, 27s ; the third, 370. The Moravian chapel was then found too small, and the fourth lecture was given in the Presbyterian chapel to some 410 persons. This was the largest number at any lecture in the Lancaster course, the general average being about 310, almost all of whom remained for the after-work till 10 p. m. The professors of the Franklin and Marshall College rendered valuable assistance by their presence and partici- pation in friendly discussion during the class. In every centre there is a marked shyness or reluctance in the audience to ask questions, and it is always a great advantage when there is somebody present who is not afraid to get up and ask or suggest questions. Ladies do not like to get up in a strange audience and interrogate. I have, therefore, latterly invited every person who wants to put questions on the subject of the lecture to write them on a slip of paper and get them sent up to me. This has proved a very satis- factory plan, and should be extended by having some person on the floor to hand up the questions at once. The ques- tions are not confined to the lecture just delivered, but reach back to the lectures of preceding weeks. Twenty-eight students sent in weekly papers here; 23 were eligible for the final examination ; 1 3 entered and 12 passed and received certificates. The lecturer remained in Lancaster on Thursday night, and on Friday proceeded to Columbia, a distance of twelve miles. Columbia (^10,3^7 inhabitants). The same Burns lecture was repeated here in the Presbyterian chapel, to some 200 persons, on Friday THE CIRCUIT. 349 evening, January 15th. During the course the attendance increased, and sometimes numbered near 300 auditors, with an average of some 250, who all stayed for the class. Twenty-nine students sent in weekly papers, 24 of whom qualified for the final examination; 12 were examined and 10 passed satisfactorily and received certificates. I am told by old residents of Columbia that no lectures have ever created so much interest or taken such a hold in this town as these University Extension lectures. Gettysburg {3,180 inhabitants.) On Saturday morning, January 16, the lecturer went from Columbia to Gettysburg (52 miles). The lectures in Gettysburg were delivered on the Saturday evenings in the chapel of the Pennsylvania College to an audience averaging about 200 (of whom a large number belonged to the college); the whole audience usually stayed for the class. Forty-one weekly papers were sent in ; 31 were eligible for the final examination ; 14 entered ; and 9 passed and received certificates. The lecturer remained in Gettys- burg till Monday, when he left for York, to deliver the second lecture and to repeat his visits to the six towns as in the first week now described. The newspaper editors have been very helpful to the movement in every town, and gave liberal reports of all the lectures. Over 1000 copies of the syllabus have been sold in the circuit. The average weekly attendance at the six centres was about 1610 persons ; the total number of students sending in weekly answers was 278 ; the number eligible for the final examination on the six weeks' work was 229 ; the number who entered for the examination was 145 ; and the number of those who passed and received certificates was 129— in other words, 17 per cent, of the entire audience (1610) did weekly papers, and 89 per cent, of those ex- amined passed satisfactorily on a high college standard. 3 so UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. These form the largest figures I have yet heard of in any University Extension circuit. The net cost to each centre (exclusive of printing and room rent) was ;g 146.46; and each centre finished the course with a surplus on hand of $30 to ^230. Four of these centres are now hearing a second course by the same lecturer on "Shakspere — the Man and His Mind." A lecturer on a circuit has some advantages and many disadvantages. He has a good opportunity of seeing the country, and of making many acquaintances — which may sometimes last longer than six weeks. But on the other hand, he is cut off from his old friends. He is also cut off from his own library and books of reference. Lecturing in six centres every week is decidedly too much for any man to undertake, especially if he has two or three hundred long papers to read and annotate weekly. No lecturer should be encouraged to' take more than five lectures weekly. A Students' Association is to be formed in these towns at the close of the present course. This Association will include all persons interested in University Extension. It will have regular meetings in the long vacations, will invite lecturers, and help to select the subjects for future courses. These associations soon become the chief literary organizations in the district. I think there should be a small prize offered in each centre for the best weekly, and also for the best examination papers. Two such prizes, offered by some one in the town, would be a great stimulus to more thorough reading on the part of students, and would justify the lecturer in setting questions to cover books outside the syllabus and the ordinary text manuals, WM. CLARKE ROBINSON, Ph.D. /// South Fifteenth Street, Philadelphia, April, i8<)2. ECONOMICS, IV. Part i. — Production. V. Capital.' — If capital in its origin is not a result of saving but rather a result of the adoption of a new and more INCREASE efficient method of production, then it is evident that OF it is increased not by reducing consumption but by- turning the productive capacity of society into new channels. An addition to the stock of capital is'an incidental result of the new activity, not its cause. In apparent conflict with this statement of the relation of capital to the growth of industry are the first two of Mill's four fundamental pro- positions concerning capital, viz : That industry is limited by capital ; and that capital is the result of saving. But the word " saving " is used by Mill in a technical sense, denoting not necessarily abstinence or privation, but merely " excess of production over consumption." The essential element is even here the activity which calls the new products into being. It is of course implied that they then be devoted to the end for which they were produced and not to some other — that they be " saved " from loss, waste and unproductive consumption ; but it is wholly irrel- evant to say that they are a result of this saving. Non- destruction cannot be regarded as the origin of anything. 1 Concluded from March Univbrsity Extensioh. '" If a child asked whence chickens came, and was told that to produce chickens he must refiain from eating eggs, we should be justified in regarding the answer as an excel'' lent advice, but as an exceedingly absurd explanation. We are not a whit better satisfied by the train of reasoning which makes saving][the original cause of the formation of capital." Gide ; Political Eamomy, p. 139. 352 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. Nor is it true that industry is limited by capital in any sense which is inconsistent with the proposition that sufficient LIMITATION c^pi^^^l *s always forthcoming when the natural OF forces and human energy are directed into more INDUSTRY. pj-Q^jm-tive channels. The limitations are im- posed by the lack of such energy and non-utilization of such forces. It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that under normal conditions, i. e., when the quantities of the various kinds of capital are produced in the right propor- tion the increase of capital involves no reduction in the quantities of present goods produced, that there is no diminution of enjoyment, that there is no necessary priva- tion or sacrifice other than that connected with the labor involved in the production. Looking upon the industrial organization from a social and purely objective standpoint, we may recognize clearly enough. that these advantages' from the use of capital are not purchased at the cost of any reduction of enjoyment. At every stage capital, that is to say — machinery, raw materials, unfinished goods, improve- ment on land, increased abilities in men — these are produced by the co-operation of the human and the natural forces. They do not add to man's satisfactions directly, but neither do they subtract from them. Indirectly but continuously they do aid in satisfying desires. Contemporaneously with their own production they are changing into present goods or are increasing the quantities of present goods at man's disposal. Since the very beginning of this process there has been no necessity for saving as an act of production. Saving is the means by which the individual may in- crease the amount of his own income, the means by which he ADVANTAGE "^^^ influcnce the distribution of wealth. It OF deserves attention, therefore, in the study of distribution. Unfortunately there is a large class made up of those who are unwilling or unable to save for themselves, who do not adapt themselves to the ECONOMICS. 353 more efficient methods of production in vogue, but steadily- exchange their share in the future goods which they help to produce for such as are able to satisfy immediate wants. While society consists thus of two classes, those who save and those who do not, the distribution of wealth will be greatly in favor of the former class. This income which they receive because of the failure of the latter class to act in conformity with the newer conditions is so much deducted from the total product of industry before any division among those who have actively co-operated in production can take place. Money is circulating capital of a unique kind. In any particular production the money employed fulfills the CAPITAL ■^'^hole of its office by a single use, yet the AND money itself may exist in a durable shape, and its entire service to society may be spread over a period of longer duration than that of almost any form of fixed capital. In the popular mind the significance of money in the industrial mechanism is usually grossly ex- aggerated. Its total quantity does not measure in any sense the aggregate wealth of the country, nor does it stand in any fixed relation to its stock of capital. The importance of the money of a country is somewhat greater than that of the weights and measures in general use, but its function does not differ materially from theirs. Money is used in exchanging goods as railway cars are used in transporting them. Both money and cars are capital, but neither has any exclusive or peculiar claim to the title. When it is said that money is needed to develop the resources of a particular section of the country, it is almost always capital of other kinds than money that is really lacking. If the supply of money is really short it will be attracted from other countries as soon as prevailing high prices show that there is a deficiency. But there is no automatic method by which the supply of money may 23 354 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. be increased, since a high rate of interest does not neces- sarily accompany a deficiency of capital. If the deficiency makes itself felt as an obstacle to the development of some industry, then the rate of interest will rise in such a way as to attract the necessary capital. The need of future goods is recognized only gradually and on the actual initiation of aiew enterprises. That they are provided is an indication of the healthy growth of industry. The increase of capital augurs well for further development. An increase of snoney beyond that amount which the law of international prices allows is a disadvantage, and brings its own remedy. Society should be much more ready, therefore, to bring about the conditions that call for an increase of capital than to increase artificially the money supply. VI. Human Energy — We have investigated certain of the physical conditions of the production of wealth, the PHYSICAL possibility of utilizing the results of plant life, the ENERGY, necessary psychical conditions of efficient pro- duction, and the position of capital in the industrial mechanism. Before the theory of production can be con- sidered complete it will be necessary to study the organi- zation of industry and its two chief factors — labor and intelligence. Preliminary to the discussion of those sub- jects, however, it may be well to consider how far man's energy is dependent upon outer conditions, since the efficiency of his productioi\ is certainly determined, in very large 'part, by the amount of his physical energy. Attention has already been called to the indirect .influence of climate on production through its influence on OBJECTIVE man's energy and industrial activity.* It is a INFLUENCES, matter of common experience that greater endurance, heartier response to unexpected demands, and more vigorous prosecution of new and uncertain ventures ^Cf Univbrsity Extension, January. 1892, p. 227. ECONOMICS. 355 may be expected from a people whose climatic surround- ings are healthful and stimulating than from those whose lives are spent under unwholesome conditions. Greater energy is possible where the working day is of reasonable length, where the laborer has a direct interest in the pro- duct of his industry, where the State is active in promoting favorable conditions of life. The degree of energy which we may expect to see displayed in any community depends thus partly on outward physical conditions, partly on social and industrial conditions which the people of the community themselves create. " Everything which con- tributes to the hopefulness and cheerfulness of the laborer, everything which adds to his . physical strength and his mental power, because they have these results, deserve mention in any enumeration of the productive agencies. If they are found to be incapable of modification by man they should be intelligently utilized. If they are found to be within the sphere of man's influence they should be systematically developed and encouraged to the end that the highest degree of human energy may be secured. EDWARD T. DEVINE. THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SEMINARY. /S) fundamental problem of University Extension is the J^ supply of lecturers. The demand for the opportunities afforded by this movement is widespread. General and local organizations to furnish the necessary machinery have been established. Already, however, the number of those able and willing to engage in lecturing has been jbund, especially in some branches, far too small. Much credit is due those who, at great sacrifice, have undertaken in addi- tion to their college duties the work of Extension teaching. This has clearly been done from a high sense of duty and a thorough appreciation of all that this work may mean both.for the University and the people. The readiness on the part of University professors and instructors to connect themselves with the movement has been an almost indis- pensable aid in impressing clearly and forcibly the high standard of Extension courses. The sacrifice, however, involved in this work cannot long be justly expected from University men, and changes should be effected in their academic relations which w;ill take into account this new factor of University life. A thoughtful observer has already pointed out the valuable opportunity which the general demand for Extension courses now offers to the American college.* In many places there has' been such a call for Exten- sion work in literature and history as almost to equal the demand made upon those giving instruction in these sub- jects in the neighboring college or university. Carried out to its logical result this means that if the colleges are to satisfy popular demand for higher instruction outside of their walls the faculties will have to be largely increased in *See " A Problem in University Extension " by Secretary Melvil Dewey. Proceedings of the National Conference, p. 54, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1892. 356 THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SEMINARY. 357 numbers. On the other hand, it means that by skillful management large funds may be obtained for higher educa- tion from those who have so far been indifferent to the claims of education beyond that offered by the public high school, or even by the common schools of lower grade. No one can doubt that the American college will be quick to seize this advantage and thereby largely increase its efficiency and its influence in the community. The question now arises as to the source from which to draw the new instructors needed. Since their services are largely made necessary by the call for Extension courses, it is a natural thought that, in addition to the former conditions of scholarship and pedagogical ability, there will be added in the minds of Boards of Trustees the conditions of thorough acquaintance with the system of Extension teaching and of certain gifts in personal address and power of presentation which the public plat- form demands in distinction from the professorial chair. It will be, moreover, necessary for each college to command the services of at least one person who, while being thoroughly equipped for the work of college instruction, shall possess in addition to that the necessary ability and knowledge properly to organize the Extension work in connection with the institution. In other words, to make this work as efficient as it should be there must be a strong nucleus of persons engaged in the task of organization and instruction who have peculiar gifts for this sort of labor, and who have received special training for it. To supple- ment, then, the work of those already engaged in Exten- sion teaching, there must be an increase of strength in the college faculties, and preferably of those who have special ability as Extension lecturers; and in addition to this a strong nucleus of those who can be at once lecturers and j^O UmiVJiKSITY i£ATl£lNSlUJN. The fear has been expressed that it will be impossible to find men and women of suitable education and training to undertake this special work, and many have rightly insisted that there is at present no opportunity for those who would be inclined to enter the field, to secure a suit- able preparation for it. It is believed, however, by the friends of the move- ment that there are many young men and women now studying in our colleges who are especially suited to this work and who would prefer it to any other if they knew how to prepare themselves properly, and if they were sure they could thereby make a modest living. There are certainly many professors and instructors in our colleges and universities, many teachers in our normal schools and high schools, and many college men and women in other careers, who would be admirably adapted to succeed in this field, if they had the necessary technical preparation. The University Extension movement has been called one of the great reforms of the century. There is in it certainly the possibility of permanent improvement of our educational system. This is true, however, only on the condition that the system, which has been thus far evolved almost like a living organism, shall retain its plasticity and the power of being adapted to varying conditions. One of the marked characteristics of the system is its exceptional flexibility and its usefulness as an instrument in co-ordi- nating and systematizing many kinds of educational endeavor which have hitherto lacked these essentials of the greatest success. If the movement is to retain this important characteristic, its practical direction must be in the hands of men and women of the broadest educational views and the highest pedagogical ability. In it there is the fullest opportunity for all the talent of a Horace Mann or a Wickersham. All those familiar with this work concur in the opinion not only that can no one win the THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SEMINARY. 359 greatest success in the University Extension field who is not thoroughly interested in the problems of education^ more especially of American education, but that there is here the rarest possibility of pedagogical leadership and influence. The University Extension lecturer and organizer should be thoroughly acquainted with the whole educa- tional system of the country, since only in this way can he co-ordinate his work with that of other educational agen- cies. It is of the utmost importance, then, that the man who looks forward to Extension teaching as a life work should devote himself to a thorough examination of modern educational problems. These are diiificult conditions to meet. Indeed the demands made on one who engages simply in Extension lecturing are hard to satisfy.* Much greater is the talent, the training and the experience which alone will qualify one for the highest success in Extension teaching m the broad sense indicated by these considerations. Acting on such a conception of the needs of Exten- sion teaching, the American Society hasdecided to establish a University Extension Seminary for the study of American educational problems and for the training of University- Extension lecturers and organizers. The Seminary will be under the direction of Professor Edmund J. James, President of the Society, assisted by leading university men of this country and Europe. The first term will open October I, 1892, and will last until June i, 1893. It is proposed in the work of the Seminary to give, first, an opportunity for the fullest acquaintance with the University Extension idea, its gradual growth and embodiment in a slowly evolved system of instruction. To this end the *See "The University Extension Lecturer" by Edmund J. Jamest, Ph. D., Publications of the American Society, No. II. 360 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION beginnings of the movement in England and America will be studied and the different phases which local condi- tions have from time to time developed and emphasized. The different elements of the system, the place and function of the lecture, the syllabus, the class, the paper work, the students' club and the examination, will be considered in the light of past experience both in this country and abroad, and with due reference to both the fundamental and the local conditions of American education. Experienced Extension lecturers will give a series of talks upon these technical subjects, and conferences will be held for their future discussion. The many Extension centres in and near Philadelphia will afford the best opportunities for the observation of the practical workings of the system. In connection with the conferences reports will be made by the members of the Seminary of the results actually noticed at the different centres. Another feature of the seminary will be the study of the best forms of organization for Extension purposes. By a similar series of lectures and class discussions an acquaint- ance will be gained with the different forms of organization early adopted in England, including the general organiza- tion by the great universities and by the London Society and the local organizations in direct charge of individual centres. A comparison will be made between the condi- tions affecting the English work in organization, resulting partly from the predominant influence of Oxford and Cam- bridge, and those determining the organization proper to different sections of our own country. The general man- agement of the American Society and of the different State societies in affiliation with it, as well as that adopted by the various universities interested in the movement, will be thoroughly studied. The aim of this feature of the Semi- nary is the training of University Extension organizers who, from a knowledge of the conditions of American educa- THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SEMINARY. 361 tional life and from a thorough acquaintance with the theory and workings of University Extension, shall be able to organize to the best advantage this system, adapting it when necessary to suit the local needs in any part of the country. The third purpose of the seminary is to offer such opportunities as will enable the members to join to their study of the University Extension system the studies in which each inay choose to specialize. Arrangements have been made by which the members of the Seminary can pursue graduate studies for the degrees of M. A. and Ph. D. in the institutions near enough to Philadelphia to enable them to attend the workof the seminary. In connection with some one of the graduate studies so pursued each member of the Seminary will be expected to prepare and deliver a course of Extension lectures. It will be possible in many cases to secure an opportunity to deliver theselectures at different places and obtain a remunera- tion for them. In the case of mature and properly qualified members it will doubtless be possible to earn enough money to defray a considerable portion, if not all, the expenses of a year's residence. No guarantee of such remuneration is, however given, and no one is advised to enter the Seminary with this expectation. The members of the Seminary will be expected to aid in the work of the Society when possible, and every facility will be offered them to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the theory and practice of University Extension work. Among the men who will take part in the work of instruc- tion may be mentioned : Hon. William T. Harris, United States Commissioner of Education ; Dr. James MacAlister, President of the Drexel Institute ; Dr. Charles DeGarmo, President of Swarthmore College; Dr. Isaac Sharpless, President of Haverford College ; Professor Simon N. Pat- ten, of the University of Pennsylvania ; Principal George 362 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. M. Phillips, of the State Normal School, West Chester, Pa. ; Ray Green Ruling, editor of School and College, and Rev. Hudson Shaw, of Oxford University, England. In addition to the courses on technical subjects, such as the University Extension lecturer, class, syllabus, modes of general and local organization, circuit, paper work, examinations and students' clubs, there will be others on such general pedagogical subjects as educational adminis- tration, educational ideals, science of instruction, English educational institutions and their lessons for us, place and function of the normal school in American education. The American Society intends in this Seminary to justify the title given and offer the highest advantages for general pedagogical study and training, and the fullest opportunities for preparation as extension lecturers and organizers. It hopes thus to satisfy a demand which is already apparent and certain to increase greatly with the development of Extension teaching in America. The Society has had from the first the deepest sense of its responsibility toward the people in making more available the benefits of Extension teaching, and toward the universities in aiding them in a duty which rests priniarily upon them, and which fulfilled will indefinitely increase their efficiency within their own walls, and their usefulness and influence in the community. NOTES. Professor Henry S. Carhart, head of the department of physical sciences in the University of Michigan, and one of the well-lcnown specialists in electricity of the country, commenced a course at Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 9th. This is the second course of this year at that centre, where already Professor Isaac N. Demmon has given a series of lectures on " Eng- lish Masterpieces." The attendance at the centre is more than four hundred in number, and work of high educational grade has been done. Reference was made in the last number of University Extension to the reprinting, in answer to many demands, of the first year's issue of this maga- zine. The volume will contain over four hundred pages and be a complete presentation of this system of teaching with the results of actual work in all parts of the world. A reduced rate of seventy-five cents is offered to mem- bers of the American Society and to all subscribing before July 1st to Univer- sity Extension for one year. Orders should be sent in immediately, as the edition is limited. Before the Detroit Institute Professor Fred N. Scott, of the University of Michigan, is lecturing on the " Principles of Art Criticism with special applica- tions to the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo." This is one of the first series of Extension lectures on art subjects given in this country, and has proved very popular. Interest has been largely increased by the very complete illustration of the course through stereopticon views from copies of famous paintings. Professor Scott is a literary and art critic of high rank and the author of several interesting monographs on these subjects. The last course of University Extension lectures in Toledo began on Saturday evening, April 9th. The lectures are given by Professor G. Fred- erick Wright, the distinguished specialist and writer of international reputa- tion. Professor Wright is the author of the " Great Ice Age in North America, " Man and the Glacial Epoch," " Logic of the Christian Eviden- ces," "Studies in Science and Religion," and other well-known works. This is the same course which he has just completed at the Lowell Institute, and consists of ten lectures on the " Antiquities and Origin of the Human Race." The members of the American Society and all friends of University Ex- tension are under acknowledged obligations to Mr. George Henderson, who as secretary of the Society has done so much to organize its work effectively. When it was first proposed to introduce the movement into this country Mr. Henderson gave up a long cherished idea of graduate study, and devoted his entire energies to the organizing of the system. Now that the work is on a 363 364 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. sound basis, Mr. Henderson has resigned this position to carry out his former plan of graduate study, intending to pursue economic investigations at the University of Chicago, and direct also the Extension work of that institu- tion. All friends of University Extension are deeply interested in the question o f further appropriation by the New York Legislature to this cause. It is hoped that the views of Governor Flower will be modified as the work progresses in that State and the results of well conducted Extension courses become more evident. The House has already passed an appropriation of the same amount as that made last year. The attitude of the people of the State may be seen in the case of the Albion Extension Centre, of two hundred and fifteen members, which on the evening of April 7th, passed a resolution respectfully petitioning the Governor and the Legislature of the State for the annual renewal of an appropriation to this work. One of the marked features of this year of Extension teaching in England has been the increase in scientific courses as a result of the County Council grant. Without such encouragement scientific courses have been foun'l very popular and attractive in the United States. Under the auspices of the Ameri- can Society courses in higher mathematics have been given for the first time in the history of Extension teaching and with such evident success as indicated in the sketch by Professor Crawley in the April number of this magazine. During the month of May Extension courses will be given in practical botany at several centres. In the West a course of lectures on astronomy is being delivered to the San Jose, Cal., centre by Professor E. E. Barnard. The program has appeared of the Sixth Session of the Summer Meeting at Edinburgh, which, under the direction of Professor Geddes, is attracting a large attendance not only from Scotland, but from other countries. The special features of this year include educational courses for teachers seeking to come up to the new requirements in the direction of technical education. Special emphasis is laid on the school of natural science, which offers courses in phys- iology, biology, zoology and botany. In the school of social science the lectures are by Professor Ingram, of Dublin, M. Demolins, editor of La Science Sociale, Mr. Henry W. Rolfe and Mr. Edward T. Devine, of the American Society, and Dr. Grosse, of Freiburg. The committee has been for- tunate in securing Dr. R. G. Moulton for a course on literature. The meeting is divided into two parts — ^the first from August 1st to 13th, the second from August 15th to 31st. Further details may be obtained by addressing J. Arthur Thompson, M. A., University Hall, Edinburgh. The lectures of Professor Halford J. Mackinder, of Oxford, have been fol- lowed with great appreciation by large audiences during the last six weeks. Professor Mackinder came to America with an established reputation as an authority in his own field, and as a leading Extension lecturer. His reputa- NOTES. 365 tion has been still further strengthened by his very successful work among us. His visit has united more closely those interested in Extension teaching in England and in the United States, It has been already remarked that an important function of the American Society is the securing of leading lec- turers from abroad for the strengthening of the system in this country, and for making clearer the leading features of the great object lesson carried on now in more than six States for the benefit of the entire country. The Society is especially fortunate in having already secured for next year Rev. Hudson Shaw, who holds in the Oxford movement the eminent place which Dr. Moul- on has won for himself in connection with the Cambridge work. The readers of University Extension will remember an article pub- lished in the December number of this magazine on " English Miners and University Extension," written by one of the Northumberland miners. The article contained touching evidences of the good that this system of teaching is doing among that class, and the influence exerted in raising them to a purer life. A portion of the article was reprinted in the March number of the 'Oxford University Extension Gazette, and we are pleased to note in the April number that a subscription of fifty dollars has been made to enable two of the miners, including the writer of that article, to attend the Oxford Summer Meeting in August. It is, perhaps, difficult for us in America to appreciate the work that is being done among the lower classes in England. Indeed, when we see references to work of this description, we are apt too hastily to conclude that our boasted system of free public schools prevents such a need on the part of American workmen. This is unfortunately not the case, since statistics show that a very small percentage of the lower classes ever attains, even under our most favored conditions, more than the merest rudiments 01 an education. There is a wide field for work among the laboring people in the United States. A beginning has been made in the only right way, by interest- ing great labor organizations in the cause and leading them to establish centres under their own direction. The Association News, of the Young Men's Qiristian Association of Phila- delphia, has the following : " One of the most striking features of the season's work at the Central Branch has been the University Extension courses there carried on. This Association has simply expressed the growing sentiment of the Young Men's Christian Associations of America in taking so advanced a position in educa- tional lines. Not only has the Branch been connected with University Exten- sion movement as a whole, but it has been identified with the strongest centre in the country, viz.. Association Local Centre. Members have been sur- rounded with unusual intellectual advantages. During the winter ten courses have been arranged, comprising in all sixty-three lectures, and to members of this Association season tickets admitting to all of these have been offered for {1.50, None of the lectures have been designed to be merely popular and 366 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. entertaining, but all have aimed at educating. There have been five courses on economics and kindred subjects, two on English literature, two on mathe- matics and mechanical engineering, and one on history. It is not easy to esti- mate the value that these courses have been to the Association. It is yery plainly to be seen, however, that our general work has been brought before the attention of the public as never before, and has been accorded a new dignity and importance in the eyes of business men. The building has been made a familiar centre for various classes of people desirable to reach. Mechanical draughtsmen and engineers, economic students and bank employes, laboring men and the leisure class, people of means, have all been drawn here by the extensive courses which in turn appealed to them all. The first of these were attracted by the courses on mathematics and mechanics, which were at- tended by audiences of eighty to one hundred, and were the most successful University Extension courses over attempted on such technical subjects. The second class, of bank employes, etc., have attended the economic lectures, among them Sadler's successful courses in December and January. About three hundred tellers, clerks and other bank employes have been students in the course on the history and theory of money, now being delivered by Sidney Sherwood. The discussion of social and political economy drew many work- ingmen. Finally the leisure class, seeking what may be called the culture courses rather than the practical, have supported the courses on English litera- ture by Thompson and Pancoast, and are now interested in the course on the Great Commercial Cities of the World, being given by Mackinder, of Oxford, England. The question of the proper relation of the Young Men's Christian Association to higher education has long been pressing. In the union of forces with University Extension we have a practical solution, to some extent, of this question. Below is a list of the courses for the past season : Higher Mathe- matics as applied to Mechanics (twelve lectures), by Prof Edwin S. Crawley, University of Pennsylvania; Economics (three lectures), by Prof. F. H. Gid- dings, Bryn Mawr; English Literature (six lectures), by Prof. R. E. Thomp- son, University of Pennsylvania; Socialism, Past and Present (three lectures), by Michael E. Sadler, M. A., Oxford University, England; The Change in Political Economy (three lectures), also by Mr. Sadler ; Robert Browning (six lectures), by Henry E. Pancoast; Strength of Materials (six lectures), by Prof. H. W. Spangler, University of Pennsylvania; The [History and Theory of Money (twelve lectures), by Sidney Sherwood, Ph. D., Wharton School of Finance and Economy of the University of Pennsylvania; Economics (six lec- tures), by Edward T. Devine, M. A. ; The Great Commercial Cities of the World (six lectures), by Prof. H. J. Mackinder, M. A., of Oxford University, England." EXTENSION TEACHING IN MINNESOTA. The following three reports have been received from three centres in the State of Mirmesota where Extension work has been done during this year. Miss Jessie L. Van VUet, Chairman of the Minneapolis Centre, writes ; " In the fall of '90 the city librarian, Mr. Herbert Putnam, introduced four lecture courses on international law, early English literature, nineteenth century history and railroading. These were the beginning of the work in our city. The lectures were given in the library with an average attendance of about two hundred ; syllabi were furnished, the after conference held, and papers submitted. Mr. Putnam assumed the responsibility alone. This last fall at the first meeting of the executive committee of the Association of Collegiate Alunmje (Minnesota Branch), the subject of University Extension was discussed and a committee appointed to inquire into the prospects of the continuance of the work. The removal of Mr. Putnam from the city soon left the entire responsibility in the hands of the A. C. A., and a committee of three of the ladies has had the management since. A hall in a central locality was offered to us free of expense, and a guarantee fimd of five hundred dollars in sums Tarying from ten dollars to fifty was raised without difficulty. Only two courses liave been given this winter, the first a short course of illustrated lectures on astronomy by Professor Payne, Director of the Carleton College Observatory, the second by Professor H. P. Judson, who has just been called to the Chicago University from our State University. This was a course of ten lectures on the subject : " Sixty Years of American Politics (1801-1861). Course tickets to the former were sold at jSl.oo and the latter at $1.50. The average attend- ance at these lectures was about four hundred. The syllabi have been furnished by the University. In March a single lecture was given by Professor John Fiske on " Columbus and the Discovery of America," before a house of nine hundred at twenty-five cents admission. The work for the year has closed with a surplus of four hundred dollars, which puts the work for another year on a firmer financial basis. It is hoped and expected that more Extension work can be done in the future. These courses have been study courses, and the shelves in the public library reserved for reference books have been well visited. Papers have been submitted, but no examinations have been called for. The audiences have been made up of the intelligent and well-to-do dtizens of the community with a large number of school teachers. If you can suggest through your magazine ways of reaching other classes it will be of help to us. It seems to me that to do this in a city like Minneapolis, lecture halls must be opened in different sections of the city. It is our experience that one central hall will not draw the different sections and elements together. Several halls however add much to expense and the work. Is there any other way ? " Under date of April 5th, Superintendent James J.Dow, of the Minnesota School for the Blind at Faribault, reports: "There is no formally organized local centre here, although the formation of one is contemplated in the near future. The movement originated in the high school, or rather with the Superintendent 307. 368 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. of the City Schools, Mr. W. M. West, for the benefit of the high school. An arrangement was made with Professor H. P. Judson, of the State University, to give a course of six lectures on the political history of modem Europe, to be followed by a second course of six completing the subject, if there should be sufficient encouragement. The price of tickets for the course was put at one dollar, with slight reduction for students. About two hundred tickets were sold, and the attendance, both at the after-study and lectures was good. About one hundred and twenty-five tickets were sold for the second course ; the reduction in number was partly due to falling off of interest, but chiefly to the prevalence of influenza which prevented attendance. Two more of these lectures are yet to be given, after which examinations will be held. A temporary library for the course was obtained by putting together a selection of books from the high school library and the public library bearing on the subject, which was cared for by high school pupils ; to this were added some forty dollars worth of books purchased from the proceeds of the course. Several sets of works like Fyffe's Modem Europe, MuUer's History of Modem Europe, etc., were purchased by persons attending the lectures. Several smaller groups held weekly studies, and much interest was manifested. The lectures were held at intervals of two weeks. They have been quite popular and many have done considerable home-reading." Mr. A. H. Viele, President of the Duluth Centre, writes : " The Duluth Local Centre of University Extension was organized on the 7th of October, 1891. After the usual delays attendant upon such efforts, arrangements were made with Professor William W. Folwell, LL.D., of the University of Minne- sota, to give a course of twelve lectures on the "Principles of Economics," commencing on November 14th and continuing on each Saturday night there- after until the completion of the course. One hundred and eighty tickets were sold for the course at $3.00 each. The maximum attendance was one hundred and twenty-five, and the minimum sixty. Saturday night was selected for the lectures in the hope that a class could be reached that had leisure on no other night. In this we were successful. The novelty of the movement and the somewhat formidable terms, necessarily used, somewhat deterred the members from prominent action. The interest maintained surprised Dr. Fowell, and was highly gratifying for a first attempt, but none of the members took the examination. All of the expenses connected directly with the course were defrayed from the sale of tickets which was unusually gratifying. The expenses of organization, etc., were borne by some of the individual members. At the end of this first course in February, it was considered best to postpone a further course until the fall of 1892, when the interest can be revived and doubtless more practical results obtained. We have good reason to expect the assistance the faculties of Chicago University and of our own State Univer- sity, but the expense, owing to our locality, mu'-t be comparatively great. Among the expenses of our first course was the rental of a room which we hope to have furnished free of charge for our next course." University Extension. WILL UNIVERSITY EXTENSION STARVE THE COLLEGE STAFFS ? i ( /©S we must account for every idle word, so;" said J~^ Franklin, " we must for every idle silence." The Universities seem to have taken this truth to heart. If the time has come for a propaganda on behalf of higher, teach- ing they will embark on it. If there is need for effort it shall be made. If culture is to stand in the dock on the charge of exclusiveness — a serious charge in democratic days — judgment shall not go by default. Learning shall show itself alive to public needs, responsive to popular aspirations, hospitable, considerate, expansive. Existing in the public interest, culture shall not fail to reciprocate public sympathy. And what institutions can better express this sympathy, as becoming as it is sincere, than the Universities which were founded to safeguard learning and promote it This is not sycophancy or self-advertisement. It is the natural outcome of the self-adaptive pliancy of a living institution. Culture is not of essence exclusive. . It is only exclusive where it feels that it is not understood. Im- pecuniosity, not conscious virtue, made Grub Street give itself the airs of a close corporation. Culture prefers, if anything, to sun itself, to walk abroad in good clothes, to chat with the passers-by, to enjoy, as Renan says, /a sytnpa- thie de son Steele. The culture which keeps you at arm's length has generally some reason for disliking closer 24 370 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. inspection. " Seeming wise-men make shift to get opinion." But sound culture has bonhomie. It likes give and take. It knows that if " reading maketh a full man and writing an exact man, conference maketh a ready man." In former