Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 92, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 July 1902 — WORK OF EDUCATORS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WORK OF EDUCATORS.

NATIONAL CONVENTION OF IQO2 BREAKS ALL RECORDS. Great Teachers’ Meeting Drawe Twenty Thousand People to MinneapolisMany Interesting Addresses Given by Noted Educators—Officers Elected.

With nearly all of the most prominent educators in the United States present the forty-first annual convention of the

National Educational Association was called .together at Minneapolis. Gov. Van Sant delivered an adL dress of welcome. [ At the opening session of the national council the topic, | one of the most important considered by the gathering, was “Taxation as it Relates to School Maintenance.” Probably the most interesting address delivered during the convention

proper was that by President Harper of the University of Chicago. 'He summed up the educational events of the year at home and abroad. One of the most potent causes contributing to national unity in the United States is the large number of national conventions of numerous fraternal, educational, charitable, religious and business organizations. Among these conventions the annual gathering of the National Educational Association is remarkable for its businesslike character, ita large attendance and the deep impression it is sure to make on the educational thought and conduct of the whole country for the ensuing months and years.

Not a Mere Picnic. National Educational Association conventions are not mere picnics, mere excuses for a general good time under the guise of serious business, as so many conventions are. They are conventions for serious purposes, attended by earnest people with definite objects in view and a determination to make the most of the short time allotted to the convehtion. Men and women from all sections meet, exchange views, get new points of view, part with provincialism. Returning to their homes, they put the strong power of their influence on the side of unity as well as of progress in American education. The same new ideas are tried, simultaneously, in Texas and Maine. The American school and the American university are everywhere alike, though not without some minor and seasoning peculiarities. The National Educational Association convention 1902 has in all respects proven a record breaker. The size of the crowds has been unprecedented and the number and quality of the attractions offered have never in the history of the association been equaled. A score or more of speakers have been heard at the general sessions and the department meetings who have attained a reputation which is national and in some instances even worldwide. Twenty thousand visitors from all parts of the country spent the week in Minneapolis, either as dele-, gates to the convention or as mere visitors, availing themselves of the low railroad rates to see the great bread and butter State. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, was introduced during Thursday’s session, and spoke in part as follows: "The most useful and valuable educational work in all the world appealing to the educator is that of the farmers of the country. Pioneer work along thia line is waiting. The organization of faculties to do the work, apparatus, laboratories, text books, illustrative material from primary to post-graduate and beyond, where studies of specialties must be combined, where research must be broadened, and where specialists must be grouped to reach a desired end and meet the pressing demands of producers — all these are waiting. This is the great field of applied science, where the grower seeks the help of the scholar, of the experimenter, and of the observer. The millions of farmers look to you for help in these directions.” Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University and former member of the Philippine commission, made an interesting address on "Education in the Philippines." One of the most important and significant movements in connection with the convention was that signalized by the meeting of representative grade teachers of the country to form a national organization.

Officers Elected. The list of officers reported by the nominating committee and approved by the association was as follows: President —Charles W. Eliot, Massachusetts. Treasurer—W. N. Davidson, Kansas, □first Vice-President—W. M. Beardshear, lowa. Second Vice-President —O. T. Bright, Illinois. Third Vice-President Charles F. Reeves, Washington. Fourth Vice-President—-Joseph Kennedy, North Dakota. Fifth Vice-President Charles F. Thwing, Ohio. Sixth Vice-President—W. N. Sheats, Florida. Seventh Vice-President Marlon Brown, Louisiana. Eighth Vice-President—J. B. Pearcy, Indiana. Ninth Vlce-Preiident—Helen Grenfel, Colorado. ' Tenth Vice-President—Henry R. Sanford, New York. Eleventh Vice-President—J. H. Francis, California. Twelfth Vice-President—Wallace G, Nye, Minnesota. Among the directors nominated are: Illinois—Catherine Goggin. Indiana—T. A. Mott. lowa—A. V. Storm. Michigan—D. W. Sprun. Minnesota — C. M. Jordan. Nebraska—E. J. Bodwell. Ohio—J. K. Baxter. i Wisconsin—L. D. Harvey.

Frost has been reported from several places in Nebraska and as far south as St. Joseph, Mo.

GOV. VAN SANT.