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SUPERINTENDENTS' OFFICIAL REVIEW, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

[Announcements and news furnished by S. D. SHANKLAND, Secretary, Department of Superintendence, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C.]

Selecting a Meeting Place.-Invitations for the winter meeting in 1927 were received from twelve cities. They were Atlanta, Georgia; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee. The convention requirements of the Department of Superintendence are not easy to meet. In Washington, according to the Convention Bureau, seven thousand sleeping rooms were reserved. The location and attractions of the Nation's capital brought an attendance somewhat above normal. Four thousand hotel rooms is the lowest number reported in recent years. As in the case of all professional organizations, first-class accommodations are in greatest demand.

For general sessions there is needed a comfortable auditorium with seats for at least five thousand persons. The exhibit hall should be immediately adjacent to the convention auditorium, and should contain 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of space. The convention halls in Cleveland and Washington are especially convenient. The fourteen allied organizations and the topic groups of the Department of Superintendence require for their accommodation a dozen or more meeting halls with seating capacity ranging from 100 to 1,500. Breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners, which have increased notably both in number and attendance, place a heavy strain on the hotels. Extra waiters and cooks are in sharp demand.

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order that first-hand information might be placed before the Executive Committee, Dr. Randall J. Condon, newly elected president of the Department of Superintendence, decided that a personal survey of convention facilities ought to be made in each of the cities under consideration. He gave an entire week of his own time to the task. The trip began at Detroit on Monday, March 29. Superintendent Frank Cody, genial and hospitable, entertained with a luncheon at the Statler Hotel. Superintendent E. E. Lewis of Flint, Michigan, member of the Executive Committee, and H. A. Allan, business manager of the National Education Association, were among the guests. In the evening, Doctor Condon was guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Michigan State Teachers Association. An auto trip to several of Detroit's fine new schools was a feature of the afternoon.

At Chicago on Tuesday, the Coliseum, Medinah Temple, and several immense new hotels were carefully inspected. Mr. Ernest J. Stevens of the LaSalle Hotel entertained at luncheon. The presence of Superintendent William McAndrew and John F. Bowman of the Chicago Association of Commerce, enlivened the proceedings. In the afternoon, a delightful hour was spent with Dr. A. E. Winship of Boston, who was discovered in the lobby of the Congress Hotel.

Superintendent I. I. Cammack, and Mr. W. M. Symon of the Convention Bureau, were hosts at luncheon in the Muehlbach Hotel, Kansas City, Wednesday. The immense building which houses the live stock show was among the many points of interest visited. A number of hotels have been completed recently in the city and a new

shrine temple is under construction. M. G. Clark, superintendent of schools, Sioux City, Iowa, was with the party during the stay in Kansas City.

The snow which covered the central states was no longer in evidence on arrival in Dallas, Thursday morning, and overshoes were put away in the traveling bags. Superintendent Norman R. Crozier, accompanied by Z. E. Black, convention manager, met the train at the Union Terminal. The assembly hall equipped with a pipe organ and seated with five thousand comfortable opera chairs, was carefully inspected, as well as the huge exhibit hall located across the driveway. Preparations were going on to entertain the American Medical Association during the last week of April. Attendance at midday lenten services, luncheon at the Adolphus Hotel, and dinner at the University Club, were a part of the day's activities.

Breakfast was waiting in Houston Friday morning. A fine group of the city's leading men were at the table, including the mayor of the city, and a former governor of Texas. The convention hall, owned by the city, is in the heart of the downtown section, with exhibit space directly across the street. Rice Institute has a splendid new plant in the outskirts of the city. Other points visited. were the new art gallery, Country Club, and the remarkable deep water ship canal which connects Houston with the Gulf of Mexico. It was straw hat day in Houston, and the occasion was further marked by the first appearance of the new spring suit which the president of the Department had been carrying since he left Cincinnati. Superintendent E. E. Oberholtzer, A. D. Simpson, banker, Colonel Haynes of the Chamber of Commerce, and Barney Morton of the Rice Hotel, constituted a splendid entertainment committee.

A stop-over of two hours in Fort Worth gave opportunity to have breakfast with Superintendent M. H. Moore, and Mr. R. T. Ellis, secretary of the Texas State Teachers Association, and editor of The Texas Outlook. Fort Worth is a progressive city

about thirty miles west of Dallas, in the center of the richest cotton producing region in the world. Nine petroleum refineries serve the oil fields in the vicinity. Eighteen steam railroads and two interurbans converge at Fort Worth. It is a good hotel town. The Texas Hotel erected at a cost of $4,000,000, has 600 guest rooms all with bath, and a banquet room with a capacity of 1,400. Lake Worth, a mile and a half wide, and fourteen miles long, is the playground of the city and is popular with tourists.

Much to his regret, President Condon was unable to go on to Denver, but he appointed Superintendent M. G. Clark of Sioux City, Iowa, the senior member of the Executive Committee in length of service, to act as his personal representative. Mr. Clark met Secretary S. D. Shankland in Denver, Monday morning, April 5. Superintendent Jesse H. Newlon and his able assistants with their usual efficiency, had carefully surveyed in advance the city's convention facilities. The convention hall seats ten thousand people and contains a fine pipe organ. An option had been secured on exhibit space in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Newlon gave a luncheon in honor of the visitors, at which were the mayor, the president of the Board of Education, railroad officials, and business men. The outstanding event in Denver was a tour of the new school buildings. The school administration building is probably the finest in the country. Beauty of architecture, convenience of arrangement, and spacious playgrounds bear eloquent testimony to the wisdom with which Denver's building program was carried out.

Atlanta is a beautiful city with much of historical interest to offer to visitors. President Condon visited Atlanta before returning home from the trip to the Southwest. Superintendent Willis A. Sutton greeted him with true Southern hospitality. A tour of inspection to the convention hall, hotels, and meeting places, was followed by luncheon at the Atlanta-Biltmore Hotel. In the afternoon, an auto trip was made to the great Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain. The mayor of Atlanta ac

companied the party and cordially coöperated in providing a notable day's entertain

ment.

Louisville has experience in entertaining great crowds, for the Kentucky Derby brings thousands of people to that city. An hour was spent at Churchill Downs where the Derby and other races are held. Luncheon and entertainment were provided at the New Brown Hotel. Manager Carl M. Snyder is a hotel man of unusual ability. Superintendent B. W. Hartley set forth Louisville's convention advantages in most attractive style.

It was deemed unnecessary to visit any other cities since recent conventions have given ample opportunity to know how well Cleveland, Boston and Atlantic City can care for one of the national gatherings of school people.

Philadelphia, June 27-July 2.-One hundred and fifty years have elapsed since the Declaration of Independence was signed in Independence Hall at Philadelphia. The teachers of America will have an important part in the celebration in honor of the birth of the Nation, for the National Education Association holds its annual summer meeting in Philadelphia during the week preceding the Fourth of July. Miss Mary McSkimmon, president of the Association, has prepared a program appropriate to the occasion. The convention will open with a Vesper Service in Independence Square on Sunday afternoon, June 27. From then until the close of the convention, general meetings, patriotic, educational, and inspirational in character, will be held every evening in the auditorium at the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition. The Representative Assembly will hold four business sessions in the Academy of Music, beginning Tuesday morning June 29th. Officers will be nominated from the floor at the Tuesday morning meeting. The ballot boxes will be open for voting from 8 A. M. to 6 P. M. on Thursday. The president, eleven vice-presidents, the treasurer are elected in this manner. Other officers are elected by the Board of Directors.

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Delegates to the Representative Assembly meet by states on Monday afternoon at 5 o'clock, to nominate their state directors. Splendid programs are in preparation for those who are not members of the Representative Assembly, on which will appear the names of leaders in our national life as well as in education. Departments and allied organizations will be given the right of way on the afternoons of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

On Wednesday afternoon is scheduled what is expected to be the outstanding feature of the meeting. A pageant, entitled "The Drama of American Independence," will be given a most elaborate presentation. It was prepared by the National Education Association Committee on School and Community Celebrations of the Sesquicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. This committee is composed of Lotta A. Clark, Helen Louise Cohen, and Jasper L. McBrien. Miss Clark is head of the department of History and Civics, Teachers College, Boston, Massachusetts, and secretary of the American Pageant Association. She is a national leader in pageantry. Miss Cohen is head of the department of English in the Washington Irving High School, New York City, and well known as writer and lecturer. Mr. McBrien is director of Rural Education and Community Activities in the State Teachers College, Edmond, Oklahoma. At the request of Secretary Franklin K. Lane, he staged the Continental Congress seven times in Washington, D. C., during the World War period.

Superintendents at Philadelphia.-The number of persons occupying administrative positions in attendance at the summer meeting is greatly increasing. The importance of the matters to be considered at Philadelphia should prompt many superintendents of schools to be present. Places of historical interest are numerous in and about Philadelphia. There are tourist attractions catering to every taste.

A breakfast in honor of the president of the Department of Superintendence,

Superintendent Randall J. Condon of Cincinnati, will be held in the Benjamin Franklin Hotel Tuesday morning, June 29th. All friends of the popular executive are invited to attend. It will be a convenient occasion for superintendents of schools to meet and greet each other. President Condon will entertain the Executive Committee and presidents of allied departments and organizations at a dinner in the Benjamin Franklin Hotel Tuesday evening. Plans for the fifty-seventh annual winter meeting of the Department of Superintendence will be announced, and methods of procedure determined.

Scrutinizing the List of Members.-What college degrees are held by superintendents of schools? What has been the length of service of the city superintendents in their present positions? These are questions which are asked frequently. In the First Yearbook of this Department, a study of the status of the superintendent, published in 1923, Professor B. C. Douglass found that about 26.8 per cent. of those reported had completed a year or more of graduate work. His study further disclosed that the median length of present terms of office was then four years, and the statement was made that "the tendency is moving in the direction of lengthened terms of office."

The list of members in the 1926 Yearbook was examined to see whether any facts bearing on these two questions could be found. Many members do not report their college degrees or present term of service for the directory. Of eight hundred and fifty-eight city superintendents of schools who reported their college and university degrees, it appears that eighteen hold the

degree of LL. D.; twenty-seven have the degree of Ph. D.; seventeen have the degree Ed. D. or Pd. D.; three hundred and seventy-six have a master's degree; four hundred and twenty have a bachelor's degree. Of fifty-six superintendents in cities with a population of over 100,000, twentytwo hold doctor's degrees; twenty-one master's degrees; and thirteen, bachelor's degrees.

The length of present terms in office of eight hundred and fourteen city superintendents of schools was reported. Of this number, thirty-six stated that their present term of service was entered upon in 1925; seventy-eight have held their present offices since 1924; one hundred and five since 1923; ninety-six since 1922; eighty-two since 1921; and seventy-eight since 1920. One reported that he took his present office in 1879. For those members of the Department of Superintendence, who listed in the 1926 Yearbook the date on which they entered upon their present positions as city school superintendents, the median length of service in present positions in cities over 100,000 in population, is five years; in cities 30,000-100,000, seven years; in cities 5,000-30,000, five years; and in cities 2,500-5,000, four years. These figures seem to indicate that the length of service of city superintendents of schools has increased as predicted in the First Yearbook. However, not too much credence should be given these figures since the Division of Research of the National Education Association, when asked to examine the tabulations, stated that the methods employed could not be considered scientifically correct, but that the study might perhaps be considered a fair amateur effort.

Arithmetic Habits.-(From the New York World.) "Dr. Edward L. Thorndike at the New York Society for the experimental study of education said: 'Arithmetic is better taught now and will improve as the result of experimental research. Use problems that train to useful thinking. Scrutinize every task and be sure that it fits into life. Pay especial heed in elementary arithmetic to useful habits. Form habits; they will not come as miracles. Let us discover and correct bad habits."" Habitual accuracy and reliability are proper aims of this study.

WHEN A MENDER IS NEEDED

(A Matter for St. Boethius)

ANGUS MCFARLANE

[Professor McFarlane, after forty cheerful years of enjoyment of the companionship of college students, has taken up his residence in Philadelphia to pursue the study of grandchildren.]

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YOU may remember reading a few years ago of a gift made by a resident of St. Goar, Germany, to an inland college in America, a generous fund to provide for teaching teachers how to teach civic duty. The donor was one Boyce Ludwig. He is worth a biography. Your jewel casket of memory would have another gem in it had you known him. How did he happen to have so queerly conglomerate a name as Boyce Ludwig? It suggests a mixture of oatmeal and wurst. That might not be a bad combination. Have we not heard how the Philadelphians concocted the savory scrapple from hitherto unacquainted elements? Boyce and Ludwig! How came they in one man's name.

That James Watt, a Scott, put steam to work; that Scotsmen set his engines upon boats and sent these self-moving things far from the Clyde, is not news to you. If the Deutsche Rheinische Dampfer Gesellschaft saw fit to lure John Boyce from Glasgow in 1849 and make him master engineman of their fleet of Rhine boats, it is reasonable. So is it that Margaret Boyce, the engineer's daughter, should have signed a bond of matrimony with Herman Ludwig, bookbinder, and that the first coupon maturing on that bond should be the sandy haired Boyce Ludwig, combining in his name and in his disposition qualities of both races. How does this concern us? In this manner. Being the son of a bookbinder and the grandson of an adventurous Scot, this Boyce Ludwig was sent by the Brothers Hess, the great Leipzig bookmaking house, to Philadelphia, in 1876, and was given a bench close to the spectators' rail in the Centennial Exposition. Here the librarian of a thriving little college

was able in seven conversations to lure the Scotio-German workman to Ohio and push him into our lives. But for that I would not know the story of the Wells of St. Boethius, and your life would be poorer than it is going to be.

On the first of December, 1876, the exposition having ceased to expose itself, Boyce Ludwig and a chest of tools were set down in the inland college town. In less than a week there was a gold-lettered sign put up: "Boyce Ludwig, Binder to the University." This was on the long, two-story building east of the campus where the bankrupt box factory used to be. It left many tons of pasteboard behind from which the ability to endow a chair of civic service took its beginning.

Clyde Wheeler and I earned our way through college. We occupied a room over the Ludwig shop and paid for it and more besides by doing some of the simpler work in the bindery. Ludwig worked up all the pasteboard of the bankrupt boxers. He bought a bargain stock of remarkably stout green buckram. He got from the Eureka mill, after the fire, tons of high quality paper. These goods were the staples of the famous Boyce-Ludwig everlasting note-books that were sold by student agents in Columbus, in Ithaca, in Ann Arbor, in Cambridge, in New Haven, and in Princeton. There were two works published by Ludwig: What To Do and The Charm of Courtesy. The first was an indexed receipt book with directions for every emergency in life from "aching ankles" to "zink cleaning"; the other was an etiquette so elementary and engaging that, left in the morning by the student canvassers in any home, it sold itself before night. In ten

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