P

ENNSYLVANIA is celebrating the

100th anniversary of the signing of its Free Public-School Act.

On April 1, 1834, Gov. George Wolf affixed his signature to the "Common Schools Law." During the week of April 1 to 7, 1934, every school in Pennsylvania gave recognition to this event. This period was set aside through an official proclamation of Governor Pinchot and action of the State legislature as "Pennsylvania Education Week." While many schools conducted special programs at that time the centennial observance will continue throughout the year.

The centennial started officially Tuesday, April 3, with a 2-day program sponsored by the State Department of Public Instruction at Harrisburg. The centennial theme will be carried through school and college activities of the spring months, climaxed in October with a Citizens' Conference on Public Education in connection with the annual State Education Congress sponsored by the Department of Public Instruction. Preceding this will be many local and county conferences throughout the State.

During Pennsylvania Education Week speakers on public-school history and

development appeared before various service clubs, parent-teacher meetings, school assemblies, and forums, women's clubs, and other organizations interested in education. Community conferences and pageants depicting "Then and Now" in public education we: e held and special sermons delivered in the churches on April 8.

As in 1834

The State celebration started with a series of special programs sponsored by the department of public instruction in the forum of the Education Building at Harrisburg on the evening of Tuesday, April 3. Following a review of the history and significance of public education by Dr. James N. Rule, superintendent of public instruction, there were two dramatizations by the faculty and students of the State Teachers College at Shippensburg. In the first act the players showed the legislative session of 1834 which approved

the common-schools law; in the second act the defense of the law at the 1835 session, when Thaddeus Stevens made the famous speech which saved the act from repeal. In the year following the passage of the act public sentiment developed against the free-school plan and its cost, but Stevens saved it with his characteristic oratory.

On Wednesday, April 4, occurred final eliminations in a State-wide championship spelling bee, featured by an old-fashioned singing school. On Wednesday evening there was presented, through dramatization, an old-fashioned school session, and, in contrast, a modern school project and a series of demonstrations showing results obtained through present-day education methods. These dramatizations were presented under the general direction of Dr. Albert Lindsay Rowland, president of the Shippensburg State Teachers College.

Approximately 40 Pennsylvania counties sent their champion spellers to Harrisburg for the finals of the spelling bee.

Booklet for teachers

Authorized by the State Legislature to organize such an educational program as will signally mark the anniversary, Superintendent Rule has sponsored preparation of various helpful materials for teachers and friends of education. The chief contribution is a 108-page illustrated pamphlet, "100 Years of Free Public Schools in Pennsylvania", which has been made available to every teacher in the State.

In the foreword of this anniversary pamphlet Superintendent Rule says: "With the signing of the Free School Act on April 1, 1834, two fundamental principles of democracy were established: [1] An educated citizenry is essential to successful self-government. [2] It is the obligation of the State to provide for the maintenance of an efficient system of public schools for all children."

D. M. CRESSWELL

OW MUCH does it cost to go to

Η H college? This is one of the

of Education is called upon to answer. Reliable information can usually be obtained from the registrar in a single college, but such an estimate does not apply to other colleges. To answer the question adequately, therefore, the Office of Education has recently written to registrars of 1,500 colleges and universities listed in the 1934 Educational Directory, and has received estimates from most of them.

Major items

Five major items of freshman expense were considered:

1. Tuition in liberal arts. Most institutions have one rate, but the State colleges and universities generally charge less for State residents than for students who live outside the State.

2. Fees. Total fees that all students pay include "incidental fees", annual fixed charges, matriculation, health, athletic, library, and student activity fees.

3. Room. Room rent as estimated is the minimum annual rate for 9 months of college. The lowest rate is usually in the college dormitory, but sometimes it is less in private homes located off-campus.

4. Board. The lowest annual rate for meals is estimated, whether this rate applies to the college dining hall or local boarding houses.

5. Incidentals. College officers have estimated what is the least amount of money that a prudent student needs for such necessities as books, supplies, laundry, etc., but did not include the cost of new clothing, club dues, amusements, or travel to and from college.

The total of these items is the minimum cost or the lowest amount that will cover the bare essentials for 9 months in college.

The typical cost figure represents a fair estimate of the amount that an average economical freshman spends in 1 college year. This is supposed to be a middle figure, neither low nor liberal, but enough for a student who wishes to make the most of college.

After arranging and tabulating the returns, average costs were figured for different

types of colleges. Since inquiries about college costs are generally confined to the colleges and universities which offer liberal arts curricula, 598 institutions which offer such work are included.

Averages of several expense items are shown in the following table but care should be taken in interpreting these figures. For instance, the minimum cost in State colleges and universities average $376 for 94 institutions. While this is a correct figure, a student should not expect to attend any State institution with $376 in his pocket. He may, however, attend any of 55 State institutions on this amount or less for the freshman year, but in 39 institutions he must pay more. If he attends institutions in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Alaska, or Hawaii, he must pay at least from $500 to $800.

The Aim of the College

To

O BE at home in all lands and all ages; to count Nature as a familiar acquaintance and Art an intimate friend; to gain a standard for the appreciation of other men's work and the criticism of one's own; to carry the keys of the world's library in one's pocket, and feel its resources behind one in whatever task he undertakes; to make hosts of friends among the men of one's own age who are the leaders in all walks of life; to lose one's self in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends; to learn manners from students who are gentlemen; and to form character under professors who are Christianthese are the return of a college for the best 4 years of one's life.

WILLIAM DEWITT HYDE

These figures suggest several conclusions.

Conclusions

Expenses in the State colleges and universities are considerably less than in other types of institutions; there is nothing surprising about this fact since the State institutions are tax supported and publicly controlled.

Expenses are highest in the privately controlled colleges and universities which include the well-known endowed institutions.

In the denominational institutions, representing nearly two thirds of the colleges, expenses are higher than in the public institutions but lower than in the private institutions.

Expenses in the coeducational institutions are consistently lower than in the colleges for men or in the colleges for

women.

Tuition rates in the men's colleges and women's colleges are distinctly higher than in the coeducational institutions.

Fees are nearly the same in most institutions (approximately $30), except in State institutions where they are higher probably due to smaller tuition rates. Tuition rates in the State institutions are nonexistent for State residents in 37 institutions but average $79 in 45 others; rates to nonresidents average $128.

Board and room charges are consistently higher in the women's colleges, lower in the men's colleges, and least in the coeducational institutions. This can be accounted for not on the hypothesis that college women eat more but that they are served in better style in more pleasing surroundings and with more carefully chosen menus.

The economical student in liberal-arts colleges spends from $540 to $630 for the freshman year, as determined by averaging all types of institutions. While this figure serves to answer briefly the question of how much it costs to go to [Continued on page 174]

EXTBOOK publishers have pre

sented a code of fair competition

governing the textbook publishing industry. According to a statement made by Mr. J. J. Connolly, Assistant Administrator of the N.R.A., under whose supervision the code is being formulated, it is probable that at a later time there will be one master code covering labor for all publishing companies, with supplementary codes pertaining to trade practices and special problems for each of the several classes of publishers, including publishers of school textbooks; professional books, such as in law and medicine; and general

trade books.

A tentative code for the textbook publishing industry was filed several months ago with the N.R.A. Later a revision was made and submitted as a substitute. This revision was printed by the N.R.A. as a proposed code for the textbook publishing industry and copies made available for distribution in February. Single copies may be obtained free on request made to the Publication Section of the N.R.A., Department of Commerce Building, Washington, D.C. The proposed code was drafted and submitted by the National Textbook Publishers' Council, which claims to represent 90 percent of the volume of the industry. The proposed code has been given general circulation among persons interested in the publica

tion of textbooks and has aroused considerable discussion among textbook publishers and public-school officials interested in the effect that the code may have upon the general public. These discussions usually relate to provisions in the code for the establishment of a public relations board, selling on consignment, sanctity of sealed bids, price filing, maximum discount, exchange allowance, edition substitution, superimposed contractual conditions, contract guarantees, and sample copies.

Questions

Some of the questions frequently raised in the discussions of the code are:

1. What effect will the code have on the price of textbooks? Some contend that the code will raise the price of textbooks. Others state that the price of textbooks has been frozen for some time.

They point out that there has been no drop in the price of textbooks during the period of the depression corresponding to the drop in the cost of labor and raw materials in the publishing industry.

2. Will not the code represent a combine in restraint of trade? Some argue that the combination of publishers permitted under the proposed code will be contrary to the Sherman antitrust law. Others present the view that the code will not represent a combination of companies in restraint of trade but will represent a national control for the regulation of fair practice in the production and sale of textbooks.

3. Will not the adoption of the code cause additional States to publish their own textbooks?

Some who oppose the code claim that the States at the present time are very much concerned about any combination of publishers. They put forth the argument that the States will take the view that the code gives Government sanction to a combination of publishers and the result will be that States will publish their own books. The argument on the other side is that the adoption of the code will bring a realization on the part of the States that there is national regulation of the publication and sale of textbooks and that therefore the States do not need to fear an undesirable combination of textbook publishers.

4. Will not a provision prohibiting selling on consignment work a hardship upon some who are in the retail textbook business and result in an inconvenience to the schools? The argument against this provision is that such a prohibition will work a hardship on some distributors of textbooks as they cannot always know in advance the exact number that they will be able to sell. Consequently they will hesitate to provide at the beginning of the school year as many copies as the schools may need. The other side of this argument is that bad practices have grown up which have resulted in unfair treatment of dealers with consequent evil results to

the public. The possibilities which selling on consignment has for bringing about a reduction in a list price is pointed out.

5. What effect will price filing have on sealed bids? Those opposed to the code indicate as their belief that there are provisions in the code which are contrary to the requirements in States for sealed bidding.

On the other hand the argument is advanced that there is provision for changing, at any time, the price which has been filed with the code authority and that sealed bidding is not interfered with.

6. What effect will the code have on edition substitution and special editions of textbooks? Questions relating to these items involve fair trade practices usually concerned with the possibilities they hold for the cutting of prices below those listed.

On March 2

The public hearing on the proposed Code of Fair Competition for the Textbook Publishing Industry was held at the Raleigh Hotel on March 2. Mr. J. J. Connolly, assistant administrator of the N.R.A., who is in charge of the formulation of the code, presided at the hearing. Associated with him as advisers were representatives of the legal staff of the N.R.A., the industrial advisory board, the research and planning division, the consumers' advisory board, and the labor advisory board. All interested parties were given ample opportunity to present witnesses to represent them at the hearing and to file written objections to the proposed code.

Those who spoke as witnesses were: For the code: H. H. Hilton, Ginn & Co., and G. L. Buck, secretary of the National Textbook Publishers' Council. Against the code: Charles R. Heck, American Book Co.; Robert A. Taft, director, American Book Co., and legal counsel for the company; James H. Richmond, State superintendent of Kentucky, and chairman of textbook committee of National Council of State superintendents and commissioners of education, and Carl Whitlock, Allyn, and Bacon.

Λ

"MILLIONS for laborers, not one cent to artists!" Directed against the Civil Works Administration program this shot came from the December issue of a national art journal. "The artist and the teacher and the musician," pleaded the journal, "have a right to assume that their time has come to be included with the rest of the Nation's workers The following month's leading article in the same magazine was "The Public Works of Art Project", and a February issue published a picture of the first painting completed under C.W.A.

و,

Initiated December 8, the public works of art project of the C.W.A., has been acclaimed one of the greatest forces ever known to popularize art, and to advance public art appreciation. With about 2,500 needy artists, working in 16 different geographical regions, the United States Government becomes the greatest employer of artists in the history of the world. Schools will be the greatest beneficiaries of this unique experiment, whatever the ultimate results upon fine arts. The artist is joining the teacher in a common task of education.

More than 90 percent of the projects as outlined for the regions by Forbes Watson, technical director, concern themselves with schools or the theme of education in general. A sampling of the more interesting projects listed suggests the educational uses to which the artist has been put: [1] Series of health posters for Division of Child Hygiene of Massachusetts State Department of Health. [2] Making marionettes and marionette theaters for children's recreation centers under Bureau of Recreation, Philadelphia. [3] Panels for a high-school auditorium of the District of Columbia. Theme: Instrumental music. [4] Mural for a Maryland public-school library. Theme: History of writing and printing.

History, geography, music, biology, and civics are being made more vivid and significant to pupils with the aid of the artists' skill. Series of drawings and paintings such as "Flowers of Ohio", "Birds of Ohio", and “American Costumes", prepared for Cincinnati, Ohio, public schools are new treasures to the teacher in the average classroom of today, with its necessarily limited resources. Even character training is in the province of art, as is indicated by a series of murals by that name executed for Mifflin School, Homestead, Pa.

That universities and museums are also alive to the educational value of the works of art may be seen from the following projects:

[1] Iowa State College, Ames: Series of murals depicting Farmer-Founder of Civilization. [2] Yale University: Military maps under the direction of Maj. Richard W. Hocher. [3] New York City Museum of Natural History: Pictures of vertebrates and invertebrates for the department of education.

For libraries, kindergartens, vocational, trade, and special schools, children's reading rooms, schools for the deaf and dumb, and physically handicapped children, appropriate works of art are being prepared. One artist is busy on a series of small, sculptured animals for study in the School for the Blind, Portland, Oreg.

For parents of school children a series of sketches, illustrating the course of studies in the public schools of Pittsburgh, Pa., will be shown in the administration building of the board of public education in this city.

Besides these special projects, hundreds of miscellaneous decorations, panels, wall paintings, sculptures, easel paintings, prints, maps, and friezes will adorn the schools of the country, where once the walls were bare.

BEN P. BRODINSKY