ciprocal fitness of time, place, and the march of other events, for just such an evolution to begin.

Good roads were of course indispensable to the beginning and to the life of such a movement; these would have to be such as not to fall below fair conditions at any time of the year, at least not while the school session lasted.

The first hauling, as I am informed, began with us in the fall of 1896, or thereabout, beginning in Montgomery county, this state, of which Crawfordsville is the county seat. In this county, as is pretty well known, we had no lack of good roads, even from a much earlier date, to invite the rapid development soon. to follow; in fact not only the physical but also the social and educational elements of Indiana soil in general, and I may say Montgomery county soil in particular, were all that could be desired as a nursery for the new idea.

In spite of the fact that the cost is greater than under the old system the new order of things is likely to become permanent, and a legacy this generation will leave to the next; for it is plain that if we go so far as to put up buildings for combining districts, we commit ourselves to consolidation, at least while such buildings endure; the Pros and Cons-progressives and standpatters if you please-must therefore line up and fight the battle out, once for all, before this step is taken, for once taken we have incurred an expense which makes a retreat well nigh out of the question.

As a result of the venture above dated, a result, however, which I doubt whether any one could have foreseen at that time, we now have the "Con

solidated School," by which is meant two or more old-time districts combined into one, and employing two or more teachers, each in separate rooms.

My theme does not require me to sift evidence and decide what trustee made the first demonstration. I glide by these troublesome shoals, pass a laurel sprig to all claimants, for the sake of peace, and follow my own charted course.

The movement is one of surprising growth and has already spread to all parts of our state and is, in fact, becoming quite general throughout the country.

It is not a little gratifying to us that our own Indiana has led her sister states in this new educational movement.

We have in fact done some leading before, in the paths that are ways of pleasantness; and as proof that our foresight is fairly good we have not, as I believe, led any one into a ditch.

School officials already are coming. here in groups with their note books, photographic apparatus, and some with private secretaries, doing us the honor of a thorough inquiry into what we have accomplished in consolidation.

Just this past year, for instance, a number of state superintendents from several of the southern states toured Montgomery county to study the new departure. These educators returned home, as I understand, fully converted to the idea.

While this article was in preparation, Superintendent C. G. Shultz, for the state of Minnesota, and E. M. Phillips, who has charge of the consolidation movement in that state under the Department of Education, were here inspecting the system. Our

visitors are apparently taking up the matter more systematically than we did; but we are still furnishing a large amount of well flavored enthusiasm.

It is a goodly sight to see our leading citizens leave their work, assemble in their high-powered autos, meet perhaps a carload of visiting educators, and give them the joy ride of their lives in old Montgomery park-of some five hundred square miles in extent-while showing them this new thing under the sun.

We are by no means backward in impressing them with the fact that the idea, if not actually born here, as we claim, was at least here given the real breath of life and soonest brought to something like maturity.

The development with us, however, was not without its seasons of chilling frosts along with its nurture of rain and sunshine.

But the seed fell upon good ground and the idea in due time brought forth its mature fruit; there was, to use an old formula, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear, there being about four years of growth in our case, before we could say to the world that we had a real consolidated school as I have defined it, for we then had a building made expressly for the purpose and made. because of the movement.

While we at all times have both prophets and seers here in this favored county to discern for us the signs of the times, yet in this instance not until about twelve years ago did we take particular notice of what hour the clock had struck. Since that date the idea has steadily grown with us both in favor and volume.

It has also grown some pedagogic

literature; and now a most entertaining and instructive lecture has appeared. County Superintendent Otis E. Hall, of Montgomery schools, is responsible for the lecture and has delivered it in a number of states; it shows up the practical workings of the plan in this county, and wherever he goes, "the common people," especially the common school people, "hear him gladly."

The lecture is illustrated by a number of lantern slides, some two or three hundred I believe; these were made by Prof. D. D. Hains, of Wabash College.

Professor Hall is an enthusiastic advocate of the consolidation plan; and, by the way, is a man of parts—as a biographer would say-full of unction, not given to academic oratory, yet somehow always reaching the middle ear with his message.

And there is of course always to be found somewhat of a message in a movement which makes so much for the betterment of the race.

It may seem now a little strange that the original venture was made and defended upon economic grounds, mainly so, at any rate, whereas now the arguments for consolidation are based upon our enlarging social and educational vision. It is well, I think, to have found some such solid reasons for its support right near the beginning.

Had the movement begun with us a little earlier, it might easily have died out for want of these latter named conditions. It would, I think, in that event, certainly have lacked its most wholesome nourishment; for I do not believe it can be defended at all upon the score of economy; however, that

was almost the only argument of note put forward in all the early years of its development; and even yet this stirring fiction, which seems to me a good deal like the "water" of commercial stock, is used with effect where the intrinsic values are not sufficient to win out.

So, allowing there has been at times some straining of the blankets of veracity on the part of its first earnest promoters, it is really no great matter as the benefits, we think, more than justify the venture; we are, in fact, getting big returns on all the watered stock a thing which purely commercial investments are not always able

to secure.

Indiana educators at least are almost unanimous now in upholding the new order; not because it is cheaper, which is a fallacy, but because it is better; it is better mainly because the grading and classification is vastly better, fewer grades being assigned to each teacher. If the country pupils heretofore have been stronger in the high school work than city pupils, as is claimed for them, we may now make them doubly so because of the greater efficiency possible under consolidation.

The work of consolidation goes forward in spite of the now added expense of janitors and hack drivers. These non-tuitional salaries are, when totaled up, about equal to what, in some of these schools, we pay the teachers, and, as I happen to know, sometimes more!

Moreover, the annual tuition, or teachers' fund, in our state, is not altogether made up from a direct tax as we all know, whereas the salaries paid these hack drivers and janitors are entirely so provided. To all this

we must add the up-keep of teams and wagons. We are, therefore, annually reminded of a no little extra sacrifice we make in a good cause. But we are not complaining even though the buildings and maintenance for such schools must not only be better, but also must be more liberal in extent, per attendant pupil, than under the old isolated unit system.

It is true, of course, that very much of this necessity is due to parallel movements in general sanitary requirements, legalized as they now are from time to time, though it is perhaps due more to current social and educational evolution.

At the beginning of this period of consolidation, for instance, athletics, and elementary training in some of the arts and crafts as well as in experimental science, had already found a place in the course of study and they have grown steadily in favor ever since; nor are we allowed even yet to forget, in addition to these, that fads and fakes still chase each other annually across the state. I presume we shall always have them in a vital democracy even though they apparently come mostly from enterprising business houses looking up dividends, and so must be entertained by us patientlyand, of course, architecturally-sometimes two or three years at a stretch. Indeed we go so far as to quite tame and civilize them occasionally and so keep them for good; it is well then to provide abundant house room for them.

Perhaps these observations, which are somewhat "by the way," may help a little in explaining to the lay mind why the "Ideal" school building is always being born yet never gets into swaddling clothes much less out of