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Uni ho Unlt, rsity o t loro stato o fulfill ie pl

is 4aton mwest rhoarh and irasove tho material, edooal,

anicl spiritual well -beins of evovy nan, woman

and ohIld. in the Statoe. lio plon 2L em nelding today io

not for the lB-porimont station, not for the

University, but for the Stato of .ori-dla. tiy plea

50 that we who arc ontrustod vfth hoi'- ecnuoat ioal

system in her infanoy z ay build roeconably and well.

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THAT O NAN 38S DO1M AND OUT ULTIL HE HAS LOST FAITH





The experiment station. staff in 1907 numbered |.

twelve on the salary roll, with appropriations for

rumming expenses of S22000 OO 9 an average of one

person for ovory S=33 appropriated* The staff for

1911 numbered 21 on the salary roll, with an appro-

priation of v 083O0 or ?1852 for evory person on the

staff.

ORGANIZING TiH EXprRIEffNrT STATIOfl Q *

the work In 1907 was confined entirely to

the Experiment station* All the timo was given over

to organising the staff and organeising tho work with

each Individual member. Only three, including the

director, had had az previous experience in =iperi-

ment Station work and with two of these the Iacperi-

mont Station work bad been of secondary consideration.








With sunoh a biglung it is evident that It required

a large amonm of individual attention and instruction

to get the staff in tho rough working order. While

the condition referred to above ade it somewhat

laborous to get result there was an internal oondl-

tion that militated more seriously against the effi-

oienoy of the staff. Under the former organization

the director of the Station, Who was at the same tes

president of the University, became merely the f1soal

offioor of the Station* Under suoh conditions evory

member of the staff bad his own ideals and sought

merely to got as muoh .f the money as possible for

his lines of worked The more lines of work undertaken

the greater .would be the probability of soouring a

large allotment, The men had greatly over-loaded

themselves with ,problems, many of which would require

years of work from a wholo corps to ootaplete. Muoh








work Iauguratoed wea quite foreign to the intents

and purposes of the law* fht whole was looking

in organisation and in what is popular7ly called

"team work"* f. he fault was not with any one indi-

vidually but a fault with all, oolleotively. The

fault was in the method '"f organisation. In its

ultimate analyses the fanult was with the State as a

whole and individually with every influential oiti-

sen of it*. May people wanted and demanded better

things but lasokeod the intuition to know how to attain

It.

The Parmers' Institutea which were in-

augurated four years ago began rather slowly and

were undertaken with many miasgivinge. *Pen the

feoulty of the University at that time oonsiderod the

work as hardly Worth the while. Only two persons

oonneoted with the Institution considered it a

feasible proposition, Owing to an accident, rather







thn by ntemte, the wort wa taken up by the pre-

ant senperlntendent* .

EXTEN1DIN THE WORK

It was at ono of the board meetings, I think

at a mwetfrg in Jacksonvllle, about four years Wgo,

that the question of genenml StateAonme up squarely*

The board gave anoent to takin up the gonoral state

work or what might be oslled, oarrryng the University

to the people. Dr, Slodd gave it his hearty support*

the question the board was asked to answer was

Whether the Director of the bxpoerment station should

oonfne his labors to the Experimental work or

whether ho should broaden his aotivltloa into gonoral

progressing agricultural work. The anoimt of work

and responsibility that this added is not appreolated

even by those who are aeaooiated with it. It hbs

neoesearily Interfored with the experimental work*

Ono cannot eat his pie and have it lefts One can't





-6-


use his time and energy in rStension Work and at

the eeame time have it left for Baperimental work.

The work has been fairly well done and the general

approolation of it nmut in a large measure be con-

sideroed compensation. It is not neoossary at this

point to aonmorate the progress that bees been made

in tbo 's=toneion livilson. You have boon kept 0o-

quainted with tho progress by frequent and rather

lengthy reports. -The effect on tho state cannot

easily be ovor-estimatoed. The Univeorty is now

quite woll and favorably ltnown in almost every soeotion

of the state, The work aocomplishod in the last two

years has boe on moh greater than our most sangaino

friends would have predicted. AI feol e hat I occupy

the position of taw fly enth_-- --1 r- in the

aneoodote of the two flies on the buggy wheel.





I 7-


S0on I3Vs;ITSMBETB FAIL

It abould not be supposed Xor a moment that every

Individual investment of tUio and energy has given

large returns. very business man knows that cone

money msat be invested at a loans He is satisfied

however if the business as a whole is profitable*

90m6 line-s 1ust be carried at a loss that samo other

lines that are profitable may be sold. Fducational

work to be suooeseftl must be run on business l1nos.

The only educator who has never mado a mistake or

failure is the one who did nothingM This is the

way we will have to look at our work. I know very

well beforehand that many of the problems taken up

by the staff will fall to be conolusive. If however

the larger number of problems give us oonoluelTe

results I consider that a good Investment. On the

other hand if the problems undertaken by anyone givo








for the most part inconclusive returns, the whole

project is carefully oanoassed and the reason for the

failure ascertained.,

THREE FAILURES *.

Let us takeup t-M broad educational project

in the same py. iDuring the last year we have sus-

tained some notable defeats. ve should therefore

"take stock" and see what was the cause of the

failures. Am enumeration of the failures will help

us to analyze the cause. (It should be remembered

that our successes far outweigh our failures and

that in the main we have been very successful),

(1) The Hoe Cholera Serum Bill was lost to

us. Had this bill been enacted in our favor, it

would have meant the establishment of a veterinarian

at the University. He could have given some in-

struotion in his line to the short course students







I
SBd have ewsiltea it'the Farmers' Institutea, Ih1 baslo

S reason for tbh failure of this bill to become a law

S was directly traceable to the sine of omission of our

pre"deessore In peromiting the transfor of the State

Veteriariean from the University to the Board of Health.

So good an opportunity as we have just. lost to reetablish

this work with the State University will not ooour

again. At leaet I do not at this time seo an opening

for It*

Another defeat that we suntsa xs' lay in the

passage of the law giving s5000 to the Paa Demonstra-

tion works This i onIly a mamll end of a wedge that




it will ultimately separate the Univeralty from the

Iarming oonetitu0noWy. Thi should not bavo bean allowed,

As a Mtter of foot w should jet hae pormitted the

establishment of the farm demonstration office away from

the Univorsity When, this office was establialod. In the





-10-


the f8ate, it should law boon given an office on the

OaOpu, How this seemed entirely impossible for laok

of room at that tine and it is becoming contlmally

more difficult to have uih a combination brought pboutw


A6 MWot and one that will berseoa n

a great deol though its effort neod not be saerous wee

our falluro to esoure mn eoreoasod appropriation for

the Parwraer InstlitueB. If this is managed properly

it may prove to be an advantage. This failuro has

been explained on the theory of an aooiAento I am opti-

miatio enough to believe that this is true

Theee three defeats bareo a vital signlfioame

and I will simply oall attention to thom hero and later

in my address take up the question of "What about it?'%

A I W;7 2DUOATIOIAL tEO00

Whether wo reoognlse it or not we are entering

a new edauotlonal epooh in the State of Plorida. And what








we men do or fail to do collectively and individ-

ually will have more influence for good or ill than

any other similar number of men in the State. If we see

our way clearly and act properly all will be well. If

we see our way clearly and by our inaction allow the

opportunity to pass it is certain to be lost forever. If

we do not see our way clearly we will be satisfied by

applying all sort of pallatives to the sore spot These

opportunities have been presented to other men in other

times. I will not enumerate them beoeuse it would not

be complimentary and the aost conspicuous of them have

passed to that great bourne from which no traveller

returns.

THOSE IN AUTHORITY IIDIPFERENT

The most serious difficulties in the way of our

educational advanooment has been that people in authority

have regarded their position more as a joke than a per-




-12-

sonal trust. I believe it was the late Grover Cleveland

who said that "a public office is a private trust"

and this was wittily paraphrased by Thosee, C. Platt, then


senator, into, "a public office is a private snap." I will

ask the obvious question "Who of the two was the ideal

American"? To illustrate the point that I want to make

let me recall an incident that happened during the

founding of the Agricultural College. The buildings had

been erected, the faculty elected, and the U. S. Govern-

ment was properly notified that Florida was ready to re-

oeive the money. The Department at Uashington looked

over the plans and the faculty and found that it was good


excepting that there was no provision made for an instruo-

tor in Agriculture. the trustees were notified to the

effect that it was quite usual to have instructors in

Agriculture. Then oame the master stroke on the part

of the trustees, They had on their faculty a civil en-

gineer by training who was professor of Greek and they

-- - a'* ;





-13-


condemned him to teach agriculture. This was nearly

twenty-five yearn ago and still we have not pro-

gressed so greatly as my optimistic introduction

might indicate. (what I say here is entirely among

friends and not with a view of oritsilens anybody

but rather to bring home to us our own short comings)

Oar good State, Superintendent has condemned a special-

ist in mathematics to teach agriculture right on the

University campus this summer* These illustrations

indicate what I mean by saying that too fluently

a public trust is considered

iiFET EDUCATIONAL TEEBDENOY

-^ 4 zt o ttwe are at the be-

ginning of a new epoch in education in Florida. The

University has just made a beginning. Shall we study

the problems and work them out effectively and there-

by bring about an intellectual and spiritual uplift

such as. will put us in the van of the educational




-14-


and spiritual progress or shall we ve considering

our offices In the 'lighter frao a* a y drift

along with the progressive tide? Or shall we do

even worse and make a Joke of our position and see in

it only so nuoh merriment and social advantage.

The drift of the w4ole United States is toward

demooraoy and away from Aristooraoy and plutooraoy;

Organization and oommity of interests is the doni-

nant note* I know that these words and terms have

been worked over time, and even on Sunday; until they

sound like platitudesa There are eight or tten States

that have adopted the Board of Control idea for their

institutions of higher learning; The commission

form of government 'i another index of the general

drift. The uany laws passed recently curbing rapacity

of the individual for the good of the whole is another

good illustratonA We have also -the &man if orL-d




-15-


popular election of Senators as another illustration.

Organization and, bringing order out of chaos is the

dominant feature of our present generation.' Whether

we like it or not matters very little. It matters

a great deal, however, whether we recognize the fact

and recognizing the fact whether we act in accordance

with our opportunity. In the last siz years our

educational elements have been reduced to a system.

We are individually and collectively vitally inter-


ested in sooing these prosper and the system strength-

ened. In our failure to recognize the true import

of the movement we frequently put ourselves at vari-

ance with ourselves.

/ What I am going to say nay souna like Los

SMajesfte but I have assumed all through this discourse

that for the time being you would consent to lay

aside your perogatives as master and study this question





-16-


as stockholders, on an equal footing, in the same corpora-

tion, you holding the majority of stock, but Il assume

that you are anxious to vote this according to the best

interests of the corporation, i*e. the State.'

THE TWO OBSTACLES

There are two serious obstacles in our way.

The first is a lack of team work and the second is a

lack of vision to see the situation in its proper per-

specti es Hot the narrow questions b7 the broad problem.

First, as to the lact of team work. This has

been mainly if not entirely due to want of time in which

to gain experience. .In my introduction I called atten-
I
Stion to the condition of the staff as it was found when

the present organisation of the Experiment Station became


effective. In organizing a football tbam the coach

always finds that the inexperienced members of the bean

think they know more about coaching than any one else.





-17-


It took considerable time before the various members of

the staff found their proper place and were at the same

time willing to support their colleagues: An making good

play. It is a rather difficult matter to look pleasant

when the other fellow gets the applause for the work

that in a large sense you have done. This same diffl-

oulty is exptrienoed in all large establishments. It is

much more true when a large number of coordinate workers

are employed and still worse when a large number of

workers oeomr that are Min nCAt organa4ally connected,

/ e.g, The University, the Department of Agriculture, The

State Superintendeont, and the State Board of Health,

.The tendency under such circumstances is for these

coordinate workers to consume a large amount of time and

* energy in making a coupe on the other fellow, (As an

illustration of this I may cite the passage of the hog )




-18-


cholera serum law, We might have entered into a sharp )

conflict there with the Board of Health.) The competi-

tion for funds becomes rather sharp, especially where we

are trying to run fll fledged departments on half enough

money and grossly inadequate equipment. Under such oir-

oumetances we find that in place of studying the pro-

blems in a statesmanlike manner we are 4ben.e on working

some trick or scheme to beat the other fellow. The

amount of money that there was in sight for the legisla- /

ture to appropriate was limited, Consequently there .fr

was an almost inepressible tendency to adopt the methods

of a politician and to stoop to deals for temporary ad-

vantage, Such methods are clearly beneath the true

spirit of the University, Competition and compromises

will occur as long as we live and wherever we may be and

whenever individuals meet

It is too muoh to hope to unite all the educational




-19-


forces in the State to work for the coimmuom good. S4me

men are naturally so constituted that they can see

nothing in their office but "private snap". These

people say in spirit "the public be damned". To them

the civic pride and honesty with the public is a joke,

a fiction, a catchy platitude, used only for personal

advantage.

00DITIOn OF TIHS STATE PAVOPED ADVA1ICZIE1TT.

I have now made quite a detour of the field and

have only touched on some of the main points but all

.of these were needed to make myself clear. The wonder

is not that we have made so little progress but it is

rather amazing that we have made so mach progress. Six

years ago we were thrown together a heterogeneous mass,

strangers to each other and in some cases strangers

to the work in hand. It is therefore a wonder that we

accomplished so manoh, The reason for getting the work

done must be looked for rather in the advanced state of




-20-


popular eduoation-sa4ter than to any inherent virtue

in ourselves. lWhen I make a report showing the splendid

work of the Parmers' Institute squad I am'reminded

of the fly on the buggy wheel, Dr, James, President of

the University of Illinois, proudly announced that he

had gotten three million, three hundred thousand dollars

from this year's legislature as appropriation for the

biennium. This with the federal fund gives the university

in round numbers two million dollars annually, Here

President James is like the fly on the buggy wheel, The

success in Illinois, in Mississippi, in Georgia, in South

Carolina, and in every instance that I know anything about

has been the result of years of patient toil; the un-

selfish toil of many for the sako of the institution

with which they are working,

the average county school teacher sees in the


job only so many dollars per month. To him his employment





-21-


is merely a bread an butter question. To the average prina pal

of a department school, large numbers in attendance is


about the only ideal. Unfortunately a large percentage

of the people we have to deal with use the number standard


as a mode of expressing their ideal, Fortunately a number

of people have risen above the purely number standard.

Even our law makers made an educational qualification

rather than a numerical standard the criterion. Consolious-

ly or unconsoiously- this was a long forward step. It

was not taken as a result of clear vision but'rather on

the plea of an economic necessity. The idea was not ori-

ginal with the Florida Legislature. The Board of Gontrol

idea had been put into practice elsewhere in fact, if not

in name, BOeAh6 ification of-tte school system hadI its

origin tQo.ow;, 4th.ree decades .agp ven gr1i dates-~tf
certain graded schools: were certified to enter

colloge- ithO in- --:arninatio 1 lThe te-ches"'

certificates were recognized




-22-


as equivalents of such examinations. The desultory

looal farm demonstrations in such States as Borth

0arolins, Hew York, and New Jersey led to organizing

State Experiment Stations and these in turn to the

organization of Hational aperiment Stations.

Organization is an absolute necessity in a

emaooraoy. I mean a cooperative organization, not a

bureaucratic organization, this latter form of organiza-

tion belonging to an aristocracy or plotooraqy

?URT},L ANALYSIS OF MISTAKES

Finally let us become more speoifio and see what

mistaJ.-es have been mak-le in the past and a* underlying

cause '

Hog Cholera Serum Bill: The foundation for the

jassagE of this law was well laid. The educational work

had been conducted properly. I have already called

attention to the *(ac.t that the foundation for the





-23-


defeat was laid six years ago when the veterinarian was

dismissed from the University. That was due to a lack of prj

proper understanding 'of the situation six years ago, ?ten

too we didn't have team support last spring. To use a

figure from the football field, we gave the ball a big kick :

sent it almost across the goal and then let the other

team pick it up and carry it leisurely through to their

goa 1. We have sustained a serious handicap in this as it

will be a long time before we can look for a problem that

will give us the prestage that such a project would have

done. It is a further defeat of the unity we wish to

build up. we could have rendered more effective service

than can be done under the present law. Our Farmers'

Institutes and Experiment Station come in direct contact

with more farmers than any other agency in the State.

(The nursery inspection division if properly handled "

will be of great advantage to us. It can be so used as to

bring the University into, direct service of scores of people





.1 n24a



Who have hardly heard. of it before. It enables us to

add a competent and efficient man to our force* Dr.

Berger cat. help out the Agricultural Department with

the short course students as well as the Farmera' Institutea.)

The second defeat we sustained was the passage of

the bill allowing j5000 for farm demonstration work to be

put at the disposal of the faderiif authority, ell in

that case we didn't even play ball; we simply let the other

fellow pick up the plunder and carry it right off before

our eyes and just grinned while ho did it.. I think it- was

altogether due to the fact that we did not appreciate the

meaning of the situation, We did not see clearly that

this is the thin edge of the wedge that is certain to split

the ,zIversity from a large body of the constituency we


should serve. I have already said that this office of the

demonstration worker should have been located at the Univer-

sity and in the beginning; could have been so located, but we








lacked the foresight, the equipment and the team-work. There

is still a possibility of connecting this work with ours

and so keep it from becoming an antagonistic force. The

situation was reviewed three years ago but we did not

clearly comprehend the situation and certainly not ready to

act on it. 'hat shall we do? Shall we let matters drift along

as they have been? If we had said the word this year we could

hate had this officer located at the University, Pa

has knocked at our door twice but will she call again? If

she does, what then? eAd t Lt .

The third defeat was simply a failure on our

part to be properly organized. It will cause us to stagger

under a heaYY load for at least two years and possibly

longer. This organization should be remedied before we

meet a similar contest; that is, the next legislature.

SO UCOH FOR THE PA;?T. WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

The first step we should take is to inaugurate





-- j


movable sohod&S of Agriculture, j his would have been

started last year but ':th agricultural train ran over that and

squashed it. I believe that we can go to three or four

communities in the State and hold there one we*e: long

schools and have them to meet all the maintenance and travel-

ling expenses. I have mentioned this before and every time

it seems to oause alarm. On the campus fear is entertained


that it might decrease the attendance at the University. I

fear, gentlemen, that even after four long weary years of

toil we have not gotten above looking on the Farmers' Insti-

tute as a sort of an advertising scheme. Let us get away

from so sordid an aspect of the work. Let us look to the

larger aspect of this work, the improvement of the farmers

of Florida.

There is much aggressive and progressive work for

us to do with the farmers and horticulturists of the State.

The horticultural sections have been almost completely

neglected so far as Parmers' Institutes are concerned, k ch







good Oan be done by occasional and sporadic lectures before

horticultural organizations and these should be kept up as

vigorously as possible during the next two years.

The nursery inspection work needs to be organized

and harmonized with the higher educational movement. How

is the time to-start it off right. We should formulate and

plan this work so that it will harmonize with and supple-

ment the work already in operation. The law had to take this

peculiar form to aevoid constitutional obstacles. This officer

needs the prestago of the University to make his work effective

and we need his services. The form of the law should not

permit it to become an obstacle in our educational progress.

we have formulated some general working plans for this di-

vision that will be submitted at another time,

Local Agricultural -;ohools: Without question the

most serious problem that is now facing us is the guidance

and control of the establishment of local agricultural schools,

One such has already been started at Detuniak Springs as a





-28-


private venture. A considerable amount of money has been

raised by local subscription. This will come up sooner or

later for county or State support. Four years ago a bill

oas introduced to establish district soboole. Two years ago


nothing was heard from this idea. This year the bill oane

up again. This question will not down. There is no alter-

native in the matter. The schools will be established soonerr

or later. This being the case, it is one of the questions that

should receive our serious attention. I do not think that we

should take an antagonistic attitude toward the establishment

of these schools. They are merely the natural growth of our

system and our organization. We should so guide and shape

the sentiment that when a law is enacted it willmake such

I institutions most effective and at the same time cooroLnate

4 ft with the existing educational system. The mistake we

have made is that we ha-ve not supported our Agricultural

College sufficiently. We have now the least supported






-29-


Agricultural College in the South. Georgia gives approxi-

mately 0,000 a year to her college, which is part of the

University. Not until the advent of Dean Vernon has our

College taken sufficient form to be worthy of the name.

Our students are bound to leave us unless we equip this

department at least reasonably well. The federal govern-

ment has been libtral.but the State government stingy.

This will continue to be so until our leading educators

regard agriculture as more than a joke. Even Porto

Rico, an island thirty by one hundred miles in extend is

thinking of making a rqid on us. We must stren-then

the agricultural side of our system. Wve must study this

system and when we have finally decided on what is best

then pursue that course vigorously., W should not be

influenced too greatly by thSial .or immediate relief

but should apply basic relief. The skilled physician

may have to use opiates in a crisis but opiates do not oun.





-S0-




the disease. I have studied this question, not for

one or two years, but for many years. I am fully

convinced that it will be best for our common schools

to have our agricultural schools a department in the

already established high schools, rather than separate

agricultural high schools, just as I now believe that

the Agricultural College should be a department in the

University. (Twenty years ago the Agricultural

Colleges established independent of the University were


far ahead of those established as a part of the University.

But today we find our most nearly perfect agricultural


colleges a part of the University,)


I believe, gentlemen, that we ought to be a unit

in advocating that the Agricultural studies .should be

taught as a department in the high schools. I believe

further that we ought to take up the cause and advocate

the establishment of agricultural courses in every county.
I.








That we should not put ourselves in opposition to

this general movement. I will not go Into the details of

how, or why, or when, but put the broad question to you.

This is the broad question of policy.

IS C01TOLUSION, I put these three general broad

questions.

1,I ll we continue this broad general educational
policy whidtflf began to carry out four or five years ago?
e.g. Prof. Secondary Education. e.g. Nursery Inspection
Law.
2. Shall wo continue to harmonize and unify
the educational forces in the State. e.g. Shall we
attempt to bring onto our campus the office of the U. S.
Farm Demonstration worker? The leader of the U. S. Corn Olubii.
etc.? e.g. The establishment of Sub-Experinent Stations?

3. Shall we mold fnd shape the course of thought
so as to keen our system a unit? e.g. Shall we further
the establishment of local agricultural schools as a
part of the high schools or shall ve oppose it and bring
about a chaotic condition as occurs in the school systems
of some States?


These are broad and basic questions. The question
asked you five years ago was, Shall we extend our edu-

cational activities to the people beyond the border of

the University campus. Having extended our domain to- the

whole State, the question now is, Shall .we be progressive


or non-progressive?






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*EIEVE T ~T STUFF I All HAAITAIT.T OUT, IN T77 IITSTI-


TUTIOM I A!, '707TTT, I'OR, A I ITT IFY AIILIT T-O 7 :7 T 1,2"-UTS.


T BELIEVE TFAT HOTTEST STUFF CAl BE PASThD OTT T nO T70OTTS TIT


BY 7HOIEST T'TE0ODS.


I BTLTEW' ITT .70O.UIT., r!OT : PI.I2; IT3 E00sTII.t, 1105 1OCIO


IllG, ATD !I 72!- PLEASU ? O- T 1 JO1. I BELIE. At T A M!.,I GETS


,IA1 Vr GOF0S AFTER: TEAT 01 M E ,) 'IE -TO,,AY, IS 17f ,"0? Tw,


DE' T9 D.0- ?Ol-AOFBTO, AF .t .. IS fO. A OUT ITTI


IS 12 TO T '- '
4 4
i*
I 3EITE^ TR.'\? HOITRST ST~~~~ITFAIB3PS; TrTOTITTTn












The staff in 1907 numbered twelve on the salary" roll,
A

with appropriations for 'a g e:cTenscs pq C22000. On an


average of one person for every ,185 appropriated. Staff for


1911 numbered 21 on the salary roll,- w..ith an appropriation of


.,o'38'00 or .1l852 for every person on the staff.

r: an 107 confin-ed entirely to the Exiperi-


ment Station. All the tiMe :.a .-iyen over to org .niino toe


staff anO. organizing the ./or3: .-ith each individual cimelber. Only"


three, including the director, had had any; previous e::perience


in Ex::periment ,Itation wor]: and with t.-!o of tih1e'e toe E::periment


Station wor: had boon of ccondtary: consideration. ditih uch a


be''ining it is evident that it required a large amount of


individual attention and instruction to fret the staff in ttlorou,.h


workin- order. rJhile the condition referred to above inade it


somewhat laborious to get results there was an internal condition


that militated more seriously against the efficieInc of the staff.


Under the former organization the director of the Station, who was


at the same time president of the university, became merely the







fiscal officer of th station. under such conditions every


member of the staff h-d his own ideals and sou-ht merely to get


as ruch of the noney as possible for his lines of vror]. The
I

more lines of work undertaken the greater would be the


probability of securing a' larguiallotnent. The .en had g2reat'- over
i i

leaded thencelves with problems, man,, of which h would require


.Years of wor]: from a whole corps to comyn.lete. Much wor]: in-


a g-urated'. was quite foreign to the int arin-L.d ,-urposes of the


lav. T'he .-ihole was lac]:in.r in orgci-nization andl Avat is popular ;


called "team workk. The fault wv' not with an, one individually


but a fault with all collectively. The fault was in the Tmethod


of organization. in its ultimate analyses the fault was with the


itate as w a whole and individually with ever: influentic.l


citizen of it. Iany ypeoaple wanted and demaicnded better things
intuition
but lacked the inEriBn to know ho,. to attain it.


The farmers' Institutes which wovi.re inaug-urated four


-ears ago bean rather slowly and were undera:en wViti- rany mis-


givings. Even the faculty of the University at that time considered


the o70--k as hardly vorth the while. Only tw'.o persons 'connected


with the institution considered it a feasible prop-osition. Owing

to an accident rather than b-y intents the waorh was taken up by the





p. -5-




present superintendent.


It was at one of the board meetings, I think: at a


meeting in Jacksonville, about four y-ears ago, that the question


Sae squarely. The board -ave ascent to taking up the general


State work or what might be called, carrying the University


to the people. ur. 3ledd, gave it his hearty: supr-ort. The question


the board was as]:ed to answer Wa.' whether t-he ,iroector of the


Experiment Station should. confine his labors to the xi:perinental


work or whether he should broaden his activities into general


progrecsing agricultural w-or-k. The amount of work n-Ai a@eL res-


ponsibility is not appreciated even by those who are associated


with it. It has necessarily interfered with the r::perinental


work. One cannot eat his rieae and have it left. One can't use


his tire and energy in r::tension work]: and at the sare -cirne have


it left for _.xporimental ..ork. The work has been a-irl;: well done


and the general anpreociation of it must in a l-reo meaosurc be


considered compensation. 't is not necessary at this point to


enumerate the progress that has been made in the :-fntension Division.


You have been kopt acquainted with the progress by frequent and





-6-



rather lengthy reports. The effect on the State cannot easily


be overestimated.1 Thie University is now quite well and favor-


ably k-nown in almost,, every section of t c" State. The work


accomplished in the last two years has been imuc- greater than


our most sanguine friends would have predicted.

o i. iodote of the tuo flies


wheolsf -


it should nofl be supposed for v i-onment that every indi-


vicual investment of tire and energy has r-iven large return.


Every" business man krnows that so-ne .-ioney nust be invested at a


loss He is saisified however if the business, as a whole is


profitable. oior'e lines must be carried at a loss that scie other


lines that are profitable may be sold. Educational work to be


successful must be run on business lines. -The only educator


who has never iade a mistake or failure is the one vbho did


nothing. 'This is the way we will rave to loolk at our work.


I know very well before e Q-901 that nany of the problems taken

up by the staff will fail to be conclusive. If however the


larger number of problems give us conclusive results I consider


t.at a good investment. On the other hand i-f the problems under-












taken by any one give for, the: nost part inconclusive returns


the whole project is carefully canvassed and the reason for the
i J

failure ascertained.


Three 'Pa lure s



Let us take he/, tecaional project in the saame way.


During the last year we hgave sustained z-orje notable defeats.


W'e should therefore "ta]:e stock" and see what w.as the cause of the

failures. An enumeration of the failures will oielp us to analyse


the cause. (It should be remenbewed that our successes f=a far


outweigh our failures t g s t

(1) The Hog cholera Serum bill vwas lost to us. Had this bill

been enacted in our favor it ;;ould have- meat the establishment


of a Veterinarian at the university. He could have niven some


instruction in his line to the short course students and have


assisted in the F'ar-ners' institutes. The basic reason for the
L
failure of this bill to become a law is oraccable directly to the


sins of omission of our pre ,ecessors in permititinj the transfer of


the state veterinarian from the university to the Board of Health.


So good an opportunity as we have just lost to reestablish this




.J
.-8--

1:- Q I

I. I


work with the State university will not occur ac-ain. At least I


do not at this time see an opening for i2.


Another defeat that vwe sustained lay in the passage of


the law7 giving #5000 to the Firm Demonstration ..'or]. This is


only the small end of a vwedge 'that has been entered. If this


vwedge is i.llov!ed to be driven it v.'ill ultimately separate the


university from the farming? constituency. this should not have


been allowed. As a matter of fac wVe should not have pe mi'ted


the establishment of the farm. demLonstration office a':a' nioi the


university. When this office ,-a'. stablished. in the Sta-te, it


should have been r.iven an office on the campus. nhov this seemed


entirel,- in-possible for lack of room at that tiio and i- is becoming


continually more difficult to !have such a combination broht_ about.


A third defeat- and pne that will erabarass us a great
--*


deal though its effect ned not be serious v/s our failure to


cure an increased a.pro'priation for the Farmiers' Institutes. If


this is um:naged properly it ima- prove to an advantage. This failure
e '* Jy i- v

has been explained on the1 thepry of an accident. I an optimistic


unz'u-h to believe that thii i.s true.















These three'& .efatA have a vital significance and I Wi'll



simply call attention cto'hem here and later in may address take'.u



the question of, "What about it"





























i








I i


L.. I


II







r 7.






'I )
-II


- -. .1.'
I.. -

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A new Educational Epoch.


V.,h6ther we recognize it or not we are entering a new educa-


tional epoch in the State of Florida. And what we seven men
*-

do or fail to do collectively and individually will have more


influence for ,o.od or ill than any other u-t of men in the State.


If we see our way clearly and act properly all 'will be well. If


we see our way clearly and by oiur inaction allow the op0-,ortunity


to pas- it is certain to be lost forever. if we do not seC. our


way clearly we will be satisfied by applyin-, all sort of pallatives


to the sore spots. These opportunities have been presented to


other men in other ti-ies. I will not ernuimerate themr'because it


would not be con-olinentary -m0e m and the -."ost conspicuous of


therm, have passed to that great bourne from which no traveler returns.


Those in Authority indifferent.


The most serious difficulties in the v.ay of our educational


advancement has been that people in authority have regarded their


position'r.,ore as a joke than a personal trust. I believe it w,-asO


the late ,rover Cleveland who said that a public office is a




-11-



private trust and this was wi- il- -ar .o:.ced b Thos. 0. Platt
Thos. C. Platt


then senator, intoua u'ilac office is a private nap I -il.. ask the

obvious question "7ho of the two was the ideal American"? To illus-


trete the poinu that I want to .,: _:e let me recall an incident th.t


a-'ened lurin t ohe ,for..it of the Agricultural College, .'h.


buildings had. been erected, the faculty elected, and the U. S.. Gov-


ernment was "roqerly notified that :,lorida was ready .to receive the

none:,-. Th Dep, rtment at ::ast:i-.'ton looked over the plans and the


faculty fnil fCuni it was good e::ce-oting that there r.: no pro-


vision made for an indLltctor in Agriculture. The trustee were


notified to the ef-ect that it was quite usual to have instructors


in Agric,'l t.r.. T:-n oe.. the i..ter stroke on the part of the


t'.:Dtees, they had on their fI'culty a civil engineer -r tra,::j'-


v:-o was professor of Greek and they condemned him to teach agr-cul-


LiIre. This .,aC earlyy twenty-five years a-o and still we have not


progressed so gr,:atly as my optimistic introduction i..it indicate.


r.,flt I say here is entirely aueng friend an T. not with a view of


criticising iA pbut _-ther to bring- home to us our own short

comings) Our go;.,i State Superintendent h..; condemned a specialist


in :..:.thematics to teach agriculture right on --)Lo University c:.npus.





-12-





These ilustrations indicate what I mean by saying. that too fre-


Quebtly a public tr-ust is considered a joL-e.





I have already mentioned that we are at the beginnin.- of a new


epoch in education in Florida. The University h-asc just made a


beginning. Shall we stud;:. the problems and -.'or: them out effectively


and thereby bring" about an intellectual and spiritual uplift such


as will put us in the van of the educational and c spiritual progress


or shall we be considering our offices in.the lir-hter frame nf and


simply drift along lth the progressive tide Or shall we do even


worse aond rake a joke of our position and see in it only so much


merriment and social advantage.


The drift of the whole united States is toward democracy and


a.-ay fro' Aristocracy and plutocracy. Organization and community


of interests is 'the dominant note. 1 know that these words and


ter.as have been workedd over time, and even on Sunday, until they


sound like platitudes. There are eight or ten States that have


adopted the board d of Control idea for their institutions of higher


learning. The commission form of government is another index of the
i "




-15-


general drift. The many laws passed recently curbing the reri=


of the individual for the g-ood of the whole is another


good illustration. We have also the demand for a popular election


of Senators as another illustration. organization .nd bringing


order our of chaos is the dominant feature of our present generation.


Whether we lii:e it or not matters very little, it rJatters a great


deal hoavever whether we recognize the fact and recognizing the fact


whether/we act in accordanOce with our op-portunity. Ig the last


si:: years our. educational elements have been reduced to a system.


We are individual:l;- and collectively vitally interested in seeing


these prosperand the system. strengthened, in our failure to recognize


the true import ,of the movement we frequently put ourselves at


variance ,7ith ourselves.


What. i anm going to say may sound li:e Les i'a but I have


assumed all through this discourse that for the time being you would


consent to lay a:.ide your perogatives as master and study this


question as stockholders on an equal footing in the same cooperation.


You holding the rn-aority stock but anx-ious to vote this according






*:




I I -14-



to the best iint-e'ests of the oe"i pnyi & I-I *4,,-


THIE T?0 OBSTACLEb.


There arp two serious obstacles in our way. The first is a


lack of team 7ork and the second is a lack of vision to see the


situation in its proper perspective. 1iot the narrow questions but


the braod problem.
r -

'irst, as to the lacl: of team work. This has been mainly if


not entirely due to want of time in which to' gein e:_-oerience. In my


introduction i called atten ion to the staff 1*twa~ found when the


present organi.-ation of the E:.periment Station became effective.


In org-anizing a football team the coach always finds that the in-


C:aerienced n rbeitrs of the team tl.in]: they know more about coaching


than S-ny one else c,. it took considerable tine before the


various members of the staff iound their proper place and wecre at


the same time willing to support their colleagues -





-15-


in na-ting good play. it is a rather difficult matter to look


pleasant when the other fellow gets the app=ianHauf applause


for the work that in a large sense you.have done. This epme diffi-


culty is experienced in all large establishments. it is much more


true when a large number of coordinate workers are employed and


still worse .when a large number of workers occur that are in no


wise organically connected, e.g. The University, the Department


of Agriculture, the State Superintendent, the State Board of -ealth.


The tendency under such circurm stances is for these coordinate workers


to consume a large amount of time and energy in making a scoune


on the other fellow. (As an illustration of this may cite the


passage of the hog cholera serum law. We night have entered into


a sharp conflict there with the board of health.) The competition


for funds becomes rather sharp, especially where we are trying to run


full fledged departments on half enough ioney and grossly inadequate


equipment. Under such circumstances wo find that in place of study-


inc the problems in a statesmanlike manner we are bent on working some


trick or scheme to beat the other fellow. The amount of money that


there was in sight for the leg sleture to appropriate was limited.


Consoauently there was an almost ee tendency to adopt





-16-



the methods of ia politician and to stoop to deals for temporary


advantage. Such methods are clearly beneath the true spirit of


the University. Competition and compromises will occur as long


as we live 'and' wherever we nay be and whenever individuals meet.


it is' too much to hope to unite all the educational forces


in the State to work for the comi..ion good. Some men arc naturally


so constituted that they can soe nothing in their office b4t "pri-


vate snap" These people say in spirit "the public be damned-'. To


themr the civic pride and honesty:, with the public is a joke, a fic-,


tion, a catchy "latitude, used only for :personal adv'antr.ge.


COlDITOi OF THE 5'TATm; FAVOR, AJ:VAPJIO:1'L!TT


I have now made quite a detour of the field and have only -
but
touch:-d on some of the main points :x: all of thesee were needed tc mLake


myself clear. ;The wonder is not that we have made so. little progress


but it is rather amazing that we have made so much progress. Six


years ago we were thrown tog-ether a heterogeneous rmast-, strangers


to each other and in some cases strangers to the w orlk in hand. It


is therefore a wonder that we accomplished so much. The reason


for getting: the work done must be looked for rather in the advanced


state of p6pultr education rather than to any inherent virtue in

i I




-17-


ourselves. When I make a report showing: the snolendid work of the


farmers' Institute squad I am reminded of the fly rmr on the buggy


wheel. Dr. James, President of the University of Illinois, proudly


'announced that he had gotten three million, three hundred thouscandcl d u/


from this yer'se legisl.ture as appropriation for the biennium.


This with the federal fund 'cives the univ,-rsity in round numbers


two million a-.unally. .aaali th-e fl on 'Lhe In v/ ih.:el. The suc-

9es0 in Illinois, 'in iiisiscissippi, in ,G'eorgia, in South Carolina,


- in ever, instcj.,ce that I 1-iow anything about has been the r:eslt t


of t-e;rs of patient toil: the unselfish toil of i-many for the sahe


of the insti. tution L.i,- are .orhin a


The avera-:e county" school -Racher so,.s in the job onl;- so

his
many dollars per month. To him i obiploTl:!nt is merely a bread


and butter o iestion. To the avera,'e 'a.rinci al of a department school,


larg- nu bs."awe- in attendance is about the oul- ideal. unfiotunately


a lar.-c- -r,.centage of the people wce have to deal with use the


k number standard as a iode of expressing their ideal. Fortunately


a number of people have risen above the purely number standard,


Even our lw makers naLde an educational qualification rather than


a nuinerical standard uhe criterion. Consciously or unconsciously,




-18-


this was a long forward step. It was not tak-en s a result of


clear vision but rather on the plea of an coon-oio nocesnity. The


idea was not original with the Florida Legiclature. The boardd of


Control idea had been put into practice elsewhere in fact if not


in name. The unifica-tion of the school system had its oririn two or


three decades ago vihen graduates of certain graded schools were
V

certified to enter college 'without e:-:amination and. when teachers


certificates were recognized as equivalents of such e:: nations.


t accAjhe decultor:' local farm doonst:.'tionc in si.oh States


in Torth Carolina., Tie..' Y7ork, and Pew Jersoey led to organizing State


Ex.-periuent Stationsc and these in turn to the organic action of rational


E-.-po rim, ent Stations,


Organization is an alsolutG necessity in a de60oc0rac.


I mean a cooperative organization, not a bureaucratic organization,


thi' foar of organization belong to an aristocracy or plutocracy.



rU.TRr. AITALTSIS'- OrF TSTA TTS. ,


Finally let us become more specific and see what mistakes


have been made in the past and an underlying cause.


Hog Cholera Serum Bill : The foundation for the passage of

this laW was w ell laid. The educational work had been conducted









,SE ,+44--



pA jp us-
.1L 7-L /








-19-


properly.. I have already called attention to the fact that the


foundation four the defeat was laid si

narian .Tas dismissed from the University. That. vas due to a lac:


of pro-pr understanding of the situation si:: years ago. Then too


we didn't have team sui por.o use a figure froi the football


field, vie gave the ball a big hickk sent it almost across the goal


and then let the other team pick it up and carry it leisurely


through to their goal. ''/o have sustained a serious handicap in


this as it will be a lon- tine before v'e can look for a. problem


that vill give us the prestige that such a project would have done.


It is a further defeat of the unity we wish to build up.


CThe nTursery inspection division if properly handled will


be of grcat advanta.-e to us. It can be m@Wm to brin.' the University


into service scores of people who have hardly heard. of it.


before. It enables us to add a competent and efficient nan to our


force. Dr. Berger can help out the Agricultural Department with


the short course students anz well as the Farmers Institutes.)

The second. defeat we sustained was the passage of the bill


allowing .'5000 for farm demonstration vor]: to be put at the disposal


of the federal authority. Jell in that case we didn't even play
*A. ;, ,:






-2 0-


ball; we simply let the other: fellow pick up the plunder and carry

it right off before our eyes and just grinned while he did it.


1^ v I thin]: altogether cue to the fact that t we did not appreciate


.the meaning of the situation. We did not see clearly that this is


the thin edge of the wedge that is certain to split the University


from a large body of the constituency we should serve. -I have


already said that this officet,of the demonstration worker should have


been located at the University and in the beginaini,; could have


been so located, but we lacked the foresight, the e:.iuipi .ent and the


team-work. There i's still a possibility of connecting this wor]:


vw'i-Th ours and so keep it front becor:ing an antagonistic force, The


situation was reviewed three years ago but we we:eo not W


comprehend the situation and certainly not ready to act on it. What


shall we.' do. Shall we let mLiatters drift along -. they have been.


If we had said the: word this year we could have had this officer


locatcd at the University. Fate has knocked at our door twice but


will she call again? If she does, what then?


The third frx defeat was silrply a failure on our part


to be properly organized, It will rEr cause us to stagger under a

heavy load for at least two years and possibly longer. This organi-




-21-



zation should be remedied before we meet a similar contest; that is,


the next legislature.


So much for the past. 'Jhat of the future?


The first step we take is:t-t inaugurate movable schools of Agri-


culture. This Mpuld have been started last year but the agri-


cultural train ran over that and squashed it s. I believe that


we can -o to three or four communities in the State and hold there


one week lcn- schools and have the, to Lcet all the maintenance


and travellinr- expenses." I have mentioned this before and every


time it seems to cause alarm. On the campus fear is entertained


that it might decrease the attendance at the University. I fear


gentlemen that even after four lonr, weary ,eers of toil vwe have not


gotten above loohin- on the Parmers' Institute as a sort of an


advertising scheme. Let us get away from so sordid an aspect of


the work. Let us look to the larger aspect of this vor,]: the


improvement of thie farmers of Florida. There is much aggressive


and progressive work for us to do with the farmers and horticultur-

ists of the State. The horticultural sections have been almost


sompletoly noegle'ted so far as the Farmers' Instutes are concerned.


Much good can be 'done by occasional and sporadic lectures before








horticultural organizations and these should be ]:ept up as vigor-


ously as possible during the next two years.


The IIursery Inspection wor]: needs to be organized and

harmonized with the higher educational movement. Jhow is- the time


to start it off right.


Local Agricultural Schools: W'.ithout quest ion tne rios


serious problem that is no;w, facing, us is the guide.nce and- control


of the establishment of local agricultural schools. One soch has


alret.dy been started at DePuniak Springs as a private venture.


A considerable amount of money has been raised by local subscrip-


tion. This will: come up sooner or later for count.- or State support.


Four :-ears ago a bill vwas introduced to establish district schools.


Two years ago nothingg was heard from this idea. This year the


bill ceyie up agaon. This question will not dounm. There is no


alternative in the matter. The schools will be estr-blished sooner

or later. This being the oase, it is one of the questions that


should receive our serious attention. I do not think that ,,e should

take an antagonistic attitude toward the establishment of these


schools. They- aro nerely the natural gro,-th of our ss tom and


our organic, at'ion "7.- should so guide and shape the centin.ient so




















A/, fA-rI, 1 i <--t-- ,
3^ ;*., .i^ -^/ 7^,'^ ^4^^-^^ ,ol~fj- ^ L^^ ^ /g^




'Vf -"___________-4 7---




V.



that when a law is enacted it will ma-e such institutions r.iost


e ective and at the same time coordinate it with the existing


educational system. The mistake we have made is that vwe have not


supported our Agricultural College sufficiently. 'Ve have now the

least supported Agricultural Colle-e in the South. Geor-ia gives


appro-ninatel:y ,SO,000 a year to her college, which is part of


the University. Hot until the advent of Dean Vernon has our college


taken suf-ficient form to be worthy of the name. Our students are


bound to leave us unless we equip this department at least reeconably


well. The f Nderal government has been liberal but the .State govern-


ment stingy. This "will continue to be so until 'our leading educators

re ~ralrd agriculture as nore than a johe. Even Porto 0ico, an


island thirty b; one hundred miles in c::-.ent "3f raid on .W

Ie must strengthen the agricultural side of our system. We must


study this systom a-nd when we have finally decided on .hat is best

then pure th..t course vigorously. We should. not be influenced


too greatly b- the call for ira-ediate relief but should apply basic


relief. The skilled, physician may have to use opiates in a crisis,


but oi.-ates do not cure the disease. I have studied this ques-


tion, not for one or tw.o years, but for many years. I ain fully





f ; 4-


i i
convinced that it' will b be t for our cowinon schools to hav


our agricultural' schools a department in the already established


high schools, rather than separate agricultural- hi-h schools, just


as I now believe that the Agricultural College should be a depart-


ment in the University. (Twenty years ago the A-ricultural Colleges


established independent of the Universit;- were far ahead of those


established as a ,part of the University. .ut today w.e find our


most nearly perfect agriculturc-l colleges a part of the University)


I believe gentlemen that we ou'ht to be a unit in advocating


that the Agriicultural studies should be tau.-iht as a department in


the high schools. I believe 'further that v.e ought to take up the


cauo'e and advocate the establishment of agricultural courses in


every county. That we should not out ourselves in opposition to


this enor.-.l movement. I w7ilu. not go into the details of how' o .


why or uhen, but put the broad question to :'ou, This is a broad


question of policy,


In conclusion I put these three general broad questions.


1. Sball we continue this broad general educational policy
which .we began to carry out four or five years ago? e.g.
Prof. Secondary education. e.g. ilursery Inspection Law.


2. Shall we continue to harmonize and iunify the educational
forces in the State? e.g. Shall we attempt to bring 1to










our cr-mnass the office-of the U. S. Farm Demonstration
v.worker?. The leader of thd'.U. 3. Corn Clubs, etc.? e.g.
Establishment of Sub Erxperiment Stations?



5. oha 11 we mold and shape the course of thought so as to
keep 6ur -ystem a unit? e.g. Shall we further the ea-
tablishment of local agric cultural schools as apart of the
hi--h schools or shall we app~rn oppose it and bring about
a chaotic condition as occurs in the school systems of
come StatqsY 4

I


-hese are broad and basic questions. The question ashed


;ou five .eadE alo was, shall we extend our educational activities

-S
to the people be:jond the border of the university campus. Having


extended our domain to the whole state th 1i ueztion no. is,


shall we bp progressive -or non-progressive.







Ii





A

S-.