in the medical school, and, indeed, in foreign universities they are more often pursued by medical students in the philosophical than in the medical faculty. It would be a waste of energy and money to make provision for them in both the medical and the academical departments.

It can not be truthfully said that the plan indicated need to divert the preliminary education from a liberal to a technical and specialized one, for the degree in arts or science will presumably indicate that the student has a liberal education and the special subjects need not be taken up before the last two years of the course. The scheme presupposes that the student will have made up his mind to study medicine in time to include these special subjects in his undergraduate studies. If he has not done so, or if he chooses to exclude them from his collegiate work, he will be obliged to devote at least a year to them after graduation and before beginning the study of medicine. The college authorities should, however, direct attention at the proper period of the course to the importance of these subjects for those who intend to study medicine.

This plan, moreover, adjusts medical education to existing conditions of collegiate education in this country without any essential changes in the curriculum of the latter.

The advanced age of graduation from college is a serious embarrassment to higher medical education in this country, and has led to the unfortunate result that with the increase in the time required for the study of medicine there has been a falling off in the number of medical students with a college degree in at least one of our leading medical schools, although it can not be doubted that the average amount of preliminary education has increased among our medical students.

Various suggestions have been made, especially by the medical faculties of our universities, to remedy this anomalous condition of collegiate education, or to adapt it to the needs of medical education. I think that we may assume that the college course is not likely to be shortened, or that the college will relinquish that part of its development which has made it something between the old college and a university. There is good reason to believe that there are serious defects in our systems of primary and secondary education, and that without lowering the standard of admission, better methods of teaching will enable students to enter college at least a year younger than is now the case.

The plan has been adopted in some of our colleges of permitting students to begin their medical studies in the medical department at the beginning of the senior year. This is a plan which is applicable only where there is a medical school in connection with the college, and involves certain sufficiently apparent difficulties. I think, however, there is much to be said in favor of this arrangement, which permits the student to take up the study of human anatomy, physiology, and physiological chemistry in his senior year in college, provided he has sufficient preliminary training in the fundamental sciences which have been mentioned. It may, however, be questioned whether the time available for the study of physics, chemistry, and general biology in college is any too long for this purpose, and will permit the addition of human anatomy with dissections and other subjects which must be a part of the regular medical curriculum. Unless the student has completed the work of one year of the medical course I do not see the justification of permitting him to shorten by one year the regular medical course because he has a college degree.

It should be understood that if a medical school requires for admission a year's collegiate training in physics, chemistry, and biology, subjects which are included in the medical curriculum of European universities, its period of medical study is, according to European standards, lengthened by one year, the first year being relegated to the collegiate period.

The only medical school in this country where a liberal degree is required for admission is that of Johns Hopkins University. Here it is also required, for reasons which have been stated, that the candidate for admission shall be able to read French and German, and shall have had a year's collegiate training with laboratory work in physics, chemistry, and biology. It is, of course, impossible for unendowed medical schools to demand anything approaching these conditions for admission. I do not undertake to say that even were other medical schools so situated that they could demand them it would be wise for them to do so under present conditions, but it seems to me that there is room in this country for at least a few medical schools with such a standard. Exactly what is feasible to require as a general standard for admission to medical schools in this country at the present time is a subject which, as already said, I do not consider at this time.

It is true that without a liberal education a man may become a competent physician, and may attain even a high standard of excellence in his profession, but with such education he is better adapted for the study of medicine, he is more likely to succeed in his profession, his social position will be better, and his life will be fuller. How long should be the period of undergraduate study in a medical school? In Europe it is nowhere less than four years, and in most European countries it is

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longer. In Sweden it is nine or ten years; in Spain, seven years; in Italy and Holland, six years; in Austria, Russia, Portugal, and several universities of Great Britain, five years; in Germany, four and a half years. In Canada the required period is four years.

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The required period of study at the medical department of the Johns Hopkins University, where a full year of collegiate training with laboratory work in physics, chemistry, and biology is required for admission, is, according to European standards, at least five years.

Four years of undergraduate medical study in a medical school, each year being the usual academic year of about eight months, are as much as can reasonably be demanded in this country at the present time. This length of time is sufficient if the student enters with a satisfactory preliminary training, especially if, as is often the case, he supplements the undergraduate course with a year or a year and a half in a hospital or a year of special graduate study.

Only those medical schools which have good laboratory and hospital facilities are warranted in establishing a four years' obligatory course. It would be absurd for some medical schools, with their pathetically meager outfit, to require the student to remain with them four years.

AMERICAN AND GERMAN MEDICAL STUDENTS.

Dr. F. B. MALLORY in Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, July 5, 1894. The latter, after about nine years of hard drill in the gymnasium, which covers most of the ground of the American preparatory school and college, is ready at the age of about 19 years to enter the university, the most democratic institution of the Old World, for every professor and privat docent is wholly independent, and may give such instruction as he will. The German State system of universities has many advantages over the independent institutions in our own country. The requirements of all are the same, and they are run interchangeably, so that the students form a vast floating population in the university towns. They can hear the best men in the various subjects or in the same subject. They can spend their winters in the large cities like Berlin and Vienna, and their summers in towns like Heidelberg or Freiberg, where the surrounding mountains and forests offer opportunities for delightful tramps. Thus they see more of the world and obtain broader views than they can from living in one place all the time, for no one university can get the best men in every subject. They can also elect the university at which they will take their examination.

THE AMERICAN AND GERMAN GRADUATE IN MEDICINE.

Doctors of medicine in Germany are, as a body, better educated than our men at home. They have all been through the gymnasium, and have spent at least five years in the study of medicine. They are ready to enter practice (if they do not go into hospital work) at about the age of 24. Our men at home who have been through Harvard College and then four years in the medical school have undoubtedly received a broader training than the men here, but they are not ready to enter practice until about the age of 27.

The reason our college men enter the medical school about four years later (at the age of 23) than the men here is probably due in part to the following causes: They cover more ground than is gone over in the gymnasium. Their education previous to entering college has consumed more time than was necessary. American independence shows itself at a disadvantage at present in her educational institutions. There is a lack of harmony and of uniformity between them, even between the colleges and universities. Each has its own ideas, aims, and standards. The public schools especially are run with too little reference to the requirements of the higher educational institutions of the country. They seek to furnish in themselves a complete education of a certain degree. The desire or the possibility of attending college is often realized for the first time when this early education is nearly completed, and valuable time has been lost in learning what was unnecessary for this or that college, and more time must be spent in getting up the extra work required.

The proposition is being at present agitated in Germany of allowing students who are going into medicine to study French, English, and the natural sciences in the gymnasium, instead of the classics as heretofore, a step similar to the broader one already taken at Harvard.

Of the four and a half years that a German student spends in the study of medicine the first two years are devoted to six subjects-chemistry, physics, botany, zoology, anatomy, and physiology. That leaves three years for the rest of his medical education, the same length of time devoted in the Harvard Medical School to

the same branches, namely, pathology, clinical medicine, etc. It is proposed, however, to make the course for M. D. in the German universities six years instead of five (the last year to be devoted to practical work), in order to raise the age of the medical graduates.

With regard to the study of medicine the German universities possess the great advantage that both the universities and the hospitals are State institutions. Consequently the medical department and the hospital are very closely identified and work in perfect harmony. The visiting staff of the hospital are the clinical instructors of the medical school. The pathological institute likewise stands in the closest relationship to the hospital; indeed, forms a very important part of it. Its duty is to solve all problems that are doubtful clinically, to correct errors of diagnosis, and to render clear the cause and nature of every diseased process, so that it may be treated intelligently. The pathological department of a spital thus conducted becomes of inestimable advantage, alike to the patients and to those whose mission it is to heal them.

CHAPTER VIII.

EDUCATION IN THE VARIOUS STATES.

ALABAMA.

AN EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.

In the spring of 1893 an organized and systematic effort was made by the State superintendent of public instruction, Hon. J. G. Harris, to interest more fully the people of Alabama in the subject of general and popular education. Under his energetic lead a vigorous campaign was inaugurated. A programme was arranged for the holding of five public meetings in each county in the State by the county superintendent of education, to which meetings all the white people were invited. The meetings were designed to be emphatically nonpolitical and nonsectarian. The design was to gather together all classes and creeds and political parties, for the purpose of exchanging views and opinions in reference to the public school question. The 1st of September was appointed as a day for holding a mass meeting at the court-house of each county, to close up the canvass.

"I suggest," said State Superintendent Harris, in a circular to the county superintendents, "that you enlist, at an early day, every teacher in your county in behalf of this movement. In consultation with the teachers and citizens, select the most suitable places for holding these meetings, and insist on the people providing a basket dinner, that they may spend the entire day in considering the various educational interests. Encourage all the people to come out and join in the important work. You will call on your editors and newspaper men, and secure their cooperation." These meetings were for the white people. It is proposed to hold at another time, conventions for the colored people.

In order that those who took part in the campaign might have some idea of the scope and nature of the subject to be treated, the State superintendent prepared the following list of topics for discussion:

(1) The duty of the State to provide ways and means for the support of the public schools.

(2) The obligation of the citizens to the State in promoting and sustaining public schools.

(3) The education of the people the surest protection to constitutional government. (4) The natural and moral duty of the parent to educate the child to the extent of his ability.

(5) The right of the child to an education commensurate with his surroundings. (6) The character of the teacher socially, morally, and intellectually.

(7) Male and female teachers, their success in the schoolroom.

(8) The right and duty of the teacher to govern and discipline his pupils.

(9) The importance of good school buildings with the modern improvements. (10) Coeducation; should it be encouraged?

(11) Ought the State to provide by law for local or general taxation, or either, for the support of public schools.

(12) Is it the State's duty to see that the children are educated?

(13) What should be the qualifications of a State and county superintendent of education?

(14) Duties of the county board of education as to the examination and licensing of teachers, and its vital importance.

(15) Duties of township trustees and the responsibilities resting upon them; ought there to be one or more for each township?

(16) The importance and beneficial results of well-regulated teachers' institutes. (17) The duty of parents to supplement the public fund, thereby lengthening the school term.

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(18) Should the State adopt a uniform series of text-books for public schools for either State or county?

(19) Ought not the salaries of county superintendents be increased, that they may give more time to school work?

(20) Do the public school laws of the State need revising and should the constitution be amended in reference thereto?

(21) Ought industrial departments for both sexes be attached to public schools? The following address of the State superintendent was read at every meeting in connection with the other exercises:

AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA, BY HON, JOHN, G. HARRIS, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION.

"LADIES AND FELLOW CITIZENS: Though absent in person, I am with you in spirit and interest.

"The occasion that has called you together is one of supreme importance. You have left your homes and come to this gathering for a purpose. It is a social, friendly, business mass meeting, composed of our own citizens, who love their conntry, and whose aim and object is to improve the condition of our people and promote the welfare of this grand old Commonwealth, by discussing important educational questions, which pertain to our future prosperity and happiness.

"Profoundly impressed with the educational necessities and demands of Alabama, and believing as we do that all children in the State should be to some extent educated, you have come to talk over these matters, take a full sarvey of the situation, discuss the various duties and responsibilities resting upon the State, the parent, the people, and set in motion as best you can such measures as will, in your judgment, better our condition, augment our educational facilities, and add to our progress and higher development in government, in morals, and in mind.

"The main purpose of this meeting is to excite a deeper interest in the minds and consciences of our people regarding general education, and to exchange and interchange views, impressions, and opinions on the various questions that pertain to our public-school system. In order to determine intelligently and accurately what are the best measures to adopt in carrying out any department or policy of government, it is proper that the whole people be consulted, and every conflicting argument and opinion given its proper weight, that a just conclusion may be reached. "There is scarcely any question of ethics, of science, or government but what has two sides to it, and each side its supporters and adherents. Men may differ very widely in their conclusions of what is right, and the proper remedies to correct a wrong, and at the same time be conscientious and patriotic in their differences.

"This is a government which guarantees to every man an undisturbed right to form his own opinions and express his own views. Men may indorse the theory and principle of any system of government, and at the same time differ as to the prac tical operations of such government, the machinery that controls and directs. To simplify this assertion, we say, individuals and parties may be strictly conscientious in their views and convictions of this or that policy, and maintain such views with vehemence and unswerving fidelity, and at the same time be in error. Neither men, parties, nor governments are infallible. There is an admixture of error running through all human plans. Hence, as citizens, honestly and earnestly striving to arrive at just conceptions of law, and system, and duties, and the best means through which the greatest, highest, and most beneficial results may be accomplished, it is eminently proper that all classes and professions and vocations should be heard, and have their opinions duly weighed and considered.

"Every citizen in this Commonwealth, however obscure or humble, has rights that must be scrupulously regarded and respected. Every voter is a component part of the State government, and has some part in the control and management of the coordinate branches of the same. He has a right to his opinions, and may maintain them in argument or at the ballot box. Such being the form of govenment under which we live, and the people being the support and maintenance of it, it is but the part of wisdom that every citizen should have the privilege to express his views in coming to a proper solution of all disputed questions of State or Federal policy. Acting upon this principle, and guided by a sense of justice and right, meetings have been called all over this State to discuss the public-school question and education in general, and to get our people fully aroused and enlightened on these subjects. All politics, partisanship, and sectarianism must be severely ignored. The good of the children, the good of the State, the well-being of society, and the perpetuation of our Government are the aims and purposes of your meeting to-day.

"It is said, 'that in the multitude of counsel there is safety.' If this wise maxim be true, it occurs to me that in no way can we better secure safety and protection from error and mistakes, than in a free, full, fraternal, and patriotic discussion of the various questions submitted for your investigation.