SOME GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS OF THE PRESENT EUROPEAN

WAR

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UROPE has been in a state of unstable equilibrium for centuries. Many boundary lines between European nations are purely arbitrary; they were fixed as the result of wars in which the loser was forced to accept such terms as the victor would grant; but such boundaries are seldom regarded as final by the losing nation, nor are they likely to prove permanent, since they are determined by no natural cause.

As long as English kings attempted to hold territory in France, there was constant trouble, centuries of warfare. When the United Kingdom came to be limited by the natural boundaries which now define it, France and Britain were in position to become friendly. Old animosities were not immediately forgotten but since the chief cause of their existence, unsatisfactory boundary adjustments, had largely disappeared, it was only a matter of time when the two old enemies might become friendly. In the Crimean War they fought on the same side, and Great Britain entered the present war largely to aid her ally, France, once her hated enemy. The state of tension which has existed between Germany and France since the Franco-Prussian War was the result of the taking of Alsace-Lorraine, and thereby the establishment of a boundary line unsatisfactory to one power. If a range of mountains such as the Pyrenees or a body of water such as the English Channel had been available as a boundary between France and Germany, it would, by force of its appropriateness, have been accepted, in course of time, by both nations.

The present war began in the Balkans. For a generation or two, it has been evident that the Balkans are a Prince Rupert's Drop, a region in a state of tension because every boundary line in the peninsula was drawn more or less arbitrarily, and was forced upon the several countries by outside powers; since few of the boundaries have any natural cause, few of them have been accepted as final by the nations concerned. Moreover, the mountainous character of the peninsula and its geographical position in the southeast of Europe have made it a refuge for a variety of races, none too friendly under any conditions, but kept from an easy and friendly intermingling through the difficulties presented by the physical features of the peninsula. Had the Balkan peninsula been part of the Russian plain, it is quite likely that the various races would have mingled and to a degree, amalgamated and that they would have been absorbed into the Russian Empire just as other parts of the plain were. Much of the tension which has long existed in Europe has arisen from the determination of certain European powers to force upon other countries unnatural and unacceptable boundaries. If the Ottoman Empire has any appropriate boundary, it is not the absurd one arbitrarily determined by the Powers at the close of the late Balkan War, but it is that boundary which has long been accepted as the separating line between Europe and Asia. No

more can there be peace in the Balkan Peninsula so long as the Turk rules any part of it than there could be in Spain while the Moors ruled a part of it. When the Moors were driven back into Africa, and even so narrow a water boundary as the Strait of Gibraltar separated them from Europe, things assumed a more settled condition. There is no escape from the logic of a naturefixed boundary line. Nations will often accept such, when they will not permanently accept any other.

Everyone recognizes that Russia will never rest until her unnatural and unbearable condition with reference to open ports is relieved. Either Russia must be allowed an outlet or she must be reduced to impotency. It will not be surprising if, in the adjustments following the present war, Russia insists upon concessions of this nature which, heretofore, the powers have denied her; this assumes that Russia is on the winning side. If she should be on the losing side, her situation will be made still more unbearable and the tension will continue.

Both Belgium and Holland are maintained as independent nations in defiance of their geography. How little the neutrality of Belgium was respected when the violation of that neutrality became advantageous to Germany, is seen in the action of Germany on the very first day after hostilities began. Holland's neutrality will not be respected if any of the great powers in the present conflict find it to their advantage to violate it. Yet, there is much less danger to Switzerland, and the difference lies in the geography of the respective countries.

The present struggle is a sad commentary on our civilization, on our boasted, advanced civilization. But evidently the struggle had to come. Evidently force, not reason, still rules or intends to rule. Perhaps Europe can learn in no other way. Perhaps the hollow and specious motto of the war party in every country-"The way to preserve peace is always to be prepared for war"-will now be shown in its true light. It is not necessarily true that there can be no permanent peace among nations so long as their boundaries are fixed by force or politics instead of by nature, but it is true that men and peoples are more willing to accept boundaries which have their logic in natural or geographical conditions than they are to accept boundaries which are purely arbitrary.

Many factors of many kinds are involved in this great European struggle; some of these are purely political, some are psychological, but the underlying ones are essentially geographical. R. H. W.

The Geographical Society of Chicago is performing valuable service in its publications, the last of which is "The Weather and Climate of Chicago," by Henry J. Cox and John H. Armington. This is the fourth volume issued under the auspices of the Chicago society.

SUGGESTED MEANS OF MEASURING EFFICIENCY IN THE TEACHING OF GEOGRAPHY

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By R. H. Whitbeck, University of Wisconsin

FFICIENCY in the teaching of geography, like that in the teaching of other studies, may be measured by three tests:

(1) INTEREST,

the degree of interest in the subject which is developed in the pupils and which manifests itself both in their attitude in the class and in their desire to read and to see more of the real things with which the study deals.

I have seen this test applied successfully in the following way: The teacher placed on her desk a number of geographical readers, books of travel, and geographical magazines, from which she had made a list of articles or chapters which furnshed interesting supplementary matter along the line of the study which the class was then pursuing. The teacher simply said to the pupils, "I have posted here a list of interesting readings, and I have the books from which these readings are selected, on my table. If any of you desire to take a book home for a day or two, you may do so by applying to me at the close of school." Nothing more was said. The number of pupils who applied for books, and the evidence that they read these, was taken as an index of the amount of interest which pupils had developed or were developing in the subject. I noted that there was an intimate connection between the efficiency of the teacher's work and the number of pupils who asked for these books and magazines, as naturally would be the case.

(2) KNOWLEDGE

This is of two kinds:—

(a) Specific and accurate knowledge,

(b) General knowledge.

The field of geography is very broad and there is constant need of differentiating between that relatively small body of fundamental knowledge which ought to be known accurately, and on the other hand, that larger body of useful geographical knowledge which is valuable, though not strictly fundamental or essential. The teacher needs help (through a syllabus) in determining what facts shall be emphasized, drilled, and reviewed, and what ones may be discussed more or less informally in the class but not drilled or reviewed, at least to any considerable extent.

Efficiency in teaching geography will result in a very large proportion of pupils knowing thoroughly and surely this smaller body of essential knowledge. (3) POWER

Measured by the pupil's ability relative to his age:

(a) to use his geographical knowledge in judging and reasoning along geographical lines;

(b) to visualize maps,—that is, to call up mental map-pictures and to see parts of the world in their correct place relations. The only way in

which we can visualize large regions of the world is through these mental map-pictures, hence the importance of thorough map-studies;

(c) to use common reference books such as the atlas, gazetteer, encyclopedia and possibly a few others.

The following suggestive questions or exercises are given as illustrations of a method of applying the tests referred to above. The power to use geographical knowledge in forming judgments and in reasoning may be tested by such questions as the following:

(a) Suggest explanations for as many of the following facts as you can:

(1)

There are places in the torrid zone where even in summer it is as cold as in Labrador.

(2) Hammerfest, Norway, is in the frigid zone, yet its harbor is never frozen over while the St. Lawrence River is closed by ice for several months each winter.

(3)

We have our winter when the earth is nearest the sun.

(4) The little country of Holland has a larger foreign trade than the great country of Russia.

(5) In Nome, Alaska, there is light enough in summer to permit the reading of a newspaper at 10 P. M.

(1)

(b) Another type of questions may be illustrated by the following: What three or four countries of Europe would suffer most if all trade with foreign lands were cut off? Give reasons for your

answer.

(2) Germany maintains a great army and Great Britain a large navy. Account for this difference.

(3) In general, the average production of wheat per acre diminishes as you go from central Russia towards the east. Give several reasons which might explain this. Which do you consider the main one? (c) Power to call up mental map-pictures may be tested by such questions as the following:

(1) Sketch a map of South America and place upon it in their proper positions,

a-the equator

b- the Amazon River

c-the Orinoco River

d-the northern boundary of Chili

e-Buenos Aires, Rio Janeiro, the coffee district of Brazil. (2) Tell as accurately as possible in what direction

a-Berlin is from London

b-Panama is from Florida

c-Nova Scotia is from England

d-Cuba is from New York

e-France is from Philadelphia.

(d) Ability to use books of reference may be tested by such questions as the following: If you wish to find quickly the following information, tell in each case what you would do or where you would look for it:

(1) the pronunciation of Rio Janeiro

(2) The population of London

(3) How coffee is cured for market

(4) The approximate distance from New York to Panama
(5) What and where is Chad?

(6) How to go by rail from Chicago to New Orleans

(7) Name of the present king of England

(8) The area of Switzerland.

In my judgment an examination which reveals efficiency in teaching will involve questions of each of the above types. Tests to show the efficiency of teaching will, of course, vary with the maturity of the pupils. In the grades below, say, the 7th, the pupils' interest and knowledge are more legitimate measures of efficiency than is their power. In grades 7 and above, power to think and reason and ability to sketch memory maps or fill in outline maps and to use reference materials, is of increasing importance.

A COMMUNICATION

Editor of The Journal of Geography

At the St. Paul meeting of the National Education Association the need of a national organization of Geography teachers became apparent and the organization of such an association was suggested. We have no association devoted to the educational phase of our science, and at most educational meetings, Geography discussions are therefore little more than side issues. Is there not need of a National Association of Geography Teachers to encourage the expansion of the science in our schools, to better what is now taught, and to unify ideals among teachers? Such an organization should be affiliated with some other existing body of teachers, such as the N. E. A. or the Association of American Geographers.

It seems highly desirable to follow up the idea expressed at the St. Paul meeting. Therefore, I beg to suggest that you ask for an expression of opinion, through the Journal of Geography, requesting that all teachers of Geography who favor such an organization communicate either with the Journal or the undersigned. Why would it not be a good time to effect a temporary organization at the Chicago meeting of the Association of American Geographers next December?

Very truly yours,

George J. Miller,

State Normal School, Mankato, Minn. Editor's Note.-We believe the above suggestion is worthy of careful

consideration and we hope that many teachers will respond.