THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION AT DELAVAN, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17-18. Supt. C. E. Slothower of the Platteville city schools who is president of the Southern Wisconsin Teachers' Association, announces the meeting of that organization at Delavan on Friday and Saturday, Februry 17-18. General sessions will be held on Friday and Saturday mornings. The principal sectional meeting will be held Friday afternoon, while a big program has been arranged

SUPT. C. E. SLOTHOWER, PLATTEVILLE, President Southern Wisconsin Teachers' Association.

for Friday evening. The chairmen of the different sections are as follows:

High Schools, Prin, H. W. Kircher, Dodgeville. Normal and Training Schools, Prin. A. A. Thomson, Richland Center.

Graded Schools, State Inspector W. H. Hunt. Country School Section, Supt. H. C. Buell, Janesville.

Manual Training and Domestic Science, Frank Sangster, Platteville.

Among the outside speakers announced are: Pres. L. C. Lord of the Charleston, Ill., normal school, Cora M. Hamilton of the McComb, Ill., normal, while Pres. J. W Cook of the De Kalb,, Ill., normal will give the evening lecture.

An effort is being made to secure satisfactory railroad rates for the Delavan meeting. This is

the first time the southern association has ever been held in this city, and as Delavan people have a most excellent reputation for hospitality, the visiting teachers may expect a hearty reception at the time of this meeting.

DEATH OF SENATOR STOUT.

To chronicle the death of Senator James Huff Stout is a sad duty. The educational interests of the state of Wisconsin never had a more substantial benefactor. His few words were backed by his many deeds. When educational measures were discouraged by others on account of the expense attached to the same, Senator Stout swept away the financial barriers by drawing upon his own income. Thus it was made possible to start a free library commission, rural traveling libraries, the great industrial training school at Menomonie, and many other worthy enterprises which looked toward the betterment of the common people. As a university regent, as a member and president of the commission which built the State Historical Library building at Madison, as chairman of the committee on education of the state senate for sixteen years, his name has been linked with the educational progress of this state for more than a quarter of a century.

Senator Stout departed this life at his home in Menomonie, Wisconsin, on the morning of December eighth, nineteen-hundred-ten, at the age of sixty-two years. Though lifeless in the flesh, his spirit will move on bringing blessings to the generations that are to follow. The greatest monument to his memory is the Stout Institute in Menomonie whose fame for the industrial training of young men and women has long ago reached beyond the boundaries of state and nation.

As a man, a citizen, a stateman, a philanthropist, James Huff Stout has set a high mark of life for his fellow men to follow. His name is

indelibly engraved upon the record of the progress of Wisconsin, and we all mourn him as a good man gone who left the world better than he found it.

The members of the graduating class of the Oshkosh high school who complete their course this month, are staging Shakespeare's "As You Like It" for presentation at their commencement exercises.

November

The Popular Science mothly for 1910 had an interesting article by Mr. Jos. V. Collins of the Stevens Point normal school on "Mathematical Definitions in Text-Books and Dictionaries.'

A school for backward children will be established in Racine this month. Supt. Nelson has long urged the necessity of providing for such a department and the school board has just taken action in the matter.

The University of Wisconsin has recently placed upon the accredited list the following high schools-La Farge, Pardeeville, Markesan, Green Lake, Waldo, Pewaukee, Darien, Waunakee, Amery, Baldwin, Minocqua.

The Whitewater normal school has issued a library number bulletin under date of November, 1910. This bulletin relates to the work of the normal library in connection with the general work of the institution.

Beloit and Janesville are contesting over the establishment of the Rock county training school for teachers. Every indication is that the county will have such a school as soon as the legislature makes provision for the same this winter.

A high school in southern Wisconsin with an enrollment of fifty-two pupils recently reported an average tardy list of ten pupils per day. There are some parents in this community who need to have some lessons taught them in promptness.

The Thanksgiving number of "The Spartan", published by the senior class of the Sparta high school came to us last month in especially attractive form. The young people are to be commended upon the excellent magazine which they produce.

The new Fond du Lac high school has just been occupied, and all indications point to a completed building with every modern convenience and necessity. The students of this school must certainly appreciate the sanitary features installed.

The report of the high school inspector for Minnesota shows that in 1909-10 there were 122 manual training schools instructing 4,770 stud

ents. This year Wisconsin has only twenty-nine high schools receiving special state aid in manual training work.

The School Review for October 1910 had a strong article by Supt. George A. Works of the Menomonie city schools on a high school course in applied chemistry. The article is worthy of a careful perusal by those interested in the teaching of this subject.

Fond du Lac county is strongly urging the establishment of a county agricultural school. Pres. Harvey of the Stout Institute recently gave a public address on the subject and awakened a wide-spread interest in the establishment of such an institution.

A high compliment was paid to the La Crosse county school of agriculture and domestic science at Onalaska when the county board of supervisors voted the full amount asked for by Supt. Johnson, $13,000, to defray the running expenses for the coming fiscal year.

Marathon county is in hopes of securing a substation of the state agricultural experiment station. Wausau with its usual progressive attitude is making every effort to secure this institution through petitions to the board of regents of the state university.

The proposition to build another normal school is met with applications from the cities of Oconto, Marinette, Antigo, and Rhinelander. Probably the legislature will see fit to build the institution at Eau Claire before making any other plans for a tenth normal in Wisconsin.

Dr. Henry B. Favill, a famous physician of Chicago and formerly of Wisconsin, in a public address at Milwaukee recently, advocated more fresh air for schools, and even suggested that one side of the room be taken out, which is in effect the making of every schoolroom an open air one.

The Bayfield County Annual prepared by Supt. Jessie Smith comes to our desk this year in a very attractive form, and containing much interesting material relating to the educational work in our northernmost county. In 1885 there were six teachers employed in Bayfield county; now there are 142.

The new high school building at Unity was occupied for the first time this year. It is 54x76

feet and consists of a basement and two stories. The total cost of the grounds and building was about $15,000. The Unity schools are making repid progress under the leadership of Prin. F. E. Jaastad.

The various members of the debating league which is conducted under the auspices of Beloit College have selected the question of the commission form of government for discussion this winter. This work is all under the supervision of Prof. Crawford of the English department of the college.

Prin. H. A. Schofield of the Nelson Dewey high school at Superior succeeds Prin. A. C. Shong of the Blaine high school who goes to the west division high school at Milwaukee. Mr. Ashley Conrad of Chicago, formerly a teacher in the Blaine school, will succeed Mr. Schofield as principal of the Nelson Dewey.

The recommendation of the special educational legislative committee that the Wehrwein bill become a law looks like a big strife in the legislature this winter that means nothing more nor less than a spirited contest between the state university and the state department of education as to which shall control the high school affairs of the state.

The Door county board of supervisors has gone on record in favor of dissolving the present joint training school relations with Kewaunee county and establishing an agricultural and training school for Door county alone. On these grounds the board failed to make any appropriation for the erection of a training school building of a joint nature.

Waupaca is very active in planning for its new high school building. It will be a solid brick structure, L shape, with a frontage of 121 feet and a depth of 118 feet. There will be a large gymnasium, an assembly room with a seating capacity of 600, libraries, offices, and every modern convenience known to sanitary engineers will be installed.

At the meeting of the Candlelight club at Oshkosh last month, there was a most interesting debate on the provisions of the Wehrwein bill. State Superintendent Cary gave the leading address and championed the bill. He was backed by Pres. Keith and Regent Harrington of the local

Supt. Anderson of Berlin has inaugurated a new plan of parents' meetings. He selects, for instance, the grammar grades and on a certain afternoon asks the parents to be present to witness the work. The invitations sent to the parents are not made known to the children. At the first meeting over fifty parents responded, and after school was over stayed for an informal conference with Mr. Anderson and the teachers in charge.

One of the live subjects to come before the state legislature this winter is the bill proposing the establishment of a county board of education. If this measure becomes a law, it means that the county superintendent will be elected on the same basis as the city superintendent is at the present time. It will mean much toward the professional advancement of the county superintendency in the state of Wisconsin.

Supt. Oscar F. Mattson of Pierce county has issued in pamphlet form the rules, regulations, etc., governing the declamatory and spelling contests in that county. Spelling bees are encouraged throughout the county, and district contests are held. The two best spellers in each school take part in the district contest, and the two best spellers in each district will take part in the central contest at the county seat.

Supt. O. D. Antisdel of Rock county has issued a very strong circular to his school clerks and teachers advising them to beware of agents who are representing their wares to be indorsed by the county superintendent. School boards should be on the lookout for these wily men, who, through fraud and misrepresentation, are inducing teachers and school boards to buy books and apparatus at exhorbitant prices and who claim the authority of the county superintendent back of them in their work.