little log hut along a hillside in Ohio, or whether it is found on a western prairie, or in the most costly and most magnificently equipped school house in New England. The teacher and the pupils make the school; the environments are but the crude materials or the covering for the gems which are enclosed.

Sometimes we wonder why teachers with unusually bad habits have such a wonderful influence upon their pupils. Is it not because they possess these finer qualities of soul, and that excellent spirit which must be every teacher's to meet with great success? Thus, in spite of their shortcomings, they yet wield an influence which is attractive though they have a character steeped with sin and vice.

Kindergarten teachers have long ago learned the secret of success. They must be good readers; they must be good story tellers. Their love for child literature must be secure and certain before they are permitted to go before a class of little children. Might it not be well for all grade teachers, and even high school teachers (who frequently are the least animated and sometimes the least efficient) to study kindergarten methods and aims for use in their schools, where children are just as hungry for this life and spirit, and where it should be given just as freely as in the kindergarten.

Now I believe we all agree that in the study of all literature the teacher's sympathetic nature must respond to that of the author and in addition he must have the intonation of vocal cultivation necessary for a clear rendition of the selection at hand. This also should be the heritage of every child. When the teachers of our great state fully realize the importance of this equipment for efficient work in literature and set out to acquire these ends through the means here described, we shall have achieved

wonderful progress in bringing our schools to that high plane where character will be the complete realization of the teacher's work. We then shail be teachers in the true sense; then we will not need to worry about getting professional recognition, but we shall have become the real builders of the nation, and be professional!

Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech cannot be fully understood nor appreciated as a masterpiece until we forget its charming sentences, the simplicity of its style, and find our hearts in full sympathy with the martyred president as he stood in the old cemetery and upon the very ground where that bloody battle was fought just four months before. The assembled crowd was composed of those who had fought in that very battle, many of them having been wounded there; now they were there upon crutches; many friends were there, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers, of those who had lost their lives just a few months before. As Lincoln sat there and beheld suffering humanity on one side, and a struggling nation on the other, his great heart was full of sympathy, full of love, and he breathed such a spirit of true devotion into this poem, that it was at once destined to become one of our masterpieces of English; it had this life and spirit woven into every sentence by the speaker. This spirit and life we must feel in our very soul before we can appreciate its grandeur.

fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The point in this paper is that in teaching literature, from the kindergarten up through the high school, and the colleges included, the teacher must first be in full sympathy with the author, he must have that adjustment of his own soul which will harmonize with the real life and spirit of the selection;

he must be a good reader himself; not necessarily an elocutionist, but one who can feel and sympathize and whose tone of voice can be so modulated as to express these qualities in unmistakable

tones.

But this is not all; the pupils' lives, their very souls, must be in touch with the life and spirit of the selection. When these conditions are brought about we have the result of the best work of the artist, the highest end to be achieved in our profession. When we come to realize our complete powers as teachers we shall have many happy children who shall cheerfully perform their daily tasks, always with willing hands and loving hearts, teacher and pupil working in complete harmony, one for the other, all for true American manhood and womanhood.

REPORT OF THE SCHOOL REVENUE COMMISSION.

EDMUND A. JONES, COLUMBUS.

I assure you it is a source of much regret to the commission as well as the association that Attorney General Wade Ellis could not be present. We regret also that several members of the commission also were necessarily detained. Dr. Thompson had an important meeting with the trustees of the State University and could not come. have a letter from Dean Henry G. Williams in which he says "I am very sorry I can not come to Put-in-Bay. We open the summer school next week and my services are needed here. Express my regrets and say to the members that I am of the opinion that we should have ten or fifteen thousand more

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copies printed in order that we can supply every member of a board of education, every newspaper in the state and every member of the legislature with a cópy. If we can get the people of Ohio to read this report it will have a tremendous influence in the state." I have also a letter from Mr. Carr who says "I had made all arrangements to come but my son Frank has to go to the hospital and I can not leave. I hope the report will receive consideration and some steps taken looking to the increase of school revenues." I have also been asked by the commission to make some report on the financial assistance given it. The commission received from the Ohio State Teachers' Association $200 and on Feb. 12 from the Eastern Ohio Association $100 and at the meeting of the Central Teachers'

Association $200 making $500 in all. The expenses of the commission outside of printing the report up to the present time have been $156.10. Our expense for printing and postage and extra cost of tabulated matter gives a total expense of $719.65. Add to that a bill for sending out the reports of $25.86, which leaves a deficit of $245.51.

One year ago the Ohio School Revenue Commission made a preliminary report of its work to this Association. The first half day's session for 1906 was devoted to this report and a discussion of the general subject of school revenues. As a result the following recommendations made by the executive committee of the Ohio Teachers' Association were unanimously adopted:

1. That, desiring to provide for effective agitation of the question of how to secure increased financial support of the public schools and to utilize the work already done, the Commission of the Western Ohio Superintendents Round Table, consisting of Hon. E. A. Jones, Supt. E. B. Cox, Dr. W. O. Thompson, Hon S. D. Shankland, and Dean Henry G. Williams, be requested to act as a Commission of the Ohio State Teachers' Association to make investigation and report to this body at the next meeting on the subject of School Revenues and Their Proper Distribution.

2. That Supt. J. W. Carr, of Dayton, who as chairman of the Indiana committee which did such effective work this direction, be added to the membership of this commission.

3. That the Ohio State Teachers' Association appropriate $200 to add to the appropriation of the Western Ohio Superintendents' Round Table to defray the expenses of the Commission and for the publication of their report to the Association, said appropriation to be disbursed as the Executive Committee may order.

4. That the report of this Commission be printed and distributed to members of the Association one month before the next meeting.

5. That the Executive committee be directed to set apart an entire morning session at the next meeting for a discussion of the Commission's report.

The Executive committee believes that the time is propitious for making an effective appeal to the legislature for adequate support of public schools, but regards it as necessary that there shall be authoritative information on the subject and a scientific basis for intelligent demands.

In the course of the year meetings of the Commission were held in Columbus, Chicago and Dayton.

On Monday, December 10, 1906, all of its members appeared before the StateTaxation Commission appointed by Gov. Andrew L. Harris, of which Attorney General Wade H. Ellis is chairman. Oral arguments were presented and later a type written brief prepared by Dr. W. O. Thompson and approved by the School Revenue Commission was submitted.

In order to ascertain as far as possible present economic conditions existing among the teachers in representative cities, villages and townships of Ohio the following questionaire was prepared and sent to a large number of teachers. in different sections of the state:

QUESTIONS.

This list of questions was sent by Supt. Carr to several hundred superin-tendents, H. S. principals, ward principals, special teachers and elementary teachers in cities and villages and by Supt. Shankland to 1200 teachers in the rural schools.

Supt. Carr gives the following sunmary of the most important facts with reference to the salaries of superintend

TEACHERS OF THE CITIES OF OHIO. Table A sets forth the actual salaries of superintendents and high school principals in 66 of the 69 cities of Ohio A study of this table shows that there are two superintendents who receive $5,000 or more; two from $4,000 to $5,000; three from $3,000 to $4,000; 27 from $2,000 to $3,000; and 32 below $2,000. The same report shows that 18 high school principals receive more than $2,000; . 11 from $1,500 to $2,000; and 46 below $1,500. Of the 927 high school teachers teaching in the cities reporting, we find that 107 receive a salary of $1,500 or more per year (these teachers are all in the larger cities, most of them in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton); 252 receive from $1,200 to $1,500; 122 from $1,000 to $1,200; 171 from $800 to $1,000; 192 from $500 to $800; and 11 less than $500 a year. That is, nearly one-half of all the high school teachers in the cities of Ohio receive salaries of less than $1,000. Of the 226 special teachers, including the assistant superintendents and supervisors, six receive a salary of more than $2,500 (all of these are in the city of Cleveland) 8 a salary of from $2,000 to $2,500; 22 from $1,500 to $2,000; 14 from $1,200 to $1,500; 21 from $1,000 to $1,200; 155 or about two-thirds of the whole number, receive a salary of less than $1,000.

Of the 449 ward principals reporting 31 receive a salary of more than $2,000 (these are in the city of Cincinnati); 75 a salary of from $1,500 to $2,000 (these are all in the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton); 93 a salary of from $1,200 to $1,500; 46 from $1,000 to $1,200 102 from $800 to $1,000; 176 or

more than one-third of the entire number, less than $800. Of the 9,009 elementary teachers in the schools, 33 receive more than $1,200 (32 of these are in Cincinnati and one in Dayton); 3 receive from $1,000 to $1,200; 811 from $800 to $1,000; 3511 from $500 to $800; and 1742 less than $500. From this statement it will be observed that more than two-thirds of all the elementary teachers in the city schools receive less than $800 per year.

The salaries paid in the village schools, as set forth in table B, are on the whole very much less than those paid in the cities. Of the 67 villages reporting the superintendents of only three receive a salary of more than $2,000 a year. In each instance these salaries are paid to superintendents of suburbs of large cities such as Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland, and Lockland and Madisonville, suburbs of Cincinnati. Only eight superintendents receive salaries from $1,500 to $2,000 a year; 32 from $1,000 to $1,500 a year; 26 less than$1,000. Only three high school principals of the 62 villages reporting this item receive a salary of more than $1,000; 59, or all the rest reporting, receive a salary of less than $1,000. Some, indeed, receive a salary of even less than $500. Only very few high school teachers, no special teachers, and about six ward principals receive a salary greater than $800, while practically all of the elementary teachers receive less than $500 per year.

It will be observed that even in our city and village schools, where the corps of teachers is the most stable, comparatively a large number leave the ranks each year. In the cities it will be observed that most of the teachers leave on account of matrimony, ill health and because they secure better positions elsewhere. It will be observed that in the villages the most common reason assigned why teachers quit the profession

is that they receive better salaries in other occupations or to teach elsewhere.

COMPARISON OF TEACHERS' SALARIES WITH SALARIES AND WAGES PAID IN A FEW OTHER OCCUPATIONS.

In table C a comparison is given detween the salaries paid superintendents of schools and salaries of postmasters, also the salaries paid a majority of the high school teachers and the salaries paid mail carriers, policemen and firemen; also the salaries paid teachers in the elementary schools and salaries paid first-class salesladies, first-class stenographers and head waiters in hotels. The tables shows that in 62 cities out of 64 reporting this item the salaries of the postmaster exceed those paid to the superintendents of schools in the same cities. As a rule, the postmaster's salary is about one and a third times that of the superintendent of schools. In one city the superintendent and postmaster receive the same salary, while in only one city the superintendent's salary exceeds that of the postmaster. In 40 Ohio cities the salaries paid a majority of high school teachers are less than those paid policemen, firemen or mail carriers in the same city, while in 46 Ohio cities the salaries paid to firstclass salesladies, stenographers and head waiters at hotels exceed the salaries paid to a majority of the teachers in the clementary schools. These facts are, certainly significant.

Supt. Shankland summarizes, as follows:

for a number of years. The average time which these 493 teachers had taught was 14 years; that is, they may be termed professional teachers. A large proportion of rural school teachers are recruited fresh from the high schools every year, and the salaries of these beginners, presumably, would be much lower than the salaries of experienced teachers. The average annual salary of the 12,209 rural school teachers of Ohio in 1906 was $320.00. As appears below, the average annual salary of the 493 teachers, whose reports from the basis of the accompanying table, was $61.00 in excess of the average for the entire State. We therefore present the case of a high grade rural teacher.