Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1929, Page 113

Part 8—8 Pages ST S Bl o R TR WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1929. LEGISLATION IS HELD NEED IN PROBLEMS OF SCHOOLS Many? Difficulties Involved in Necessary Laws Besides Appropriation Bill at Next Congress. BY HENRY # GILLIGAN, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation of the D. C. Board of Education. While the appropriation bill it its component problems is the legislation which the Board of Education always regards as of prime importance, there are other problems also which can be solved only through legislation. These include the questions of free text books and supplies, the second five- years school building program, educational leave of absence with ‘part pay for teacher and exemiption of public school employes from. the $2,000 salary lim- 1tation. It is the legislation providing for these four problems for which the Board ©f Education is prepared to strive determinedly during the academic year of 1929-30. But in promoting the interests of the pending bills relating to these items the school board cannot and will not lessen its vigilence and efforts in pre- paring the school system budget for consideration in the appropriation bill. ‘The budget is prepared by the board's finance committee, with the advice and counsel of the superintendent of schools and his assistants, and represents the best thought and judgment, after ex- haustive hearings, study and _discus- sion, of the school authorities. It is not based on guesswork, but is most sei- entifically prepared. The Board of Ed cation insists that this budget, as pre pared and submitted by it to the Com- missioners of the District of Columbia, should be forwarded in its entirety by the Commissioners to the Bureau of the Budget with their recommendations, and that the Bureau of the Budget should in turn forward it to Congress with its recommendations. ' The refer- ence of this question to the various |t citizen bodies of the District resulted in the practically unanimous indorse- ment of the board's position. Chief, perhaps, among the other four problems confronting the Board of Edu- cation is that of supplying to pupils throughout the elementary and high school courses of the public school sys- tem with free textbooks and supplies. Legislation providing for these supplies has been sought for some years, and the Congress_that adjourned last March 4 showed its entire willingness to pass the bill, the House having passed it unanimously, the Senate failing because of the filibuster of one of its members. The bill has been introduced again in the Seventy-first Congress. “Textbooks and supplies have been fur- nished pupils in the elementary schools since 1891. Prior to that time and practically since the authorization of | the public school system textbooks and supplies were furnished free of charge to pupils whose parents were not finan- cially able to procure them. In 1891 the system of furnishing all pupils in the first four grades with tetxtbooks and supplies was inaugurated, and it was extended gradually until books and supplies were furnished to all pupils at- tending the elementary schools. Would Extend System. The proposed legislation extends this system of ks and supplies to the pupils of the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades of junior and senior high schools. ~ At the present time parents of pupils attending these schools are Tequired to purchase the textbooks and supplies necessary for the instruction of the puplls. These books are not of the type usually kept for home ljbraries, and the result of the present system is that thousands of books are purchased #nnually by parents, only to be dis- carded at the end of the school year. 1t is estimated that the original cost of introducing this: system into the Junior high schools and the senior high schools will be approximately $242,088, of which amount approximately $55,000 will be expended for supplies. After the original introduction the annual appropriation required to maintain the system will be approximately $100,000, of which amount $55,000 will be re- gg;.ege ;,Tn:um;uu and :45,0%0 for the of wornout and insani- e extension of e extension of the system of free text books and supplies to the junior high schools and the senior high schools has the indorsement of all civie organ- izations in the District of Columbia and the enactment of this legislation will reduce to parents the cost of .the edu- cation of their children, -while at the same time it will not materially in- crease the cost of the maintenance of the publ'i;h!cholol lysxt;m to the tax- payers. e only registered o ition to this bill in the last cvng‘r’?s?: was that of an individual who failed to sign his protest. I'understand he profited by the present system of book and supply purchases. Second Building Program. The comshittee on legislation, in con- Junction with the superintendent of schools and his assistants, has prepared a second five-year building program, covering the five years beginning July 1, 1930, after giving most careful con- sideration to the needs of the District, as presented by representatives of or- ganizations assembled for that purpose. Prior also to the preparation of this bill a thorough survey was made to de- termine what buildings should be ndoned, enlarged or reconditioned, and exhaustive reports were before the committee from school authorities as to local needs throughout the District. This program, in legislative form, has been in the hands of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. since the latter part of 1928. Its justification lies in the undoubted success of the first five-year program, so far as Congress has made possible its completion. A statement prepared in December, 1928, by Or. Frank W. Ballou, superintendent of schools, while modified by appropria- tions made for the present fiscal year, tate clearly the financial aspect of the oposed program as follows: Pl through June 30, 1929, amounting to $11,869,250.. This leaves a balance of $8,315,750 yet. to be appropriated to eomfileu the first program. » estimates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1930, carry.land and building itemis amounting to $1,960,000. Assuming that this amount is appro- iated, there will be left a balance of f;,sss.'lso yet to be appropriated under the Commissioners with a tavorable report from the Bureau of Ffficiency. The expense to the District involved in this proposal is purely nominal; its ad- vantages to the school system are far- reaching and are apparent from its title. The proposed legislation has the approval of the various civic organiza- tions generally. A bill covering exemption of public school employes from the $2,000 salary limitation was favorably reported by committees in both the Senate and the House at the last session of Congress and the bill was passed by the Senate, but failed in the House legislative t up incident to_the last days of the ses- sion. The bill will be reintroduced in he Seventy-first Ccn?eu The justi- fication of the legislation is clearly set forth in- the following excerpts from the report made by Senator cn‘gpr, chairman of the committee on the Dis- trict of Columbia, in the last Congress: Employes Limited. “Under existing law it is impossible to employ in the ‘night schools, vaca- tion ~schools and Americanizativn schools of the District of Columbia public school system any person holding a ‘regular position in the Government service at a salary exceedifg $800 per annum. To do so would result in viola- tion of the provision of law prohibiting payment of more. than one Government salary to any person if the combined amount of such salaries would exceed the sum of $2,000 per annum. “The result of the existing limitation is to deprive the night, vacation and Americanization schools of the District of Columbia of the services-of employes of various Government deglr'.ment& who have expert knowledge that woLld be of great value to students in such schools. Under present conditions it is necessary to employ for the extra and special work of such schools the regular day school teachers, supple- mented by such persons as can be se- cured from private employment. In some cases this throws too much of & burden upon.the day school teache;s and at the same time prevents the em- ployment of some of the best qualified persons for the night, vacation and Americanization schools. “Existing law_exempts persons em- ployed in the. Community Center "De-~ partment from the $2,000 ‘limitaticn, and the bill hereby reported marely ex- tends this exemption. to of the schools - mentioned. " It ot in- Profession31 Leaders Advise Youth on Path to Take. Age of Specialization Calls for Lengthy Training Period. The Star asked each of the men whose articles appear below to write something from the viewpoint of one who, successful in his chosen fleld or profession, might advise the young man or woman now laying a foundation for a useful life on what course to pyrsue. These articles, siz in number, are as follows: Public Service. BY THEODORE E. BURTON, United States Senator from Ohlo, The most significant fact which has thryst itself upon my, attention during my m-u of public life has been the dim! ed interest in politics and civic affairs. Our country affords such op- rummmes in business and industrial ife that a career in one of these lines presents greater attractions for young men and, in a degree, for young women. The great need of the present time is a greater interest in political and civic affairs. With each succeeding presiden- tial election this interest has seemed be revived, but in the interval of four years it has relaxed, sometimes. almost to the vanishing point. This is illus- trated by the news appearing in our daily_journals. Sometimes but a very few paragr ublic af- fairs or the activities of men in politics or official life, while page after page is given to sports. Of late, of course, avia- tion has a stronger grip than almost any other topic, and this is likely to continue for a considerable time. History Cited As Valuable. The educational equipment of a youth about to enter the field of public service should be a thorough mastery of the history of our country, particularly with a view to its institutional or political side; a thorough study of political econ- omy and of the machinery of govern- ment. The ramifications of public con- trol are far wider than they were 40 or 50 years ago. The Government is now icipator in almost every form of human activity and, accerding to all t indications, this”tendency. will crease. No person can expect fo succeed in political life unless he has’a broad com- prehension of human natyre and has sympathies with the aspifations and conditions of all our population. Many are entirely disqualified for political service because their interest is not in m:! and women. but in some particular are given to crease the cost of such schools, but will have the effect of increasing the effl- ciency of their personnel.” OPENING DATES SET BY PARISH SCHOOLS Most Elementary Classes Re- sume Tomorrow—-Second- ary Schools Begin Tuesday. ‘While most of the District of Colum- bia's parochial elementary schools will reopen tomorrow morning, plans are being completed for the resumption of classes in others later this .week and early next week. . St. Dominic’s School, near Sixth and E streets southwest, will mark the be- ginning of the 1929-30 academic year with establishment .of a new com- mercial course, September 16. Its regu- lar elementary school, however, will re- open tomorrow morning. The Holy Comforter School, at Fourteenth and East Capitol streets, which also resumes classes tomorrow, will use for the first time a new classroom made available in its present building. Opening Tomorrow. Other parochial schools which will re- open their elementary departments to- morrow include St. Anthony’s, at Twelfth and Lawrence streets north- east; St. Gabriel's, Webster street near Grant Circle; Holy Name, Eleventh and K streets northeast; Immaculate Con- ception, N street near Seventh street; 8t. Mary’s, Fifth street near G street: St. .Stephen’s, Twenty-fourth and K streets: St. Vincent de Paul's, I street between' Second and Third southeast, and St. Joseph’s, Third and C streets northe; ast. - ] St. ‘Martiit’s School, T street near Lincoln robd northeast, will reopen morning.. while of the Sacred Heart will open in its new ‘at Sixteenth “street and Park road Thursday. nin” i v e Sepr 4, , Wi 3 while others sorm on the same day will include St. Peter’s. Sec- theast; St. Paul's, List § the first act. “There are certain savings that will be made pecause of lower costs of con- struction and because of change of conditions since the first five-year bill was- 5 mates that If these savings mate- rialize, it leaves approximately $5.030;- 750 yet to be appropriated under the suthority of the first five-year school the estimal f $5,750,000, is $10,780,750. “This amount, in the school officials, fs° necessary ‘to. house prq;:fly ;8hnll;l“n'?pfls of ' Washington to A bill covering the’ necessary provi- sions -of educational leave of absence first.of the parochial high-school c].."';“:..,..m“é. held ‘Tue b asrs Martin's - secon ent s -re- ed. p‘::%flpmm J n subject which has a greater attraction for them. It is sincerely to be hoped that an increasing number of both men and women will take an active part in politics, many of them seeking public ary for st pardeipation tn the pub- sary for use! pa lic life of the country. New pMB‘ms are constantly arising. and every one ‘who has to do with politics should have a forward look. Honor Is Asset. The financial return in public life must not be expected to be as as in nl'lvflcl 10m:3:-!mlti is, lfi .5 person of marked al well qual for either. A certain de; of honor attaches itself to public office. Compe- tition is very sharp among candidates for official positions. It has been a source of scandal that so much money has been spent in primaries and elec- tions in recent years. The necessity for spending large amounts of money in order to be elected restricts the incum- to | Tucker, .| luck seems to play a distinct part. Some Adequate Preparation Plus Hard Work Seen as Requisites to Success in Life Upper: Left Mvrl‘hb—Dr. John Foote, Associate Justice Alfred H. Wheat and Byron Price. Lower: Left to right—Senator Theod and Dr. Frank M. Surface. tion should have disciplined his facul- ties, matured his judgment and given him a wide background of genéral knowledge so that he can with under- standing mind see the sclence of juris- prudence in its true relation to economic and social life of the times. In a notable address, the late Dartmouth’s great preside: said that “more knowledge, whether it be old or new. is not the end of education, but rather knowledge pene- trated insight and alive with mo- tive.” 'his is particularly true of legal education. No matter how many years the student may have spent in study, or how glibly he may cite author- ities, unless his insight can penetrate the intricate mazes of the law as it is today, and find and spply the "“ni motive to the facts of life, he is no a well educated lawyer. Some Encounter Luck. We may take it for granted that the lawyer who would attain any success worthy the name must be scrupu- lously honest, strictly honorable, in- dustrious, energetic, careful, of fair abllity and correct habits, and blessed with good health. - But that is not all. Temperament and personality count for much, and sometimes the element of ‘men seem to encounter nothing but favoring breezes in the voyage of life, while others, strive as they will, meet only baffiing winds from which they are ‘unable to escape. I think, how- ever,-that a lack of courage or self- confidence is' perhaps the chief cause of failure in many men who possess lb_ll.l_lg and ch;neh':r worthy of success, w3 w] his own intuitions, judgments. ties can-{ not e to succeed. weakness will e rent to others and po one who - confidence in himself can com- mand the confidence of others. I am not belittling odesty or extolling con- ceit, but when the lawyer feels that he has given to his problem the best that is in him, hé must neither hesitate to reach a conclusion nor shrink from cess, the'lawyer must pay the price of hard, unremitting toil. The brilliant argument that sounds so spontaneous ‘was probably preceded by days and per- haps nights of drudgery, and the brief or contract that seems so simple and clear was doubtless rewritten over and over again. Whatever may be his mate- rial reward, the lawyer -who loves his work, who acts in fhe belief that he is a minister of justice, and that “jus- tice is the greatest interest of man on earth,” will reap the rich reward bents to two classes—those who have large financial means of their own and tHose who accept contributions “from others. This latter method of obtain- ing money for political campaigns is a fruitful source of corruption. It places a_candidate under obligations from which he cannot easily disentangle him- self. Possibly personal friends, or those who are interested in some great cause, may contribute liberally, and it fis earnestly to be desired that this be the rule rather than the exception. The beginner in public life should look for hard knocks and di - ments. He will be constantly subject to the temptations of disre; his ciples and shaping his course so hat he will please the greatest number. Every person who is a candidate for office desires to be elected and he de- sires to obtain the greatest possible number of votes. This should by no means be the standard, however. It is better for one ambitious for public of- fice to go down to defeat rather than to abate one iota of principle. I think I may discern a certain amount of idealism which has appeared in our public life though sometimes it takes the form of fads and impracti- cable plans rather than that which is really. helpful to. the public. Any one ‘who suggests improved forms of admin- istration, who adds to_the comprehen- sion of great national problems, who promotes the cause of peace both with foreign nations and in our own public life, is a public ‘benefactor; and any caresr which has any of these objects in view affords a field of the utmost helpfulness for the country and of real distinction for the one who engages in ‘t:e v&ubm service with these great ends w. The Law. ‘BY ALFRED: A. WHEAT, il o There has been much discussion in recent years regarding the education which should be required of those about to enter the legal profession. -Not with~ out opposition from men who believed that admission to the bar “should not be denied those whose circumstances . | prevented them from -obtaining a 1ib- OL PLANTS VALUED. Estimated as Worth 144 Per.Cent "+ ! of U.'S. Properties. : ¥ its 0 United total” wealth of the try in 3 bulldings and according ‘o estimates. mads eguip&heent‘ h division searc AL of _the Nlthn:i ifluu::)fi Association, A tation the i Sl e e poi thel -citing great names .zoa Lincoln and ulrlh:alé tion. & fairly, liberal 1o be “followed 4 prepara- | him as & of the spirit which comes to him who has been faithful to a high calling. Medicine. BY DR. JOHN FOOTE, President. Medical Society of the District of Columbia. A little more than a generation ago it was possible for a boy with the rudi- ments of an education to leave the plow or the blacksmith's shop or the office and enter a medical school, where, after three years of lectures and an occa- sional clinic—most of these being given at night—he was graduated and without any further ceremony was. given the right to treat human beings as a physj- clan. Today elaborate precautions are taksn in the interests of public health to pre- vent the unfit entering the medi- cal profession. precautions re- late to both the preliminary training.| and the course of instruction in itself. In the last half century medicine has come to be & more or less exact science based on other well established funda- mental sciences. ' Cites Medical Studies. The bacterial origin of disease, the role of the insects and animal paragites in produ infection, the growth and extension of bio-chemistry in ‘the in- vestigation of causes of iliness, the newer knowledge of dietetics and of the glands of internal ‘secretion, the ad-| vances in surgery—these -are only .a few examples of the changes in medi- MANY HARDSHIPS MARK CAREER OF FOUNDER OF Froebel, ‘Afiger Long Series of Reverses, Met tic Friends and Developed Sympathe > I'r = * School With the opening of schools is naturally attracted to-the great minds was. rescued from his unh: ‘h';neh:l @ kind-hearted uncle. uncle taught him to work, but treated His | him poise ore Burton, Dean William Carl Ruediger cal teaching. The student must, therefore, be a man trained in the theory and the laboratory practice of the sciences, of physics, chemistry, bacteriology, and even ento- mology, and must have a good cultural bacl d. les he must have trai in foreign languages, and a sufficient endowment of actual scien- tific ty to further and assist D tally he should present ‘emperamentally he ‘what the u'z‘cholol’llts call the “toug minded” atiitude of the Ilaboratory sciences, combined with the ‘“tender minded” sympathy of the bedside phy- sician—the type immortalized by lan Maclaren in ‘‘The. Doctor of the Old School,” who “knew more of humanity than of the humanities.” Such a tem- peramental paradox must the ideal modern medical student become. Above all he must be preternaturally industri- ous—the contemplative sagacity of the owl combined with the restless industry of the beaver. There is no place in any anoflfm medical school for a lazy stu- ent. Strange to say, although the courses are harder, although it costs more to educate a medical student than any other professional student ($30,000 is given as the amount In actual payment and economic loss necessary to educate each student), and although relatively few men are nmaturally endowed to make good medical students, much less physicians, yet no schools are more crowded with applicants than the school of medicine. Actually about three times as many students apply annually at American medical schools as can taken. is the average of all American schools, the being from two to six times the ity of the school. In addition to this not more than two out of three of all who enter the first year class are able to graduate. After the grueling fourth year. the student must work for a year in 4 hospital and must also pass a difficult examination before a State board of ex- aminers. Then he is ready to practice his profession—a learned and ex- perienced scientific healer. Boys who feel inclined to study medicine should, therefore, weigh the matter well. They should have El.iyllcal and mental vigor: they should ve been more than clever in under- graduate studies, and they should,"in order to succeed, have the virtue of application abnormally devéloped. Given these qualities, and having preserited evidence of their possession early enough in the year (at least six months. before the Fall term), they stand a good cl of selection, and will, no doubt, ate successfully into an honorable profnssion which with all its difficulties offers many compensations to to its members. Journalism. BY BYRON PRICE. Chiét. of the Washington Bireau, the Asso- ciated Press. In the newspaper world, as in many other directions, there is greater oppor- tunity today than ever before for the right sort of ambitious young man. But he.must be the right sort if he hopes to.climb. He must be willing to invest the very limit of his intelligence, his energy and his patisnce, and if he is wise: he will base the whole structure of his ambitions on as good an education as his means will permit. ‘The opportunities are great not merely because the business of making news- papers has become a gigantic, prosper- ous inds , but because from an edi- torial standpoint the modern American net per stands on a level all its own. Whether lifted by some inward urge or carried upward by the pressure of prog- ress all about it, today’s newspaper re- flects a stage of development which would have astonished of even a short generation ago. Side by side with the story of great events around the world the daily press now brings to the home regularly a vast compendium of infor- matjon on such subjects as industry and rce, science, the 'church, the school and the theater. It even records for; all to read the latest discoveries in caring for the garden and feeding the Mg'im has been another fiut change, KINDERGARTEN Tea’: . childish questions, allowing him to play | kesper. own. loved understood, Froebel’ began to and ‘he “n his uncle proved "his good l ‘with stick horses, to build - little log houses and:to have a.garden all his (After five mug.f ‘Deing _and fci A nature awaken, 9 ticed to a.forest n universi heenug'ere the t:z conquer fear, the of advancement. . In | e- woods’ he overcame the habit of ‘was glludderm,lndhhmbndibem 's. great . out-of-doors gave strong. . entinued on Eighth Page) s 8 modern medical | da, N | when to be a newspaper man THis | human 800d | gtatement could be made in the same Many Fields Offered to Students Who Choose Today. “Learning to Think” Is Cited as Benefit of College Course. too. ldn‘gg nte!;l eclumna. as dlstla— guishes m special departments, you will find today more of informatio: and less of propaganda. The success- ful newspaper editor of this generation is more likely to be a great teacher than 2 great preacher. All of these things should be taken into account by the young man who is looking forward to a newspaper career, use all of them are bound to mean & great deal in the working out of his dreams and his ambitions. For one thing, the present widening scope of the daily press means that a pewspaper career is more certain than ever before to vide that variety of experinece which is the spice of life. As the world advances and soclety becomes more complex, just so expands the field of human activity which comes within the purview of the newspaper man. To- y he may write of a political cam- paign, tomorrow of a congress of mothers and the next day of a great feat of avi- ation. Certainly no reporter who pos- sesses an ounce of human understand- ing need complain of the.boredom of existence on this terrestial globe. It never should be forgotten, however, that responsibility goes hand in hand with these opportunities to look on life in its many pl , and to know it abundantly. The day is long since past it is necessary only to call one's self a news- paper man. Newspaper work has be- come serious business, and the irrespon- sible, dissolute and incompetent reporter who in the old days could tumble into a new job the morning after he was discharged from the old one has about passed from the picture. Experience Is Necessary. No young man should deceive himself about this. Hard work, long hours, and constant affirmative striving for im- provement are essential elements of | newspaper training today, just as they are the stepping-stones to success 1n4 every other worth-while calling. Con- trary to a widely held notion, the in- ced reporter, given a major as- signment, is hardly more likely to suc- ceed at it than an inexperienced sur- geon at a major operation. If experience is the real foundation of a newspaper man’s eventual value, it is-education which will make experi- ence easfer to juire and easier to turn to full account. Every editor and reporter, standing as he does daily in the presence of so wide a variety of endeavors, must refiect humbly on the little he knows of the nifigance of the “ma hope to be 1 of the arts and the professions, but he does benefit in or lesser degree from every nu of information, on whatever subject, which he has stowed away in his mental treasury. It is al- most literally true that every single thing he ever has learned in his whole life is likely at some time or another to be of assistance to him in the rou- tine of his daily life. Probably there is no other profession of which this sweeping sense. Aside ?rom the information it imparts, education sets up mental processes asval- uable to the newspaper man as in any other walk of life. He needs very much to know how to study, how to concen- trate, how to solve difficult problems , how to store up in his memory the thi of real worth. It is quite true that many men have attained measurable success in the newspaper world without spending much time in school, but their experience cen only leave us wondering how much greater their attainment might have been had their opportunities been greater in their earlier years. A newspeper career holds out a fas- cinating and warmly human prospect to the young man who is willing to work. ‘There is no better way for him to begin to work than by working his way through school. Education. ' BY WILLIAM CARL RUEDIGER, Dean_of the School of Education, the George Washington University. ‘The desire to teach has been identi- fied with the instinct to mother. It is the native privilege of the parent to as- sist his offspring up the incline to ef- F. ficient and intelligent adulthood and from this he derives a native and price- less satisfaction. The ‘parent is ‘the natural teacher, but,_fortunately for life in our complex soclety he is not the only teacher. The desire to mother and teach is not re- stricted to parenthood. In some de- gree. it is possessed by all, by men as well as by women, and those who have it in @ high degree are our natural- born teachers. £ No orie should enter this calling who does not have an inborn attraction to children and who does not feel a keen desire to help the immature, the ig- norant and the undeveloped along the road to knowledge and wer. He must take a native delight in explain- ing difficulties to those who do not yet SRd pafience of the eympathetic parent and paf of pathetic when the beginner stumbles and when ess seems slow. This, and nothing short of this, will insure that spiritual | quiring bond between teacher and pupil that is, always has been, and always will be the “central ' characteristic of good teaching. Without it, teaching is de- void of soul. In compelling the acqui- sition of knowledge it may do some good, but this is greatly outweighed by the. harm that is done to the pupils as a child I was impressed wi position of a closely the .disposition of its owner or ggf i §E i 3 Schools & Colleges SCHOOL BOARD WILL TEST DIPLOMA MILL LAW POWER Application for License for American College of Life Underwriters Chal- lenges Interpretation of Act. BY CHARLES B. DEGGES. Having issued licenses to grant college degrees to seven Washington edu- cational institutions while it withheld that authority from several others, the Dstrict of Columbia Board of Education gradually is approaching what may prove to be crucial tests.in its enforcement of the Capital's diploma mill law. This i indicated in recent developments involving the pending license ap- plication of at least one institution and by the school board’s own experience in administering the law. One of the provisions of the diploma mill law is that “no institution in- corporated under the provisions of this subchapter shall use as its title, in whole or in part, the words United States, Federal, American, natjonal or civil service, or-any other words which might reasonably imply an official connection with the Government of the United States agencies, or of the Government of the or any of its departments, bureaus or District of Columbia.” It is this pro- vision which has offered grounds for the first definite challenge of the school board’s interpretation of the law by any license applicant. ‘The American College of Life Under- writers, an institution founded in 1927 by the board of trustees of the National Association of Life Underwriters to co- operate with universities and colleges in offering general life insurance edu- cation, is the institution which has at- tacked the school board’s interpretation of this provision in an effort to obtain favorable action on its application to grant the professional degree of “char- tered life underwriter.” The Board of Education has withheld its action on the application of the American College of Life Underwriters because the institution’s title contains the word “American.” The board simi- larly required the Young Men’s Chris- tian Association to change the name of its educational institution from “Tha District of Columbia College of the Y. M. C. A” to “The Y. M. C. A. College of the District of Columbia” before licensing it to grant certain college degrees. In making this ruling the school board interpreted the diploma mill law to be retroactive in that even though a school had been legally chartered under the former law, it could not be licensed if its #itle violated the new law's pro- vision pertaining to school names. Underwriters’ Contentions. ‘Through its attorney, James M. Proc- tor, the American College of Life Un- derwriters contends that since it was legally chartered in 1927 under its pres- ent name, the school board .not only has the power to license it under the same name now but that it is legally bound to do so if the board decides the college meets all the other requirements of the law which relate to personnel, educational standards and facilities for carrying out the institution’s prescribed work. In this contention- the collegg argues that a corporate name embraces property rights and that alteration of the name under which the American College has become known would seri- ously impair, if not actually destroy, the institution’s functions. The college points out that the char- tering of a corporation such as it is ceonstitutes a contract, and that in view of the damage which would be wrought upon the college by an alteration of its name at this time that contract would imj That impairment, the college contends, is prohibited by a con- stitutional provision. ‘Therefore, the colk takes the posi- tion that if the pro of the diploma mill law which refers to the use of ile “‘American” and certain other RECORD N SUMMER S HADEBY SCHOO. National University Com- pletes Term With New High Mark in Attendance. National University has just com- pleted the most successtul Summer term in its history. In the law depart- ment and in its graduate and under- graduate branches there has been the largest - attendance ever registered. Similar heavy attendance was recorded in the School of Economics and Gov- ernment. National University entered upon its sixty-first year of existence last June. It has an exceptionally historical back- ground, counting among its past chan- cellors four Presidents of the United States, members of the United States Supreme Court and the branches of fhe Federal ' judit of the District of Columbia on its. 3 At the presel e there are on the faculty five judges. Dr. Charles . Carusi, president of the D. C. Board of Education} is chancellor of the uni- versity and dean of the law school, while Dr. Charles Pergler is dean of the School of Economics and Govern- ment. Several New Courses. The Law School for the coming year will offer several new courses, among these being one in the elements of jurisprudence, designed as an intro- ductory and orientation course to the study of law, and replacing the older method of taking up Blackstone’s com- mentaries as an introduction. ‘The law department contains an undergraduate and graduate course. In the undergraduate department a three- year course .in English and American common law is offered the student who wishes to enter the practice of law or wishes a practical education in law for use in the business or financial world. ent are offered the de- In this departme grees of LL. B. and J. D,, the latter re- degree of B. C. L, which combines study of Roman and civil law, in which is included a study of modern civil law as it-is found in most European. coun- tries as well as in the' countries of words in the names of institutions were made retroactive, the law would in- fringe the constiutional provision against the impairment of contracts. Going further, the .college contends that if the District's diploma mill law were meant to be retroactive it- would be in danger of being invalidated since it would infringe that constitutional prohibition of the impairment of con- tracts. Meetings Secret. ‘These claims of the American Col- lege of Life Underwriters have been put before the Board of Education at or more of the closed meetings at which all questions of licensing degree-grant- ing institutions are discussed. ~What the ‘school board will do in the face of the college’s claims cannot be deter- mined, since the proceedings of these meetings are rot made public. It is certain, however, that if the American College of Life Underwriters is licensed to grant its degree of C. L. U—char- tered life underwriter—the school board will have altered its interpretation of the law. If the application of the college for a license is refused, the school may seek relief in the courts. Whether it pro- poses to take this action if a license is refused it, the college has not yet made known. The significance of the case of the American College cannot be underesti- mated. Besides a change of interpre- tation of the law, it is possible that it will bring about the withdrawal of the school board’s rule that refusals of licenses to specific institutions will not be made public. At present, the only information which the Board of Edu- cation will give concerning applications for licenses is the bare nameés of the institutions which receive licenses and the degrees which they are authorized to grant. Licensed Institutions. So far the only institutions to be given licenses under the new law are the Y. M. C. A. College of the District of Columbia, Coluthbus University, Ben- jamin Franklin Business University, the Washington College of Law, the Wash- ington College of Music, the VonUn- schuld University of Music and the Brookings Institute. The license was granted the Washington College of Law on the ground that the name contain- ing the word “Washington” could not be challenged, since the school could be named for George Washington rather than for the Capital City. What other schools have applied for licenses and have been turned down are not known. Some of these other applications, it is understood, however, are being held “under consideration” while the insti- tutions themselves build up their per- sonnel, educational standards or facili- ties to comply with the requirement of the law’s provisions. It is known that most of the institutions which actually were licensed early this Summer or last Spring were accorded the opportunity to raise their standards to meet the pre- scribed requiments, even after their ap- ggncn;ions had been submitted to the rd. As the school board proeeeds with the enforcement of the diploma-mill law, it is gaining experience in its new assign- ment which may bring about minor changes in the law’s administration. The application blank which was drawn up chiefly by the Federal Bureau of Education, in conjunction with the local authorities, is being found too formida- | ble a document. It is likely, according to indications at the Franklin Adminis- tration Building. that the school board will prepare a much simpler question- naire on which the school submit their applications for degree-granting licenses. ‘The Board of Education has held only one meeting so far this year, and that was last Wednesday, at which time only five members of the board were in at- tendance. Any major changes in the administration of the diploma-mill law or its interpretation probably would be made only at the meetings in which more than a bare quorum of members are sitting. NEW SCHOOL FOR BOYS RECEIVES REGISTRATIONS Preparatory Institution Will Aim to Eliminate Classroom Type of Teaching Registrations are being received daily at the Landon School, one of the Capi- tal's new preparatery schools for boys, which is located at 2131 Massachusetts avenue. Limiting its enrollment for the first two years to 30 boys, the Landon School plans to give individual instruction for college examinations and for Annapo- lis and West Point. The school's - tem is designed to eliminate as much as i ible the characteristics of the class ype of instruction. Both boarding and day students will be engolled. The instructors graduates of Dartmouth, Maryland, Harvard and ‘St. John's College of Annapolis.- BRADFORD HOME OPENS. The Bradford Tiome £chool, designed to give the tguundltwn of education tr