doing work in mathematics and science, which work, it has been said. that men of academic and high-school connections have pronounced. "too difficult." They are in error. He was able to do the work and that is quite sufficient. He did not think that the courses were particularly difficult. On the contrary he thought that the courses were very nearly the right thing. ATTENDANCE INCREASED When the character of the courses began to be known and understood the attendance increased quite rapidly. During a period of good times in this district it was not unusual during a biennial period for a number of men to finish the courses. There was one year in particular after they began finishing which covered about a month and a half from the time the first man finished until the last one of the number finished. Seven men completed the courses. They were all excellent in their courses which requires that there be made the equal statement that they had become industrially excellent. The basis of the course on real production, the increased attendance and the results we shall again have occasion to consider. After these courses had been introduced, there was a marked change for the better. The attendance was more regular and there was more time given each day to the courses than ever formerly had been given. VALUE OF EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION The men of only local and those of one-district experience did not make the speed of progress that those of two-district experience made and so on. But those who came from the outside of the district with only one-district experience did better than those of only local experience for the reason that they were getting an experience that was being added to their former experience. Often times those of only local experience were advised to go elsewhere for a time. There could not have been an enforcement of this advantage of experience to the extent of being a requirement because that was due to the defect of the system or lack of system. The defect was something for legislative correction. It is quite obvious that if the refinement of instruction was based upon this experience the defect should have been removed. PLAN FOR STATE ORGANIZATION The following plan, which had been discovered through observation and experience, we hoped would be adopted. The items of the organism are essentially as follows: The school to be made an integral organic part of the mining industry of the State, and each district to be entitled to an attendance that is proportional and determined by the ratio that the number of men employed in a district bears to the whole number of men employed in the mining industry of the State. BOARD FOR CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL The direction and management of the school to be under a local board consisting of the superintendents, foremen, presidents of the unions, and the instructor or "principal." At one time it was thought that the state board should be a part of this board, but later it was considered that the State Board of Vocational Education be substituted instead. This mining school board should be so constituted as to have the management and direction of the school within the control of those who manage and direct the industry. It should be specified that they cannot delegate the responsibility to any other part of the board or to any other constituted body. In each of the districts, there should be an appointing board comprising men of the above practical capacity. Vacancies in the school occurring from any district to be filled by the appointing board of that district. The local board, either before or upon the arrival of the appointee, exchanges some one within their employ for him if there does not happen to be a vacancy into which he may be put, or the exchange may be made simultaneously. The exchange, however, to be made in the easiest way according to the contingency. There should be no vacancy occur or anyone set adrift in order to give each district its quota. The appointee should be required to bring with him credentials from his board, showing the amount and character of his experience. For those having only local experience it is considered to be advisable for them to go elsewhere for a time, and upon their return show credentials form the board of the district in which they had the varied experience. The attendance of the school should not be compulsory but be of a double privilege. The student should be productive and if he fails in this or fails to attend there would then occur a double vacancy-one in the school and the other where he is employed. PLAN DISCOVERED WHEN THIS WAS THE ONLY SCHOOL There was no thought, at the time this plan was discovered, that the State would ever be to the trouble of more than one school. It was seen that these courses were of gratifying effect in a voluntary way, and since all parts of the State, both large and small, were paying taxes toward the support and maintenance of the school, even the smallest part should have its proportional benefit. The small enrollment on account of the defect of the present system wherein there is the handicap could not have been. It was seen that there would be small chance of there being taxation without representation. ADMISSION AND EXPERIENCE That which is said in the printed announcement of the school and in the application blanks for admission with respect to this experience is made for the applicant. It was found that many who presented themselves for admission made a claim for their experience which precludes the value it justly has for these courses. UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY COURSE FOR ALL DISTRICTS ALIKE The above organism or plan was not supposed to apply to the third class. This class comprises those who, with preparation and together with some technical assistance, would be enabled to earn means to help them take a university course. What they require is some technical information regarding various operations. This should be of sufficient extent and character to enable them to have "jobs" such as there are about mines, mills and plants. It was thought that perhaps they could be instructed from the University by correspondence. There already exists at the University an institutional staff supposed to be the best talent and best able to conduct the preparation for matriculation. Other States are having good success in doing this, then why not Nevada? In this way the small and remote district is met, it would seem, and the influence of the University, as in the other States, would be more extended, there being brought to its gates students from all sections. To conduct the correspondence there would be required, perhaps, only slight additional expense. The above is more in the nature of being planned than that which is presented in regard to the primary and secondary classes. It is offered merely as a suggestion. There may be other ways of conducting the preparation. This may be an opportunity for someone who might wish to extend the influence of the University and at the same time be a creditable showing for the one who succeeds at it. PRESENT COURSE AND STATE ORGANIZATION A NATURAL SOLUTION The organism or plan which it seems would remove the defect of the present system was disclosed by observation, and was as much of a discovery as was the principle of the specially refined course. In giving the account of the refined course so far given and that yet to be given, and the organism, the writer is acting in the capacity of a reporter who is stating practically only that which he has witnessed. Being in the position of a witness he took particular care to be at one side and thus keep out of the way of nature, so as not to be an obstruction to that which would present itself. Man, as is his usual custom, sees facts and relationships following upon one another and being in the succession in which he comes to them, and which depends upon the direction in which he has chosen to be, or he sees them in his own reflections in an order of his own choosing. In either case the natural order may be somewhat different or the reverse of his, and he may now and then get glimpses of realities and they may not be in the same sequence as his own. If he attaches too much importance or places too much dependence upon his choosing, the glimpses he may get will have no significance and he will be inclined to think that there is no natural ordering of things or natural plan existing to serve the purpose of those things which he now and then gets a glimpse. NOT THE RESULT OF INGENUITY It is a characteristic of ingenious planning that there must be resolution to keep the plan in effect. It is the plan that is foremost. But in this case that is not true. The relation of plan to the course was reversed in their discoverey. This was taken to signify that there had been a manifestation of reality. When it had been found that there was a preparation that had been gotten by being engaged with real production and a course prepared that was effective and based upon that production, it was then seen that the services of the man had exchange value. Interchange and transference of men from one district to another was obvious. The exchange should not occasion any more inconvenience than occurs in the case of accident to a man or sickness. Usually it is met by extras or by making a little different disposition of the men for a few days. These are possibilities for which there are usually or always preparations to meet. The plan became more and more apparent in nearly every instance of those who either came to the district or communicated with the school for the purpose of attending. But with few exceptions they insisted that they must secure employment. Many of these men showed that they had the good qualification of experience. The diffiiculty was in securing employment. It is not to be supposed that the local operators would send a man who was giving good service adrift to put in his place a stranger of whom they knew nothing. In order to bring about greater regularity in giving the courses and make the efforts of the school less divided, the transference could be made during vacation. This would also make the inconvenience not heavy or sudden upon the employer. There could then be more regular class formation and less of the individual instruction. The plan is inseparable from the course and practically worthless for any other kind of a course. PRESENT COURSE SUPERIOR TO FORMER COURSES The fact that the attendance increased when the present courses displaced those previously in use, and produced results both in number and quality superior to anything formerly hoped for, deserves further comment than that already given to it, and it will be included in statements yet to be made in which the others will also be a part that have been mentioned for further consideration. The statements making mention of those completing the former type of course which requires experience to follow in order to bring them into their own and the mention of the present refined course being based on real production, are those referred to as being the ones that have been mentioned for futher consideration along with that which was said of the attendance increasing when the present courses replaced those formerly in use. That which has been said of the things referred to in these statements has been made as though they stood apart, but the statements to follow will refer to them as being more or less inseparable, which is correct since they are related to one another as parts to the whole. It will be impossible to refer to any instance that follows in which they have not been true in one way or another at the same time. CHARACTERISTIC SUCCESS OF PRESENT COURSES I take occasion to copy excerpts from the Fourth Annual Report of the Company for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1918: In August, all chutes in the mine were equipped with lever-controlled steel-gates, tracks regarded, and air-distributing system changed. The results were immediately evidenced by decreasing mining costs. For the remarkably low mining costs, your mine superintendent, Mr. deserves all credit. Observe this is said to have occurred in August of 1917. This man completed the courses in the school about July 15, or the middle of the month. Also for the remainder of the year it is reported: During the year, 2,659 feet of development work was done, exclusive of stoping or surface trenching and As a result of this work three important ore bodies were The opening of a large lense of residual primary ore com- drift. The above was this man's first operative experience. The superintendent whom he relieved at the mine was a graduate of a so called "standard" school. He had a few years of mining experience after graduation and had not yet come fully into his own. There is no particular reason to doubt but that in time the predecessor may become excellent and first class. He pronounced the mine practically "worked out" upon leaving it. Let us see what the mine was made to produce in the year. After he left it, the man from this school immediately assumed the superintendency. The "total gross production" was $271,034.18. The saving in operation expenses was $9,577. The report continues: We have developed our mine until we have an abundance of ore ready for milling. We have by that development solved the problem of future mining and we are today mining, milling, and developing at the lowest cost of any silver property in Nevada. Another man finished these courses about a month from the time that the above man finished and he went to South America. We have heard nothing from him and have no doubt but that he will give a good account of himself. There is reason to expect it because we are getting such reports of those who finished in previous biennial periods. There will be no reference to them because we are confining this report to this period, which, however, is under unfortunate enforced war conditions. The above results could not have been attained with the former courses and the attendance that there has been could not possibly have been so great had the former courses been continued. This is known from experience. As regards the men who take these courses they are not in any way exceptional, being positively normal from every standpoint. There have been a few instances of those who were below normal from the |