midnight. He was bright in many ways but very restless, and wild to see everything—see, see!-little time for doing. He has been with us three years. Is obedient and tractable, greatly interested in all school work. Reads any book or magazine with intelligence. Composes and writes letters independently, making few errors in spelling and punctuation. Has a sweet voice and sings in quartette, and takes a prominent part in operettas, etc. He plays first cornet in band and orchestra. Case 4. J. L. Eleven years at the time of admission-large and strong for his age, impulsive, restless, and full of animal spirits and difficult to control. He was subject to epileptic convulsions and was often quite insane as a result. He lacked attention and application to work along literary lines and never accomplished much beyond reading a few simple words and counting thirty. The convulsions eventually ceased and he has for several years been a farm-helper. In all plain work he makes a full hand, and milks his ten cows twice a day. Case 5. L. R. Was sixteen years at the time of admission. Recognized and named the colors; could commit words of songs, and help some with housework. Did not read or write. She has learned to read and write fairly well, but continues backward in all literary work. She is a very faithful and industrious girl. Does diningroom work and in that capacity is the equal of the average waiteress in hotels. Can make her own clothes and renders valuable help in dressmaking when not engaged in other duties, Case 6. H. P. Four years ago the Health Officer of a town wrote me as follows: "We have in this village a feeble-minded man aged about fifty and he receives aid from the village. He lives in a little building by himself-no one here would have him for a boarder. He walks the streets and every boy enjoys playing tricks on him until his temper is decidedly bad, and when any of his friends or those who are friendly to him say anything to him, he is very liable to jump at them and call them vile names, for the reason that he has never been under any restraint. He is unable to earn a living for himself. He is an object of pity ***** and certainly demoralizing to young people." The man has been with us for three years and is a useful member of our farm colony. He is industrious-does the greater share of the mending for the thirty-three boys of the colony, and is happy and contented. These few cases are fairly typical of the average results of training in all well organized schools for this class. They are not even striking cases, and their number could be multiplied almost indefinitely. You will note that, so far as these cases go, they teach that the results shown by the ordinary school room tests, while quite satisfactory, are not so great as those involving manual training. This is an important fact, which should be universally recognized. Again, in specifying a few definite things that a child can do, we tell only a little of the story. From the standpoint of self-support, the fact that a boy can square a board to a joint, or that a girl can pare a potatoe or make a button hole, is of little value, without considering the element of time and the ability to successfully repeat the accomplishment. It is the general discipline which comes from these specialized environments, and that has only been implied in the above statements, that is of the greatest importance. While each child has something that he can do better than anything else, as in the case of the normal child, it is a matter of fact that, if he does one thing well, he can do something else at least fairly well, or can with comparative ease learn to do so and repeat the process indefinitely. Taking all these things into consideration, with all certainty, had not the new environments been established, the comparison may be safely left to work its own inferences and conclusions in your minds. I wish to emphasize, however, one thing which may not have been inferred. What is said of the requirements of the teacher for a feeble-minded child, who, in her few hours of daily contact with it, represents the standard of influence to be exerted, should be required just so far as possible of every person with whom the child comes in contact. The engineer, the painter, the laundress, the cook, and above all the attendant, who, for the time, assumes the relation of mother-nurse, must be in full sympathy with the primary objects of the school, and all of these, in every relation with the pupils, should be patient teachers in training and uplifting them. No person with any less worthy motive deserves a place on the staff. It is very evident that no general or comprehensive scheme can be maintained, that does not have back of it the resources and support of the state government; and no scheme is comprehensive enough, that does not provide for the care of all classes of feeble-minded, idiotic, and epileptic children. At the per capita cost at which this care and training is being well done today, it is economy on the part of the state to provide it. DISCUSSION. H. A. LA MOURE, M. D., Assistant Superintendent State School for Feeble Minded, Faribault: The school now numbers 981 children who are classified in four departments as follows: School department, 353; Custodial department, 410; Epileptic department, 185; Farm colony, 33. To care for these there are, from the Superintendent down, about 170 employees, including executive officers, teachers, attendants, nurses, etc. About 300 of the children in the school department attend school daily. There are 50 children in the kindergarten, 75 in the primary and 85 in the intermediate departments. Thirty receive special instruction in articulation and a large number in music, there being 16 in the band and orchestra, while thirty engage in chorus work and a number of others in singing along special lines. Besides the literary work over 300 children are given instruction in industrial work. There are 60 in the sloyd room, 90 in the net room, 40 in the shop, 10 in the tailor shop and 6 in the printing office. Ninety receive instruction in sewing and the making of lace, and 100 in ironing in the laundry. About 100 children also exercise daily in the gymnasium. Still others are employed in the dining rooms, in the dormitories, in the driving of teams, the polishing of floors and the thousand and one things which have to be done in an institution. We must not fail to mention what is done for the amusement of the children. We have an amusement fund out of which is provided musical and dramatical entertainments in which the children take part, stereopticon lectures, picnics in the summer time, dances during the school session, birthday parties and a Christmas which is remembered the year round. Turning now to the Custodial and Epileptic departments, the school idea is still carried out, a teacher being provided for each whose energies are expended in an attempt to train the senses rather than the mind and to keep the children amused and interested. Our Farm Colony force do a large share of the work on our farm, besides caring for a large herd of cows. This school was the first of its class in this country to organize a training school for attendants. The course covers two years and is designed to train attendants specially for work among the feeble minded. We also have a hospital building as well equipped as the average general hospital, where the sick are cared for. It is under the management of a graduate trained nurse and we try as far as possible to give the nurses under her the training they would receive in a general hospital. MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE. FIRST SESSION, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 16, 1904. The Thirteenth Annual Minnesota State Conference of Charities and Correction, was called to order in the Armory, Faribault, at 8 o'clock, by Hon. R. A. Mott, Chairman of the Local Committee. Prayer was offered by Rev. J. J. Slevin. The Band of the School for the Feeble-Minded gave a musical number. Addresses of welcome were delivered by Hon. F. L. Glotzbach, Mayor, and Mr. Thos. H. Quinn, President of the Commercial Club, to which Dr. T. C. Clark, of Stillwater, responded on behalf of the Conference. Another selection was given by the band. Mr. Schain, the President of the Conference, being unavoidably prevented from attending, Mr. A. J. Eckstein, the Vice-President, was introduced as the Presiding Officer, and read the President's annual address. Upon motion of Dr. H. A. Tomlinson of St. Peter, the President was authorized to appoint Committees upon Resolutions, Time and Place and Organization of the next Conference. A number of announcements were made by the Secretary, Mr. Gutridge. The Conference adjourned. SECOND SESSION, THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 17. All the sessions of the Conference, except that of Friday afternoon, were held at the Armory. Opened at 9:30 o'clock, the Vice-President in the chair. Mr. H. J. Jager of Owatonna was appointed Assistant Secretary, and announcement was made of Committees, as follows: On Resolutions,-Dr. H. A. Tomlinson, St. Peter, Mr. Frank L. Randall. St. Cloud, Mrs. M. Boynton, Winona. On Organization,-Mr. C. E. Faulkner, Minneapolis, Mr. F. A. Whittier, Red Wing, Miss Eleanor Hanson, St. Paul. On Time and Place,-Mr. A. O. Cowles, Mantorville, Mr. J. J. Dow, Faribault, Miss Hannah Swindlehorst, Owatonna. Upon motion of Mr. Gutridge, the President at his convenience, was authorized to appoint a committee of three on Rules. The first subject of the morning was a consideration of the Merits and Demerits of the County and Township Systems of Caring for the Poor. Mr. A. O. Cowles, of Olmsted County, read a paper upon The County System. Mr. T. J. Conlin, of Faribault, spoke upon the Township System. The discussion which followed wås taken part in by Dr. T. C. Clark, C. E. Faulkner, L. P. Case, H. J. Jager, Dr. H. A. Tomlinson, H. C. Withrow, Louis Pfund and A. W. Gutridge. The Workhouse was the title of a paper read by Mr. Frank R. McDonald, of Minneapolis. Mr. Faulkner, Mr. Gutridge, Dr. Tomlinson and the writer of the paper joined in the discussion. An address upon Lockups was delivered by Mr. D. A. Lindsey, St. Paul. Mrs. C. G. Higbee, St. Paul, addressed the Conference upon The Need for a Separate Training School for Girls. The discussion opened by Mr. Faulkner was participated in by Rev. E. P. Savage, Mr. F. L. Randall, Hon. J. T. Jacobson and Mrs. Higbee. The Orphan Asylum, was the subject of a paper presented by Mrs. A. R. Colvin, St. Paul. The Conference took a recess until 1:30 p. m. THIRD SESSION, THURSDAY AFTERNOON. Came to order at 1:30. The appointment of Messrs. A. W. Gutridge, C. E. Faulkner and F. R. McDonald as the committee on Rules, was announced. A paper upon The County Hospital and the District Nurse was read by Dr. H. A. Tomlinson, St. Peter. It was discussed by Dr. Clark and Mr. McDonald, and later was a joint subject for discussion with the three papers which followed. Upon motion of Mr. Faulkner, the New York State Conference of Charities and Correction, in session in Syracuse, was sent a telegram which ran: "Greetings and God-speed from the Minnesota Conference in Session at FariANDREW J. ECKSTEIN, VICE-PRESIDENT." bault. To which the following reply was received: Tuberculosis was treated in three papers, The Free Dispensary in the Care of Tuberculosis Patients, by Dr. George Douglas Head, Minneapolis. What Can be Expected of the Sanitorium in the Crusade Against Tuberculosis, by Dr. H. Longstreet Taylor, St. Paul, and What Can be Done for the Tuberculous in Their Homes, by Dr. H. M. Bracken, Minneapolis. An interesting discussion followed, taken part in by Mr. Faulkner, Mr. E. D. Solenberger, Rev. Mr. Savage, Mr. Gutridge, Mrs. McCurdy, Mr. Jager, Mr. Cowles, Mr. Case, Mrs. S. Sweet, and Doctors Bracken, Taylor and Tomlinson. Upon motion of Mr. Faulkner, it was resolved to have a standing Press |