through. The contractor was lauded as an honest man who had contented himself with day wages. The local merchant who supplied the furniture for the Teachers' House at wholesale prices without profit to himself was called a good citizen. The members of the school board were commended for their public spirit. Again the people were congratulated upon having given support to the project. To mitigate the speech-making two of the teachers played a piano duet; the school chorus sang. At the end the whole company joined in "America." One looking on might well ask: "Is not this community feeling the beginning of real patriotism? Must not the individual learn first to merge himself in his neighborhood, before he can identify himself with his nation?"

Then came the formal exercises in front of the new house. The audience was shepherded into place; the band from the agricultural school played; the state superintendent in a few words put the house at the service of the district and the state, declaring that Alberta had set an example to the nation. It was at this point that Fred Grafelman gave his courageous invitation, and the eager assembly flocked in to see how the teachers were living, and to create on an heroic scale a housecleaning problem for the department of domestic science. An hour later, the six school sleighs loaded with pupils jingled off into the country; the neighbors from the countryside followed; the visitors from a distance were escorted by the reception committee to the five o'clock "local," and Alberta became to all appearances what it had been early that morning. But these appearances were misleading, for Alberta can never be quite what it was before it built and dedicated the Teachers' House.

How did Alberta happen to embark on this venture? Here is the story in brief. The General Education Board has long been interested in fostering rural education, notably in the South. It was suggested to the Board that the housing of rural teachers, especially when they are grouped in consolidated

schools, is pressing for solution, and that a few successful demonstrations of the results of providing at public expense suitable living quarters for groups of teachers would be. of real service. It was decided to try the experiment. Minnesota was selected because consolidation is progressing rapidly there; moreover, the winter climate renders the housing question peculiarly -important. Alberta was given an opportunity to coöperate, because the Board had heard about Fred Grafelman and his idea of making his school not only an educational institution adapted to the life and needs of the community, but a social center as well, with a literary club, a chorus, a debating society, motion-pictures, etc. The Board offered to pay onehalf of the expense of building and equipping a teachers' house provided the district would supply the other half of the total cost.

This offer was made in the early spring of 1916. Mr. Grafelman set to work with his usual enthusiasm. A group at once gave him support. But obstacles were quickly encountered. In addition to the usual inertia of any community there was active opposition. Some people feared that there was "a string to the gift"; others were alarmed at an increase in the bonded indebtedness; still others declared that the maintenance of the house would be a burden; the persons who were boarding the teachers viewed with alarm a communistic invasion of vested rights. So the struggle continued. At last the Board voted to submit the question to the people. Then followed a campaign vigorous, and sometimes heated. Grafelman was several times in despair, but he kept on doggedly until finally the vote was taken. The bonds were authorized by a substantial majority. The house plans were rushed to completion; ground was broken early in October, 1916; the teachers moved into their new quarters during the first week of January, 1917.

The house stands on the school grounds about 100 feet from the school building. The high basement contains a large domes

tic science laboratory equipped with a regular range, a model practice dining room appropriately furnished, a sewing room, a modern laundry, the furnace room, and a girls' toilet. The first floor is a complete, self-contained apartment for the superintendent and his family. The suite includes an entrance hall, alcove for hats and coats, living room, dining room, kitchen, three sleeping rooms and a complete bathroom. On the second floor, wholly independent of the rest of the house and with separate front and rear entrances, is the apartment for teachers, which contains a combination living and dining room, a kitchen, four double sleeping rooms and a bath. The third floor or attic with large dormer windows affords space for three more sleeping rooms. The house is well heated weather 35 degrees below zero and a sixty-mile wind tested this in January - by a hot-water furnace, and lighted by electricity which is supplied by the local plant, a gasoline engine and dynamo set up in the rear of the village hardware store. The water supply comes from the driven well and pressure tank of the school building. The total cost of house and fittings was about $7500, which came from the following sources: district $3000, state $500, General Education Board $3500; architect's fees, merchants' profits contributed, etc., $500.

The finances of the house are naturally of interest. The total income of the school board from the superintendent, who pays $240 rent, and from the teachers, each of whom pays $7 a month for nine months for her room, is $555. Out of this the board must pay for coal, extra janitor service, insurance, repairs, etc., meet 5 per cent interest on $3000 of bonds, and if possible amortize the district's indebtedness. The board now estimates that $200 will be available annually for this purpose.

What about the cost to teachers? During the campaign it was predicted that they would have to pay $30 per month, instead of the $22 or $25 which it was then costing them. Let us see how the plan is working out. The five teachers are living

coöperatively with the teacher of domestic science in charge. A graduate of the school is employed as a maid. She performs the housework, helps with the cooking, and does the general washing. Her wages are $4.50 per week, with room and board. In addition, for 15 cents a dozen, she washes and rough dries the personal laundry of the teachers, who do the ironing for themselves. The total cost for the household for February was as follows:

Equally divided among the five teachers, this makes the expense of each for four weeks, $19.51. It should be explained that the stove in the domestic science department is available for baking, roasting, etc. An oil range is used in the teachers' kitchen. The cost of oil fuel is included in the total for supplies.

The teachers, two of them university graduates, three with normal school training, are delighted with their new living conditions. They say that they are conscious of doing their daily school work much better. Their attitude toward country teaching has been radically modified. On the open prairie they enjoy all the physical comforts and conveniences of the city. They form a congenial group. "It's like living in a sorority house," said one of them. This, after all, is the real test of the plan. Will the House make it easier to secure and to hold the best type of teacher? Why, pray, should welltrained, self-respecting young women be asked to make sacrifices in order to teach in rural schools, when such sacrifices are wholly unnecessary?

The Teachers' House is usefully related to the school work

in domestic science. The girls of the advanced class have access at times to the teachers' apartment, which serves as a model of domestic arrangements. The cookery in the school classes is much of it done on a family scale with a regular stove. Only a part takes the form of miniature exercises carried out on oil stoves. While the teachers do not agree to purchase the whole output of the classes, as a matter of fact a large part it is bought for the coöperative table upstairs. This plan reimburses the school supply fund, and gives the young cooks a sense of actuality in their work. Future plans include a school garden and summer canning classes, the product to be purchased for the teachers' table.

The fact that the whole school staff is living at the school gives the institution a more vividly local character, and dignifies it in the eyes of young and old. The "suitcase" rural teacher who arrives from a neighboring town reluctantly at the last moment Monday morning, and escapes eagerly at the earliest opportunity Friday afternoon, is ordinarily not to be blamed. At the same time her attitude does not suggest a fondness for country life. She turns her pupils' thoughts toward town as a more desirable place. A group of resident teachers, on the other hand, living contentedly in the community and sharing its interests fosters local self-respect and contributes to civic loyalty. Thus the Teachers' House not only helps the school; it affects favorably the entire district. It becomes a source of suggestion to the people of the community, especially to the women. They see the possibilities of introducing conveniences into their own houses; they learn that simple, sincere, tasteful furniture and decorations are to be preferred to machine carving, plush upholstery, and "hand paintings.'

It should be understood that the public provision of housing for teachers is no new thing. Germany and France, Denmark and, to some extent, Norway and Sweden have long furnished dwellings for village and rural teachers. Nor is the plan wholly novel in the United States. Bungalows and cottages for two,