But

Four years ago, when this work was started, it was almost impossible to secure the hearty cooperation of the farming communities entered. Outspoken antagonism was often met with, and farmers were inclined to jeer at their neighbors who were so foolish as to agree to let Uncle Sam's theorists look into their business. this attitude is changing. In some localities farmers are actually petitioning for a chance to be included in the work, and skepticism of agricul tural-college theory is disappearing. Farmers who not long ago believed that they could feed fat into a cow's milk, and got mad at the creamery-man if he gave them a low test, are now selling off the poor cows and breeding those that have performance ability as revealed by the testbottle and the scale. One route-statistician, hav

ing an unusual amount of initiative, has organized a lyceum among the farmers in his locality that meets every two weeks. Debates among the members are arranged, and public speakers are brought before the farmers occasionally to discuss current topics of interest to them. He has also organized a magazine club among his farmer coöperators and interested them in the movement for "good roads."

The bringing together of agricultural theory and agricultural practice is a vast undertaking, and he who believes that all practice is underlaid by theory cannot help but be impressed that in the work of extending the theories of agriculture this new method of establishing statistical routes in agricultural communities is a wise and useful move to that end.

I. THE NORTHWEST.

WHILE

HILE a vast number of journals of all kinds are published throughout the continent of South America, it is only the press of Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile-and possibly Brazil-which can be compared with the press of Europe and the United States. The low state of popular education in most South American states results in a cheap, venal, sycophantic press, for the most part poorly printed and without influence. There are a few journals in the coun tries mentioned, however, which are of high character and excellently edited.

The language of almost all the South American countries being Spanish, the overwhelming majority of the press of that continent appears in the Spanish language. The journals of Brazil, of course, are written in Portuguese. There are, however, a number of excellently conducted and well-known journals in English, several in Ger man, and some in other European languages. The South American periodicals best known in Europe and in this country are those of Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Roughly dividing the continent into northwest and southeast, we consider, first, the periodical literature of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The second installment will treat of the press of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

VENEZUELA.

In spite of the severe governmental restraint in

the press during the past few years. While the independent journals have been almost entirely deprived of their influence, there has been a great growth of sycophantic organs. Under the patronage of President Castro, some very im portant dailies have been established recently and have exerted an appreciable educational influence. This is particularly true of those published on scientific, literary, and economic lines. Political journalism may be said to have perished. There are about one hundred and seventy-five periodicals of all classes in the republic, which is not a bad showing considering the fact that not more than 40 per cent. of the adult population can read. Monopoly prevents the manufacture of paper and the censorship the expansion of press influence.

As in almost all Latin-American countries, the newspaper press of Venezuela devotes its attention chiefly to subjects of scientific, literary, and economic interest. The Venezuelan newspapers contain, on the whole, most excellent reading, and it may be said with truth that even American daily newspapers do not spread abroad desirable knowledge more cheaply or with better taste than do the dailies of Venezuela. The weeklies and monthlies are, of course, beneath comparison with those of Europe and the United States.

The daily newspapers have valuable articles on science, literature, and economics by men of world-wide fame, these productions not being reserved for Sunday editions, but appearing day by day. Geography, medicine, mechanics, criti

haustively, but in an entertaining and literary style. In the field of politics alone are the dailies and weeklies maudlin. Their national politics are purely fulsome panegyric. Hence, the public reads these journals, but scorns them. Among the dailies, the most important, perhaps, is the Constitucional, of Carácas. It is the organ of President Castro, and is subsidized by the government, which, in addition, gives to its management the lucrative work of public printing. The Constitucional has the most influential and widespread circulation of any newspaper published in South America outside of Rio Janeiro and Buenos Ayres, and its editor, Señor G. Rivas, who is a Porto Rican, is a man of wide culture. The Constitucional, indeed, is better edited than most of the dailies of Mexico and Central America. It has a circulation of about sixteen thousand, and costs two cents (American value) per copy. It consists of four pages of general news and editorial matter, with a good deal of advertising. The Noticiero (News), edited by Señor José Amescua, is an afternoon journal, with an excellent cable service. best-known of the afternoon dailies is probably, however, the Corresponsal (Correspondent). Other dailies of Carácas are the Diario Nacional (National Daily); the Grito del Pueblo (Cry of the People); the Combate (Struggle), bitterly anti-foreign and subsidized; the Religion, the excellently edited organ of the Catholics; and the Gaceta Oficial (Official Gazette). The lastnamed was established in 1872 by President Blanco. Altogether, there are nine dailies published in Carácas. Letras y Numeros, which is now about four years old, is an enterprising journal modeled largely after the provincial French dailies.

The

In Valencia, the second city of Venezuela, there are five dailies published, led by the Diario. Then there are the Discipulo (Disciple), the Catholic organ; the Centinela (Sentinel), semi-official; and the Cronista (Recorder), a bulletin of news. The Gaceta de Tribunales (Court Gazette) is published every evening.

Maracaibo has five dailies, the Fonografo (Phonograph), the oldest daily newspaper in the country; the Ecos de Zulia (Echoes of the State), the Ciudadano (Citizen), the Avisador (Adviser), and the Agencia Maracaibo (Maracaibo Agent). There are four dailies published in Ciudad Bolivar. Merida has more dailies than any other city, ten in all, but they are not extensively circulated. In Coro there are three dailies, and there are a number of others throughout the smaller towns, La Guayra having two. Fortytwo dailies are published in the entire country.

SEÑOR J. M. HERRERA IRIGOYEN, (Editor of the Cojo, of Carácas.)

Carácas, controlled and subsidized by the gov

ernment.

cas.

Venezuela ranks among the leading South American countries for artistically elaborate weeklies. The most important of these are the Semana (Week) and the Lira (Lyre), of Cará-. These contain choice fiction, description, and poetry. Immaculada, the Catholic illustrated. weekly, supplies the devout with select reading. The Voz de la Nacion (Voice of the Nation) publishes conservative essays on economics. Italians read the Patria. Other weeklies, chiefly commercial, are the Dominical, the Anuncio, and the Realidad.

There are also several comic journals, the best known of which is Don Timoteo (Sir Timothy), of Valencia. The Cojo Ilustrado (Illustrated Cripple) is the most noted of the literary periodicals. It is a fortnightly, and contains only poems, short stories, and criticisms. Its literary tone is high, as is also its price, which is fifty cents in gold (equal to fifty American cents) per copy. Cojo is considered the best of its kind in South America. It is edited by Señor J. M. H. Irigoyen.

Most of the public institutions publish monthly reviews. There are also a number of trade organs. La Industria, devoted to commerce and industry, is the leading monthly of its class, and is

This

The existence of a vigorously edited press in the United States of Colombia was made evident during the agitation over the independence of Panama. A number of the dailies of Bogotá, it was discovered, have a wide circulation and influence, and, moreover, are excellently edited. They are generally poorly printed, however, and many of them have but an ephemeral existence, owing to the severity of the censorship and the instability of political conditions. Every new political situation produces a new journal. Sometimes the Church takes a hand and excommunicates the publication for some utterance. generally has the effect of killing the newspaper. Within the last few months a sentence of excommunication was passed on a comic weekly, Mefistofeles, which soon ceased to exist. While frequently strong in editorial writing, the news service of the Colombian journals is very poor, a fact no doubt due to the difficulty of communication with the rest of the world. The principal dailies of the capital are the Nuevo Tiempo, the Correo Nacional, the Colombiano, and the Blanco y Azul (White and Blue). The Nuevo Tiempo and the Correo Nacional are the most important publications of the republic. The first-named issues a literary edition weekly, which has recently begun to appear in illustrated form. Both these dailies are quite old, and have considerable influence. The editor of the Nuevo Tiempo is Señor Carlos Artur Lorreo, finance minister under President Marroquin. The editor of the Correo Nacional is Señor Eduardo Guzman, formerly Colombian consul-general at New York, and now a prominent citizen.

PERU.

The center of journalistic as well as general literary enterprise in Peru is Lima, which is also the center of politics and commerce. There are a number of illustrated journals with good circulations published in the capital. Among the weeklies are the Actualidades, Novedades, Lucero, and Lima Ilustrado. Lima has also a dignified illustrated monthly, the Revista Pan Americana, which is devoted to politics and diplomatic mat

ters.

It also publishes the Ateneo, an exclusively literary quarterly. In Cuzco there is an influential fortnightly, the Agricultor; and in Piura three weeklies,-the Amigo del Pueblo, the Notici ero, and the Revista del Norte.

The best-known Peruvian dailies are the Comercio, organ of the party in power, which is the oldest and the best established, and the Prensa, organ of the opposition. The Heraldo, also gov. ernmental, was founded by the national Peruvian poet, Chocano. The Opinion Nacional is the independent organ. It is particularly strong in editorials. The Peruvian dailies usually sell for two cents in silver, equivalent to one cent in American currency. Outside of Lima, the noteworthy dailies and semiweeklies are,-in Callao, the suburb and shipping port of Lima, the Reaccion and the Callao, both dailies; in Arequipa, the Bolsa and the Deber, dailies; in Trujillo, the Razon and the Industria, dailies, and the Voz de Trujillo, every other day. In Mollendo there is an influential semiweekly, the Puerto.

ECUADOR.

The chief publication center of Ecuador is the metropolis, Guayaquil. The principal dailies of this city, which are well patronized, are the Nacion, the Telegrafo, the Tiempo, and the Grito del Pueblo. The Nacion is about twenty-five years old, and is the best-known journal of the country. The Grito del Pueblo is not so old, but has a wellestablished circulation and influence. Outside the capital, the most important daily is the Patria, of Quito, a comparatively new journal, which, however, is enterprising and successful. The only noteworthy monthly published in the country is the Ilustracion Ecuatoriana, of Guayaquil.

BOLIVIA.

Bolivia has a number of daily newspapers, most of the principal ones being published in La Paz. The principal ones of the capital are the Comercio de Bolivia, the Diario, the Estado, the Comercio, and the Nacional. In the provinces, the following are worthy of mention : Potosi, the Tiempo; Cochabamba, the Heraldo and the Comercio; Santa Cruz, Estrella del Oriente; Tarija, the Estrella de Tarija and the Pensamiento; Oruro, the Vapor.

All these are general newspapers, covering, in a more or less thorough way, the general news of the day, and also having literary and scientific features.

To the alumni and student members of Columbia University:

The action of the Committee on Student Organizations, taken by unanimous vote, in putting an end to the present game of football at Columbia University has my cordial approval, and I wish to state briefly why that action is in the best interest of the whole university.

Columbia University has no control, direct or indirect, over the present game of football. If played by our representatives, it must be played in the form and manner prescribed by a committee which the chairman of our University Committee on Athletics has appropriately described as self-perpetuating, irresponsible, impervious to public opinion, and culpable in refusing to heed the increasingly dangerous character of the game." The game which this committee has devised and developed is not a [sport, but a profession. It demands prolonged training, complete absorption of time and thought, and is inconsistent-in practice, at least with the devotion to work which is the first duty of the college or university student. It can be participated in by only the merest fraction of the student body. Throughout the country it has come to be an academic nuisance because of its interference with academic work, and an academic danger because of the moral and physical ills that follow in its train. The large sums received in gate money are a temptation to extravagant management, and the desire for them marks the game as in no small degree a commercial enterprise. The great public favor With which even the fiercest contests are received is not a cause for exultation, but rather for profound regret.

We ourselves cannot reform this game, and the experience of years has shown that the Rules Committee do not desire to reform it.

• The discussion of college football during the past season extended into the winter and culminated in the actual prohibition of the game at Columbia University. The series of brief statements from eminent educators published here

Moreover, only a few of the evils of the game are seen on the playing-field. Those evils are many, subtle, and controlling; they affect every phase of college and university life, and for some years past have reached down even into the secondary schools. They are moral and educational evils of the first magnitude.

Columbia University owes it to its traditions, its ideals, and its standards, as well as to the responsibility which it bears to its students, to put an end, so far as action by it can, to this state of affairs. It has done so. The act itself may seem sudden to some, but the convictions that led to the act have been years in forming.

It is urged that football is a great aid to the development of college spirit. Every member of the faculty is interested in the development of true college spirit and would do all in his power to promote it. But the contention that the present game of football is necessary to that end is wholly illusory. Even if it were not so, college spirit is too dearly bought if college intelligence and college morals are sacrificed for it. College spirit existed long before football was heard of, and will exist long after football is forgotten. We must get the qualities of manliness, loyalty, and courage built up on a moral foundation, and not allow them to rest upon a purely physical one-for in the last analysis a purely physical basis is a purely animal basis. There must be something to rest upon when the tumult and the shouting dies."

Our own athletic committees have for some years past rigidly enforced the strictest rules as to professionalism and academic eligibility. They point out that Columbia teams have at times been obliged to suffer defeat because of their firm adherence to those rules. These facts are known to the members of the Committee on Student Organizations, and therefore their action is in no sense to be interpreted as a censure of the football management at Columbia, but as a condemnation of the present game of football itself.