Correspondence DOES EDUCATION PAY? DEAREDITOR: I have recently been interested in reading your editorial entitled "Does Education Pay?" While I agree with you in the main, I believe that possibly you overlook one reason for the stress placed on this idea. We have in this country gone so far in our thinking that we say not only must we provide equal opportunities for education for every child, but that every child shall be forced to take advantage of these opportunities. This puts into our schools a large number of children who are unhappy in a school environment and also a number of children whose parents are not heartily in sympathy with such forced education. This situation leaves our school teachers, trustees, and truant officers in a difficult position. Either we may force this attendance or we may try to make education for this group as attractive as possible. The whole question as to whether such children should be in school or a t work is beside the present question. One of the few ideas which we have found which makes any appeal is that education has a monetary value. I think we are faced with a situation which we do not know how to meet and this is our present substitute, even though we admit the fallacy of our argument in general and when carried out over a long period of time. S. D. LAW EXETER UNIONHIGHSCHOOL ExsTER, CAL~ORNIA
'ILIVE" CHEMICAL MUSEUM EXHIBITS DEAREDITOR: A recent contributor to your JOURNAL distinguishes between "dead and "live" chemical exhibits (1). He considers a collection of specimens in neatly labeled bottles or jars to be "dead." From a museum standpoint there should be no disagreement with him. Exhibits are described by him, however, as "live" if the specimens are grouped to illustrate synthesis. Why should they be considered "live?" In 1800, Count Rumford, founder of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, published a prospectus for that institution stressing the importance of working exhibits ( 2 ) . The completest working models or constructions of the full size will be provided and exhibited in different parts of this public repository of all such new mechanical inventions as are applicable to the common purposes of life. 1936
