of the General Education Fund provided by this Act shall be, and the same is hereby, appropriated to the University of Tennessee, to be used for the maintenance and improvement of the same, as the head of the public school system of the State, as the General Assembly of the State may from time to time direct by resolution or enactment, or as the Board of Trustees of said University may elect.

Provided, That ten per cent, but not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) annually, of the amount herein apportioned to the University of Tennessee shall be used for the maintenance of the Agricultural and Horticultural Experiment Station and Model Farm, located in West Tennessee, and five per cent, but not less than five thousand dollars annually, for the maintenance of co-operative agricultural experiments in Middle Tennessee.

Provided, further, that an amount not exceeding five per cent of the sum apportioned annually to the University may be used to pay the traveling expenses of young men and women of Tennessee attending the University, under such rules and regulations as the Board of Trustees of said University may adopt, but the traveling expenses of no student shall be paid who does not remain through the entire school year, nor shall the expenses of any student be paid more than once each way in any year.

It will be seen that the above Act does not furnish sufficient funds for the erection and equipment of buildings for the Normal schools, hence, an additional Act was passed, Chapter 580, Acts 1909, whereby any county or municipality in Tennessee may issue bonds to the amount of $100,000 for the purpose of erecting and equipping buildings. Twenty-one places submitted propositions for the location of one of the schools.

In East Tennnessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Johnson City and Washington County; Sweetwater and Monroe County; Cleveland and Bradley County; Dayton and Rhea County; Athens and McMinn County.

In Middle Tennessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Winchester and Franklin County; Tullahoma and Coffee County; Fayetteville and Lincoln County; Columbia and Maury County; Cookeville and Putnam County; Murfreesboro and Rutherford County; Clarksville and Montgomery County; Shelbyville and Bedford County; Monterey and Putnam County.

In West Tennessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Huntingdon and Carroll County; Jackson and Madison County; McKenzie and Carroll County; Covington and Tipton County: Memphis and Shelby County; Humboldt and Gibson County. The towns of Trenton and Milan submitted propositions, but later withdrew in favor of Humboldt.

The above towns and Counties all together submitted in money, lands and bonds more than three and a quarter millions of dollars.

The Board set a date for visiting all competitive places. At every point large delegations of the best citizens of the town and county met the Board, and speeches were made by local representatives, setting forth the specific advantages of each place from the standpoint of its accessibility, centralness of location, healthfulness, moral tone of the community, and donations offered, etc. In addition to the arguments presented by the speakers, briefs were filed with the Board for their reference and guidance when the location was to be definitely determined.

After having visited all the places and studying carefully the advantages and disadvantages of each place, the Board in regular session, December 2, 1909, by a majority vote, decided on the following places: For East Tennessee, Johnson City; for Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro; for West Tennessee, Memphis.

Johnson City appropriated $150,000 in bonds, free lights and water and other valuable considerations, such as building a street railway to the school and providing granolithic sidewalks. George L. Carter donated to the Board a valuable site worth perhaps $60,000.

Murfreesboro appropriated $180,000 in bonds, and a free site of 80 acres, worth $20,000 was provided for.

Memphis appropriated $350,000 in bonds and a free site of 48 acres was provided for.

Following the location of schools, the State Superintendent. sent out circular of information for the use of architects who desired to submit competitive plans for any or all the buildings. Open competition was invited and twenty-one different plans were submitted. The State Board of Education examined all of the different plans submitted by the competing architects, and after mature deliberation accepted the plan of Baumann Brothers, Knoxville, for the East Tennessee Normal School;

C. K. Colley, Nashville, for the Middle Tennessee Normal School; B. C. Alsup, of Memphis, and Adams & Alsup, Chattanooga, for the West Tennessee Normal School.

After the plans were accepted and specifications prepared, matter advertising for bids was sent to all the leading construction companies in this State and all companies with whom the Secretary of the Board could come in touch outside of the State.

The Board at a specified date received bids, and contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder in each case. James Alexander was awarded the contract for the West Tennessee Normal School plant; Beaumont Company was awarded the contract for the East Tennessee Normal; George Moore & Sons, Nashville, were awarded the contract for the Middle Tennessee Normal.

Owing to the fact that the validity of the bond issue Act was attacked in the courts, and the constitutionality of the Act had to be tested, the bond issue was long delayed. However, to date all the bonds have been sold for the Middle and East Tennessee Normals, and Shelby County has sold a part of its bonds for the West Tennessee Normal, and it is hoped that early in the year 1911 all the funds for the construction of the West Tennessee Normal will be available.

STATE UNIVERSITY.

The State University, standing as it does at the head of the Public School system, merits the support of the entire people of the State in its efforts to expand and grow. Through its well .organized departments and its extension work it is touching every activity of the State. A complete report of this institution is found elsewhere in this report.

SCHOOL LIBRARIES.

The last Legislature passed an Act providing:

"That one per cent of the General Education Fund provided by this Act shall be used to encourage and assist in the establishment and maintenance of libraries in the public schools as herein provided.

"Whenever the patrons and friends of any public school in any county of the State shall raise by private subscription or otherwise and tender to the County Trustee, through the County Super

intendent of Public Instruction, the sum of twenty dollars $20) or more for the establishment and maintenance of a library for that school, said County Superintendent shall notify the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and, upon the certificate of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Comptroller of the Treasury shall pay to the Trustee of said county, out of the fund herein provided, a sum equal to half that raised by private subscription or otherwise, to be added to the library fund of said school; and whenever ten dollars ($10) or more shall be raised by private subscription or otherwise to supplement a library already established under the provisions of this section of this Act, said library may in like manner receive from the fund herein provided a sum equal to half the sum so raised.

“Provided, that no school shall receive in any one year from this fund more than twenty dollars ($20) for the establishment of a new library, or more than ten dollars ($10) to assist in supplementing a library already established.

"Provided, further, that in distributing the funds under the provisions of this section of this Act preference shall be given to applications coming from counties which have not previously received their proportionate part of this fund according to scholastic population.

"And, provided, further, that preference shall be given to applications for assistance to establish new libraries rather than applications to assist in supplementing libraries already established.

"It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education to make and cause to be published through the office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction rules and regulations for libraries established under the provisions of this section of this Act, issue approved lists of books from which purchases for said libraries may be made with money received from the State as herein provided, and arrange for the purchase of such books at the lowest possible prices. All libraries receiving assistance from this fund shall comply with all the regulations made by the State Board of Education, as herein provided. All money received from the State to assist in establishing or supplementing a library under the provisions of this section shall be used to purchase books on the approved lists aforesaid, and no books shall be purchased at a higher price than the price in said approved lists.

All purchases of books shall be reported to the County Superintendent, and a list of the same shall be attached to the warrant issued in payment of the same; and no commission shall be allowed the County Trustee on library funds.

"One-fifth of the amount accruing annually for school libraries under the provisions of this Act may be used for the purchase and maintenance of circulating libraries for the public schools of the State under the joint direction of the State Library and the Department of Public Instruction."

Under the provisions of this law about five hundred public school libraries have been established. More definite information as to the library work will be found elsewhere in this Report. To sum up briefly the progress that has been made, it might be stated:

1st. That the school system of the State has been unified and systematized, making one harmonious system.

2d. The elementary schools have been graded.

3d. State aid has been given to the establishment of High Schools, and the High Schools have been standardized and classified by the State Board of Education under the direction of the High School Inspector.

4th. Normal schools have been provided for, and nearly a million dollars donated to the State for the purpose of locating and equipping buildings.

5th. State aid has been provided for the establishment of rural school libraries.

6th. Provision has been made for inore adequate salaries for County Superintendents, thereby insuring better supervision. 7th. The State University has been recognized by law as a part of the public school system.

Sth. A change in method of school administration from the district to the county system whereby the old district director system was abolished and the County Board system substituted.

For all these improved conditions the school people of the State have worked as a unit, and to each and all I tender my deepest thanks.