Shortly after the school was organized, Dr. John L. Tildsley, at that time chairman of the Economics Department, now the principal of the De Witt Clinton High School, proposed to the principal, James J. Sheppard, that a course of one hour a week be given to all boys in the first year on local commercial geography and government. He contended that there was much that was complex in the surroundings of the boy in the greatest commercial city in America, yet the schools were doing very little to make this understandable. The work would have also an immediate value to the boys who would leave to take the minor positions of the business world before completing the course. Mr. Sheppard recognized the value of the course, and it was put into effect at once. The importance of the work demanded more time, and when history was taken out of the first year, two hours a week were allotted in the first term to industries, and two hours in the second term to city government. The material of the course was gathered by Dr. Tildsley, the teachers in his department, and by the boys taking the course. Dr. Tildsley is a strong advocate of the problem question as a means of making the boy think. At first memorandum books were given to the pupils in which they noted definitions, local statistical tables and the problems, the written answers to which they brought into the next recitation. At present mimeographed sets of notes are given to the pupils containing this matter. The course was revised from time to time, and two years ago, on account of the accumulation of material, Dr. Tildsley and the author decided on a thorough revision of the course. The course had come to be grouped around two main ideas which furnished a basis for the division of the work into two parts to be given in each half term of ten weeks into which the school work is divided at Commerce. During the first half New York was considered as a manufacturing city, and in the second half as a commercial city. A sentence from De Garmo to the effect that commercial geography should be taught to furnish the concrete background for economics, gave us the touchstone. We reviewed the material and rejected all topics that did not illustrate any economic principle, law, or problem. A few topics were rejected because they were too difficult for first-year pupils. Then the standard secondary economic texts were gone over rapidly to see if we had omitted anything that could be used. Seager and Seligman were found to be the most helpful in this respect. The material selected was divided into two groups, as already indicated. As a result of our efforts we have now in Commerce a course in elementary economics that we believe to be unique.