The Norwegians are as democratic in mind and disposition as any people of the earth. They demand that the masses shall receive whatever benefit may come from prosperity at home, from their relations with other nations, or from legislation. They advocate further that right now is the time to increase opportunities, to multiply privileges, to raise standards of living, and to insure through conservative action a substantial basis on which the coming generations may safely build. In accord with their aims and ideals they study the questions of education, labor and capital, and many others of vital interest to the people. They seek out sources, eliminating the undesirable and cultivating those of favorable growth and fruitage. Recognizing their own resourcefulness and ability, the Norsemen strive to gain for themselves and for their descendants material prosperity and true culture. To these ends they foster educational advantages for all, the development of the arts and sciences, and the elevation of labor. Educationally, they have ever been desirous of providing the best possible advantages. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the few years of the present one, they have been in a position to put into execution a number of advance ideas which they have done without hesitation. Being observant of what other nations provide they have been ready to select from various sources whatever good they found, to eliminate any undesirable features which revealed themselves, and to strengthen the weaker points. Though they have been forced by conditions to assume and maintain a conservative attitude toward every new project or attempt at reform, they have been also too democratic to permit tradition or precedent to bind them down or to hinder them in making changes in their school system, which they were convinced by experience or study would be for their good. In harmony with this they have been eager to make revisions where necessary; to introduce new features, which had been tested at home or abroad and found successful; and to cast aside relics of the past, unnecessary phases of work, and those things which might be supplanted by materials of superior advantage or value to the people served. They have become habituated to examining the new from every conceivable viewpoint, to finding its foundations, to testing its values, and to weighing its effects. When a thing has been thoroughly studied it is accepted or rejected according to whether it is adjudged desirable or undesirable for their use under existing conditions. In their effort to answer the demands of the people and to supply their needs, schools have been established according to local requirements. That is to say, every community enjoys school advantages, and every child in the entire state is privileged to receive instruction for a certain number of weeks each year at the expense of the state. All children are required to attend the schools of the state at least twelve