differences in their character, we may say in general that the aim
of the school should always be to keep in touch with the actual
practice in the business world; to have the lecturer use material
which is up to the minute, and, where possible, to give the students
the advantage of field work or at least to take them on tours of
inspection in the different houses engaged in this or that line of
business.

The curriculum of any good commercial college or university department
of business includes courses in Economics, Commercial Geography,
Industrial History, Business Management, and similar subjects. No
doubt other chapters of this book discuss methods of teaching these
subjects. But it may not be out of place here to indicate that the
best approach to the study of Economics is through practical business
courses in Accountancy, Commercial Law, and Practical Management.
Economics is the Philosophy of Business, and it cannot be understood
by one who is unfamiliar with the facts of business. Certainly it
cannot be related to real business life by the academic student. It
would seem, therefore, best to reserve the course in Economic Theory
for the senior year of a business course and precede it with courses
in Accounting, Law, Industrial History, and Management. Then, when it
is taught, it should be presented through practical problems from
which the general principles may, by induction, be derived.

=Relations with the business world=

It is important that commercial education should not grow academic and
remote from the real world of affairs. Therefore schools of business
should keep in close contact with merchants' associations, chambers of
commerce, and such other bodies of business men as may be in the
neighborhood of the school. Committees from such associations should
have either a voice in the conduct of the school, or at least have
very strong advisory representation on committees. In France, Germany,
and in fact most European countries, colleges of commerce were
directly established by chambers of commerce and associations of
merchants, and the work is to a large extent conducted under their
direction. Whether the college of commerce in America be a private
institution or one supported by the public, it should form some
sympathetic contact with the leading business organizations. Of course
certain business associations have their own technical schools of
training. The American Bankers' Association conducts its