The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1870-01-20
Aggregate of ali grants,
exclusive OF lndemni-

ty school lands, acres 7,276, ,945. GA
In addition to this amount, many
thousands of acres more will proba.
bly, be patented to the State on &C.
! count Of the swamp-land grant, and
some perhaps in lieu of the sixteenth
section disposed of, prior to the grant
of that section by Congress. Besides
the lands gwen to the State for these
various objects, the general govern.
ment has granted land directly to
certain railroad companies to aid in
building their lines of roads. These
grants, in the aggregate, make a gift
Of magnificent dimensions, and in.
clude one. fourth of the territory oi
the State, and, taken together, com.
prise an area equal to that of the
States of Massachusetts, Rhode Is.
land, and Connecticut.
COMMON SCHOOLS.
The report of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction gives q compre.
hensive view of the workings of our
common school system during the
last two years. A gratifying prog.
ress in the cause of popular education
is apparent.
The number of districts (inoluding
independent districts, is 1862, an in.
crease of 141 in the biennial period
the number Of schools is 1909, an in.
crease of 7s0; of these schools 221 are
graded. The number OF persons be-
tween the ages of five and twenty.one
is 41S, 16S; the aggregate number at
tending school is 296,13s. or 7O.ss
per cent of the whole, and the aver
age l7S 1929, or 42.65 per cent of all
In 1867, there were 372,969 within
tho school ages, of whom 257 ,2S1, OF
68.98 per cent. were enrolled as schol
ars, with an average attendance ol
las, S,62O, or 1896 per cent. The per
centage of attendance, both aggre
gate and average, thus shows q salts
factory increase. l find thatin 1857
the last year rnder the former sys.
tenn of districts, the number enrolled
in the schools was only 407 in 1000
of the whole number Of children be-
tween the prescribed ages; in 1865, il
had advanced to 670; in 1867, to near
ly 600; and in 1869, to 7Os, as shown
above. in 1865, the average attend
ance equaled 369 in 1000; in 1867, 398
and in 1869, 426. l find no return Of
the average in 1857, and am therefore
unable to CON pare it with figures ol
later years.
The number of teachers employed
in 1869, was 1894; in 1867, lO,343
and in 1867, 1896. The average com
pensation ofmale teachers in 1865
was 1924 per week; in 1867, ss.97; in
1867, 5000 ;-of female teachers in
1869, SS.79; in 1867, s6.16; in 1857
1924. In 1869, there were 743,52l
days of school taught, an increase
since 1867 of 94, 81, and since 1851
of 575, ,245. The average cost of tut
tion in 1869 was 81 cents; in 1867
344c. The amount paid teachers il
1869 was $1,438, ,964.04; in 1867
81, ,16l, ,653. 13; in 1857, $19S, S,142.55.-
The number of school-houses is G, ,4O7
worth s,295, ,364.45; in 1867 there
were 5,454, worth So, 3,45O ,97s. .93; and
IN 1857, 1856, worth s57l, ,O63.91.-
The amount of district tax levied las,
year for the teachers fund amounted
to 81, log, ,O40.21, and in 1867 to $500,
341.12; in 1857 s71,7Sf.5S was raised
by crate bill and voluntary subscrip
tions." For all other purposes, th,
district tax levied last year was 81,
407,S7271; in 1867, sS77,974.69.
have extended this statistical exhibi
so as to afford avicw of the growth
of our school system, and of the in
creasing interest cfthe people In it,
I have cited the figures of the yea
1857, because they were the last un
der the former educational system o
the State, which gave place in th'
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