Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-01-27
1,s43,549.94

Total for educational
purposes, acres. ,S43 1884
Swamp Land grant
Lands in place, acres Sl4,S7S.7l
Indemnity, acres. 3lS, ASS, 1873, 80
Grant for internal i'm
provements Des
Moines River, includ
ing that for railroad
to Minnesota, acres. S33 079.90
Burlington & Missouri
River Railroad, acres 2S7, 095.4
Mississippi Il Missouri,
now Chicago, Rock
Island a. Pacific
X. R................ 476,674.36
Iowa Central now
Cedar Rapids Il
Missouri Railroad. q 454.l9
Dubuque u Pacific
now Iowa Falls 81
Sioux Cityl r. r.. Il ,226, 1882
McGregor Western now
McGregor& Nilsson
Ri Railroad .... S72, $1,000
Sioux City & ST. Pau
Railroad ..........., :s,S q" CO. 800 672 II
Aggregate OF all grant
exclusive of iDdem
nifty schoo lands,
acres .... =. 1915, 945.64
In addition To this amo uni, lilany thousands
of acres more will probably be patented to the
State account OF swampla nd grant, and
some perhaps IN lieu of the sixteenth section
disposed OF, prior TO the grant of that section
by Congress. Besides the lands given to the
State for these various objects, the general gov
eminent has granted land directly to certa in
railroad companies to aid in building their
lines of roads. These grants, in the aggregate,
make gift of magnificent dimensions, and in
clude one-tourth of the territory of the State,
and, taken together, comprise an area equal to
that of the State of Massachusetts, Rhode Is
land and Connecticut.
COMMON SCHOOLS.
The report of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction gives comprehensive view Of the
workings of our common school system during
the last two years A gratifying progress in the
cause of popular education is apparent.
TIE number of districts Gncludng independ-
ent districts) is ,462 an increase OF 14l in the
biennial period the number of schools is 1903,
an increase Of $780, of these schools 22l are
graded The number of persons between the
ages of five and twenty-one is Ais, 1853 the ag-
gregate number attending school is 296, l3s, or
70o2 per cent of the whole, and the average
11S, 329, or 1868 per cent of all. In 1867, there
were 312, 900 within the school ages, of whom
PSI, Sl or 6S .9S per cent were enrolled schol-
lars, with an average attendance of 14s, G2O, or
IS per cent. The percentage of attendance,
both aggregate and average, thus shows a sat
islactory increase l find that in 1857, the last
year under the former system 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, it had advanced
to go; in 1867, to nearly $50; and in 1869 to
70S, as shown above In 1865, the average at
tendance equaled 1853 in 1000; in 1861, 39S I;
and in 1869, 426. / find no return Of the aver
age in 1857, and am therefore unable to compare
it with figures of late years.
The number of teachers employed in io,j0,
II 1914 in 1861, l0,343 and in 1857, 1886. The
average compensation of male teachers in 1869
was 1924 per week; iii 1867, 1897 in 1851,
500 of female teachers in 1869, $679 in
1867, s6.l6; in 1851, 1924. In 1869, there were
743 52l days of school taught an increase since
1861 of 81, SAL and since 1857 of $751; 45. The
average cost of tuition in 1869 W as "a cents in
1861, 341ac. The amount paid teachers in
1869 was 81, 43s, 964.04 in 1867, 81 l6l 653. ID !;
in 1857, Sl9s, 1926. The number of school
% in
there were 5,454, worth 50, 450, 1888 ; and in
1857, /, $50, worth s57i ,063,9l. The amount OF
district tax levied last year for the teachers
fund amounted to 81, LOG. 0402l, and in 1867 to
$500, 34l ~ in 1851 IS was raised BY
crate bill aud voluntary subscriptions" For
all other purposes, the district tax levied last
year was 81, 407, s72.7l; in 1867, S77, 97469.
have extended this statistical exhibit SO as to
afford view of the growth of our school sys-
TEN, and OF the increasing interest of the peo-
pie in it. | have cited the figures of the year
1857, because they were the last under the for
mer educational system of the State, which
gave place in the following year to that now in
force, and hence furnish proper basis upon
which TO estimate the growth OF
our educational interests. In 1851,
there were 1925 children within
the school sges-a little less than one
half the present number, while the population
of the State was little more than half that
Of to-day; yet the number of scholars then
enrolled was less than one-third, that OF
school houses about one fourth, that of teach
ers and of school days less than one-fourth,
those of 1869. The amount paid teachers In
1851 was less than ones seventh, that OF the
value of the school-houses was about one
NINTH and amount provided in the districts for
the support of teachers less than one-ffteenth,
those of the past year.
The figures are not pleasing. but they dem
onstrate the gratifying success of the present
plan of organization, which, with sundry mod
ifcations, has now been in operation over eleven
years Yet satisfactory as these statistics may
be, we would sadly err, il we were to imagine
that nothing more can be done by US. What
we now behold are only the beginnings Ola tenn
pie of knowledge, whose magnitude ana gran
deur will be commensurate with the wisdom