Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-03-28
A REVIEW.
or What Is Done and What May be
Done in Commercial Schools.
Extracts from a Paper Read by Mr.. s.
$. Packard Before the Business
Educators Association
OF America.

Commercial schools, In the sens
40 which we use the term, are pc
ssilnrly American. Nothing quit,
IKE them nothing bearing thell
urlrked characteristics be found
An any other country. In Englant
s1lcre are no schools bearing the nam,
commercial, or that with the mos
nbesssl construction Of the meaning oil
words could be so called.
CONTINENTAL SCHOOLS.
IN France, previous To 1863, thcr,
wns liisle or no provision for teaching
aise commercial branches, either In
ssecinl school or departments Of gen
a1ad schools. As the result Of an In
rtisttEation OF the American methods,
abe EcOf Supcrienrc dc Commerce was
sakeB in hand by the Chamber oi
Commerce of Paris, and, afterward
asnnehes or separate corresponding in
ssisni IONS were established III Rotten
ana Lyons. The pronounced objects
~ these schools are, TO form mer-
chants bankers, administrators, and
directors and clerks Of business
htulrtA ~
fnI;NcH OPINION or AMRRiCAN
SCHOOLS.
Some two weeks ago ! had the
pfsasure of n call from the gentleman
amber whose direction aud patronage
these french schools particularly
As0ae IN Paris and Rouen were estnb-
ssrslaed. He IL a principal director in
ssne NJ the large Paris banks, and has
iu,i completed tour around the
rosld. Although, said he, j do not
ssfe that evidence Of general culture,
nr rather Of the means TO enforce Ii,
which characterize our French schools;
I win say that we cannot do in France
what you do here IN the
way of appiyiay knowledge.
fos strike mt the heart of things, and
sosnebow or other while we would be
thinking how they ought to be done
sou do them.r "Your schools are cs-
tahlished and conducted on the same
as,slness basis as your dry-goods houses
and your grocery stores. You simply
publish 10 the people what sort OF
gDtds you keep on hand and let them
snit their own taste and convenience
Az 10 purchasing,
Now school IN France, to attain to
any recognition whatever, must be
Ancler somebody's patronage. Either
slh government or the church, or an
ofS7ntntlon that can speak by authori-
" ra,lst stand to It's back, and even
ssh AL this patronage and the dlsin-
terested labor of publc-spirlted eitizons
dns'ag the past fourteen years, no
smmfneIcial school In France can com
Fafu with yours either In numbers or
enthusiasm"
GERMAN SCHOOLS.
The commercial schools ofGermany.
HuAan aud Belgium are of long stand
any. aud hnye grown to be more Il fact
III shc established educational system.
Among these the superior dc Conn
sa@'oe OF Antwerp, IL, perhaps, the best
model OF apArely commercial school.
hui after all the distinguishing fen
sAteS Of the school in its Buredu Cofa-
snerofn{, which corresponds with the
"pnnitlec of our business colleges.
sgfE AMERICAN BUSINESS College.
According to the most reliable data,
llnc ore IN this country about (200j
'trt,nea commercial schools, and the
yearly attendance, that Is the number
81 pupils who have been enrolled dur
lug tho year, cannot fall much II my
amber t&D, O@0.) Thirty-thousuu younn
snen yearly drawn into schools which
propose To give special training 70,
sosAacssl How docs this answer the
siaim that Is made 40 perslstently IN
soiue quarters, that all the branche,
Aatgshs In these schools can be. and arc
as efficiently taught IN schools OF gen
osnl culturee IL cannot IL
That those who patroniz,
lhe schools are simply mislcad by un
Ssss,ssnntthl promises, for Ii Il a fac
slaat no one thinks OF denying, tina
she patrons of the schools are thei
alu~t pronounced friends and thei
nhfof advocates And another stul
born fact must be met, viz that du,
my the past twenty-five wears thi
speciality has been constantly ON tn
snnrease, until II has forced Itself Int
wotgnition so positive and unaues
stpncd that It's advocates and promo
icrs have ceased TO fight the windmill
cat aatasetion aud ignorance, and fin
aslalr time and energies wholly al
sosied In making the schools, year b
year, better and better.
NisN, 81 We 90 back to onr CONVEX
seur ststistica and reflect that thirt
aaotisand young men and boys In tn
sGunsry are receiving each year pract
cal instruction In useful and immel
ssely available knowledge, and VIII,
sithout the existence ol commercil
sehools, would not receive 1t ut all, "
shall he able to form some idea both ,
lha henehconoo and of the respons
AAlsey OF these institutions. VIII,
xtNsonahie expectations are excited
these who make up this army OF thirI
thousand, aud how are these expect
lions met : will first dispose of i
erroneous impression which some ne
pte have, shat the commercial schoo
egeated u ght In the clerk marke
The very best evidence that the Gle,
aarket Is not being glutted exists
alive fact that the schools to-day are N
able 10 supply the demand made up,
slAem for book-koopers, clerks and 4
sAtAnts. One reason for this lies
the ktct that commercial schools 4
act, as Is lgnornntly presumed, me
alerk factories. Ii would astoni,
somr OF our friends 10 know what
nMlly small proportion of our vt
hentR sver expect 10 become nroft
sioiaAi accountants. Ii Is one thinp
know how books should be kent, n,
slaothef 10 make hnok-l<er
ing regular business. IN,
ahere Is n very large proportion
Sls'ness college graduates who taket
Tie business of bookkeeping or cler
ship merely rs the catering wedge
sname,hing better or something whi,
theN prefer housekeeping IN som
hins chat In ease oi necessity, th,
tan TALL back upon, and better than
tfate IN the openings ont of ii are mn