Brookings County sentinel. (Brookings, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1890, 1883-02-08

more tasteful carpenter and joinery
work required in New York. Besides,
they are becoming our best painters,
shoema kers and other mechanics. The
Sun thinks the explanation of this is to
be found in the fact that the foreign
mechanics get far better schooling in
their trades than is customary In Ameri-
ca, especially since the old apprentice
system has gone so much out of vogue.
They come to us after training not only
in the shop, bat also in industrial schools
and schools Tor the teaching and prac.
tice OF industrial art. Some facts pre-
sented by Mr.. Mundella in recent ad-
dress at the West London school of art
show what is now done in England and
other European countries in the way of
trainingin industrial art. As long ago as
1886 the British government granted
s., 800 for the purposes of art training,
and the sum has been gradually increased
since. As Mr.. Nun della explained, the
object of tie grant was " not to increase
the number of pictures which were an
nuaiiy rejected by the royal academy,
but to give technical art training to
those who were practically engaged in
the industries and manufactures OF the
country" BY the aid of the schools
established for such instruction, the lace
manufacturers Of Nottingham were able
to hold their own aggressively against
the lace manufacturers Of all the world.
And there soon became observable q de-
cided improvement iu all mechanical
work i'll the direction Of taste.
At the worlds fair Of 1851 the clumsy
and inartistic productions of England
presented a sorry show beside the beauti-
full handicraft of France. But since 1851
there has been great advance in the
taste displayed IN the trades. Mr.. Nun.
della's boast that 1t was now "known
that Englishmen possessed more origin
ality and more true artistic feeling than
was possessed by Frenchmen, of course
drew out applause from his hearers.
But even is his assertion is questioned,
it cannot be doubted that in passing
from French to English exhibits of later
years there is no longer reason for COM
PARSONS unfavorable to the productions
of Mr.. Mundella's countrymen, who un-
questionably have attained superiority
in certain directions. The total num-
Der who receive art teaching in institu-
tiOns aided by the British government
was only $1,000 in 1857, while in 1851
it was 9l7,O00. In France, where he
had lately been 10 investigate the new
system OF education which came into
operation in that country on
the first of last October, Mr..
Mundella was "perfectly astounded
by the progress the French were
making Ill art instruction. He had seen
in Paris pIacards six feet long Offering
gratuitous instruction in art to every
person employed III certain trades who
would come to accept it. He found
schools OF art, which were attended by
hundreds and Thousands OF students, es-
tablished in every part Of the country.
These schools were supported not only
by government aid, but also by different
municipalities out Of the usual rates and
taxes. Thus, all the artisans of Paris
and large number of those in the
country were receiving gratuitous art
instruction. At Rouen artisans might
be seen il multitudes working at their
studies at night, five or six nights in
the week. At Liege, in Belgium, with
its population of 100000, 5000 young
men were at work in the art and science
schools every hight. In strong contrast
to all this, the city of New York expends
about "a 900, 900 annually for public H.
struction of more or less fanciful and
useless character, but not dollar for
industrial education, and in this regard
the experience Of New York is that of
nearly every city in America.