Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-11-07

4 ooo noo of men. women and children
hecama the wards of the nation, Gen.
Armstrong conceived the idea that they
conId be best educated and civilized by
the aid of their own people. 1t was as
necessary to teach this vast multitude
who had never been beyond the sound
Of a master's voice, how to work for
themselves, and how to care for them.
selves. as it was to teach them to read
and write. Manual instruction was,
therefore, q necessity at the Hampton
Institution. The male graduates were
to be leaders on the farm or in the work
shop, as we'll as teachers. The female
graduates were to be capable of cooking,
sewing or caring for the sick. How
thoroughly and successfully this scheme
has been carried out need not be stated
here. Another type of the industrial
school is to be found in the Worcester,
Mass, Free Institute. At this institu.
ton three and half years of general
education is combined with instruction
in mechanical engineering, in carpenter
ing, and in machinist's work. Inns
school more nearly approaches the trade
school, as many of the graduates are re-.
turned as "journeymen mechanics.
The Worcester school was founded py
private liberality. Without such aid, 1t
may be added, neither the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology nor Hamp-
ton Institute could have reached It's
present usefulness In the European
technical schools provision is made Ior
instructing men already in the trades py
course specially adapted to tneir
wants. In this country this important
branch of Industrial education has re-
ceived but little attention. Inc Gar
riage-makers Association in this city
maintain school in designing and con-
struction for the young men ia their
trade. The Master Plumbers OF Phila-
delphia, Baltimore and Chicago have
plumbing schools for their "nelper.
The Cambria Iron Works in Pennsylva-
MIA, and several private firms like X.
Hoe & Co. of this city, give scientific
instruction to their lads, while two rail-
road companies, the Pennsylvania ana
the Baltimore and Ohio, have shown not
only what is possible to do. but how
much can be done at trifiing
cost for the young men in the en-
ploy of great corporations. Beyond this
short list, little has been done to sup
plement shop.work with systematic in
struction. In the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company's shops at Baltimore
500 young men are employed. They are
placed in charge of graduate OF the
Stevens Institute, whose duty 1t is to
see that they are not employed too long
al one kind of work. He can change
their work as often as it may seem de-
sirable for their future interests. He
can also take parties Of them from their
work at any time to explain to them the
machinery they may be engaged upon or
may see around them. A neat building
has been erected for their use, which
contains library and class-rooms for in-
struction in mechanics and drawing. The
lads are required to wear uniform,
which, besides giving them Jaunting
appearauce. tends to habits OF personal
neatness. What is done by the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad Company,
could be done in any manufacturing town
by the union of few large employers.
Manual instruction has already been
Incorporated in the public school systems
of Boston and Philadelphia. The New
York Board of Education has maintained
for several years workshop at the Free
College. 1t now proposes to open schools
all over the city, where boys ana gifis
will be taught to use their hands. a
great impression was made last spring
by the Exhibition, held by the lndustri-
al Education Association of New York,
of children's handiwork and of the differ
ent methods of teaching them how to
work. Not only was it shown what va
ried and excellent work little fingers can
do. but school teachers and superintend-
ents came to testify that the brain work
was benefited by the hand work.-The
Century for November.