Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-17
OUR NIGHT SCHOOLS.
Chen Yung, Mandarin of the Red
Button, Gives His Views on
PITTSBURG EVENING SCHOOLS.
he Is Well Satisfied With Their Work and
Management.
A FEW EXTRACTS FROM HIS NOTEBOOK
rwRIrrEN ron rHR p1spArcH.1

WRITTEN ron THE DIsPATcH.1
Chen Yung, Mandarin of the Red But
ton, cousin and Counsellor of State to His
Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China,
has departed from Pittsburg en- route for the
Flowery LandJ His Highness has been
staying in this city for several days, strictly
incognito it is scarcely necessary to say to
anyone who knows the modesty and even
bashfulness of this great dignitary. This
exceeding shyness, together with fear
born of experience-that a reporter might
discover his existence, prompted Chen
Yung to visit our city lions in the dusk OF
evening or at night.
But it may be- objected, very little OF
Pittsburg can be seen by night. This is
fairly true;mo especially in the Mandarin.s s
case, for that nobleman (who is also grad
uate of the college OF Too-Chow) happens
to be here, for the purpose of studying our
educational mechanism. But the wise
reader will remember that Pittsburg night
schools have acquired an excellent rePuta-
ton. Chen Yung is quite captivated by
the night school idea, and in visiting these
schools, he found profitable occupation for
his nightly walks. As any impressions left
by our institutions on the minds of intelll-
gent foreigners, has a certain amount of in
terest, the writer has great pleasure III an
nouncing that he is in position to present
to the public copy of Chen Yung's mem
orands concerning night schools.
Captain Tseng, scion of the ancient
family of Tseng, acts as secretary to the
Mandarin. The captain is peculiarly fitted
for the position by his knowledge OF En-
glish, and he is as snowy and talkative as
his patron is reserved and silent. He had
no hesitation about traversing our streets
by day, and it was owing to this fact that
the writer came into possession of Chen
Yung's notes. He met Captain Tseng in a
street car, fell into conversation with him,
and soon found out all about the Mandarin
and his mission. Anon it leaked out that
the Mandarin wrote down his impressions
in big book" The writer prayed, and
coaxed, and finally succeeded in wheedling
Captain Tseng into promise that he could
see a translation of the MSS. Thus the
copy of the document came into the possess
sion of Pittsburger. who hastens to give
it to the world. Thus run the Mandarin
sage's notes:
THE MANDARIN's NOTES.
"I, Chen Yung, of Pekin, found in the
city of Pittsburg good things many and va
rious. Among others I discovered the night
school"
Here the Mandarin digresses little upon
the origin, nature and government of the
night school. He then resumes: "In the be-
ginning of this year there were "a night
school districts. Twenty-three of the schools
were open for 40 evenings each, and one
closed at the end OF 80 evenings. One school.
which men call the O'Hara school,
kept open for 20 evenings over the regular
40 evenings. During the first Month 2,T5S
pupils registered their names, and in the
second month ], ,47S only registered. The
average attendance of pupils in the first
month was !, 452, in the second month 853.
Sixty teachers were engaged during the first
month; during the second month the num-
Der was reduced to A. These figures clearly
show that the desire to know, which every
year attacks many Pittsburgers. gradually
dies away. The novelty of the night school
pleases at first, but when the novelty begins
to fade the attendance declines. 1t is but
an exemplifcation of human nature, and
has been explained by our great Confucius
Long ago in the night of ages.
A'The most prominent and the most largely
attended of these Pittsburg' night schools is
the Ralston school on Penn avenue. Next
in order comes the Soho school in the |
suburban district of Oakland, and the |
Moorehead school may be placed about |
third upon the list. Attended BY nv Sec
retary Tseng, visited the first named of |
these schools in the night time, and was
shown over the establishment by the Super
intendent, one Prof. Burgoyne, a gentle |
man to whose courtesy I feel indebted. He |
expressed surprise at visit from a China
man, but on being informed by the not over
discreet Tseng that I was the accredited
messenger of the first cousin to the sun. he |
was satisfied. A night school is certainly |
an object of interest. and even surprise. We |
entered a room-one of the less advanced |
class rooms-and stayed to look about us.
The pupils were learning the early rules of |
mathematics, and were diligently studying
the spelling OF English words Of one and two |
syllables And how looked these pupils? |
Were they small boys in the curtailed leg |
coverings affected by American children? |
Were they urcbins in scant petticoats, max
ing
THE FIRST TINY STEP
over the threshold of knowledge? No; they |
were men. Great bearded men-men with |
the stamp of care upon their brows and the |
stains of toll Just cleansed from their great |
brown hands. Men with bodies Injured to |
labor; broad-shouldered, stout-limbed, sim
ewy men. These were the pupils who |
learned their simple spelling from the pretty |
school teacher and rubbed their aching |
heads over the early rules of arithmetic. |
To be sure there were boys there, too; boys
of all ages and sizes; boys who were almost
men, and bows who were little more than |
babies. But that only enhances the incon-
gruity of the class. Here sat a small urchin |
who called himself IL years, in order to gain
admittance to the school, but who can be
g. BY his side sits a rough me-
chanic old enough to be the lads grand
father. The mans head is bald; there are !
gray streaks in his beard and whskers but |
here he sits puzzling over his slate like the
little fellow by his side. There were tall
young fellows, handsome, too, whom no
ticed' casting sly glances at their teacher
1 have no doubt that these young men like
night school exceedingly and keep up their
attendance to the end of the season.
SIN another room we found the small boys
in great numbers. At a table by them
selves sat some half dozen of larger youths,
who kept aloof from the young ones, and
were extremely sensitive to reproof The
chewing of tobacco, vice much practiced
in the country, as I have already stated in
my notes on American customs in street
cars, they are much addicted to.
'The superintendent is forced to use strin-
gent measures to repress this failing; and
The floor, search is made for the culprit.
IF found, he is at once expelled from the
school. We talked with the superintendent
ror some time over the night school system.
He informed US that the ages of his pupils
varied from IL Cor even under) to 46 or A.
He suspects many children OF putting down
heir ages as II years while they are really
,nly or 9. The majority of his pupils are
# the Irish race, as the district is one colo
lized by Irish laboring classes.