The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-06
THE STATE SCHOOLS.
Superintendent r. B. Bryan on
Their History.
PRESENT. CONDITIONING NEEDS.
The school Funds and Their Disposition
Pay OF Observation-Disclosures OF
the Attendance.

tendeut az schools, read an interesting and
valuable paper on s'The Conditions ana
Needs of Our Schools. He said, among
other things:
An exhaustive search through public and pri-
yate libraries; thorough search among the
scanty, ukty records q my Own eHies' nc s,'
the fact thst prior to 1872 no record OF Inc eau
eatioual affairs OF Washington il extant
Turning 10 the records of 1872 we nd Inese fac,s
Of record The number OF schoo. distress va
with scnonihouses. The number ot chlldIsn
between ard Il years OF age vas 9,s!9, oniy ~
Der cent Of whom were enrosa ~ - aseb child
for that year. bat the number OIL teacners VINO
faftened of that appropriation is not revealed by
the record neither is the length OF the tcfin nor
the average daily ATTENDANCE
The records of 1873 are 50 deficient that no In
fcliirenf combination OF facts can be made from
them while the records Of hi are conspicuous
fos the facts which they do not reveal. he
records OF is-9 are valueless because OF the aD-
eence of refs0rfs from various counties ana the
ai,sence of material facts In the eases OF those
reporfiug: bit feature OF some historical inter
est is embraced in the records OF that year,
which is It's only redeefning item. he feature
referred 20 is d record oil the first school taught
ia each Of the sixteen counties reportlpgi also
record OF the first public school IN each OF ten
counties reporting upon that subject. III may
he OF interest 10 some OF my audience 70 learn
mat the pioneer school was taught in lowliz
county IN 1s5l and that public schools were
taught In jefferson. King. Pierce and 1nursfon
fhe territory The report of ISL reveals
the existence of 436 school districts. about %
Per cent. Of which were supplied with school,
houses, two counties not reporting. Ten graded
schools existed, the first that are reported Ia the
history OF the territory. Other data too meager
20 command attention. The report oil 1871 caps
The climax for what 10 docs not contain IN the
way OF statistics from the different counties
But one fact is worth rceiting here; The length
OF the school year was eighty seven days
Marked Improvement - manifest IN the CHAR
scter OF the report of iss5. The number OF school
districts had increased 10 SIS. aud the number OF
graded schools TO twenty three Nineteen teach
srs' institutes were held in the territory, Clarke
holding hree of them and lolunbiatwo. Tween
ty-five diplomas and fourteen territorial certih-
Gates were issued within the two years covered
by the report. while but state certificate and
four life diplomas were issued III 1890
The report OF 1857 shows marked improvement
in the matter of thorough county and territorial
supervision over any OF its predecessors, and
with ii the work al an intelligent and accurate
comparison may begin, though first pausing to
remark that the last territorial report Is more
complete than any that preceded IL.
In 1877 the number of children OF school age
was A. 43i: IN 1859, T2123: in 1890, s7,si3an in
crease OF 1900 over 1889. aud increase of A.,
SO or more than e5l1 per cent. in three years.
In 1856 the enrolment IN public schools was
- 199 in 1852 457sl; and in 1890, 81, g64-an in
crease over 1850 of 92l3, and an increase of 3d.
10, or someihing more than 7s per cent over
1887 In 1857 the number OF children enrolled
in private schools 1850; In 1859, 2,529 and in
loo 2,ss3~an increase OF SO over 1857, but de-
crease of Sc as compared with 1859. The per-
ecntage of enrolment in 1857 is given as 70; in
1883 as &C, as o. In ls90a decrease each succeed
ing year-not hattering compliment 10 pay TO
the school-loying citizens OF Washington. This
decrease In the percentage OF enrolment is at
least partially condoned by the greater average
e which Wss ssaoG mouths IN 1877 Is months
in lsss, and ss6 months in 1890. The
total number of teachers employed in
iss wan IN $50. male, Sse' female, SIS SIS.
total, 1,si9; in 1870 male and female, 1910, two
county superintepdeuts failing TO segregate
their reports on this item. 80 that the actual
proportion OF each sex could not be given. The
average monthly salary OF male teachers in 1887
was &444I in 1859, 81 90; in 1870, S5l.ia healthy
increase, which. IL regularly maintained until
the close of the next century. will give fair com
pensation TO those who then teach the young
idea how TO shoot. The average monthly salary
$500, and in 1850, 1851. Ladies, reflect upon
your growing importance and rejoice but do
not, beseech you, pause to reflect too long
school year Of ASS months gave the average
teacher OF $500 but ~. ss.5 more than her aver
age sister of 1857. The total amount ex-
pended for school purposes in 1851 was 500
in iss9, fe65,6i2, and in lseo, S9s,S The esti-
mated value OF schooihouses in 1857 was $685.
DIS; In 1889, 81 o9l 49,, and in 1870, sis24 i3045.
Tie estimated value OF school furniture in 1887
was $525e; in 1882 SIS SIS, aud in 1890, Sl3g,6is
In lss7 the estimated value OF apparatus was
sl2,79l in Issa 81, i5e, and in 1890, SIS, 1892
But turning TO the value of schoolhouses in 1880,
find the average value 10 be 81 ,0S9.S9 or an ay-
erage Investment of So - Tor each child OF
school age, while the average cost OF insane asy
lums for each patient accommodated, in the
country at large, is 81 200, and the average in
yestment In prisons is largely in excess OF that
amount for each prisoner incarcerated. The av-
erage appropriation for each child of school age,
for the school year ending June So $500, was
$3.50, while the estimated appropriation for the
school year ending June 30, ie9l, TO be raised by
county taxes alone, is somewhat more than $40
per pupil. IL is but just to add that the highest
appropriation for the support OF schools during
the current year, based upon the number of chill
drcn of school age. is in franklin county, where
the average per cap Ga is a little in ex cess
of sSi per scholar. The aggregate amount paid
ms salaries OF county snperintendents for the
year ending June 50, 1870, was S60ss.T5, this be-
ing divided among thirty-fonr different indiyid-
nals. The aggregate amount which will be paid
as salaries OF county superintendents annually
for the years 1891 and iS92 is 1880 an increase
at more than 10 per cent at a single bound
Turning 10 the matter OF state and territorial
supervision, shall weary YOU with but few
items Prior to November IS 1850 the con,pen-
sation OF the superintendent of public instrue-
tion was $50 per annnm, and he was required
20 keep his office in the neighborhood of some
rcstofhce. Subsequent TO that date his COM
lensaton has been =, 800 per year, with an Office
at the capital ol the state open six days I'm each
week, with the back door open sundays Under
the territorial regime $50 was annually appro-
priated Tor the printing OF blanks. etc
The result was that only few inferior blanks
Tor teachers reports, clerks reports and county
superiniendents reports could be printed No
school laws were printed for free distribution
ana only go copies OF the biennial report OF the
superintendent OF public instruction, most OF
which were gobbled up BY the members Of the
legislature aud sent to their political friends
since April l. ls9O, go copies OF the compiled
school laws have been printed aud distributed,
200 copies OF the report OF the superintendent
Of public instruction S,ooo copies oi the course
81 study for nngraded schools, 700 teachers
registers. and more than 1900 blanks. com
pristng more than forty different kinds, beside
circulars iunumerahie.
school Tor detective yonth exists nj Van
tnNE 80 def iaer
able 10 present any facts here in regard 10 its
condition or rs management. i reform school
hss been established az Chehalis, aud IS now
s}moSt ready for tie reception Of that I'M
fortunate class OF children. who, by inheriting
bad or unfortunate Parents aud uagavorabse
environments; belong within its precints. Two
normal schools have been created by acts Of the
legislature, aud through private enterprise one
ct them has been In operation since October L.
With an enrolment Al last accounts 81 twenty
I've students The other YET exits only in the
vivid imagination Of the legislature
The state university still plcds on as 90 yore,
despite the prayers OF the people who believe q
university q accessits IN complete and com
rrcheDsiVe school system. and the history of
size past does net warrant the hope that the
legislature OF 1891 viii niSce II uTson the firm
foundation which sound aud liberal edecz-
tl0nal policy would seem 20 demand OF private
schools more than thirty are known 20 exist in
the state. though bat little IS known at head.
quarters As To their character or conditions a
While the data beth ia our own state and
in Others insufficient 90 justify anything like
positive CONCLUSION, either one NsS or another.
taxing otfser known elements into acgoNntI feel
.usiiied ia the conclusion that in this particular
Washington has nothing 70 fear in = c0unpariSan
With the average states Of the MON. In the
laatger 81 compensation OF teachers, the average
monthly sSlsFy raid TO male teachers ia Wash
ington i In of that paid ia
eighteen cut OF thfty-two states from which /
have been able - obtain statistics on that point
while the average nionthly salary FGAsd 10 lnsIe
teachcrs ia fourteen OF these states wss ia excsSS
~ mat psld IA Washington The sveraSc