, 1891-07-14
Is 1T EDECATLON2

cality OF public school education, wheE
it has been flushed of and rounded out
by high school graduation, is freque.tly
brought to public notice either in actual
daily contact or IN competitive examine
tions for public positions. 1t is perhaps
most frequently noticeable in the public
examinations which candidates must
undergo previous to admission into the
government railway mail service. The
questions asked are such as IN the ordl-
nary course of things should be most
readily answered by youths fresh from
school, and yet the astounding fact re-
mains that these, invariably as far as we
can learn, stand well down and sometimes
at the foot of tho list in comparison with
young fellows who have never had the
same educational advantages, but have
been forced to knock about the world for
themselves.
In a recent examination such questions
as these, which are a fair average OF all
the others, were asked:
Write In figures one thousand. eight
hundred and forty-three.
A mail clerk saves 81 900 in five years,
spends one-half for household expenses.
o%ne-fourth for rent and one-third Of the
remainder Tor Incidentals, what is his an-
nual salary?
Locate three of the largest rivers and
the largest cities on each IN the United
States2
In addition are such questions as where
various cities like. Albany, Trenton, etc,
are situated; the largest cities and capitals
OF perhaps half a dozen states in the
Union; on what railroads a person would
ride between Cheyenne and Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Washington or other large
Eastern cities; name two railroads
leading from Cheyenne and their con-
nections, with ten cities on each. In ad-
dition applicants we're called upon to
write 4 letter TO the civil service CON.
mission stating their experience and quail
fcations for such a position as they are
applying for and to docipher fifty en-
velopes addressed in pretty fair hand
writing.
No question asked carried the appli,
can't outside of the boundaries of the
United States. and with the exception of
he las named test we're precisely the
kind which an ordinary schoolboY should
most readily answer. and yet a young tel
low who hasn't been to school since he
was Is won a rating of 500 out of a pos
sible 100, while the high school graduates,
fresh from school, reached 7Sl and 100
respectively. To be considered at all,
under the rule, the applicant must
reach 10.
We happen to know both of the high
school graduates. They were considered
clever in school and are now very am
bilious to get along. Are they equipped
TO do SO? Have the last four years spent
in the high school profted either them or
their parents2
The more we have seen Of high school
graduates the less we are inclined to think
our high school is a success. Its course
is too discursive. Too much time is spen,
in fummery. The pupils arc fed ginger
bread when their system demands plain
wholesome food. When a youth OF Is,
l9, or 20 years of age, who has attended
school assIduously for twelve years or over
is graduated with a high school diploma
and is then unable to construct a decent
little business letter, makes painful mis-
takes in spelling common, ordinarily used
English words and as often gets a period