The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-08-02
Educationaf Progress.

Dr. w. I. Harris, United States Com
missioner Of Education, in the last is
sue of the Journal Of Education. OF Bos-
ton, discusses briefly the "outloOk Of
Education" in this country and gives
some interesting figures showing the
growth Of education in the pasttwo de-
cades.
DR.. Harris says that 'the three char
aeteristic instrumentalities Of modern
civilization + the railroad, the daily
Newspaper and the common school,"
The common SCHOOL, he Says, means the
acquisition on the part Of the boy and
girl, whether rich or poor, OF the nee
essary knowledge required to read the
Newspaper and make use Of the rail-
road to exchange the products Of our
own industry for ashare in the prod
ucts Of the worlds industries. This is
a simple direction to the practical use
Of the common school as an instrument
Of progress and civilization, and all will
agree that it is correct.
Education is everywhere in the as.
cendant as a'direct effect of the mod
ern use of machinery and Of the
educated directive power over it, a
power generated by u common
schools, and which has taken the place
of the mere uneducated hand labor.
Not only is this true in the United
States, but also in European countries.
Dr.. Harris shows that since the Franco
Prussian wal Austria has increased its
school attendance until now it has
thirteen per cent of its population in
school. France has increased its at
tendance to fifteen per cent of its popu-
~lation, whereas it had but nine per cent
before the battle of Sedan. About the
same time England remodeled her own
system and her schools are now free to
all her pupils. Italy and Spain have
developed their systems in the same
direction" The industrial progress of
these countries has made rapid strides
with the increase of common school
attendance and the point referred to
above is clearly demonstrated.
In the United States, DR.. Harris
shows that at the date above noted,
when the European countries started
the advance movement, the property
held for purposes of common schools
amounted to ~$1SO,0Oo,Ooo. This has in
creased in twenty years to S330,OOo,0OO,
almost exactly S10,00O,000 a year in
crease. In 1s70our southern states had
less that seven per cent Of their popu-
lation in schools. This has risen to
more than 20 per cent in 1891. As a
whole, the United States enrolls quite
twenty per cent, of its entire population
in school. Our average school year is
only 1874 days, whileit is 200 daysi in the
nations of Europe"
An examination, says DR.. Harris,
shows us the nations Of Europe
first making the education Of all their
people compulsory, and after some
years, as a logical consequence, making
education free to all OF their pupils.
In our country we began with the
more advanced degree. making u edu-
cation free, and in some of u states
the compulsory law followed. In
Europe the incentive was military and
industrial preservation, almost. wholly,
as DR.. Harris says, but in the United
States u principal motive has been to
make good, intelligent citizens, for in
them lies the hope OF our country, the
preservation of its free institutions and
its industrial development