Omaha daily bee., 1894-02-25
tNsTBtcTIvr SCHOOL srATtsTCs.

ANNI - ~ ffH'fH q - 49,
Instructive statistics showing the relative
extension OF common school education in
various sections Of the country are given In
the latest report Of the United states com
missioner Of education. The commissioner
divides the country. for the purpose OF com
parison, into nve sections, viz: The north
Atlantic division. including New England,
New York. Pennsylvania and New Jersey;
the north central division, including Ohio.
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Min
nesota, Iowa, Missouri, the two Dakotas,
Kansas and Nebraska the south central div!-
sion. including Kentucky. Tennessee, Arkan-
sas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and
Texas; the south Atlantic division. including
West Virginia and the coast states from
Delaware to Florida; and the western divi-
sion. including the Pacific coast and the
states and territories west OF the Rocky
mountains. The percentage of school attend
ance in proportion to the total population of
each division is computed upon the returns
for 1871 aud for 1890.
The figures show n marked decline in the
percentage OF the north Atlantic division,
the fail being from 90 in 1871 to 17,9 in 1890.
There was a decline, also, In the north CEN
trail division. the percentage Of which was
PAS in 1871 and 22.4 in 1890. In the south
ern divisions the percentage OF 1890 was
nearly double that Of 1871, and there was a
small increase in the western division,
though the average is low. The notable
feature of the statistics is the decline of
school attendance in the north Atlantic divi-
sion, for which the Philadelphia Record
offers two explanations. One is the de-
crease in the size OF families. and the
consequent dimunitlon of the population
of the school age as compared with
the total population. The other explana,
ton is in the fact that the states in
the poorer immigrants. many of whom do
not possess the means to travel any further.
THE impression which widely prevails"
says the Record. that the proportion be-
tween immigrants and natives has enor-
mously and generally increased throughout
the country during the last twenty years is
inaccurate, the foreign-born population hav-
ing increased at the date of the last census
by only 14.75 per cent, compared with 14.44
per cent in 1870. Still it is true that the
seaport towns have been the sleeves through
which the inflow of foreigners has been
strained; the large cities on the north At
lantic coast have retained the greater pro-
portion of the most ignorant and least desir>
able immigrants. This class of immigrants
is also notable for large families, which fact
more than overbalances the natural decrease
in the size of native-born families, and ex-
plains why the census reports show a loss
of only twcnty-three persons to one hundred
families in this division of the country"
The increase in the percentage of the
school attendance in the south is a crafty
ing fact, indicating, as it does. that that
lection is in a fair way to solve its school
problem, which it is hardly necessary to
say is quite as important as any with which
it has to deal. 1t is of the greatest signif-
canoe for the future of the south, both
politically and morally, that the number of
the illiterate is growing steadily less.