St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-21
hnrSabo1d
NEW ACADEMIES.

Inc next question to be considered is
the ways and means of establishing the
new academies" In my opinion. if
the new academy is to be successful
and useful, it must be established on
the business principle of .self-Support.
II must in sense be a trading con.
Germ, having goods for sale for which
there is demand and which are worth
their cost. The youths who buy their
wares must do so because they want
them, believe they are worth their cost
and are therefore willing to pay the
price Hence the institution which
would establish itself must offer gem
uine articles, and be prepared to sell
them at reasonable prices But is it
possible to thus establish and main
tain such schools? In answer to this
question ! will state that l have re-
Gently visited a school which has been
seif-SuStalning for nearly quarter of
century. l found the school owned
and operated by private partnership,
without endowment, and run on the
gested: L know of few, if any, manu-
featuring, commercial or banking
houses which are making larger per-
centage of profit on the capital in
vested-and L understood the invested
capital to be approximately the con-
siderable sum of $500 COO l think l was
correctly informed that this whole cap
1tal and more had been accumulated
from the profits of the business in
y
the secret which made this institution
business success, paying all its ex-
penses and yielding a profit. l think
L discovered it and can state it in a few
words: They produced genuine ar
ticle at a reasonable cost. In a gen.
eral way they sold the usual tuition
at 81 per week, board exclusive of
lodging) for from $1!z0 to $l.40 per week,
and lodging at from 80 cents to 60
cents per week per pupil, and at these
prices made a profit. l saw about
GEO pupils at the tables-the table linen
was clean, the. table furniture was
good, and the food was abundant, of
GOOD quality, well cooked and whole
some. 1 visited the dormitories and
found them of good size, we'll fur
nished and well kept. The number of
pupils in attendance averages, as l
am told, about 1900 for fifty weeks in
over 5000 annually. The school is run,
if l may be allowed the expression,
on both the American and European
plan, the course of study being served
table d hote or la carte as the patrons
desire. Thus young men may work on
the farm in the summer and study dur
ing the winter, or work in the woods in
the winter and attend school in the
summer.
Having possessed myself of these
facts the competitive part of the prob
lem was clear to my mind. The total
cost of board, lodging and tuition, in
$3.50 per week or 500 to 1920 per ordi-
nary school year of forty weeks. No
city school can compete with such
prices The financial success of the
Indiana school is undoubtedly due to
the business capacity of its proprie-
tors, but the low cost of living is III
part due to the country location and
the surrounding atmosphere of eco
romical habits. Such financial sue
cess would be impossible with school
located in a large city.
The facts which have been presented
We're conclusive upon the question OF
running expenses, provided there is
sufficient patronage, and the very large
attendance at the Indiana school, all
drawn from the rural population, seems
to indicate that there is a demand
(using the word in its commercial
sense) which would justify other ven
lures in the same line as business
propositions. And why should not
school be regarded as a business ven
ture the same as is manufacturing
or commercial establishment?
Why should not teaching become
proprietary occupation and the money
invested in the plant become dividend
earning capital? Would it not add
dignity to the profession to become
proprietorS, dependent for success up
on capacity and the consequent patrons
age of the public, instead of employees
dependent upon the whim or caprice
of board of directors who have no
personal interest Ill IHe Iuuu llieN dI0
administering and too often no proper
appreciation of the work in hand?
A BUSINESS VENTURE.
Tt would seem that the New Acad-
envy" could and probably should be
started upon the principle of business
venture. 1t should start on scale
commensurate to the business ability
prietor, and then grow. The capital
to begin with need not be large. a few
hundred dollars would do, a few thou
sand would do better, and probably
ample. 4
CONCLUSION.
But it is unnecessary to speak fur
Their of details. The principal purpose 4
of this paper is to call attention to
the fact that the extension of educa-
ton facilities during the nineteenth
century has chiefly benefited the urban,
which is normally about one-quarter
of the whole population. The second
airy purpose is to point out that the
rural populate demand a course of
study, adapted to the very practical
life which is and must continue to be
their lot. In presenting these views, |
am aware that 1 am laying myself
open to the criticism of these who be-
little the value of practical educa-
tion," and who believe that the prov
ince of education is to make poets,
to develop genius. But the fact re-
mains that the law which the Almighty
God promulgated when he led Adam
and Eve out of the garden, still COM
pels mankind to work that they may |
eat. And it will take a long time for |
the enthusiasts to convince the yeo-
many of this country that they can |
live without eating. Before the Euro
peans discovered the country, the SIM |
pie Peruvian mothers taught their !
that the Inca had descended |
from the sun and was divine because |
he taught the people to sow and gather |
the harvests, and that the Inca's wife !
was the queen of women because she |
taught them to spin and to weave. |
Preserved for thousands. of years on |
stone, the hieroglyphics have told the |
tale of the God Osiris, who taught the |
the art of agriculture, the |
beauty of planting trees and the joy in |
the vine. And for these |
he was deemed divine. To |
paint beautiful pictures and write |
poetry, is to become famous, bat to |
teach the people something which is
useful is more and better.