Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1895-10-05
AMERICAN SCHOOLS.


Annual Report of the United States Com
missioner Replete with Interesting Facts
Figures Showing Enrolment, Attend-
ance, Proportion to Population and In
crease Review of Systems Of Education
in Foreign Countries.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1.-Dr. William I.
Harris, United States commissioner OF
education. yesterday made public his
annual report for the school year
ended November 80, 1898. 1t COM
prises three parts. the first of which
is devoted to statistics. They show
that in the year 1s93-94 the number OF
pupils enrolled in schools and col.
leges, public and private, in the United
States was Is, 033, $50, or 22.5 per cent.
of the entire population. This
was an increase over the preceding
year OF 37O,697, and the total
would be increased to 15,400000 il
pupils in attendance upon special edu-
cational agencies were included The
enrolment of pupils in the public
schools for the year numbered l2.51o,-
7l9, an increase Of 1.92 per cent over
the preceding year, while the average
attendance increased S.45 per cent.
| The details Of attendance show that
children in the United States leave
school about two-ffths of the year to
engage in labor or from other mo-
tives. There were employed in that
year 1872 05G male teachers and 260,-
954 female teachers. There has been a
decrease in the number of male teach
ers since 1880 and the number OF
female teachers had increased 70 per
cent. in that period The number OF
1 schoolhouses in 1893 was 235, 426, valued,
with their contents and appurtenances.
at S3Os. .435, ,039. The school revenue
for that year was S165, COO, coo; the total
expenditures were Sl63, 900, 600 OF
this amount sl04, 900, 900 was paid for
teachers wages; $4,000, 900 for the
construction of schoolhouses, and S2s,-
600, 600 for fuel, supplies, etc
There were 45l universities and col
leges for men and for both sexes; OF
these 80 were co-educational, an in
crease of per cent. in two years. The
total number of instructors was lo,247,
and of pupils 14o,o53. Colleges for
women alone numbered 143, with 2, ia
teachers and go, 949 students.
As result of professional educa-
tion in the year, there were gradu-
ated 4, Oil medical students, 2, S52 dem
tai students, 1894 pharmacists, 6,776
law students and 1886 theological
students. The amount appropriated
by states for the support of normal
schools that year was Sl,452,9l4 and
for buildings Ssl6,s20
Other contents of the report include
review Of systems OF education in
foreign countries; reports in connec-
tion with the international Congress
of Education at the Worlds fair;
criticisms on American education
by representatives of the Ger
man government at Chicago, and an
article on 1.-THE Education of the
Negro, It's characteristics and Facili-
ties" contributed by Mr.. Wexford Ad-
dis, who takes the ground that there
are three features which distinguish
the education of the American negro
and to large extent differentiate it
from that of the white people among
whom he lives. These facts are, first
the cost of the education of the negro
:, is borne by the white portion OF thf
community; second, this education Il
almost elementary; third, it is becom
ing more industrial in character.