The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-10-20
EDUCATION DAY.
At the Commercial Congress In Phila
delphia-

Philadelphia, Oct 20.-Some of the
most learned college men and scholars
in America participated in today's ses-
s1onS OF the international commercial
congress at the national export eXpoS1-
ton. Commercial Education" was the
general subject and the various phases
of the topic were treated in admirable
fashion by the noted speakers.
Seth Low, president of Columbia uni
versity presided, and in his opening re-
marks spoke of the various features of
commercial education.
The various means of promoting such
education and benefits to result there
from We're then detailed by President
Charles Eiot of Harvard university,
and J. G. Schurman of Cornell universs
ity.
President Eliot said in part:
L ask your attention for a few mo-
ments to the chief features of a COM
merc1al education capable of preparing
men and women for much more than
clerical service and much more than
narrow retail trading. An indispensi-
Die element in the training I have in
view is a sound secondary education,
that is an indication in a first rate
school, public, endowed or private,
which occupies the whole school time
OF the pupil from thirteen or fourteen
till eighteen years of age. This sec
ondary education should include the
modern languageS-an essential part of
a good preparation for the higher walks
of business life. It may or may not
include Latin and Greek. For internal
tonal commercial life in EngliSh-speak-
ing countries a good knowledge of three
languages besides English is desirable
namely, French, German and Span
ish- A reading knowledge of the lang
uages viii ordinarily suffice for prin-
cipals, but for travelling agents or
agents resident abroad, a speaking
knowledge of at least two of these
languages is desirable This knowledge
should be acquired at the secondary
school.
Let US imagine q how eo11i0r,ed at 70
with these broad fundamental acuuisi-
tons and let US then ask ourselves
what additional subjects should be
treated IN an upper commercial school.
Inc following list of subjects is by
no means complete, but may serve to
give a fair idea of the diversity and
difficulty of the subjects appropriate to
superior commercial education:
Economies, statistics, banking, cur
rency, exchange, arbitrage insurance,
government tariffs, transportation by
lana and water, commercial geography,
climates, ethnOlogy, commercial pro-
ducts by region and by nationality. or
race, consumption by region and race
maritime legislation, blockade rights.
neutral rights, commercial law, indus
trial combinations of capital, labor IN
ions and-if may use a new but con-
venient Word-hnancing new undertake
ingS.''
President Eliot said that owing to the
large number of subjects a system of
choice among these studies would have
TO prevail in any well conducted COM
merciaI school,
An upper commercial school should
possess the means of keeping its know
ledge of commercial conditions abso-
lutely fresh. No sailed provisions or
canned goods would be useful in its
| larder. Its teachers would have to live
at a commercial center and breathe
every day wholesome commercial at
mosphere. Boards of trade would be
better supervisors for such a school,
| than any bureau of education. The sue
cessful merchant has to know more to-
day than he ever did before and he has
to be more alert and more inventive
! Hence his preliminary training should
| be both more ample and more appro-
pirate than it has been in the past.''