The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-24
$4,000 PUPILS AT ONE TIME.
A CoRRBsPoSDEYCE SCHOOL WITH
a CAPITAL or sI,5OO,oOO.


| in Scranton, Pa, in Eight Years From q
| Country Weekly Ncwspaper-5, 900 New
| Pupil. " Day-Drummors to Get Them
| In and Collect Fees-Seventy-fo Courses
| and Hundreds Of Observation-Disclosures.
| ton on Mechanical and Electrical
Topics In Demand-scope OF the School.
SCRANTON. Pa. Dec. G.--On Wyoming
| avenue, here in Scranton there stands a pink
granite building that is az large az the New York
| Normal College at Lexington avenue and Sixty
| eighth street IL ~ a school building. AZ 8
o'clock every morning and at half past o'clock
every afternoon the streets Of the neighborhood
arc crowded with young men and women making
their way into its doors. They arc all teachers
and clerks. Not one Of them Is a pupil. II a
pupil should come TO the school he would BE- in
formed, firmly but courteously, that " he camo
as a visitor he was welcome 10 20 through the
place, but II he came az pupil the school would
much prefer that he should go right straight home
and stay there. The school has had since II was
started eight years ago 1870 900 students. Seventy
Ave thousand and more are under instruction
now From 5000 10 Q, 200 are added to It's rolls
every day, and they all receive their instruc-
ton by mall.
Among the other industries which have devel-
oped In this industrial city. with its foundres
and mines and silk mills and factories, there
has grown up in the last eight years a remark
able example Of the profitable possibilities Of
the correspondence system Of teaching. Starting
with question and answer column" in a tech
meal weekly journal, the concern now gives In
struction in seventy -four courses in subjects
ranging from civil engineering TO spelling and
pcnmanship. The system Il IL now org anizcd
IL tho property Uf the stock company with paid
capital Of 81 800. 900 under tho general manage
ment Of + ]. Foster. Mr.. Foster was the editor
Of the Miners Herald In columns OF which the
school had its beginning.
The school Is not philanthropic institution.
II makes no prctcnce Of existing for tho good II
the rest 81 tho universe. II Is a business organ.
nation which has for sale that which a great
many people seem to be willing to buy and 10 be
satisfied with when they have bought H. The
managers of tho school say that their best answer
TO qucstona to the real usefulness Of instruction
BY correspondence is shown by the fact that they
are strongest among the people Of Scranton and
the mining region thercabous Tncir grad.
uaics send students To them.
The school is called the "In,crna,iona Cor.
rcspondcncc Schools" The main once Ia the
big granite building in Of the best streets In
Scranton which was built by the company within
a year or two There are branch Offices all over
the United States from which tho work Of drum.
ming up new students and collecting tuition
fees is carried on But all the instruction proceeds
from this main office Ia Scranton in which several
hundred men and women are employed through
the week all day long sending out question papers
and textbooks and receiving and correcting the
exercises from the pupils. The architecture oi
the building IN rather more ornate than that 81
the ordinary city high school or college The
building is four stories in height. is heated by
steam and lighted by electricity with an auxiliary
with 1t similar building in which the printing
and binding is done, 80 far as II can be done in
Scranton. Thrcc.ffths Of the printing work
of tn" schools is dome by two New York publishing
houses Plans have already been drawn and
tho land has ben brought for a building which
will cover five acres Of ground In Scranton When
this IL completed all the printing will h. done
there. II is easy 10 understand that the oppor.
tuniics for employment 81 all kinds n labor and
all grades of minds which arc opened 10 the pro
pl" in Scranton by this concern make IL very
popular institution with the business men and
the working people In Scranton. The prosperity
Of the postmaster for instance has b~cn so directly
affected that the grade Of his post Office has been
raised 'hrcc times in the last eight years on &C
count Of the heavy mail business done by the school
and his salary IL now the same. Scranton folks
tell you with pride. as tina, of the postmaster
Of Philadelphia
The story Of the development Of the school
affords interesting material for tho study Of the
desire Of the great American people 10 better itself
In 1881 Thomas j. Foster who is now the man
hger 81 the school under the stock company, pub
lishcd the Mining Herald at Shenandoah, Schuyl-
Kill county, Pa. II was n technical weekly pub
LEGATION. Mr.. Foster soon found out to his own
satisfaction that the mining country itself was
not the place for mining newspaper Of the sort
he had intended TO print Tie came to the con
cluSiOn that such Journal should In printed in
the coal markets II the East. Instead Of moving
the paper he changed its character, and began to
make II a means uf discussing tn. problems that
confronted the miners every day IN their work
IL was no longer mine owners or OPERATORS
pHpc!, 6mI .Sc. miners, paper He established
asked By his subscribers and beyond that let his
subscribers help one another This part of the |
paper became very popular and he found that il |
he were To let his correspondence have free swing
!, would soon swamp him. Meanwhile Mr. Eos
tho State Of Pennsylvania which wauld insist |
upon some s2r, OF an educational test for the places
such laws governing her mines for more than a |
generation. In 1885 the anthracite mine laws
were introduced into the legislature by charles |
r. King and were enacted into law, |
The study 81 mine ventilation. mine surveying
ana mine mechanics became absolutely necessary |
ed To get ahead. The Mining Herald which had |
meanwhile changed Hts name to the COiiierU En0i-
neer was already III the field as the easiest anh |
cheapest means for the miners who wanted in
siTuCtion and aid in this work Al about the sn me
time MI Foster, who was himself a practical miner
complied and published little puckc, book which
the hrs' book Of tables formulas and |
rules for the use u mine workers which was printed
In the United States. In connection with the
COHery Engineer he also furnished in pamphlet
form the best English mining papers that he could
put his hands on. such, for instance, as Atkinson
on Mine Gases and on Mine Ventilation" These
were sold TO subscribers Tor 20 cents each
. By this time, Mr. Foster WAS convinced that
there was az much and more money TO be made
by furnishing instruction to laborng men in the
mines than by publishing mining Journal
lie did not give up tho journal: he started the
correspondence School Of Mines and advertised
in his Journal in the fall Of 1891 lie tells that
his FIRST pupil, Thomas Coates OF Peckvilc Pa
who, when he undertook the course Of instrIc-
Ton was earning Sl.86 day. is now the super.
lntendenl ol mine at Satesvilo Pa, and in
earning more every day than he used 10 earn
In three days Following the constantly in
rreasng demand for such instruction, a course
in mine mechanics was added To the elementary
,oal mining course with which he had started
An opportunity was also given for students to
learn something Of mechanical drawing II |
Mhs AT once necessary for Mr. Foster to hire az
tistance Before long he made up his mind 10
broaden his opportunities by the usc Of moro
capital and formed a stock company. of which