The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-10-24

The educational conditions in the Phil
ippine Islands, Cuba. Porto Rico. and Ia
wall are described as follows by the Com
missioner of Education In his annual re-
port to the Secretary of the Interior:
Elementary schools in one sense e1-
listed in TIE Philippine Islands before the
arrival OF the Spaniards, because most or
many of the Indios could read and write
| their own language. using their own al
phabets. The friars used these alphabets
for convenience in Mindanao down to 100
! years ago Under Spanish law it was pro-
/ vided that there must be two schools
! one for boys and one for girls-in each
| village of 500 inhabitants. in which read
| ing, writing. Christian doctrine. arithme-
! tic. grammar, geography, history, and
| Spanish should be taught. AS matter of
| fact the evidence shows that most Of the
native teachers did not know Spanish;
! many of the teachers were, however, ma
! tive priests, and some. were graduates of
the normal school at Manila. and all such
knew Spanish. All testimony shows that
a great many OF the Indlos (or Christian
ized natives) could read and write their
own language.
[ spanish STATISTICS IOr 1891 SHOW tGdI
I there were then LOIS schools for boys and
592 for girls in the archipelago, with at
! tendance OF SO ISL boys and 1882 girls.
These were public schools The number
OF private schools and academies was not
given. During the disturbances Of 1895
and 1897 il il probable that little schooling
J was done After the Americans had taken
Manila the schools Of that city were re-
opened by the military authorities through
an order which made attendance compulso-
~. Father McKiHnon, chaplain Of the
First California Volunteers was the first
/ American superintendent, and was enerSet-
I ic in hunting up the teachers and pupils
ard reopening the public schools He was
/ compelled TO reioin his regiment in an
other part OF the archipelago after a Sue
cessful term Of several months, and was
succeeded in June. 1893, by George P. An
derson who a member OF the Second
Oregon Volunteers, and is a graduate OF
Whitman College, Oregon, and also OF
Yale BY September SO; 1893, the total al
tendance in the Manila schools, including
+~fhe high school called the Ateneo, the girls
/ municipal schools, and the normal school,
( was 5,706. the school population being
some .. eco.
Secondary education had been provided
( for by the College of San Juan de Letran.
the municipal atheuaeHm in Manila, and
! colleges ard academies in the capital CT
ties which professed to fit their scholars
! for the University of St Thomas, IN Ma
I Mia. There were sixty-nine Of these in
+ situations in ali. The course OF ave years
1 in these Institutions included Latin,
! Greek. Spanish, French, general history,
sacred history. and Spanish history. aTith-
metic. algebra. geometry, trlgoEometFy,
physics chemistry, natural history, tosie,
moral phil jsophy, psychology, and tnrls-
+ tfan ethics. There were also normal
school a nautical school, business colleges,
! manual training school and q school of
| painting, sculpture, and engraving. tSenoF
/ Luna the painter whose works attracted
attention in Madrid and Paris some years
ago was a graduate Of the art school-)
/ There were also agricultural experiment
schools, a school for teiegraphy, and ad-
I vaueed schools for girls.
+ THE appointment OF q Superintendent
| OF Public Instruction IN the Philippines
was made May G. 1890 This appointment
marks the change from the military 10
| the civil control of the schools. It VS.
made by TIE civil commission appointed
| by the President TO form civil admin
/ istration in the islands
| Ctha and Porto Rico
In speaking of the conditions in Cuba
and Porto Rico, he says;
"Cn December 6, 1898 thu American
| military Governor published an order re-
| organizing the elementary and secondary
school system of the island 1t provide
| that there should a board Of educatiCn
| in each p .nieipaIity to take charge CT
the schools, with the mayor as pre- ident,
| whose dusy it is TO appoint the o n n
| members It provides that there should
| be one public schol fer boys and enc for
| girls in every town CT $50 3nhabItan S.
| and more schools fer larger populations.
| In smaller towns 'incompists' sche ols
=, hon u. II
| five pupiIs) are provided. II made at
| tendance compulsory under penalty CT
fine OF from So to S25, provided fer the
payment of the teachers, for s1perin-
tendence and inspection Of the schools,
free textbooks, and ether details The
course of study is prescribed by the s.
pcrintendent Of schools who was ap-
pointed in September, 1899. II March,
LfsGO. there were 131 boards OF education
in the island, and 3 egg schools in opera
ton, with 3. 500 teachers and l30 coo chill
dren enrolled. In 1899 there had bet n
oaly eco schools, with an attendance or
4eGG The expenditures Up to the end OF
March 1900. had been SO 59e.6G9, the
school fund being taken from the Gus, onis
receipts, and the estimate for 1860 E.,s
s4 060 eco.
The former condition of the people of
Porto Rico seems to have been Unfayerable
| to popular education. Poverty bred apathy
and the dDteCSQSntS OF lEe greater part Oh
the people, from an intellectual STANDPOINT,
were unfortunate,
| Over IS per cent Of the population. &C
cording to the report of General Davis,
could not read or write in 1899. The mis-
fortunes. too, of food and famine, which
have occurred since the American occupa-
ton, have in themselves been such check
\ to enterprise of any kind as to forbid ex-
pectation of progress in education New
ertheless, a decided change has taken
place. With conviction that the common
school is d safeguard of the people. the
Military Governor, General Henry, recon-
mended the reorganization Of the school
system OF the island the need of which
was recognized by representative Porto
| Ricans, who had already drawn up resolu-
| tons requiring the establishment of kim
flergartens and normal schools and asking
| other changes after the pattern of schools
| in the United States Gen John Eaton,
formerly Commissioner of Education was
| appointed by Sepor Salvador Carbenell,
Secretary Of the Interior, December 81,
| 1898, to take charge of the work and he
continued in Office as chief Of the bureau OF
| education of Porto Rico until May 1900.
| He was then succeeded in his duties by Dr.
Victor S. Clark. who has presented a very
full report on education in Porto Rico to
| Hon. George w. Davis, military conman-
| der.
IAN order was issued on May /, 1898. by
the military governor. Gen. Guy V Hen
ry, on recommended ton of Gen. John
Eaton, director Of public instruction in