The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1902-12-18
ELOQUENT FIGURES
They Relate to School Teachers, Nor.
NAL Schools and Colleges.

teachers of Indiana. 1t is, SO far as
L know, the first attempt to gather
such valuable information, and as it
is profitable sometimes to publish
statistics of illiteracy, with a view to
stimulate educational enterprises, so
this table may we'll be called "ElO-
quent Figures" as the indianapolis
Journal does in referring TO it. The
first revelation that is eloquent is
that only one teacher in fourteen is a
college graduate: and the second is
vel NOR eloquent, namely, that
only m in is a graduate of any
normal school, as his figures show.
But in his tabulation the graduates Of
t~hesseveral training schools in the state
are left out Of this class. Thus the
$50 teachers in indianapolis who are
graduates of our local training schools
and are second to none in efficien-
w do tCdSiCiS, duu. oo idi do MA
ton is obtainable. half as many more
in other cities, are not counted as
trained teachers. Classifying them
with the normal graduates, as they
certainly should be, and no doubt will
be hereafter, it shows that n in
five of the public school teachers are
graduates from normal schools.
His figures are eloquent in another
way. By his table % per cent. of
these normal graduates are from the
State Normal and As per cent. from
the private normal schools. But,
adding the graduates from the several
training schools which are attached
10 the public schools of several cities,
the ratio is 60 per cent. from the
private normals and local training
schools and 40 per cent. from the
State Normal. These. too, are elo-
quent figures.
But to obtain the real elOquence of
these figures they must be read togeth-
er with some important comparison
figures. First, as to the humiliating
paucity of college graduates. To un-
derstand its significance we must re-
member that during the first twenty
five years of our statehood there were
established only four colleges. The
old constitution commanded the
legislature TO provide for a state
university at the earliest possible date.
True, it never attempted to, but with
the prospect of the state going into it
at any time, the people did not take
hold of college building. But when
the new constitution of 1851 had all
this eliminated and competition with
the states treasury was not to be
feared, they took hold of college build
with a will, and within ten years there
we're colleges begun in eighteen coun-
ties. Some Of these built large and
commodious ediices and they we're so
well attended that in 1861, ten years
after the abandonment of colleges by
the state, there was n college stu
dent in the state for every 33S popula-
ton. In 1902 there was only one for
every 657, though the state had spent
meanwhile nearly So, 900, 900 in crush
ing out most of the embryo colleges
that were begun in good faith that
they would not be competed with by
the state and in greatly dwarfing
those that have yet survived the un-
equal competition. These figures are
eloquent when read with the figures
that show how few teachers are COL
lege graduates.
There are other companion figures
that are equally eloquent, We have
one of the best state normal schools,
if not the very best, IN America,
whose graduates are as well equipped
for service as the graduates of any
normal school are; and ever lover of
education is justly proud of them, but
as a class they are Ia no respect more
efficient than the graduates of our
local training school or the graduates
of the private normal schools of the
state; and we have not been n%iggardly
in our care of it, having given it from
the state treasury in the thirty-six
years of it's existence the handsome
sum of 81. 1852, 300 So, an average of
$40, 619 per year from the beginning.
the amount increasing annually, I'M
til last year it was 500, $50. Besides
this, the cost to every student is not
materially less than at any of the pri-
vate normal schools, and much greater
than at u city training school.
These are eloquent figures. There is
still another class of companion figures
that must be read in connection with
the figures given in the excellent table
of the superir tendent, as showing the
imperative demand for more state nor
mails OF none at all. From the very
necessities of the case all such insti-