The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1902-09-20
ole GROWTH ofPUBLIC
HIGH SCHOOLS y %%%
BY HON. w. 7. HARRIS.

mentaTy SchOOL, there IS another phase d III SuauSuCS
q which really gives us greater cause for rejoicing, and l
u@t%G wish briefly to go over with you some of the statistics
40 relating to secondary and higher education; for, while
1 A there is progress in securing a longer school year and
an increased number of days in actual attendance in the
elementary school, there is a far greater ratio of increase
in the numbers that continue their studies beyond the eight years
work of the district school and enter the public high school, or the
private academy, and this great increase in secondary education has
furnished its quota of population prepared to enter college. The
first aspect of this increase in secondary pupils is the opening of new
high schools. 1t would seem as though the whole population Of the
country, in all its sections, north, south, east and west, had resolved
to have free high school instruction for its children, for IN the past
ten years-and three years ISe5, 1896 and 1897 were years Of
financial d~saster-there was an increase in the total number of high
schools from 2526 in 1890 to COOS in 1900.
The number of high schools in the United States in 1860 was
about 30. At that time wise people shook their heads and said:
ut is doubtful if the constitution permits the education of the
people in free high schools. District schools may be all right enough,
but our forefathers never intended to furnish a liberal education to
all children at the expense of the taxpayers" The friends OF free
high schools were somewhat uneasy over this. But the next ten
years saw the number Of high schools rise to four times their former
number-the 40 of 1860 had increased to at least 100 in 1870; and
in the next ten years the increase continued, so that by 1880 there
were in operation nearly 800 public high schools. These, as we
have seen, reached $3.50 in 1890, and COOS in 1900.
The most noteworthy circumstance connected with this is that
the increase Of public high schools has gone on in all sections OF
the country. Take, for example, the North Atlantic states; these
already had 76 high schools in 1890, and they came near to doubling
their quota in 1900, in which year they reported Iy48. The South
Atlantic states had only rs high schools in 1890, but in ten years
they had in operation nearly four times as many, for they report 44
in 1900. The South Central States did even better than this, for they
increased their public high schools from I58 to 675. The Western
division of states-includng those on the Pacific coast and states ii
the mountains-had 81 high schools in 1890, but 2o in 1900. The
North Central states have long led in the number OF public secondary
schools. They had in 1890 more than half Of all the high schools il
the country, and they have more than half now. Their quota in
creased from 1876 to 3,I63 public high schools.
We all know that an increase in the number Of schools doe:
not always mean an increase in the number of pupils. | must ado
to our survey OF the increase OF high schools the data in regard t.
pupils. And it is gratifying to know that, on the whole, the increas
in secondary pupils in high schools has been much greater than TIT
.-o~ooro ~ +La ,rrharo f ea0oroka ccbon1 M ubO1a ITnited Gf1fA
enrolled in round numbers 100000 high school pupils in 1890, an
$4,000 in 1000.