The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-03-06
Their wages IN Colonial
days

teacher" in Cambridge. in 1850 teaching
Latin school" OF nine PUPILS at a SAL
airy OF s57 a year. In 1851 Essex made q
grant Of public lands 20 maintain
Latin ,cI' and fixed the teachers
salary at $3.50 a year The Plymouth
colony ia 1888 granted TO certa= n persons
the exclusive right to catch hass and
maciScreI on the cape coast and apprOpri-
ated the proceeds 90 the public school
fund From 1854 10 1888 the receipts from
this source amounted to 500 a year.
The schOolhOuses were built on public
lands and IS near the meeting house" as
possible. Here during week DAYS the
children we're taught reading. writing and
arithmetic In Latin" or gh. schools
they were taught Latin. Greek. and good
manners" At night the scho0Ihouse was
used as a watchnOGse ard On sunday il
was open for the entertainment Of those
who did not so home between church
services. The Bible was the only reading
book in use in the early Colonial days.
AT drst only those unable to employ pri-
vate teachers sent their children to the
public schools. Goyernesses and private
schools conducted BY young women con
tested the field with the public schools
until long after the Revolution.
These private schools were especially
common during the so-called dark
days" from 1880 to IT2O-the interim be-
tween the sturdy Pilgrim leaders. dead,
and the sturdy Revolutionary leaders. not
yet born. Nearly every town was hned
over and over again for neglecting its
school during this 0erfod and the dame
schools sprung Up everywhere. In 1905
Nine. Knight opened such a school in
Boston and later had Ben Franklin for
a pupil II was the beginning OF the end.
Mu1e. knight had ZOE reams OF paper that
she had bought IN New York at an auction
store for 81 a ream- Il had been taken
by a pirate boat from a Holland ship and
was sold cheap Letter paper was worth
s. 80 a ream and was scarce. Parchment
skins were still in ordinary use in the
schools and we're worth IS cents each
The booksellers in Boston numbered
thirteen in 1868. but the number proved
unlucky and was reduced TO one in 100.
The percentage OF the population who
could read and write was lower than
&c -t-A zen my years LEA0IEs anu the
spelling in the public records became al
most unintelligibIe-
a reaction, however. set in. and before
1863 the district schools were taught two
months in winter by a man teacher and
two months in summer BY a woman. In
town there must be six months Of school
a year. and the education Of children
either privately or in public schools was
compulsory Noah Webster-s spelling
book made its appearances and words be-
gan to be spelled the same way in dir
ferent towns The first circulating Ii
brary was established in Salem in 1883.
Compared with other professions. pay
sicians for instance, the salaries Of teach
ers. low as they seem TO US, were never
unfair The only trouble was that they
were not always paid as the towns did
not always have the money These ar
rearages ran sometimes for years Prior
to 1882 physicians. even in Boston. where
rates were higher than IN the smaller
towns. charged but . cents for a visit.
except to such as were in high life 10
whom the fee was 50 cents; a visit in con-
sultation 81 and double Zee for night calls
But the salary Of the teacher OF the Bcs-
ton Latin school was S200 in 1870. and was
increased from time to- time Even after
the combination Of physicians in 1852 it IS
doubtful IL many OF them had a larger in
Gene than the salary OF the principal Of
the high school. which was then $500.
The school teachers began 10 have
trouble with the Puritan ministers almost
from the start Cheever was expelled
from the New Haven school for his views.
but continued 70 teach in other Colonies
till he died in 170S. having taught school
for seventy years His 1eathbed state
ment Convinces one that from New Eng
lands school teachers. rather than from
its Puritan ministers, came that which
made il the cradle OF liberal thought as
well as of political independence in Amer
lea.