The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-07-15

condition which confronts US, not
theory.
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EDUCATION IN VIRGINIA,
We have a private letter from dis
tinguished educator of Virginia, in which
he says:
my own opinion Is that we need in
the South to develop among parents a
| more real and deeper interest In the edu
cation OF their children. I find from the
statistics published by the United States
Commissioner of Education that there
came from all the high schools in the
State. reporting In the last year, only
134 boys prepared for college. There are
twelve Institutions in the State compel
Ing for these. which would give an aver
| age Of eleven and fraction apiece. If
we add to this proportionate number
for schools not reporting on this item. we
should still get only eighteen and half
students for each college, which would
keep up the college roll OF less than
sixty. since the average attendance of
each STUDENT would be less than three
years.
THE Jynchburg High School, certainly
one Of the best in the State, and the only
school preparing young men for college
in that city of $4,000 inhabitants. gradu-
ated this year two boys; last year three.
If such excellent schools, giving free
tuition are not patronized, the fault
ton of the people,"
parents ara DESTROYS bf giving their
children a common school education.
many OF them are Indifferent to higher
education. But 1t must be remembered
that among the poor the boys and too
often the girls, must go to work as soon
as they have learned the three RS" and
these are necessarily deprived OF col
leEe education. We cannot scold either
them or their parents. for poverty is
memorable.
who are able to send their boys to col
lege, but fail to do so because they do not
attach sufficient Importance to college
training, or because the boys develop an
early tendency to 'go into business"
Such boys get taste for money and they
want to become independent Of Dad"
and Dad" yields and let's them go in
for money making, when they ought to
be at college training the mind and fill
ing 1t with useful Information instead of
filling their pockets with dollars.
Somehow the impression prevails among
youths that collegiate education unfits
man for business life. but we have
never been able to understand how train
ing of the mind can unfit man for any
vocation in which mental capacity is
fact, as shown by the census, that the
men who are directing thought in this
land are for the most part the college
trained men.
Chancellor w. W. Smith, Of the Ran
dolph-Macon system. makes this very
clear in leaflet which he has prepared
for circulation. He says:
The second edition of who's Who in
America" contains 1900 pages Of brief
biographies. without eulogy. criticism or
comment, of such persons now living In
America as have become noted as fac
tors in the progress and achievement OF
the age. "Endeavor has been made"
say the editors. ito include all Ameri-
cans of more than local note In all lines
of useful effort" No name is inserted
or omitted for financial consideration.
With a view to determining what eff
feet education of the various grades has
had on success in life, effort was made
to ascertain the school training Of each
of these men and women "of more than
local note, and 1852 on their United
States list were thus educationally clas-
sified.
According to the best estimate we can
make from the latest census returns
there are In the United States 4O,TS2,0O7
persons over twenty-one years old
These are divided Internationally about as
follows:
Glass without school training, 4.Gs2, 49S
Class 2-With only common school
training ..32 Sc, 951
Glass 3-With common and high
school training mann. 2165.357
Glass with college or higher
education added 49,. lo71 POI
Now, tho question Is. how many of the
eight thousand distinguished citizens of
tho United States on the Who's Who list
list came from each of these classes?
The 4 $50, 49S OF Glass ! furnishedi 81
The 32, S6o951 of Glass furnished. sos
The 2,1G5.357 of Glass 3 furnished. -. 1.245
The POI Of Glass 4 furnished, -. 5,76s
Can any man read these telling figures
and then say that college course is
trifling consideration?