Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-06-30
EDUCATION AND PROSPERITY.
Some Comparisons Between Maryland
and Massachusetts.

and Massachusetts.
Baltimore Herald-Just one hun.
Gred years ago the following unflatter.
ing estimate of Maryland's place in ed
location was written: ALTHOUGH Mary.
land has greatly extended her com
mercisl relations, increased and en-.
larged her manufactures, and is daily
making improvements in agriculture
yet she has shamefully neglected to
cultivate the arts and sciences" The
writer proceeds To discourse upon the
practical benefits OF public education
and finds that il is indispensable for
the development of high type of cit.
2enship.
The earliest general school law IN
Maryland was passed in 1886 and pro.
viGtd foT the establishment at Annap-
Oils of King Williams school, The
trustees We're also given authority to
establish a school in each county.
However, until 1928 no school ether
than that at Annapolis had been de
veloped. An act passed in that year
definitely provided that school
should be established in each of the
twelve counties of the province Every
school was to receive an appropriation
of one hundred acres of land and
twenty pounds sterling a year for the
use of the schoolmaster. This system
continued in vogue until shortly be
fore the Revolutionary war, when in
crease of population demanded an in
crease in the number of schools. The
free school lands OF several OF the
counties were thereTpon sold and the
proceeds divided; in some instances
the funds of two adjacent countie
were consolidated. This resulted in
the establishment of addit.ona
schools, or, as in the case of Charlotte
Hail. st. Mary county, which was
founded in | IA personal subscriptions
augmented the public funds.
| While Maryland was thus struggling
with the problem of economical--even
/ pars. monious- education for its youth
/ Massachusetts, had in full force a
splendid township system of popular
education which had been estabIishe
by school law antedating those OF
all the other colonies, and which fur
nished the model and inspiration fot
the public school system of the coun
try, as it is today. At the time when
King Williams school was the only
considerable educational institution in
Maryland, Harvard university had
upon its alumni list the names of men
Of that colony who took foremost
part in directing the fate of the new
born nation in the stirring times of the
Revolution.
! Baltimore city suffered from the in.
adequate educational provisions Of the
State. It's educational ideals in the
early days are set forth in an adver-
tisement in the Maryland Gazette in
the year 1852 for schoolmaster of "a
good sober character. who understands
teaching English, writing and arithme.
tic and who it was added, will meet
with very good encouragement from
the inhabitants of Baltimore Town, if
well recommended"
| BY 1880 public education in this city
had taken much the form that It was
to have until the reorganization of the
school board under the terms of the
new city charter
When Professor Ely was at the head
of the economic department of the
Johns Hopkins University he made a
comparison between Baltimore and
Boston in which he attempted to show
that the large disproportion cl wealth
per capita between the two cities and
in favor of Boston was wholly due to
the latter's superior educational sys-
TEN. Baltimore Is fortunate in now
being outside the pale OF such invid-
ious comparisons, and another genera
ton trained under prevailing methods
and coordinate with the newer Balti-
more developmcrt ought to make this
city outstrip its New England and all
ether rivals.