Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-08-29
TEACHERS SCARCE
Census Bulletin Shows There is
One for Every II Children
of School Age.
NUMBER ON THE INCREASE
Some PecuIiarities in Statistics From
Different Sections Of the
County.

The bureau of the census has just
published in bulletin % a discussion
and analysis of the census statistics
of teachers. written by Prof. Walter
F. Wilcox. of Cornell university.
In these statistics no distinction is
made between teachers in schools and
those in colleges and universities. The
importance of the teachers occupa-
ton in the United States is empha-
sized by the fact that the number
of teachers exceeds the total number
of clergymen, physicians and lawyers.
Few persons require the services of
a professional teacher before they are
| 3 years of age or after they are %;
accordingly, the writer of this bulle-
tin, with a view to determining how
the supply of teachers compares with
the demand, has computed the ratio
of the number of teachers to the total
number of persons from to "a years
of age Thus he finds that in cont
mental United States in 1900 there
were 40 teachers for every 10000 per-
sons of the age specified, which repre-
sents an average of l teacher for IL
potential pupils According to this
AiiNhhOu VI comparison iit supply VI
teachers is increasing and has more
than doubled within the last so years,
since in 1870 there were only % teach
ers to every 10000 persons of teachabIe
age. or ! teacher for 1877 potential pu-
pills.
Nevada Lends.
In 1900 Nevada had the largest pro
portional number of teachers reported
in any state or territory; Vermont
was the second state in this respect,
Maine the third and Iowa the fourth
The proportion of teachers was small
est in some of the southern states.
During the past decade the proportion
has increased in every state and ter
ritory, the increase reaching a maxi
mum in the state of Washington. The
states of the north and west showed
a greater increase than those of the
south
In the larger cities of the geographic
division in continental United States
about four-fifths. or so per cent. of
the teachers were women. while in
the country the per cent of women
varied from 59-5 in the south central
division TO 77.2 in the north Atlantic
division
In the south the proportion of the
male teachers in the larger cities was
twice as great as in the smaller cities
and country districts, while in the
north Atlantic states there was com
Iparatively little difference between city
and country in this respect.
Teachers as a class were older in
1900 than at any previous census. and
therefore were probably more expert
enced and efficient The tendency in
this country, as in others, seems to
be toward an increasing proportion of
| teachers in vigorous adult life.
Old Teachers In East.
The white teachers were younger
than the negro, but older than the In
dian teachers. Elderly teachers were
most numerous in the east and least
in the middle west There was a larg
er proportion of young teachers in
cities of al least $4,000 population than
outside of such cities. Young male
| teachers were most numerous among
whites and least among negroes. while
young female teachers were most nu-
merous among Indians and least
among whites.
A. F. Greaser, Horace Mann