The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-12-02

resulting in some striking changes of
rank. It is notable that the states max
ing the greatest gains in rank between
1870 and 1900 are some of the newer
states west Of the Mississippi while those
undergoing the greatest losses of rank
are northern states east of the Missis-
sippi.
In this matter of iliteracy among chill
dren the cities make much better show
ing than the rural districts. The line be-
tween city and country cannot, however,
be very accurately drawn, because the
cities with less than $4,000 inhabitants
are not, for the purposes of this study,
separable from the distinstively rural
areas. f
Accordingly, the area which, for con-
venience, is designated as country in
cludes many Of these smaller cities. In
the country as thus defined the iiliteracy
among children is 88.7; in the city. using
this term to designate coIlect;vel. cities
of over 25, 600 inhabitants, it is only 10.4.
The contrast is least in the North At
lantic states, where the so-called country
includes many large towns or cities un-
der $4,000 in which the school systems
| are by no means inferior to those in the
| large cities. In this section of the United
Sta+ child illiteracy in the city is IS
and in the country 1913. In the South.
| the difference is very marked; in the
!, South Atlantic division. 32.4 and 1884
for city and country, respectively, and in
the South Central, 449 and 1913.
The greater illiteracy in the country
| does not necessarily indicate tha the re-
| gard for education is~iess there than in
the city. One cause of the difference is
the difficulty of providing school faeili-
ties for a scattered country population.
The development of the school transpor
tation system, already inaugurated in
many country communities, will tend to
remove this disadvantage. Another cir
cumstance also operating to the disad-
vantage of the country population is
their smaller per capita wealth, which
necessitates smaller per capita local ap-
preparation for schon purposes. Realiz-
ing that a certain amoust of public in
struction is indispensable for the general
| good of the state, legislatures in many
states have imposed a state school tax
| This system, by which the Weather
school districts are made to assist the
poorer, will naturally tend to lessen the
difference between city and country in
the mater of illiteracy.
In comparison which includes the
total population at least 10 years of age,
the female sex is shown to be more IL
literate than the male, the iliteracy for
females being 1922 per 1000 and for
males 1914. But the contrast is less
marked than it was in 1890, when. the IL
| literacy for the two sexes was 143.8 and
and 1885, respectively. In other words
progress in the elimination of illitertcy
has beer greater for the female sex than
for the male: This appears to reflect a
change in the relative efficiency and
completeness of the elementary edu-
cation of the two sexes and probably in
dicates that increased Importance is
being attached to the elementary as we'll
as the higher education af women. In
the younger age periods the female sex
is now less initerate than the male, and
the period in which this is true appears
to be lengthening, extending from 10 to
| 10 in 1890 and from 10 to 2 in 1300 In
| explanation of the fact chat the girls
have not only caught UP with the boys
| but are going ahead Of them, it is sug-
| gested that boys are less subject to pa
rental control than girls and more prone
to play truant; and that they are also
more frequently required to contribute
| point to the coming of TIME when fe-
earners when they should <be in school
| Thus the changes which are in progress
| pointo the coming Of a time when fe-
males of all ages viii be. less illiterate
than males. They also point to the COM
ing of a time in the more remote future
when iliteracy for all classes win have
practically disappeared, and equality Of
the sexes in this respect will thus be re
stored in a millennium of literaey.
Attention is called to the fact that
among native white males Of native par
entage the degree Of illiteracy in, the. age
group As to 81 is exceptionally high
net only, as might be expected, higher
than in any younger age group. but high
er also than in the next older age group,
50 to GA. Since those persons who were
hetween 45 and 54 in 1870 were het1vna,,