The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-10-28
SCHOOLING FOR MANY
Educational Tendency Is to
Benefit the Few.
EXAMPLE SET BY GERMANY
Industrial Teaching Urged by Stu
dent of Conditions Who shares the
View Expressed BY "OId Fogy"
Fitzpatrick Lust sunday rs to
FriIIs in Our school system.

Editor Washington Herald
IN your issue 81 last Sunday October Il.
appeared a letter under the caption
/ "Frills in School" old Fogey' Fitzpat-
/ rick is right. If ever there was need Of
anything In this nation il is for just such
| schools as MIR Fitzpatrick is looking for
but fails TO find As matter Of fact we
arc lamentably weak In just such schools
rs the nation needs.
Massachusetts. years ago. inspired part
/ ly by The genius Of Horace Mann. and
/ partly by the desires of others. made an
/ effort to engran useful education in the
| Massachusetts system. but failed For
long time nobody seemed 10 care about
the education Of the Commonwealth lii
tie ones. 50 long as Massachusetts was
able 10 20 OF with its wonderful progress
in manufacturing without giving them
tie education that would have made them
the equal or EurOpc's best trained help.
a time came. however. when the Old Bay
Stale began to see its danger from the
competing spindles. looms. forgcs. and
factories Of the South. FIRST. it lost It's
iron works Boston as well rs Wurces-
ter. found the iron going 10 the coai
fields. to Pittsburs and Birmingham. the
cotton factories 10 The Carolinas. Georgia.
Alabama, &c. sc. \ law was passed by
which the State bound Itself to give $4,000
10 any city IN the Commonwealth that
would put up another $500 for the es-
adjustment Of q textile school Narrow
as this law was il was a step in the
right Erection Lowell. Fall River, and
New BEDFORD accepted the terms.
High schools for the Few.
Massachusetts is now engaged in
study Of this whole educational problem.
Indeed, an educational wave is sweeping
over The country. II is bound 10 answer
Nr. FitzDatrick's demand. for his demand
is common 10 about sevcnty-uine million
out OF over eighty millions Of people As
he says. fully $ per cent Of the little peo-
pie that 90 to the public schools. never
pass beyond the eighth grade. The high
schools are Tor tho few, as he says. not
for the many. and as he says, well. for
those who could and would, were they
obliged 60, send their boys and girls 10
a boarding school. There IS no good rea-
son in the world why a system should not
be adopted that would give the s. per cent
VINO never set into the nigh schools a
better chance
As Mr. Fitzpatrick says. under the pres
vut system. the lower grades seem to be
regulated for the express purpose OF max
iug them feeders Of the high school and
Size high schools are made feeders for the
universities or colleges. This is not as
IL should be. What the republic requires
is what the German empire has long had: |
q system Of industrial Industrial art.
commercial. and technical schools. and
these should be so near 10 the people that
the graduates Of the eighth grade would
graviiate easily for two or three years
course into one or the oIner. Bismarck. /
The greatest cOnst ruCuVe statesman the /
world has ever seen. suTG- Wer die /
schulz hat. hat die ZukuufI" The ia
ton thar has the schUois has the fu- I
turc, I change that a little so as TO have Z
il read. "The nation that has the schools /
plus the Industrial raw materials, has the /
future. We have the industrial raw ma
terialS. Indeed. our resources are so re- /
markablc that no part OF the world can
compare with us We turn out - Der (
cent OF the worlds wheat; 80 per cent Of |
ITS gold, 3 per cent of its copper; g per /
cent Of It's silver. q per cent Of its man /
ufaCtCUes. s. per cent or It's iron. S. per /
cent OF its cattle: IS per cent Of its steel. /
80 per cent Of its petroleum; q per cent /
Of is copper; . per cent OF its cotton. and I
81 per cent or It's corn Indeed. We are /
doing better than this to-day. for these /
are the figures for 1900
Technical Training.
Our iron and steel production Is BOUND /
ing forward so fast that the one must be .
nearly 90 per cent. If not more. the other 4
nearly 90 per cent The point I make Is f.
that we are the worlds greatest pro. /
ducers. but always in the coarser grades.
The fine fabrics Of all kinds. textiles.
even many tools. come 10 US from across
the sea. And not only do the fine fabrics
come 10 US. but the fine skilled mechanics.
the men who ornament our homes make
The fine furniture decorate our walls. &c.
come 10 us from beyond the sea. This was
long notorious, il is almost as notorious
to-day.
\ few schools. notably the Massachu-
sets Tech, rPratts, Sheffield, Armour's.
Williamson :. Col. Auchunsy's. the splcn-
did textile school in Philadelphia directed
by Dr. Miller. and Mr. French. have done
good work
We are the worlds greatest food. cloth
ing. shelter. heat. and light producers
When II comes to schonis. Of the right
kind. we are weak. abominably weak
When we want ihe better class Of labor
decorators. designers. &c, &c, We have
to turn TO Europe One shop In the Unit
ed States is said 20 have had 600 jewelers.