The Washington herald., 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 Last Sunday as TO
FriIIs in Our school system.
Editor Washington Herald:

Editor Washington Herald:
Ia your issue OF last Sunday, October p.
appeared a letter under the caption.
.'Fruls in School" old Fogey" Fitzpat-
rick is right. II ever there was need Of
anything in this nation ii is for just SUCH
schools as MIR Fitzpatrick is looking for
but fails to find As matter Of fact we
are lamentably weak in just such schools
as the nation needs.
Massachusetts. years ago, inspired part
~ by the genius of Horace Mann. and
partly by the desires Of others. made an
effort TO engrafl useful education in the
Massachusetts system. but failed For 4
long time nobody seemed TO care about
the education OF The Commonwealth Ill
tie ones. 50 long as Massachusetts was
able TO 90 on with its wonderful progress
in manufacturing without giving them
the education that would nave made them
the equal Of Europes best trained help.
4 time came. however. when the Old Bay
state began to see its danger from the
competing spindies. looms. FORCES. and
factories Of the South. First. il lost its
iron works. Boston. rs well as Worccs-
ter found the iron going 70. the coal
fields to Pit;sburs and Birmingham the
cotton factories 10 the Carolinas, Georgia.
Alabama, t1c. &c. a law was passed by
which the State bound Itself TO give $1,000
10 any city in the Commonwealth that
would put ~ another 10000 Tor the es-
Enlistment Of a textile school Narrow
as this law was it was a step in the
right direction. Lowell. Fall River, and
NrW TseTferF accented fha terms
High schools for the Few.
Massachusetts is now engaged in a
study Of this whole educational problem.
Indeed. an educational wave is sweeping
over tie country. 1t is bound to answer
Mr. Fitzpatrick's demand. for his demand
is common 10 about seventy-nine million
out OF over eighty millions Of people. As
nc says. fully s. per cent of the little peo-
pie that 90 10 the public schools. never
pass beyond the eighth grade The high
schools are for the few. as he says. not
for the many. and as he says, we'll for
those who could and would, were they
Obliged TO. send their boys and girls 10
q boarding school. There is no good rea-
son ia the world why a system should not
be- adopted that would give the s. per cent
who never get into the nigh schools. a
better chance
As Mr. Fitzpatrick says, under the pres
en-, system, the lower grades seem to be
regulated for the express purpose Of MAX
mg them feeders of the high school, and
the high schools arc made feeders for the
universities OF colleges. This is not as
il should be What the republic requires
is what the German empire has long had;
a system OF Industrial, Industrial art,
commercial. and technical schools. and
these should be 50 near TO the people that
the graduates Of the eighth grade would
gravitate easily for a TWO or three years
course into one or the oJner. Bismarck.
the greatest constructive statesman the
world has ever seen. said: "Wer die
schulz hat. Ia: die Zukunft." The ma
ton that has the schVols has the fu-
ture- change that a little so as 10 have
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 . per
cent OF the worlds wheat; 80 per cent Of
its gold; 81 per cent OF its copper: % per
cent OF its silver. "a per cent OF its man
ufactUTes. - per cent or It's iron; s. per
cent OF its cattle: 3 per cent OF its steel;
80 per cent Of its petroleum; a per cent
OF It's copper; - per cent of its cotton, and
s. per cent Of its 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 sound
ing forward 50 fast that the one must be
nearly 80 per cent, if not more; the other
nearly % per cent The point l make is
that we are the worlds greatest pro-
ducers. but always 10 the coarser grades.
The fine fabrics Of all kinds. textiles.
even many tools. come TO us from across
the sea. And not only do The fine fabrics
come to US. but the fine skilled mechanics,
the men who ornament our homes. make
the fine furniture. decorate our walls. &c,
come to US from beyond the sea. This was
long notorious. it is almost as notorious
to-day
\ few schools. notably the Massachu-
sets Tech, Pratts'' Sheffield, Armour's.
Willamson's. Col Auchunsys. the SPLEEN
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 il comes TO schools. of the right
kind we are weak. abominably weak.
When we want the better class Of labor
decorators. designers. &c. &c. we have
to turn to Europe. One shop in the Unit
Ell States is said to have had eco jewelers.