The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1906-07-13
DOES EDUCATION PAY?


brings to the test of profit the educa
tional system of the Uuited States,
The one theory upon which the govern
ment can undertake to educate the eiti-
zens is that ours is government of
the people and that it must educate the
citizenship just as it educates soldiers
at West Point and naval officers at
Annapolis.
These public schools, then, are pri
marily schools of citizenship. We have
recently published communication call
ing in question the curriculum Of our
High School because it is not practical.
The statement was made that there
ought not to be any Greek; that the
High School ought not to prepare boys
for college.
The High School ought to take up
and extend the system of the common
schools, ought to be the logical develop
ment of the common schools. When a
boy leaves the High School he should
be far better prepared than when he
entered it for any vocation in life, and
if he has the will, the ambition. the de-
sire to enter college. he ought to be
able to do so.
The college preparatory training pre-
pares the student for the best work in
every branch of business. Education
only develops the faculties of boys. 1t
confcrs no new faculties. it cannot
put in the brain or character of hoy
things that were not there before.
Some boys will leave high school per
fcctly satisfied, eager to enter life, with
no further desire to follow the intel
lcctual life. These make admirable mon
alert, active and ambitious, they COM
plctc their education in the contests for
industrial or commercial supremacy.
Others look upon high school training
as merely preliminary, and they follow
along the roads already open to them
until they achieve higher distinction, not
merely As scholars and'chemists and en-
ginccrs, but as men of thought and ac-
ton. as philosopher, AZ educated men.
as leaders Of men. These have their
part to play in America. American life
needs them rs it needs no other Gle
mcnt, The American people need Greek
asno other nation nccds.it. Tho practical
things of life take care of themselves.
but the purely intellectual must be
nourishcd. There is much in American
life and character that responds to the
teachings of Grccian history, that adapts
to it's own uses Grccian philosophy and
that is trained for higher flights by
Grecian poetry.
We cannot turn out of an American
school men Of uniform character, pur-
poses and desires. We do not do that
even in our naval and military schools
We do not want to do it. Education frees
men from the bondage Of ignorance
By this freedom each is enabled for
himself to develop his own life along
the lines of his predispositions.
But education certainly pays any
State, and this Mr.. Dabney clearly
shows. He takes the annual production
per capita of the people of the United
oldICoy CdSil NoiiieIl anu C1lllt LOT
the year 1900, 1850 and 1899, and he
shows how the production per capita
corresponds to the scale of education in
each community.
In 1900 the production per capita in
the United States was less than $50. 90,
or 10 cents day. In 1850 the production
increased to $1,000, or 80 cents day.
In 1899 it was $40. 90, or So cents day.
The production in Massachusetts, in
1899 was $4,000 for each man, woman
and child, or So cents day. The pro-
duction of the people eff Ohio on the
same date was $780, 90 for each person,
or GA cents day. In Kentucky it was
$12700 a year, or Al cents day.
Another way to express it, according
to Mr., Dabney, is to say that the aver
age family of five in Kentucky must
live on $685. year, counting everything
produced on the farms and in the fac
tories, while the average in Ohio is $3.50
year, in Massachusetts $1,000; the
average in the United States is $3.50.
There are great many elements that
enter into statements of this kind, and
they are only Apr oximately correct,
but taking them as approximately cor
rect, they carry a lesson of profound
meaning We find that the average
school period of each adult in the United
States in 1899 was "A years; in Massa-
chusctts, years; in Ohio So years; in
Kentucky little ovar 3 years. Sum
marizing the matter and putting il in an