The Newtown bee., 1906-02-09
The OUTLOOK.

The OUTLOOK.
 llliterscy It may be a matter of
 In the surprise to some to Usitsd states. learn that the United States is still behind five of the Euro- pean nations in the matter of popular education. Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland are all of them ahead of us in the small number of people who cannot read or write. Our census authorities count any per- son under nine years of age who can- not read or write in English or any other language as being an illiterate According to the Census bureau there were little over six million such peo- pie in our country in 1900, 1t being nearly one person in every ten. We arc, however, improving on our statis- tics little, for in 1890 the population was 1ss illiterates to every thousand of the population. One cause of our large number of this class is the lack of education among the negroes. The proportion of illiterstes among them is 444 per thousand. If only the cen- sus of the white people were taken it would show that 46 out of every thous- and were illiterate. One fact which seems rather different from our New England ideas is, that taking the coun- try over, there are more women who cannot read or write than men. The foreign population that comes to us from the Latin races also helps to raise the average of illiteracy. The children of the cities are better edu. cated than the children of the country, and, rather curiously, the children of foreign population have less illiteracy among them than exists among the children of the native born. But here again the negroes count.
 
 Secretary Root Next summer, if all
 In Brazil. goes we'll, Secretary of State ElihS Root will attend the Pan-Amsrican Congress in Rio Janeire as the representatives of this country and as a direct representative of the President. This is the third meeting of the Pan.American Congress and it affords an opportunity for the natives on this side of the Atlantic to get to- gether and compare notes and see what can be done to help each other commercially and otherwise. The United States has been quite strenu- ous in its upholding of the Monroe Doctrine, which is that no European nation should subjugate any of the countries of the Western Continent and some of the South Americanre. publics are said to be little nervous about their own autonomy, fearing lest the United States, under the stren- uous President, should force them into treaties and regulations that would in- jure their trade or relations with Europe. This Congress is hoped to do away with any such feeling and to es- tablish a bond of unity between the American nations. Secretary Root has had some experience in handling South American affairs and so is believed to he the fitting man to smooth out the wrinkles on the brows of our southern sisters. It is also probably true that if South America knew more of our manufactures she might be induced to buy a larger amount of goods from our people. Reciprocity in trade would be good thing for all the countries on this continent and would help to make good feeling.
 Outdoor Life In the modern
 at Home. crusade against tuberculosis a great deal is made of the method of sleeping out of doors and living out of doors. In the sanitarium the bed room windows are all removed or the patient sleeps in tent or lit