The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-01-15
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Need of Trade Schools.

Tothe Editor of The Age-Herald.
 With respect to the technical school matter: What we most need and what we may be able to secure is not an engineer ing school, but a trade school. There are engineering schools enough in the coun- try now, and they are attended by young men whose means enable them to secure such advantages. But good trade schools are few and far between. The tendency of technical schools seems to be to reach out towards a bigger and higher type of instruction, to require better and better preparation from their students, to in crease the cost of an education so that it is beyond the means of thousands of young men who are anxious to do some thing for themselves.
 There are plenty of schools for train ing young men who wish to direct af- fairs, to design machinery, to advise man. ufacturers. to plan work for others to execute But what about the young men who are to work under such advice and plans? Many of them rise to positions of importance with corresponding salar- ies but the majority do not get beyond the usual per diem remuneration.
 It seems to me that the education that is most needed here is the education that takes hold of the average man and qual- flies him to do better work for more pay. It is the average man we seek to help, the man above the average generally helps himself.
 The scope to be given to the school under consideration will determine the financial assistance we expect to receive from this community and from those who are interested in it's industrial growth.
 We shall have to appeal to the citizens of Greater Birmingham and to those who have invested here. but who reside else where The plan to be adopted must com mend itself to our own citizens first, and then to outsiders. We cannot go to any one and ask for subscription without having definite plan which he may con slider. If we start in a modest way, which indeed we shall have to do, the very first question that will be asked will be. What do you propose to do with this money?' No sane man will subscribe to an inchoate plan, a nebulous thing that may after so long time assume some sort of shape by merely contracting upon itself We must say to our friends, '.This better one. do us the favor of telling us bteter one. do us the favor of telling us what it is.'' aa
 What kind of a school will be of the greatest benefit to this district. having in view its present and future needs? This Is the first question. Having made reply, we shall then be ready to ask for the public support of the plan. What do we need? How are we to get it? We can not get anything unless the citizens gem erally approve of the plan Whether we shall get it then remains to be seen
 I, for one, take the position that we do not need an engineering school, but we do need a good trade school. so orr ganized that 1t may be extended to cover such emergencies as may arise in the future Ke need to teach young men to do things and do them well. not so much to teach them to plan things for other people to do
 It is the plan of the Pratt institute and the Winona school rather than Columbia or the Rose Polytechnic.
 WILLIAM B. PHILLIPS.
 Birmingham, January IA, 1907.