The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-02-01
Davis Bill to Provide Early
Technical Training.
BR0ADENS SCHOOL WORK.
This Important Measure Receives The
Encouragement Of Secretary Viii.
son and Prot. Hays.
lFRoM THE MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL !

lFROM THE MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL
Washington, Jan. 2S-Secretary Will
son has committed the department of
agriculture to the educational PROPOSE
ton contained in the bill introduced in
the house of representatives this week
by Mr.. Davis of the third Minnesota
district. Professor Hays, assistant Sec
rotary, is also enthusiastically in favor
of the bill, and the next session OF con-
oress will find that all the vast machin-
cry and influence of the department has
been turned toward making the bill a
law.
Never before has the general govern
ment taken so decided stand in favor
of putting rural education on modern
scientific basis. The Davis bill provides
for an appropriation every year equal to
10 cents for every inhabitant of the
country, or $SOOOOOO, on the basis of
a population of sO,OOO,OOO This money
is to be expended in the development
of agricultural schools in the rural dis
tricts and of Industrial schools in cities
of more than 100000 population.
The Davis bill, which expresses the
latest and the best educational thought
of the country, proposes a revolution
in prevailing educational methods. The
old philosophy of education gave the
student a college course, and technical
instruction later, as graduate course,
thus limiting technical education to col
lege men and creating an arlstocracy,
of education for the few in the pro-
fessions. Ninety eight per cent of the
children of the country, under this sys-
TEN, were taught nothing in the public
schools, which were as far as they went,
but the "Three RS" and what they
knew about agriculture, in the country,
and about the mechanics arts, in the
city, was picked up hit and miss, nearly
always under the supervision of incom-
petent volunteer instructors, thus per-
of the time when neither agriculture nor
the mechanics arts had been reduced to
a scientific basis.
1t is the opinion in Washington that
Representative Davis has struck a great
Hlead" with his bill, and that his name
is likely to become Unidentified with
what will be perhaps the most import
ant piece of educational legislation in
the country's history.
: Professor Hays, assistant secretary of
agriculture, has given the philosophy
underlying the Davis bill careful study,
and what he has to say on the general
proposition contained in the bill is very
interesting.
'To develop country-life education, as
instruction for our city schools is devel-
oped, two important changes are neces-
sary," says Professor Hays. "First,
there is needed in every rural congress
sional district an agricultural high
school with capacity to accommodate
several hundred pupils, and, second,
rural schools should be consolidated. In
these two points unanimity of opinions
is being slowly but surely reached by
those who have paid most attention to
this subject; and the next large public
expenditure for education made by the
American people should be for the con-
solidation of the rural schools, the devel-
opment of agricultural high schools, and
the development of industrial work in
our country life and in our city
schools.
"It has been proposed that congress
offer to each rural congressional dis
trict $4,000 annually toward the sup
port of an agricultural high school. In
1887 congress gave to each state $4,000
for agricultural experiment work, and
in 1896 this amount was made $4,000