New-York tribune., 1907-09-07

room for more millions in the treasures of
nearly every school, the per capita expenditure
have noted is small only when set IN falla-
cious comparisons. If we glance for moment
at the progress that has been made in organlz-
ing and managing educational institutions. We
shall discover that the 81 and odd coppers from
each citizen have been endowed with magic
mowers and are by no means the paltry sum
sophist might make them out to be.
GENERALIZATION THE KEYNOTE.
The keynote of educational policy, viewed
from the standpoint of organizers, has been cen
tralization of control. Every state in the union
has had for at least quarter century a regu-
larly organized department of education, and
the tendency of these departments has been
uniformly to exercise more and more close su-
pervision over country and village schools New
York Wisconsin and Minnesota have made the
greatest progress in unifying and pertecting
local systems under the central department At
present in this state there is a vigorous cam
paign being waged by the state commission ana
its friends for a still more radical thorough
management of district schools; bill Is pend
ing at Albany which. if passed, will bring all
country schools under the control of trained
superintendents and will consolidate clusters OF
villages and rural regions for mutual heip. In
short the CentraliZing trend so conspicuous III
,nodern business and industry and so widely
followed by the city boards of education Is
steadily gaining grouhd in places where not so
long ago il would have been deemed irnposSioIe-
And it is this tendency which Is making 'ne
surns spent for education accomplish so much'
Improved organization and control nave ilrGaNy
brought about reforms in every branch OF scho'I
work which far outrank in true slgnlhcaiiCe
all the showy statistics about SIZE ana "ed!ll'
The progress made by educational antioi'''e',
official and private, in persuadlng G"EeriIhe'It'
and individuals to turn their wealth scho"IWaiu'
;. ,,oc+ conenieuous. and this i due largely 10
tba wider pubcity coming with the be'teI ol
ganization of teachers and superintendent -
the magnificent private endo|men1S sIiea'iii'.7
in almost daily to all manner OF SciloolS
need scarcely speak, 50 familiar are t'eS.
known. but probably more important III '"e
long run are the increasing appropriations "i
the various states for primary education. + ~ %
1904 10 1906 about half the states IN IhS 'i'''''
rassed some laws increasing in one way or an
other the revenues Of the public schools. west
err, and Southern states have been generaliy
putting school lands on the rising real estate
market; nineteen states have either eNtehdeu :"
improved materially their school fund hNe7'
nents PENNSYLVANIA has placed a fixed annual
crarya of three cents an acre on lands located
within any school district and acquired by lle
state for forest reservations Vermont i''
turned over TO school funds S24O,oDD received
from the federal government in payment of war
claims and Louisiana has enacted an nherl-
+ance tax law drawing from to . per cent OF
all legacies larger than $4,000 and not in faN'r
of some charitable educational institution
the revenues from this assessment TO 20 eA-
clusiveiy TO the public schools
local OPTION"
Another striking tendency IS that OF giving
local school jurisdictions wider authority IN pro-
viding for the adequate support of their schooi9;
In the opinion of Professor Elliott, educauohdi
statistician for the federal government this ten
dencv is only a phase OF a far wider one NlSlple
throughout the whole country, to utlllze All
available means for increasing educational APP
nronriatjons Local option is being gwen 10
towns and counties everywhere on the queSLoi
of s1lDplementing state and other appropriations
and in a number of states the tax limit has pecn
raised in order to facilitate school leVles Mich
igan Ohio New Jersey and few other states
have aDparently felt the need of curblng the
educational enthusiasm of their cltlZens; TO-
tbeir legislatures have passed laws limiting
e,-an the generosity of taxpayers who Voiun-
tarilv vote extra sums for the schools. PerhapS
tbere is no more striking indication than TINS OF
tha depth and breadth Of the popular passion
for education
Iut what of the standard of education? AI'er
all in the answer to this question viii be found
tba ranIv to the query whether the country has
really progressed in recent decades. The stand
ard of education is itself such complex thing
that its character cannot be properly set forth
in less than hundred clauses. IL Involves The
number of students attending school, the reg
rlarity and length of attendance required OF
them the discipline maintained. the SUBJECTS
studied at various ages. the opportunity given
for the development of individual traits, the IN