Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-07-09

Harry +. SWEET New hampshire; Lewis
II. M"adcr. Rhode Island. These COM
mittces will make their report this even
ing
After two vocal solos by w. r. Shaul,
tho discussion of industrial education
WAS opened.
RELATED To NATIONAL PROS
PERITY.
The first speaker. President George
emory Fellows of the University Of
Maine. considered the question Of In
dustrial trimming In it's direct relation to
national prosperity. Financial ndepen-
denco. said the speaker consists in
ability to secure sufficient income for
maintenance and provision for old age.
In all times and all countries individuals
have become wealthy through monopoly,
hut the problem of the prosperity OF the
masses Is a comparatively new one. The
great industrial prosperity of Germany
Is due to It's industrial education. Amer
lean industrial prosperity has been ac-
complshed with a wanton waste Of ma
tural resources and has been dependent
largely upon imported skilled labor
We expect of leaders the highest quail
fications but we fail In supplying :nem
with trained assistants. and this is one
OF tho conspicuous shortcomings In our
system OF education. Til" speaker cited
the prosperity IN Denmark on account
Of the great number of agricultural
schools there He said the results
brought about hv tho establishment Of a
few such schools in this country showed
how much Ercntcr would he Industrial
prosperity here if we had schools
as numerous in proportion To
our population as has Den
mark. We must drop the feeling that
everything American is good because it
is American. We must follow tho Same
Industrial lines as our competitors do.
We must rot depend on chance philan-
thropy but must have national and
tate support of education.
There should hc in our national govern
mcnt ministry Of education instead of
mere bureau under tho depa rtment of
the interior. II is Of course quite right
that there should no ministry of war
but how absurd that by the side of this
thoroughly organized department there
shoul1 not he department Of educa
tion as thoroughly organized Through
such department all existing cducation-
al enterprises and a new efficient svs-
tom Of industrial education could he CO.
ordinated.
General Industrial education would
create tho strongest possible tendency
against Industrial monopolies and tow
ard the general creation and distribution
of wealth which constitutes so great a
part of national prosperity.
CONDITIONS IN NEW ENGLAND.
The phase "What Has Been Done
and Is R"ing Done in New England
was presented by Principal willis O.
Smith Of Lancaster, ~ II. Manual
training in this country, he said. is
only about 30 years old Massachu.
s"tts leads the other States in uuan.
tity and probably in quality of tn,
work done. All Massachusetts, citic,
OF population of twenty thousand
or over are required to give industrial
training. In addition to this so Mass.
achusetts cities and towns furnish /,
| voluntarily.
| In Vermont the schools Of Montpel-
| Ter, Rutland and st Johnshury offer
courses in manual training and in mos
of the rural schools something of thi,
nature Is attempted and much more 1.
promised for anuthcr year
The speaker defined industrial cdu.
cation as all that Is done in school OF
| elsewhere to promote industrial eff.
cheney ana a true spirit of service.
| In 1905 there were training school,
in New England as follows Maine =
New Hampshire 4, Vermont .. Massa
Chusetts 80. Rhode Island 3, Connect.
cut 10, total Of SO, or an increase OF
about 1000 per cent IN l6 years.
The summary Of schools Offering in.
dustrial training at pr, sent is as fol.
lows; Maine Z, New HAMPSHIRE Q
Vermont 3, Massachusetts SO. Rhod,
Island 3, Connecticut 10, a total OF
113.
Aside from the strictly publi,
| schools there are various tochniCa
and Industrial schools In New Eng
land magnihcicntly equipped and do
ing splendid work In industrial train
Ing. There Is also valuable work don,
In model and practice schools connect
ed with the state normal schools o
which I'm New England there are 81
Other schools. while difficult To class
lfy, should not go unnoticed
| We are giving the children a broat
!ind1strial training; we are avoiding