Connecticut western news., 1908-11-26
SAYS |LL|TERACY IS
 ON THE INCREASE
OPINION OF TRINlTY'S PRESIDENT
He Gives Figures to Support His Con- tention That Connecticut is Falling Behind in the Matter of Education School With 2 1-2 Pupils.

Behind in the Matter of Education
 School With 2 1-2 Pupils.
 "It is more than shock to the pride of Connecticut to hear that in this state, illiteracy, this peril of the nation, is on the increase" Dr. Flavel s. Luther, president of Trinity college, make this statement incidentally in speech re. gently, and in an interview with Hart ford Times reporter produced the statis. tics and much interesting information from his own personal experience to es- tablish the fact
 "The situation is hardly realized" he said, "by persons who live in the city. Of course when I say that illiteracy is on the increase, I refer to the country districts. Perhaps you don't appreciate the fact that a very considerable foreign population is moving into our rural dis tricts, occupying the farms which have been vacated or deserted by the native population. It is generally so of course in the middle west, where new farms are being opened, but here m Connecticut the number of farmers of foreign birth is larger than most people know, who are not in tonch with the situation. It is among these people that the illiteracy is on the increase. The foreigner who comes into the city is not so much of a problem. Children of school age here can be more easily accounted for, and then, too, the foreigners are usually anxious to have their children in school. In the country the condition is different. The distance from some of the farms to the school is great; the farmers are poor, the help of. the older children is needed; there is no truant officer to see that tho youngsters do attend, and there is an actual lack of efficiency in the schools which makes it certain that some chil. dren who do attend three or four or five years, will be illiterate within two years after they have left school.
 "Some figures taken from the United States census reports disclose the trend of conditions here. In taking these fig ures, it has seemed fair to consider all the states in the union so far as native white population is concerned. In the year 1890 the percentage of illiteracy in Connecticut was 6 among tho children from fifteen to nineteen years of age and by the same census the only states show ina better record are Massachusetts (.4) and Minnesota (.5). Nebraska was tied with us (.6). In 1900 the percentage among native white population fifteen to nineteen years of age in Connecticut had diminished pleasantly to B, but there are now three states ahead South Dakota, Washington and Oregon and Minnesota, Montana, Utah and Massa- chusetts arc tied with us, showing slight loss of relative standing.
 "When we come to the foreign.born white population, the same ages, it does not seem far to take into account the southern states, where there is very little population of this character. nor the states west of the Mississippi, where the immigrant population is of differ ent character from that which we have in the east. Nor am I sure that the states selected are fairly considered on a level with each other, but as matter of fact, I have considered the following sixteen states:
 "Maine, New Hamphire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsyl- vania, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, In diana, Illinois, Michigan and Wiscon- sin.
 "In 1890 the percentage of illitoracy in Connecticut ln the foreign born white population from fifteen to nineteen years of age, was 12.9. In 1900 the percentage in Connecticut had increased to 13.3,and those equal or lower in percentage are Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mon- tana and Wisconsin.
 "In the negro population from fifteen to nineteen years of age, the illiteracy diminished between 1890 and 1900 in every one of the sixteen states except Connecticut, where 1t increased from 4.6 per cent. to Q per cent.
 "I am strongly of the opinion that illiteracy is still increasing in Connecti- cut. What I have already said shows you, to some extent, the cause; but want to tell you an experience of mine ,ast year which opened my eyes wide to The danger of the present conditions. I vas over in Holland county with another gentleman who, like myself, is inter ,sted in education. and in the course of bne day we visited four out of six or seven schools in single town. In the