The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1918-04-24
MUCH |lL|TERACY
IN U.S. ARMY
SAYS SECRETARY

Secretary OF the Interior Lane
has sent the following letter to the
president and to Senator lIoke Smith
and William ]. Sears, chairman of
the Senate and House Committees on
Education.
81 believe that the time has come
when we should give serious con-
sideration to the education of those
who can not read or write in the
United States. The war has brought
| facts to our attention that are al
most unbelievable and that are in
themselves accusatory. There are
in the United States Tor were when
the census was taken in 1910
5,516,163 persons over 10 years of
age who were unable to read or
write in any language. There are
now nearly 100000 men of draft
age in the United States who are,
l presume registered, who can not
read or write in English or in any
other language.
Illiterates Over 20 Years of Age
cover 100000 of the illiterates
in this country were 20 years of age
or more This figure equals the
total population of the states of
California, Oregon, Washington,
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colo
rada, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New
Mexico and Delewar. The percent
| age of illiterates varies in the sew
eral states from II per cent in
Iowa to 20 per cent in Louisiana.
More than 10 per cent of it was in
| Is states. Half of the illiterates
were between 20 and As years of
age. 1t has been estimated by one
of those concerned with this prob
! lem that if these five million and
half illiterate persons were stretch
ed in a double line of march at in
tervals of feet and were to march
past the White House at the rate
of 25 miles day, it would require
more than two months for them to
pass. Over So per cent are white
persons, of these 100000 are ma
tive born whites.
Vast Economic Loss.
81 beg you to consider the econo-
mic loss arising out of this condi-
ton. If the productive labor value
of an illiterate is less by only so
cents day than that of an edu
Gated man or woman the country
is losing 1925, 100000 year through
illiteracy. This estimate is no doubt
under rather than over the real loss.
The Federal Government and the
states spend millions of dollars in
trying to give information to the
people in rural districts about farm
ing and home making. Yet $780,
90, or 10 per cent of our country
folk can not read or write a word.
They can not read a bulletin on
agriculture, a farm paper, a food
pledge card, Liberty Loan appeal,
a newspaper, the Constitution of the
United States, or their Bibles, nor
can they keep personal or business
accounts. An uniformed democ-
racy is not democracy. A people
who can not have means of access
to the messages of the President
and the acts of congress can hardly
be expected to understand the full
meaning of this war, to which they
all must contribute, in life or prop
erty or labor.
at would seem to be almost
automatic that an illerate man can
not make a good soldier in modern
warfare. Until last April the regu-
lar army would not enlist illiterates,
yet in the first draft between 3d.
200 and 100000 illiterates were
brought into the army, and approx
mately as many near illiterates.
,"They can not sign their names.
"They can not read their orders
posted daily on bulletin boards in
camp.
"They cannot read their manual
of arms.
"They cannot understand the sig
mails or follow the Signal Corps in
time of battle.