Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-05-16

ach, Edevoting its strength to the
gathering of food for the bodye -
Nevertheless, education has very
great financial value, and while man
necessary for life that men have
| bread. The physical cannot be Ig+
nored without discomfort and injury
to the mental and spiritual. 49,.
Moreover, there are those who<can
| not be led to appreciate education
mental training has great financial
value. These are they who make
much of what they are pleased to
call ''practical- education" or: "Noca-
iional education" -.
TO all such, and. to others. the
| following. press dispatch, recently
sent out from Washington, contains
| matter which will be interesting and
! instructive: g.. a. =
1.-THE value of staying at school
| is stated in dollars and cents in flg-
ures compiled by. the bureau of edut
cation and now being distributed to
boys and girls throughout the coun-
| try by the children's bureau.
From a study of a large number
| of actual cases it has been found
| that at twenty-five years Of age the
| boy who remained in school until he
was eighteen had received $4,000 more
| salary than the boy who left school
at fourteen, and that the better edu-
Gated youth was then receiving more
| than $500 a year more in pay.
. This is equivalent to an invest
ment Of $4,000 at 5 per cent the
statement said. Can a boy increase
his capital ais fast IN any other way
From this time ON the. salary Of
the better educated boy will rise still
more rapidly, while the earnings of
the boy who, left school at fourteen
will increase but little 80 - - .:
while wages have increased with
the war, the proportions shown in
table of weekly earning still hold
true, the statement said. The boy
who left school at fourteen at the
time the investigation was made, re-
cetved an average OF 81 a week, his
wages increasing each, year to 81 a
week at eighteen. The boy who re-
manned in school until he was eigh-
teen began at $40 a week. At twenty
the salaries were $9!50|a week for the
boy who left school early and SIS
for his better-trained competitor.
At twenty-five they were earning
S12.75 and $31, respectively, and total
wages up to that time had been $5,-
1880 and $7,337.50. so that the boy
who remained in, school had earned
nearly so per cent more in eight
years than the other lad in twelve
years"
These official figures, compiled by
the bureau of education show now
the productive powers. Of man are
raised by education,
Parents generally. desire to create
and beQueath estates for their chill
dren. and the figures show that. a
legacy of education is, one of the
safest and best provisions that can
be made for a child. =. Ignorance is =
handicap which no amount of money
an inheritance that rarely fails TO
yield the best returns for both living
and getting a living. An 'uneducated
child is generally unable. to keep an
estate which has been received py IN
heritance, to say nothing of using IL
wisely or enjoying it properly. u
The figures compiled by the bureau
of education at Washington take az
count of the financial value of prl-
mary and secondary education only;
but the value of higher education
is even greater. Careful computation
shows that a collegiate. education
raises the productive power OF a man
from $500 a year to $l,l9O a year
That is to say, that the average nom
graduate can earn no more thah
about $500 a year at tWenty-one years
of age, while his better educated
brother, who has had collegiate az
vantages can earn $3.50 year at
the same age, and much more, later.
If the average working life OF a man
be reckoned at thirty years, 1t APP
pears from these figures that ccqqr
legiate educa ton is worth In pare
money over $4,000 as a working cap
ftal. This fact explains why Massa-
chusetts is richer than all the SOUTH
| ern states combined.
The, COLLEGES and universities OIL
| Massachusetts are worth more than
all the institutions of higher learning
| in the entire south, and the assessor
! valuation of taxable property in Mas
| sachusetts is $8.214,795, $50. In the
entire south (meaning by. the word
| south the states of Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama. Florida, Kentucky, Mfssls-
sippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and LOU
isiana) the taxable property is assess,
Massachusetts, there are about 3,51O,-
| 900 people, but in these soutnern .
states there are about 21.225,OOo
souls. Or, in other words, with only
about one-third the population OF
these southern states Massacnuseltss
of taxable property more than these
southern states have How shall we
account for this marked difference
| in wealth? The natural resources oi
Massachusetts are not so great, put
are much inferior to the natural re
|
their coal, their cotton, their IRON
their water power, to their timber
| Manifestly Massachusetts. is ,ricner
because the. productive power OF ner
people has been increased by educa-
ton as the productive power OF. the
southern people has not been onI I
| educational destitutionl is mosi
costly piece of extraVaga viewed
from monetary standpoint alone
| Ignorance is expensive and enllghG-
eminent is enriching. T. -
| Many of our business men; eX-
| plain our educational condition by
| saying that we suffered more by the
| War Between the States than die
| the people of Massachusetts, anc
| say that we will build up our. edu-
| cational institutions when we get
| more wealthy. That we suffered by
section of the, country is quite true
| but before the, war we Jagged be
| hind in the matter of the endoW-
ment Of our institutions of higher
| learning. 1t is probable that there
would have been no war If, our peoi
| pie had been wiser. -
| Moreover. we are mot now doing
/ for our institutions of learning what
| Massachusetts, did for her colleges
and universities when she was nc
| richer than we are at present.
| To wait. until we get more WeaItf
before we care properly and ade'
ouateiy for our colleges and uni
versities: is to begin at the wrong
end of the matter. One might as
we'll wait for crop without buying
a piow We must increase our wealth
by building up our educationa
| plants. 1t was not by waiting to be
| rich that Massachusetts, built up hel
institutions of learning. She made
them great and they made hel
rich. The south must follow the
same path to wealth and power
The most valuable undeveloped re
| source which the south has is hel
children and youth. They are oul
most . precious raw material, bui
most of them are far too raw. They
will develop all our other resources
with great speed when they are
educationally prepared for the task
but if they are not educated, others
| LII In and th.A reYNa I'd.