Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-09-15
one IN FOUR WAS
UNABLE TO READ
lLLlTERAcY or AMERICA WAS
REVEALED IN THE WORK OF
MAKING OUR BIG ARMY.
CONDITION WAS A SURPRISE
Utteranees Of General Pershing and
Commissioner Tiaert Arouse Anew
Efforts to Have Federal Depart.
ment Of Education Created.
RN EpwARp 3. CLARK.


Washington Recent words uttered
by Gen. John ]. Pershing and by DIR.
/. Tgert, United States commissioner
Of education, have reused interest
again In the proposal to create de-
partment of education with cabinet
officer at it's head to be added to the
other departments of government.
President Harding Is committed to
a department Of welfare. One of the
stumbling blocks In the way of secur-
ing the legislation to create such a
department was the efforts of some
Of the educators to prevent the inclu-
sion Of education In the field of the
department OF welfare activities. Many
Of the educators wanted and still want
a separate department of education.
Gen. Leonard Wood, for several
years made a campaign for better
teachers, better pay for teachers, and
better teaching facilities a general
companion piece to his campaign for
proper military preparedness. Hardly
a speech that he delivered for two
years but contained some reference
to this matter. General Wood trained
two divisions of American soldiers for
service In France, and he had learned
ct first hand some of the startling
conditions Of illiteracy which existed
In the ranks of young America.
Now General Pershing has said that
one man in every four who entered
the American army was unable to read
or write. He added that the officers
Of the service had their hard work
much increased by the fact that many
Of their men could not read and that,
lacking the development of even pri-
mary education, they were not quickly
susceptible to instruction.
Tigert on Our IIIlteraey.
The words Of General Pershing have
been buttressed by the words of Doc
tor Tigert, who, among other things,
has said this:
ut has been declared that America,
Like Rome, will be destroyed by van
dals from within, and not from with
out, through the forces Of iIliteracy.
"0ne man out Of every four in the
American army could neither read
nor write, but there was only one IL
literate in 5000 In the German army.
No one can realize without seeing the
seemingly impenetrable terrain of the
Argonne forest what we owe to our
soldiers, but it was a crime to send
them In as they were against men of
such hteracy. / hope that there will
never be another war, but If there is
It win be a disgrace to the nation If
our men are not better prepared, and
Il Is the task Of the schools to pre-
pare them"
Today Washington is told that be-
fore the war the United States spent
more than any other nation on educa-
ton, and that every state In the Union
had laws requiring at least an educa.
ton Of an elementary kind, but it Is
said that the laws are not enforced
and that only half of the children
which the statutes require shall attend
school actually are there.
1t Is said now that during the war
10000 teachers gave up teaching be-
cause the American people were I'M
willing to pay them enough to live on,
the average salary being $500 a year,
while in one state 1t was only 1924. Il;
Is said to be increasingly difficult to
get young women to enter the teach
Ing profession. The other day it was
said that the churches were having
hard work to get young men to enter
the ministry
Poor Chance for Department.
From the present outlook it SENS
probable that no department Of edu-
cation will be established by act of
congress, and that the bureau of edu-
cation will be included In the depart
ment Of welfare, If it shall be created.
OF course there is today a bureau OF
education, and It is doing its work
with limited appropriations In the best
way it can. There Is no lack Of heart
effort nor Of physical hard work.
Il can be said that the disclosures
made by the war that such a high
percentage Of illiteracy exists in the
United States came as a shock to the
law makers. The thing was impossi.
bic to believe, and yet the records
proved the point. Prior to the war
there was a general belief that the
United States had a lower rate of IL
literacy than any other great nation
In the world. This was due, it was
said, TO misleading reports from the
states in the Union, reports which
were made on inadequate information,
The 100000 men who went into the
service are called the flower of our
youth, and yet It Is a flower without
education as one OF its browning
beauties. It Is held In Washington
that If the war has done no other
good, 1t probably accomplished some
thing worth while because it forced
Americans to know the true condition
concerning the rate OF initeracy among
the Young men Of the land.