The Colorado statesman., 1921-09-03
ILLITERAcY Of AMERICA WAS
REVEALED IN THE WORK OF
MAKING OUR BIG ARMY.
CONDITION WAS A SURPRISE
Utterances Of General Pershing and
Commissioner Tigert Arouse Anew
Efforts to Have Federal Depart
nent Of Education Created.
sy EDWARD q. CLARK.

|. Tigert, United States commissioner
of education. have reused interest
again in the proposal to create de-
partment of education with cabinet
officer at its head TO be added to the
other departments of government.
President Harding is committed to
department Of welfare. One of the
stumbling blocks in the way of secur-
ing the legislation to create such Il
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
separate department of education.
Gen. Leonard Wood, for several
years made campaign for better
teachers, better pay for teachers. and
better teaching facilities general
companion piece to his campaign for
proper military preparedness. Hardly
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
at first hand some of the startling
conditions of illiteracy which existed
in the ranks of young America.
Now General Pershing has said that
one mai 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 10 instruction.
Tigert on Our lIiteracy.
The words IF General Pershing have
been buttrcssed by the words of Doc
tor Tigert who, among other things,
has said this:
1T has been declared that America,
| like Rome, will be destroyed by van
dals from within, and not from with
out through the forces of illiteracy.
"One 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 literac%. | hope that there will
never be another war, but If there Is
it will lie disgrace to the nation If
our men are not better prepared, and
| II 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-
tion. and that every state in the Union
had laws requiring at least an educa-
tion of an elementary kind, but ii IL
said that the laws are not enforced
and that only half of the children
which the statrtes require shall attend
school actually are there.
II Is said now that during the war
10000 teachers gave up teaching be-
cause the American people were un-
willing to pay them enough to live on
the average salary being $500 II year
while in one state it was only S234. 1t
| 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 ii SENS
probable that no department of edu-
cation will he 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.
| 10 n
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.
Ii can be sad that the disclosures
made by the war that such high
percentage of ilIiteracy exists in the
United States came as Il 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 IL general belief that the
United States had ii 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 1000, 900 men who went into the
service are called the flower of our
youth. and yet it is n flower without
education as one of its crowning
beauties. 1t is held in Washington
thai if the war has done no other
good it probably accomplished some
thing worth while because it forced
Americans TO know the true condition
concerning the rate of illiteracy among
the young men of the land.
Every government which has been
invited to participate in the forthcom-
ing conference in Washington on as
armament and Fur East probIemS mas
given over its demand for anythinS