The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-06
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director.
Washington. D. C.
CONGRESS AND EDUCATION.

the chances of any money being al
/ lowed for educational advancement
are so slim that the committee sees
no use III getting together to discuss
even bills that were faverably reported
! out at the last session. Several bills
! for important educational projects
/ have been reintroduced but it is not
probable that any of them could get
| the approval of the committee, and. If
| they did they would never get by
congress in its present state of mind.
! Whether this is wise economy or
not is a matter of opinion The ma
| jority in congress thinks it is.
There are three interesting projects
which patiently await congressional APP.
proval and funds. One of these pro-
vides for a department of education TO
replace the bureau of education. An
other is designed to bring domestic
science within reach of more women
and girls, especially those who work
| in the day.
The third bill does not reach so
many people as the other two, but 1t
would mean a good deal to the coun-
| try. This is a measure to create
national university.
a national university was planned
| by George Washington. BENJAMIN
Franklin wanted it provided for IN
| the Constitution, but he and several
| others were overru1ed by statesmen
who said that the university would be
restablished anyway and that there was
! no need to cucumber the Constitution.
Washington is known to have
! killed $25.oOO in stock to the govern
ment as a fund to start this univer-
sity. This sum would ~ now amount
to 100000 at compound interest.
! 1t cannot however, be located. few
| years ago treasury department Off
| Gals Investigated the bequest, hoping
to find out what became of the mon
|
! be reached was that the money was
never turned over to the government,
/ and that it lapsed back into. the es
| tate.
Cost of the Project
This means that to establish a ma
tional university now there must be an
appropriation from congress. probably
amounting to several hundred thou
| sand dollars a year. Therefore the
national university project continues
, to hang fire.
Washington's idea was that the uni
versity would serve an important pur-
| pose in that it would cement the sec
| tons of the country together. Stu
dents would hear congress debate.
! They would meet the representatives
from different states and grow to I'M
derstand the viewpoints of the differ
| ent parts of the country.
The further advantage of a national
| institution of learning in Washington
! is that 1t could make use of the Vari-
Gus branches of the government serv-
| i've. There is the Congressional Ii
| brary with its 5000, 900 books and the
Smithsonian institution, the National
museum, Naval observatory, bureau of
I standards, and the department of agri-
| culture In fact, every government
bureau and commission could cooper.
| ate to advantage with a national uni
versity. -
Such an institution, of course, is not
| for the college student fresh from a
! preparatory school. 1t was planned as
a laboratory for scholars who should
have'at least a master of arts or mas
ter of science degree, and with the
idea that the national capital would
offer students resources not available
in any other city.
That a national university would be-
come a powerful factor in education
is apparent. Yet such an institution is
not a necessity to the existence of the
nation. and congress of late years is
chary of donations for worthy luxuries.
So Washington'S dream, that seemed
so near realization in his lifetime, is
still an air castle.
The other two bills are more utili-
tariaA. They concern the mass of the
people more directly. The bill for
department of education, in particular,
is wide-reaching in its plans for a
more educated and healthy population.
ing it more and more difficult to get
hearing in congress.
The domestic science bill made a
strong appeal to women when it was
discussed at committee hearings last
winter. It provides an appropriation
to be spent in the states to promote the
study of homemaking. The proper
ton of women who cook, sew, and
shop by instinct is said to be appalling.
We go along following the old theory
! i
bread and to distinguish cotton from
wool by long practice. and therefore
daughter can do no better than follow
in her footsteps and learn by expert
ence. This seems an oId-fashioned
idea, but it holds in innumerable fam
lilies.
Teach Women to Work.
The congressman who introduced
the domestic science bill, however, be-
lieves that girls and women, who are
housekeepers or expect to be, can save
money and health by learning facts
of their business at school Part of
the appropriation is set. aside to be
used for women who work. That is,
the classes established by the fund
must be part-time or night classes
This proviso was made in the
hope that the classes would bene-
fit girls who have never before had
an opportunity of this sort opened
to them.
Compared with the half million
year asked by the domestic science
bill, and the half million to finance
the national university for two years,
the bill for the department of educa-
ton demands a heavy appropriation.
1t is, therefore, doubly handicapped.
The appointment of a secretary of
education to be a member of the presi-
dents cabinet is the part of the bill
that has been featured. There are
a number of other important pro-
visions, however, in which various
sums of money are set aside for edu-
cational advancement.
Thus, $500, 900 is provided for
overcoming illiteracy, and will be dis !
tributed to the states according to the
percentage of illiterates in each. a |
similar sum is named for American |
ization work, to be distributed to thel
states, according to the number of
their foreign-born residents. Fifty |
million is provided to level up" OPP /
portunities in public schools, especially |
rural schools Twenty million is be I