The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-09-30
By EDWARD c. JOHNSTON

articles will appear dealing with the significant personalities and fundamental institutions of Latin American countries whose news paper publishers are cooperating with Publishers Reciprocal Pro. gram (Inter- -American) by print ing in their newspapers feature articles backgrOundlng and inter- pretative of our way of life in the United Staes.-EditOr.
 To Domingo Faustino Sarmiento can be traced most of the funda- mental bases of present Argentine life. Iron-jawed opposition leader, exile, deputy, senator, diplomat, general, President of the Republic, he had only one motto: the teach ing of the ignorant.
 Born in 1911, Sarmiento was truly son of the revolution, For the previous year the Spanish col- onies preferred their independence to incorporation into the empire headed by Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain by appointment of his brother Napoleon. Immediately, the young Sarmiento's life took on that movemented and adventurous char acter 1t would have to the end his father migrated to Chile. And 1t was ir the neighboring province Of Chile that the young Argentine grew up, and worked first as a small retail merchant, then as clerk and later AS a mine operator.
 No schooling was available. Nev- erthelesS, Sarmiento, like the Abe Lincoln whose biography he was to write later, found time and op- portunity to read and learn. In 1856, he returned to Argentina and opened Q school for young women in his home town of San Juan.
 Beginning in 1929 the notorious dictator Rosas dominated the whole country by controlling the fountain head-then as now-oi all Argentine life; the city oi Buenos Aires.
 Started Liberal Newspaper
 Two years were enough for sar' miento and re returned to Chile IT a hurry, having meanwhile been tr jail for opposing the dictator. IT Chile he engaged in journalism founding @ liberal paper which ceaselessly attacked the RoSas res glrne and tactics. All this time, how ever, Sarmiento had been showing that while he deserved considera- ton as Q journalist and writer, his real work was education. Tn l842 he founded in Chile, tn efirst normal schol in Latin America.
 From this point one, education was the real interest in Sarmiento's o's life, As Mrs. Horace Mann says "Sarmiento had as his watchword The education of the people, Ad- ventures and political activity; dip- lomacy, study abroad or warning all meant to Sarmiento only the fulfllment of his creed, that public education Is the only basis Of Q re- public."
 sarmiento participated In the revolution led by General Urquiza which overthrow the Rosas dicta- torship at the battle of Caseros in 1852. He was then made munster of public instruction.
 There were at that time nc schools to speak of in the Argen.. tine. The principle of universal education which today one takes for granted had not caught on There were a couple of universities specializing in theology and law mad the parochial schools main tained by the Church. Yet gover' nors of states needed to learn tc read and write; the young republic was crying for administrators. teen. nicians, agriculturists. Education oi the people meant literally the edtl' cation of a nation, and Sarmientc threw himself into his life's work.
 Finally, in 1865 he was appointec Minister to the Unisco States.
 Admired Horace Mann
 Horace Mann, crusading New England educator and first president of Antioch College, haG died a few wears previously after profoundly affecting the course of education IT the United States. He had advo' cated free public schooling and al Antioch College, was first instituted co-education adn non-Sectartan in- struction in higher education.
 Sarmiento had met Mann anc knew the work that he had peer doing. The fighting qualities of the American appealed to the Argen' tine. Like Mann, he saw education as the duty of the government anc the foundation of freedom and prosperity.
 So convinced was he of the riehtness of his views, that whilt in this country, Sarmiento wrote a small book entitled, Education basis of prosperity in the United States"
 Mary Peabody Mann, the good doctors widow, and an educator in her own right, translated into English what is said to be Argen- tina's greatest literary work: Sar- miento's Facundo. It was Mrs Manns influence which brought Sarmiento into closer touch with her late husbands work and as she writes, 1t was in the name of Horace Mann, that Sarmlento on returning to the Argentine intro duced the common school system in his country.
 Earmiento thus forms a link through education between Chile, the United States and Argentina It was Chile which first gave asy- lum to the young exiled "5chool- master"-a title which he prized above any-and allowed him to be- gin his brilliant career.
 His stay ln Washington as Ar- genuine minister was fairly short