&£3 » 5? V3 ■■■-:■■/■... '■■''■■•'■.''■ m m ■ . ■ ■■ i ■ I f I ??i^-f, I I I 1 1 r;~:.ir'"-* '.^V: ;:<.,r*?.j*a( : r'i-vr.'. 1 X.< ';■''-■-.■■.■■•-■*". ■hMHBBIBBII^P^ ■ •■■' r ° ■■■':.*/.', ^^^^^H r5ra *£$*»$ ■ !•,«£ 5??Sft &£ui % *A S£i ^1 BBS K 1 IP ■ ©a t$ jf& n ^ M 1 1 1 K 31 §K »R 9% 0§«i ■ fti *1 fljK in ■ 1 cfiH Hi M Jjra gjn U* J« 07 'C&UA^ . 63d Congress \ 1st Session ) SENATE Document No. 224 SCHOOL STATISTICS LETTER FROM • HON. HENRY W. BLAIR TO HON THOMAS R. MARSHALL VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TRANSMITTING A LETTER FROM ALEX SUMMERS, STATISTICIAN OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION, STATING THE CONDITION OF COMMON-SCHOOL EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AS INDICATED BY THE ACTUAL YEARLY EXPENDITURE tip PRESENTED BY THE VICE PRESIDENT OCTOBER 30, 1913.— Ordered to be printed WASHINGTON 1913 Monograph n. o r n. 913 * SCHOOL STATISTICS. Colorado Building, Washington, D. C, October 30, 1913. Hon. Thomas B. Marshall. Vice President of the United States, Washington, D. C. Sir: I have the honor to inclose an original letter addressed to myself in reply to certain specific inquiries made by me of the honor- able Commissioner of Education for information from the official records showing the condition of common-school education through- out the country as indicated by the actual yearly expenditure in the several States. It will be observed that this expenditure is confined to common- school education and does not include the high schools nor any form of more advanced education. It -is for reading, writing, and arith- metic and that primary mental training which is indispensable to a fair start in the race of life in any direction. It is as necessary to any ' real progress by the child as are the senses, the orginal inlets to knowledge. The educators of the country agree that $28 per capita is the least annual expenditure which will give the American child a good — not the best — common-school education. Besides this is the immense sum which must be provided for the schoolhouses. training of teachers, books, etc., which correspond to the plant in all business, and common-school education is the most important business carried on in this country and will be in this —^world. ; It will be observed that of the $446,000,000 expended for common schools in this country over $102,000,000 is paid out in States which Bxpend more than $28 per capita, leaving nearly $344,000,000 paid out in States which expend less than $28 per capita — the lowest admissible standard. The total of the deficiencies is $263,000,000. To bring the deficient States up to the standard will require $607,000000. The .total expenditure of the whole country would theu be $709,000,000 for common schools. Besides all this is the plant. Where the need is greatest the ability to bear further taxation is the least. Bankruptcy would follow such overwhelming increase of State taxation. The evil seems to be increasing, especially in the North. The Nation and the State live or die with the common school. Whenever necessary the Nation must help, or governments, republican in form, will perish from the earth. The primary duty to educate is upon the Nation, for in no other way can the republican form of gov- ernment be preserved to itself or guaranteed to the State In the presence of this tremendous problem, of what consequence are tariffs or wars? 3 4 SCHOOL STATISTIC^ The common school must be spread throughout the world as the supreme gospel of free institutions. Universal common-school educa- tion is the only institution which can make all nations fit for self- government, thus overthrowing tyranny of both soul and body in every form, and impregnably establishing the liberties of mankind. I would highly appreciate the courtesy of the presentation of this and the commissioner's letter to the Senate and that the same be printed in the Record and referred to the appropriate committee. I have the honor to be. Very respectfully, your obedient servo: Henry W. Blair. Department oe tele Interior. Bureau oe Education. Washington. July 1. 1913. Hon. Henry W. Blatr. Colorado Building. Washinyton. D. C. Dear Sir : In compliance with your request I am sending you a number of statistical tables relating to the State common schools. It is difficult to select the " 10 best "' school systems, but to obtain a fair average per capita of expenditure based upon school popula- tion I have taken the 10 States in which the child 5 to 18 years of age receives the greatest number of days" schooling in the school year. The following States in 1911 showed an average attendance of from 101 to 107 days for every child 5 to 18 years of age : Maine. Vermont, Massachusetts. Connecticut. Iowa. Xebraska, Kansas. Utah. "Wash- ington, and California. These 10 States had a school population of 3.509.117 and expended in the aggregate $96,005,239 for the common schools, or very nearly $28 per capita of this population 5 to 16 years of age. The inclosed table shows the common-school expenditure for each State in 1911. and in a parallel column the amount which each would have expended at the rate of $28 per capita of school population, where a higher rate does not now exist. The third column shows the increase necessary in each State to bring it up to the $28 per capita. Twelve States now exceed this rate. With one exception the other statistical items mentioned in your letter will be found in the marked tables from the commissioner's annual reports sent to-day. Federal appropriations made by the Sixty-first Congress for edu- cation, directly or indirectly, were summarized in the commissioner's report for 1910, pages 181 to 187. I regret that the chapter reprints are no longer in stock, but undoubtedly the volume is in your library. Very respectfully. Alex Summers. Statistician. SCHOOL STATISTICS. Actual expenditure. What the expenditure would have been at §28 per capita, school population. Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia. Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota ....... Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming United States. 747,885 000,628 510, 132 070,928 824,200 426,833 604,796 112,241 991,379 390,162 ! 797,091 j 737,991 910,500 591,340 209,954 165, 719 064.820 073,603 010,289 502,934 292,552 006,133 726,248 328,394 162, 072 045,028 619,268 693,800 - 255 972,559 328,926 140, 697 184, 936 057,151 759,413 S37, 676 137,647 360,109 400.038 083; 469 841,818 576.045 647.57^ 725,919 860,995 , 522,573 ■ 306,852 120.839 446.726.929 $19,344,220 1,470,224 14,120,876 13,535,928 5,443,116 7,322,476 1,415,848 1,880,424 6,270,572 23,763,740 2,553,992 39,543,308 19,04S,848 15,358,088 12,690,132 ' 14,820,708 4,795,588 9, 609, 992 21,467,S24 16, 039, 744 16,653,056 24,234,616 2,363,816 9,176,944 2,689,652 17,579,800 2,787,876 20,198,892 4,795,392 32,048,240 15. 146, 712 4,329,752 54, 647, 76S 3,606,092 14.363,776 4,699,968 18,539,500 35,103,292 3.103,940 2.330,076 17,746,960 7,474,208 10.155,068 18,187,092 881,328 6y2.S75,664 Increase. $15,596,335 i 469,596 10, 610, 744 1,895,643 811,052 "*4," 279," 193 19,373,578 "'8,' 805," 317 4.13S,34S 3, 766, 748 2, 480, 178 12,822,089 10,755,888 1,721,985 5, 599, 703 4," 391, 952 1,033,611 13,926,808 9,906,222 "i,"i3i,'9i6 '* 995," 852 "i,"8l5,"3i7 7,136.522 17,05S;i95 "3,991,689 : S7 - "Li'sio.'m 1,245,983 12,195.263 1,299,930 : 23,261.474 """682,'487 13,021,041 "5," 632," 495 6,880,240 263,086,255 $446,726,929 + $263,086,255=$709 ; 813,184. o ■man ■in ;■■■ . : ".■■.- ,•■•..■•■'■■■'■■ ■"''■'■':■' : ■.'■'■ : ' ''•■■'.'•'■'•.'■..■-■ ■'•■'■'■■'■''.• ■■.'■..■■ : ■■• *'''.'.'*■ ' ini ■'■■'■■"' '■-'■"■■' .■■.■■'■.■■>-;',':■•=■.' ■■■■■v : ■ '■"■ ; " ; - -'■•'-■'■■'■ '-" r - ''■ : ----' ■■' ; ' ■■' ' " - : ' ' : • 1 ■ " 1111 1 ■"' ■""-' '"''■ '■:*•.:":•:■'■-■' HHH ■'■■■■■ : '.'' '-•-•■■-"■.■■'-■•v. ,'-;:•.>■'." ' -.■■'■■•■ '■• = '■■'■.■-.■■■-.•■.. ■ '■■'-..' ' BH B -■■;■"■■..■■. '-■ ■H '■■■■'■:-.'■■■ ; •''■■ ■-'.'■•'■■.■■■■'.■ ' ■-'■..■■.,'- $€ v .::- s '"'v: ; ; M .•■■■, ;■■■'■•:■■■.■ 1 .-...■'. V -■•'■■■■■.■■■ . ; .. . '■'' ■■'-'• V ,":'-■ ^ .'■'.■•■'-.'■■.'■'• ■ Us mm '■■' •■• •■■'"'•'' ■ "'■ '''•'■■- l ■ ■'■■■-■■■..■■■■■.■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■ '■'/:•■■■ : -."^ '■='.'■■'.■ ' ;.■■'■»■''■■'■■.■:■-.-.■.• KM 1 :'..,.'.■;,,-■'. jj Hi WSs H9H ;J; : ' Hi ,; ■'-."■■.■■■■.■ ■" ■■.' ■■"■..■■■''■■■■■■■.-.■'••■■'—.' ..•.■...:.■■■•,..,■.)■•■ "■■.''.■•■.■"''■■■■■ ^■■■'■■'-.' ■■'■-■'■•"■■■" ■■■ ."■...":■■.•'■■•..-■••''■ •'■.■.'■■•■".•■■ 8 ••■.. ' •■•■''.■■•' ■ ■■".-■.■■:••■'.-.''..■'. - ■- ' ' "■• SS 1 ''■''■■■' '■ ' _HHN_ nHBm ' isSi^tftt .".•'■■...-• S