ported to this office for last year, many districts making no report, was 611,541; from these figures the advocates of compulsory laws claim that "there are 253,823 children in Missouri who are actually growing up in ignorance as dense as that in the jungles of Africa."

If this be true, the situation is actually deplorable. But is it true? No, not one word of truth in the statement. Let these parties answer the following questions : Of those enumerated last May, over six and twenty years of age, how many of this 253,823 belong to each of the following classes :

1. Married?

2. Teaching in this State?

3. Graduates of reputable schools?

4. Attending private, State, and denominational schools?

5. Have completed the common-school course and are now out at work in the various vocations of life?

6. Over six, but their parents consider them too young to go to school?

7. Have a fair knowledge of the common school branches?

8. Idiots, lunatics, imbeciles, feeble, blind, deaf, and demented?

9. A part of the children of families attend school one year and the others the next? 10. The number of others that any compulsory law would necessarily exempt from attendance?

Please fill out these items and subtract the result from 253,823, and see how many are actually growing up in ignorance. They will find they have a problem they can not solve; and furthermore, if they are honest, they will never again undertake to prove the necessity for compulsory education by such consummate sophistry.

COMPULSORY EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA.

A HISTORICAL REVIEW.1

[From Das gesammte Volksschulwesen im preussischen Staate (1886) and Das Volksschulwesen in Preussen.]

Two hundred years had passed since Luther, in his famous open letter to the magistrates of cities, urged the establishment of day schools, and appealed to the duty of Christians, in behalf of the training of the young, to make the establishment and support of schools a governmental affair. One hundred years had passed since, for the first time, it was convincingly demonstrated in scientific form that every human being receives from his Creator not only the capability of being educated, but also the right to be educated and trained; that though man is created in the image of God, the child possesses only the possibility of that image, and that in order to fulfill its destiny it must be educated and instructed, hence also the paramount duty of the community or state to provide for general education of the youth; and in the year 1713 King Frederick William I of Prussia took a very decisive step by ordering, on the 24th of October, 1713, the drawing-up of instructions, mandatory in nature, which proved to be the embryo of German compulsory-attendance laws. On the 28th of September, 1717, the king issued the first law concerning compulsory attendance, which reads as follows:

"We, by the grace of God, Frederick William, King in Prussia, margrave of Brandenburg, archchamberlain, and grand elector of the Holy Roman Empire, have noticed with displeasure a thing about which inspectors and preachers raise complaint, namely that parents, especially in the country, prove negligent in sending their children to school, in consequence of which negligence the poor youth are kept in gross ignorance as concerns reading, writing, and ciphering, as well as that which concerns the weal and salvation of their souls. Hence, to counteract this destructive evil at once, we have resolved with grace to issue this our general edict, and to order earnestly that hereafter wherever there are schools in the place the parents shall be obliged, under severe penalty, to send their children to school. The tuition fee is fixed at two threepence (zwei Dreier) per week for every child. School is to be attended daily in winter, but in summer at least twice a week, when the parents need their children at home and on the farm, so that what has been learned in winter shall not be forgotten in summer. In cases where parents have not the means to pay this much, the fee is to be paid from the community's funds. We also earnestly command preachers, especially in the country, to hold 'catechizations' with their congregations on Sunday afternoons.

By L. R. Klemm, specialist of the Bureau in foreign school systems.

This is to be followed and obeyed because given by our will and command. It is to be published in the customary places, and the school officers are called upon to watch its execution and report the names of delinquents, so that they may be punished, which will be done with our cognizance.

"Given at Berlin, on the 28th day of September, 1717.

"Upon His Royal Majesty's Most Gracious Special Command.

"Von Dohnhoff, Ilgen, Von Blaspiel, Von Plotho."

This cabinet order received several modifications which defined it better in a subsequent order, dated September 29, 1739. This order (at that time a law, because Prussia was an absolute monarchy) was the beginning of a series of laws for compulsory school attendance, but its main features remained the stock upon which all subsequent changes were grafted. The various provisions and subsequent orders, among which that of July 30, 1736, was the most remarkable, were all special orders referring to separate provinces. The last one mentioned is known in the history of the Prussian schools by its title, Principia Regulativa. It was the first attempt at regulating the school system of a province and lifted it above local whims and interference.

In 1763 (August 12) the General Country School Regulations were issued by Frederick the Great, who was farsighted enough to see that ignorance is the greatest crime of omission in any state. Frederick's efforts in behalf of public education were less successful than they deserved to have been, because he had not a sufficient number of welltrained teachers. Although he tried to supply the demand by placing military petty officers who were mustered out after the Seven Years' War in the schools as teachers, his whole school system remained incomplete.

The regulations he issued provided for compulsory education throughout the Kingdom, uniting the best features of the various provincial orders then in existence. They specify the length of school-going age, to wit, between five and thirteen; state the amount of tuition fees to be paid, namely, in winter six pence weekly for every child until it can read, nine pence after it can read and until it has acquired the art of writing, but twelve pence (1 groschen) as soon as it can cipher. In summer, two-thirds of the winter fees (namely, four, six, or eight pence, respectively) are to be paid. If at any place a higher tuition fee has been agreed upon between teacher and parents, these reg ulations shall not interfere with the arrangement.

The regulations further provide for indigent pupils and throw the burden of the cost of their education upon the church or the village poor fund. But the King explicitly states that in the eyes of the teacher all children shall be equal, in so far as he must expect to be paid by all, or for all, in order that he may treat them alike with diligence and faithfulness. The regulations also make minute provisions for punishing willful and intentional absence from school, for controlling the registers of population, and other items concerning the internal affairs of the school.

King Frederick in these regulations erected a monument for himself, for they were of abiding historical significance, being the first school law which dealt with every phase of popular education-course of study, supervision, teachers, statistics, finances, management, organization, etc. They created no little stir in other European countries, where attempts were made to imitate his example, notably in Italy. Many of these regulations are, in modified form, still in force in Prussia, though a number of provincial special orders have been issued.

In 1794 the Allgemeine Land-Recht (the General Code) was adopted, which contained two paragraphs (including scarcely more than forty items) devoted to school affairs. We quote four items:

"ART. 29. Where there are no irreducible funds for the maintenance of common schools, the expenses for the support of the teachers are to be defrayed by the inhabitants of the place (town), regardless of whether they have children or not.

"ART. 34. Also the erection and keeping of buildings for school purposes and teachers' dwellings is regarded a duty of the civil communities, therefore the expenses must be borne by all the inhabitants alike.

"ART. 43. Every inhabitant (Einwohner) who can not provide his children with the necessary instruction at home is obliged to send them to school after they have completed the fifth year of life.

"ART. 46. The instruction in school must be continued possess the knowledge necessary to every rational being. trict determines this."

until the child is found to The clergyman of the dis

The years immediately following the issuance of the Land-Recht were not favorable to the development of the lower schools. The period of nonaction during which Minister of State Woellner tried to check the school system in its growth by his reactionary regulations of December 16, 1791, was only transitory and of short duration. King Frederick William III, from the first moment of his reign, directed his attention to the promotion of the people's best interest, and concluded that in improving the schools he aided the people and strengthened his Government.

Then came the terrible time of degradation of Prussia by Napoleon the First. The Prussian state owes its rejuvenation to the wise counsel of such men as Ministers Stein and Hardenberg, Professor Fichte, and such military men as Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and to them, primarily, may be attributed the vigorous execution of the compulsoryattendance laws in force in the various parts of the Kingdom. The entire state was reorganized, as is seer from this:

On June 1, July 27, 1808, and on September 14, 1811, laws were issued which freed the peasants of the last obligations that had arisen from ancient feudal laws. A law, issued November 19, 1808, gave self-government to the cities; another, issued June 26, 1811, created school boards in cities (committees of the city councils), and defined their functions; still another, issued October 28, 1812, established supervisory authorities in the country for elementary schools.

Shortly after the Napoleonic wars, the secondary schools were reorganized and granted privileges. A law of October 23, 1817, transferred the functions of the former school consistory, consisting of clergymen, to the provincial school councils, which were specially created and considered the representatives of the royal Government in school matters. Finally, on November 3, 1817, a department of education was created under the title of "Department of Worship, Public Instruction, and Medical Affairs." Thus in a few years the governmental machinery of Frederick the Great, that had become antiquated, was swept away, and a new structure put up which was more in harmony with the times and the spirit of the age of the French Revolution. The schools had through timely legislation become a state institution, the first of its kind in modern history. The schools, though poorly equipped at first, and often hampered by want of funds, did more toward rejuvenating the state than any other agency, save, perhaps, the army. From 1817, the entire school system of Prussia has been under the supervision and management of the Minister of Education (as his lengthy title is abbreviated).

The difficulties in the way of making the system homogeneous were greater than is commonly known. Most of the component parts of the Prussian state were acquired by the crown at different times, and all had separate rights secured by inviolable treaties. In some parts of the Kingdom the "Code Napoleon was in force; some had provincial codes; some parts, notably those that were added by the Congress of Vienna, had no school systems. The cabinet order of May 14, 1825, attempted to regulate some of the existing inequalities by ordering that the rules laid down in the Land-Recht for school attendance be extended over all newly acquired territory. This was felt to be a harsh measure, notably in Rhenish Prussia, where the Code Napoleon was in force. But how necessary that measure was is seen from a single fact, to wit: In the year 1824 the governmental district of Aix-la-Chapelle had 66,611 children of school age (5-14 years); of these were enrolled in school 34,140; hence 32,471 children were kept out of school, and many of them were employed in workshops and factories. In 1826 the minister had a census taken of school children thus employed, and in some governmental districts, such as Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, Crefeld, and Cologne, from 2,000 to 3,000 children were found employed in factories.

Slowly the work progressed, and the children were drawn into school without making the compulsory-attendance law onerous. State and communities, as well as private benevolence, united in enabling indigent parents to dispense with the services of their children, so that they might be sent to school. When in the year 1849, in consequence of the violent agitation of the popularly styled "Revolution of 1848," the various Kings and Princes of Germany granted constitutions to the people, making the states constitutional monarchies, the idea of compulsory attendance in school had been so universally accepted that it found expression in the constitutions.

The Prussian constitution, signed and sworn to by King Frederick William IV, Jannary 31, 1850, contained these articles:

"ART. 20. Science and the teaching of science are free.

"ART. 21. For the education of the young public schools shall be established and maintained. Parents and guardians must not leave their children or wards without that instruction which is prescribed for the public school.

"ART. 22. To give instruction and to establish schools is allowed to every one who can prove to the state authorities moral, scientific, and technical capacity.

"ART. 23. All public and private educational institutions are under the supervision of the state authorities. Teachers of public schools have the rights and duties of officers of the state.

"ART. 25. The means for establishing, maintaining, and extending the public-school system are furnished by the communities, and only in cases of inability the state furnishes the means." [Note: The state in 1887 bore 18 per cent. of the cost of maintaining the public elementary schools, and about 34 per cent. of that of the secondary schools.] "Rights acquired by private grants in behalf of education shall be inviolate. The state guaranties public-school teachers a fixed income. Instruction in the public schools is

free of charge." [This remained a good intention until October 1, 1888, when a law was passed enabling all communities, who so desired, to abolish tuition fees.] "ART. 26. A special school law regulates all educational efforts in the state. "ART. 112.

*

* * and till the law mentioned in article 26 is passed, the former legal status, so far as it does not conflict with the constitution, shall remain in force." [Note: It is significant that at present, forty years after the adoption of the constitution, this general school law has not been passed yet. Laws which partially cover the ground have been adopted, but substantially the public schools are still governed by the "Minister of Educational, Ecclesiastical, and Medical Affairs."]

Since 1850 all the other states of Germany have adopted compulsory attendance at school, and entered into treaties with Prussia, so that children living near the boundaries may attend the nearest school. In the summer of 1890 the Prussian Diet passed a new compulsory-attendance law which is intended to do away with the many different provincial regulations in force. It reads as follows:

"1. Every child within the Kingdom of Prussia must follow the course of instruction laid down for the elementary (so-called public or people's) schools.

"2. Compulsory attendance begins with the term of admission following the completed sixth year of life. Children who complete their sixth year within three months after this term may be admitted upon application of parents or guardians, provided they have the necessary bodily and mental maturity.

"3. Compulsory attendance ends with the close of the school term following the completed fourteenth year of life. Dismissal from the duty of attending school must take place twice a year.

"4. The commencement of compulsory attendance may, for local causes, be postponed for a year by the supervising authority, and even for a longer period of time in individual cases, such as insufficient physical or mental development.

"5. Attendance upon religious instruction can only be enforced with regard to those children whose parents belong to the religion the dogmas of which are taught during school hours.

"6. Children who are taught at any other public or private school, and the teaching at which is considered by the authorities to be equivalent to that at the elementary schools, are exempted from attendance at elementary schools. When this is not the case the inspectors have the right to enforce the attendance at the public schools.

"7. Children staying away from school for no valid reason may be forced to attend by the proper authorities.

"8. The parents or guardians or employers must take care that the children attend school regularly.

"9. The school inspectors must inspect the rolls of attendance, and give notice to the police of the district in cases of unjustified absence from school.

"10. For absence from school without valid reasons, the persons mentioned in clause 8 shall be fined for each day of nonattendance from 10 pennies to 1 mark (2) cents to 25 cents), or, where the fine is not immediately paid, with imprisonment of from three hours to one day. Instead of imprisonment, the persons convicted may work for the same number of hours for the benefit of the community, each according to his aptitudes. "11. Employers allowing children to work during school hours, whether at the request of their foreman or their workmen, shall be fined from 1 to 150 marks (25 cents to $37.50), or be imprisoned for, at most, fifteen days, unless the case falls within the terms of the factory law, and a severe punishment be inflicted.

"12. The punishment shall be enforced in accordance with the law of April, 1883, on the infraction of police decree. The judge may inflict punishment on several persons at the same time, and notice of it may be given by a public functionary by word of mouth. Imprisonment for nonpayment of the fine may be resorted to before application for payment has been made, if the insolvency of the accused has been proved at law. All fines paid for violating the compulsory-school attendance regulations are to be turned into the school funds, minus the cost of judicial process.

66

13. This law is to go into effect on the 1st day of October, 1890. The Minister of Worship, Education and Medical Affairs, the Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Justice shall take the necessary steps towards its execution."

CHAPTER XIX.

STATE TEXT-BOOK LAWS AND SYSTEMS.

The following synopsis of State laws relating to text-books has in most cases been brought down to May, 1891. Only the most general features of the different laws have been considered, the provisions relating to free text-books for indigent children and those forbidding the use of sectarian text-books, which are common to nearly all the States and do not call for special mention, being omitted; the same has been the case with special provisions relating to cities.

Considerable use has been made of the valuable material upon this subject gathered by Hon. Oscar H. Cooper, State superintendent of Texas, and published in the Seventh Biennial Texas School Report (1888-90), pp. XXVII-XLIV.

There has been of late a widespread agitation in favor of cheaper text-books. The number of bills introduced in the legistures of the various States to effect this object has been unprecedented-in one case at least four. These bills have generally been drawn up with a view to give the State control of contracts and prices, sometimes of selection or publication, systems much favored by legislators, though strongly opposed by most school officials and the educational press. Such bills as have become laws are noticed in this chapter.

532