ROSA: SCIENTIFIC WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT 355 



EDUCATIONAL WORK 



14. The Bureau of Education collects and disseminates infor- 

 mation concerning educational matters. The federal govern- 

 ment has never taken a very active part in the educational work 

 of the country. Whereas cities spend an average of $6 per year 

 per capita for education and the states and private agencies 

 about $3 per year per capita, the federal government spends 

 only 6 cents per capita per year, including the sums expended 

 in vocational education and assistance granted to colleges of 

 agriculture and mechanic arts. Common schools and high 

 schools are maintained by towns and municipalities, with some 

 aid from the state. Normal and secondary schools, colleges and 

 universities are maintained by the states and private agencies. 

 Indeed private schools and privately endowed colleges and 

 universities constitute a very important part of our educational 

 system. The federal government, on the other hand, has no 

 national university, and spends no money in the District of 

 Columbia on higher education, except for Howard University for 

 colored students. The Bureau of Education has for many years 

 been doing a valuable work in keeping a record of the educational 

 work of the country. Its support might well be greatly aug- 

 mented, its scope broadened, and its activities and responsibilities 

 correspondingly increased. We believe thoroughly in this coun- 

 try in popular education. We believe that the welfare of the 

 state demands an intelligent electorate, and that material pros- 

 perity goes with education. The war revealed an unsuspected 

 percentage of illiteracy in the men examined for military service. 

 A million men in the draft could not read and write. The federal 

 government might well take greater responsibility in matters of 

 education and cooperate more actively with the states, setting 

 standards for educational work and giving direction and encour- 

 agement where they are needed. A Department of Education 

 with a cabinet member at the head, has more than once been 

 proposed, and is even now being discussed. 



Better facilities for higher education in the District of Columbia 

 would be of great value to thousands of federal employees, as 



