Apkil 3, 1S85.J 



SCIENCE. 



277 



A very favorable account is given of the attendance 

 at the schools, the subjects taught, and the methods 

 of administration. The prevalence of illiteracy in 

 certain sections is noted. Attention is called to 

 certain phases of the labor question; in particular, 

 strikes, trades-unions, machinery, wages, and prices. 

 Several pages of the report are devoted to the tech- 

 nical and art schools of Canada. 



The most interesting portions of the report are 

 parts ii. and iii., relating to the colleges and institu- 

 tions devoted to art, science, and technical instruc- 

 tion. Special attention is called to Columbia college, 

 the Cooper union, Workingman's school (Adler's), 

 Steven's institute, Cornell university, Massachusetts 

 institute of technology, Sheffield scientific school, 

 Worcester free school, St. Louis manual training- 

 school, University of California, Girard college, 

 Maryland institute, Johns Hopkins university, Har- 

 vard college, Hampton normal institute, and other 

 art and science institutions. The methods of instruc- 

 tion, the plan of government, the resources and 

 special features of each institution, are critically 

 noted; but only that phase of the instruction given 

 which pertains directly or indirectly to technical 

 education is emphasized. Yery little space is de- 

 voted to the handicraft schools in which the indus- 

 trial education is made an end, and not a means to 

 foster intellectual development. The definiteness of 

 aim, and the practical character of the instruction 

 given, in the schools of technology, are commended in 

 high terms. The ambition of the student is sus- 

 tained by a reasonable expectation of entering upon 

 a useful career at the close of his scholastic labors. 

 The employment of manual labor as a part of intel- 

 lectual training is favorably commented upon. Mr. 

 Mather quotes a familiar expression of employers of 

 labor : ' Our brightest boys come from the country.' 

 Not that he would disparage the mental grasp and 

 acumen of the city-bred boys; but the habit of using 

 a great variety of tools fits the farmer's boy to profit 

 by the instruction given in the workshops and labora- 

 tories of polytechnic schools. Professor Brewer's re- 

 cent lecture on the educational value of the farm 

 may be here cited in confirmation of Mr. Mather's 

 views. 



As one example of the great interest taken in tech- 

 nical instruction by a wealthy community, mention 

 is made of the generous endowment of a hundred 

 thousand dollars received by the training-school of 

 Chicago from the ' Commercial club ' of that city, — 

 an organization composed of eminent business-men. 

 The munificent gift of Mr. Peter Cooper of New 

 York, resulting in the erection of the ' Cooper union,' 

 is specially noted. The St. Louis manual training- 

 school of the Washington university is commended 

 for its wise adaptation of manual labor to mental 

 culture. The progress made in industrial, decora- 

 tive, and the fine arts, is regarded as very "gratify- 

 ing. 



It is somewhat unfortunate that Mr. Mather did 

 not have time to inspect the results of the industrial 

 art education given by Mr. Leland in the public 

 schools of Philadelphia. The very favorable notices 



already received by Mr. Leland from European edu- 

 cators leads the writer to believe that a close analysis 

 of his methods by such a well qualified observer as 

 Mr. Mather would have thrown much light upon this 

 phase of the industrial movement in America. 



Close attention was paid to the workshop-schools 

 erected by certain great railroad corporations to 

 educate apprentices for responsible positions in the 

 service of the roads. The Altoona shops of the 

 Pennsylvania railroad are cited, where a high grade 

 of technical instruction is given to employees as a 

 means of securing to the company ' an unbroken 

 succession of officers.' 



No comment, however, is made upon the efforts 

 being made in several sections to introduce technical 

 instruction into the public schools. But this phase 

 of the industrial education movement is so recent, 

 that it has hardly advanced beyond the domain of 

 theory. At least three methods have been advocated 

 by well-known educators, in regard to manual train- 

 ing in public schools: viz., 1°, that specific trades 

 should be taught as a part of the present system; 

 2°, that manual instruction should be limited to a 

 general use of certain tools and machines; 3°, that 

 public workshops should be erected to teach only 

 manual training. Mr. Mather, however, noted the 

 difficulty experienced by boys in securing places in 

 machine-shops, on account of their ignorance of tools 

 and machines ; and he suggests that practical instruc- 

 tion in this direction would be very helpful to many 

 boys in our large cities. 



Not a single institution was heard of in America, 

 by our Manchester visitor, which aimed to give train- 

 ing in the textile industries. In all manufactures 

 which involve the knowledge of the qualities of fibre, 

 and the process of working raw material, the only 

 safe reliance is upon skilled foreigners. No investi- 

 gations were made upon the mechanical industries 

 of the southern states ; but the enormous resources 

 of this entire section, and the possibility of educating 

 its people to rely upon their own skill and invention, 

 must soon attract attention to the subject of techni- 

 cal and industrial education in that region. 



Mr. Mather is of the opinion that the technical 

 schools of America have already accomplished great 

 results; but their high fees often tend to exclude the 

 artisan class. Evidences of the good influences of 

 these schools are indeed discernible in almost all the 

 large shops and manufactories ; but the advantages 

 have been reaped almost entirely by the employers 

 and their managers. It is vitally important that the 

 ordinary journeyman should share the advantages 

 of technical training. The importance of schools of 

 pure science is pointed out, and much gratification 

 is expressed at the important scientific discoveries 

 already made in some of the foremost educational 

 institutions. No one can predict, says Mr. Mather, 

 to what practical purposes a new scientific principle 

 may be employed. 



The special report on technical education in Amer- 

 ica was indorsed in most favorable terms by the 

 royal commissioners, and is commended to educa- 

 tors as deserving of most careful perusal. 



