also that the result should be just what it is. Our graduates do not shun any of these occupations; they take hold of them readily and cordially soon after leaving school; but hardly a year passes before they are invited to step into places which pay better and involve more responsibility, and require more mental ability. A very large number of those who are now manufacturers, superintendents, and engineers have taken their turn at the bench, or at the lathe, or at the anvil, or at the drawing-board. The resourcefulness of our graduates, is a constant matter of surprise. They invariably seem equal to the emergency; they are rarely found wanting in the hour of supreme need, and their trustworthiness is a matter of constant remark. Yesterday, I received a note from the father of one of our young men who graduated last June. He writes, “W—— [his son] has authorized me to answer your note of the 12th inst., and I do so with pleasure. W— has performed wonders for one so young. He has given me more satisfactory service since he has been in charge of my works than I have had during the previous four years. He has full charge of the brick-works in B—, being superintendent and direc

tor."

The works referred to above contain a large yard for the making and burning of machine-made pressed bricks. The young man is now about 19 years of age. Before taking charge of the yard, he made a tour of certain Eastern yards for the purpose of picking up all the good points in brick-making and brick-burning. I do not assert that every graduate would do as well, or has the same amount of executive ability; but I do assert that the manual training school has a remarkable influence in developing executive power, as well as in the nurture of a sturdy manhood.

C. M. WOODWARD.

Washington University, St. Louis.

F

Practical School Extension.

the 14.714.933 students in the

un

schools of the United States, only 3.73 per cent. are found beyond the grammar-school period. Of the great majority whose regular education ceases before the secondary schools are reached, an overwhelmingly large proportion doubtedly stop from necessity. To this vast army of youths who are to constitute the bone and sinew of our industries, and the great majority of our citizens, the conventional day-schools offer no further opportunities. The necessity for industrial training stands in the way of further scholastic instruction, and from this time on education is limited to that of an essentially practical character.

And yet how inadequate a preparation is such an equipment for the intelligent and successful ordering of life under the conditions of to-day! It is true that the simplest elements of education have been gained the ability to read and write and figure-but beyond these rudiments little is carried away by the pupil. No study of science has unfolded the secrets of the world about him; no contact with great literature has awakened his taste and opened the way for future solace and inspiration. Yet these are vital and necessary factors in any broad mental life; and among the great number whose education has ceased in the common schools are scarcely any who might not increase their efficiency in practical work, and brighten their enjoyment of the world about them through further opportunity for systematic instruction. Nay, more, -among this number will be found its due proportion of strong minds,-minds fitted to direct and to plan and to invent, but needing knowledge and training to open to them the gates of opportunity. Schools do not make such men, but they help them on their way with vast economy of time and effort. To assist them is to advance civilization, and a free country cannot afford to leave such latent material without the opportunities necessary for fulfillment. This right for all its members to drink freely at the fount of

upon had they taken a course in a purely literary school.

Thirty-two report "mercantile positions," "business with father," "business for themselves," or miscellaneous, all assumed to be non-technical.

Of the remaining eight, seven are without occupation, or their occupations are unknown; and one is dead.

As to the number in mercantile positions, Dr. Henderson says that in a number of cases, such are held only temporarily or until something better can be found. "The influence of a manual training school is decidedly against this sort of thing; I think I may say that it is somewhat aristocratic in its tendencies; it proposes that a man shall gain his living by some useful performance rather than by clever manipulations of stocks and markets. The tendency of manual training is distinctly away from commercial enterprises of a speculative character."

During the past week, I have been revising the list of my own graduates. As your readers well know, the St. Louis Manual Training School was opened in September, 1880, and its first class was graduated three years later. We have now graduated twelve classes, and the number of our graduates is 550. Some of these young men have been actively engaged in business for a number of years, the oldest graduates having left. here twelve years ago. Their careers must accordingly show something of the influence of manual training upon the life and character. No mere business directory can, of course, show the characters of these young men ; but their various positions of responsibility may be taken as an indication of the estimation in which they are held by their fellow-men.

I have kept this list carefully from the first, and in nearly every case I know just where each graduate is, and what he is doing. It very feebly expresses my feelings when I say I am proud of their record, and that I gladly offer here some of the results of my classifications. I think the details of my "Summary of Occupations" may perhaps be of sufficient interest to justify their insertion entire.

Out of the whole number, a little more than one-third have entered upon more or less higher education, general or professional in character.

The first thing that will strike your readers, I am sure, is the fact that while we teach what we call "carpentry," "pattern-making," "blacksmithing," "molding," and "metal-fitting," the list shows but one carpenter, no patternmaker, no blacksmith, no molder, and eight machinists. Surprise at this result is perfectly natural; and yet when we reflect upon it, it seems perfectly natural

knowledge is one of the principles most freely accorded by modern society, but the practical realization of this principle is still wofully inadequate.

It is not enough that books containing information upon almost every subject are easily available, and that all have the opportunity for individual study. For the untrained mind this process at the best is slow and difficult. The genius mastered by an overpowering necessity of fulfilling his thought, and bending all his energies towards his end, will find his way in spite of circumstances and reach his destination by the sole force of his own powers. But in the common case, solitary study is tedious and ineffective. To the undeveloped mind the guidance and helpful correction of the teacher are necessary. Not only is this true, but the regularity of systematic instruction, and the stimulus of a definite task, are essential aids to continued exertion as long as human nature remains as it is at present.

Out of these conditions have come the evening schools; and the extent to which they have already developed in this country is shown by the fact that in New York City there were registered during the present year 36,000 pupils in the city evening schools as compared with 177,000 in the day schools. These figures would be very materially increased if the enrollments at evening schools other than those of the city were added.

A bulletin issued by the Andover House, in Boston, places the number registered in the evening schools of that city in the year 1893-94 as 15,000 compared with 75,000 in the day schools. These figures show to what extent the necessity of school extension has already been recognized by the school boards of our large cities. There is, however, one field of instruction that has been but little touched by the provisions already made. This is the field of scientific and technical instruction. Chief among our needs as a nation with the great extent of our industrial and manufacturing interests, is that of better technical knowledge and better appreciation of the facts

of science and mechanics among the great body of actual workers.

We have in the United States the best engineering schools in the world, splendidly equipped and affording thorough training in the various departments of science and its practical applications. These schools, however, with their severe requirements and long courses of study, can be utilized by only the comparative few, who are fitted through them to become the directors and specialists of industry. They are far beyond the reach of the large body of practical workers.

In Europe, however, the question of scientific and technical training for this class has received much attention, and the provision for such instruction has been carried to a high degree of completeness. In Germany and Austria, evening continuation schools(Fortbildungschulen) play an important part in the general scheme of technical education. In such schools the course includes drawing, mathematics, and science, as well as specialized instruction as to the materials and processes of the arts and trades. To these schools come the young apprentices, clerks, draughtsmen, and artisans, both to further their general education, and to obtain special instruction in regard to their trades. Such schools are often supported by guilds and trade-unions, and in the large cities almost every trade has its special Fortbildungschule.

In Belgium, as well, the evening continuation schools play a very important part; and the value of these schools is so universally recognized that in many localities the workman has little chance of being promoted to a foreman, unless he holds a certificate from the evening industrial school.

In Great Britain, by far the most practically important phase of the great wave of technical education that has swept over that country since 1882, is manifested in the evening classes that are to be found in every city and almost every town throughout the kingdom. These classes although not entirely supported. by, in almost every case receive aid from