cally republican direction it would give students in matters of political economy, jurisprudence, and social science), owing to the fact that four universities of about equal merit already existed in various sections of Switzerland which afforded ample opportunity to all qualified and desirous to enter upon the highest range of studies, seemed less pressing than many other matters crowding upon the attention of the federal government, especially that covered by the terse provision of Article XVIII of the federal constitution, "Every Swiss is subject to military duty."

To organize for efficient military service the citizens of the land, it not only became necessary to establish a central training school for officers, but to provide courses of military instruction in all parts of the country, so that every Swiss could be taught to perform his military duty with the least possible detriment to the economic services he owed his family and community.

While thus training the people at large for purposes of self-protection, it has been shown conclusively that the more intelligent the citizen the less time it takes to impart to him effectively the requisite military training for the country's defence and the more useful he proves in maintaining order at home. The intelligent citizen soldier cannot be made the tool of designing politicians or of visionary revolutionists; such a soldier in a democratic republic by his vote helps to make the laws of the land and is not easily persuaded to destroy by force of arms what he himself aided in constructing; if a remedy must be applied, he well knows that his vote is quite as powerful as his bayonet and less hazardous to himself and his family.

And just here it is well to state that the excellent military organization prevailing in Switzerland has done much to show defects in the system of intellectual training and direct the attention of the people to the fact that it was less a university they needed for the more favored, gifted, and ambitious, than a national system of elementary instruction which should insure to every citizen the requisite acquirements for performing intelligently both his civil and military duties to the state.

EFFORTS TO EXTEND THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

How this was to be attained did not long remain a problem after the people became conscious of its necessity. There we again find the federal authorities (anxious to serve the people, but not disposed to anticipate their wishes) inviting public expression relative to the propriety of federal legislation in behalf of public instruction. To illustrate the public feeling upon this subject, as expressed from standpoints differing in political and religious creeds, I present the gist of several petitions addressed to the federal authorities:

At a public meeting in Morat (July 12, 1870) it was resolved to recommend "placing the public schools under the supervision of the federal government."

At an assemblage of "Liberals" in Lucerne (October 10, 1870) it was voted to recommend "that the federal government be declared competent to fix by law a minimum of public instruction, exercise a supervision of schools, and establish normal institutions for the training of Swiss public school teachers."

The Pius Society of Upper Toggenburg (November 7, 1870), in a memorial presented by Father Klaus, opposed obligatory attendance at school and recommended "complete freedom in matters of tuition and instruction," yet added, in recognition of the popular demand, that intelligence should be requisite to the exercise of citizenship. "Such as cannot read printed and written matter nor write their name should be placed under guardianship and disqualified from voting or entering into contracts of any kind."

The following year the Swiss teachers' convention, held at Zürich October 14, 1871, took up the question, and after an elaborate argument formulated its views in the following article, which it urged should be incorporated into the federal constitution as an amendment:

Public instruction in the first instance devolves upon the cantons. The federal authorities, however, are empowered and it is their duty to keep themselves informed at all times of the character and extent of instruction imparted by the educational institutions of the cantons, and to insist upon such measures and modes of conducting public schools as shall seem to insure to every one knowledge adequate for the proper exercise of social and civil duty; and also to supplement with federal normal schools the existing cantonal teachers' institutes.

Numerous other petitions of a like character emanating from public meetings and associations of various kinds might be introduced to show how alive the people had become to the necessity of securing more uniformity and infusing greater efficiency into the elementary instruction offered to their children.

When the question finally, in the form of a proposed amendment to the constitution, came before the Swiss house of representatives for discussion no less than thirty members delivered set speeches upon the subject, and in addition discussed the elaborate arguments presented in the majority and the two minority reports of the special committee of nineteen having the matter in charge.

To enter into particulars respecting the various views presented in favor of and in opposition to giving the federal government supervisory power in matters of elementary instruction would encroach too much on your time. It will suffice if I give in brief the views which ultimately prevailed and gave statutory form to the various ideas presented. They are perhaps best embodied in the argument of the late President Stämpfli, favorably known to Americans as Swiss arbitrator in the matter of the Alabama claims. This able statesman advocated an amendment to the constitution in substance as follows:

Instruction in primary (elementary) schools is obligatory and gratuitous. Religious orders are not to be intrusted with it. The confederation can enact laws affixing the minimum standard of instruction to be exacted of primary schools.

Mr. Stämpfli showed how illogical it was for the confederation to interest itself in the higher education of the few and neglect elementary instruction which affected beneficially the masses. He said:

Every year some sixty or seventy thousand children leave the primary school. Hardly six or eight hundred of them will ever reap the benefit of our higher institutions of learning; we thus do nothing for 99 per cent. of these children; surely, this is no small matter. We have ingrafted on our statutes provisions empowering the federal government to assist cantons in works of public utility; other provisions relate to the protection of forests and rivers; others refer to railroads and banks, to the naturalization of foreigners, to marriage, &c. All these, as a whole, appertain to material matters, and an article having some bearing upon the intellectual development of the nation, it would seem but fit and proper, should be added thereto. The state certainly cannot be indifferent to the greater or less intelligence possessed by the youth of the land which it calis into military service for its protection, and which in time will certainly mould its destiny at the polls. Our political life grows from year to year more democratic, as the people are called upon more and more to take part in the work of legislation. It cannot, therefore, be a matter of indifference to the state with what grade of intelligence 99 per cent. of its children leave school. Abundant proof exists that a large number of the young soldiers of the republic are seriously deficient even in reading and writing. Elementary instruction to a certain grade must, therefore, be made compulsory, and, being so made, must be gratuitous; for, if it is obligatory to send children to school, it would be wrong to exact payment from those having to send them, &c.

The amendment in substance above cited, being incorporated with others of an objectionable character, failed to be ratified when submitted to the people. It was not until January 31, 1874, that the question again took definite form in an amendment to the federal constitution, now in force, approved April 19, 1874, by a large majority vote of the people. It reads as follows:

ART. XXVII. The confederation is authorized to establish, in addition to the existing polytechnic school, a university and other higher institutions of learning, or aid such institutions.

The cantons shall provide satisfactory elementary instruction, which must be under the exclusive control of the civil authorities; said instruction is obligatory and in the public schools gratuitous.

Persons of all creeds shall be enabled to attend the public schools without infringement of their religious belief or liberty of conscience.

The confederation will adopt requisite measures to proceed against cantons failing to comply with these provisions.

Previous to explaining somewhat in detail the bearing which the several provisions of this article have had upon elementary instruction in Switzerland, and before I refer to the beneficial results yet in prospect, I must again revert to the military organization, or, as it might be called, the militia system of Switzerland, and show how effectively it aids the efforts of the educator in developing a system of public instruction which shall in reality rear the child into a useful and intelligent citizen.

INFLUENCE OF THE SWISS MILITIA SYSTEM ON POPULAR EDUCATION.

In the first place the military ordinances of Switzerland require that the cantonal governments shall give all boys a gymnastic course of training, commencing at the age of ten and continuing until their twentieth

year. During the last two years target practice, involving the manual of arms, may be introduced by federal authority. These ordinances permit the release from further military service of teachers of public schools who have passed the "recruiting" course, and altogether relieve them from military duty after attaining the age of 25 years. But this is by no means all, for, as has already been said, every Swiss is subject to military duty, and at the age of 20 years every youth found physically qualified must be enrolled. At such time the recruit is also subjected to an examination as to his educational status, and I append a statement of what is expected and will be exacted of him under the rules approved by the federal government September 28, 1875. Unless the recruit can bring satisfactory proof of having creditably attended at least one year an institution of higher grade than that of an elementary school (which lat ter implies a course of from 6 to 9 years' attendance), he will be examined in reading, writing, arithmetic, and history.

His responses to these four test subjects will be rated as follows: Reading (1) Mechanically correct reading, intelligent intonation according to subject and form, or at all events a free rendering. (2) Satisfactory mechanical reading and correct responses to questions relating to the subject read. (3) Mechanical reading devoid of passable knowledge of contents. (4) Inability to read even mechanically.

Writing: (1) A brief composition-as to contents and form, orthography, calligraphy, and punctuation to be correct. (2) A brief composi tion showing more or less deficiency and defects in one or another of the points first named. (3) Form and contents of composition weak and unintelligible. (4) Worthless effort at composition.

Arithmetic (1) Expertness in the four fundamental rules, with sim ple numbers and fractions, illustrated by examples in the ordinary line of business. (2) Application of the four rules with simple numbers. (3) Only partial solution of examples in the four rules. (4) No solution whatever.

History: (1) Statement of the principal events of Swiss history and leading provisions of the constitution. (2) Correct answers to historical and geographical questions relating to Switzerland. (3) Knowledge of at least some of the events or names embraced in the questions asked under number two. (4) No correct response at all.

Such of the recruits as have number four marked against them in more than one of the above branches of knowledge must attend, during their period of service as recruits, the supplementary schools established by the military authorities; these schools give instruction in the branches above indicated.

These tests when first made showed an appalling difference in the educational status of the citizens of different localities. For instance, in the examination of 1876, from 29 to 48 per cent. of young men were rated as obliged to attend the supplementary schools, or, in the aggregate, 3,577 (12.04 per cent.) out of a total of 28,851 examined.

As was

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to be expected, the laggard localities in matters of elementary instruction promptly received attention from both the cantonal and federal authorities, and it is asserted that not many years will elapse before the effect of the constitutional provision already cited will give a very different showing.

WORKING OF THE SYSTEM.

Thus we see that, despite the advanced state of public instruction in the larger part of Switzerland, serious defects were apparent in some sections, demanding the great power of public opinion formulated in a federal statute to remedy them.

How this remedy is applied I now propose to show; and the educator will therein recognize what progress, if any, Switzerland has made within the last three years in the matter of public instruction.

When we come to examine more closely Article XXVII of the constitution it will be found that its scope is far greater than at first might be supposed.

The first section unquestionably empowers the federal government not only to establish a national university and maintain the existing Federal Polytechnic Institute, but also to establish normal institutes for teachers of both sexes; in fact, taking into consideration what follows relative to elementary instruction. and the drift of the debate in congress, the establishment of federal normal schools to train teachers for the public schools seems well nigh imperative. Article XXXII of the constitution also implies this, as it virtually empowers the confederation to introduce and bestow upon primary school teachers federal certificates of competency.

This is considered by educators a great step forward in raising the standard of teachers employed in public schools - securing eventually greater uniformity in text books, in the courses of instruction, in school appliances, and altogether attaining a greater average efficiency.

The second section of the statute ("The cantons shall provide satisfactory elementary instruction which must be exclusively under the control of the civil authorities") incites cantonal emulation and removes the danger of drifting into a centralization detrimental to individual effort. It fixes the standard of attainment in exacting "satisfactory" or "sufficient" elementary instruction.

In order that the term primary or elementary instruction may not be misunderstood, I would state that it comprises in general terms a course of from six to nine years' study, embracing: (1) Reading, writing, and composition; (2) mental and written arithmetic, including the four fundamental rules, decimal fractions, and various applications of the rule of three (Regeldetri); (3) geography and elementary cosmography; (4) history of Switzerland and a knowledge of the provisions of its constitution; (5) geometrical drawing; (6) vocal music; (7) the elements of hygiene and natural history, and, in rural districts, of agriculture; (8) for girls, female handiwork; (9) for boys, gymnastics.