The State of Georgia has also been favored with an unusual development of the secondary and higher education of the colored race. In the Report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1902, chapter 5, will be found an account of the establishment of several of the best known of the seminaries, which, under the name of "college" or "university," have been established in the South by the different religious bodies of the Northern States. The city of Atlanta has been specially favored with no less than seven of these great schools, which, in the number of their students, ability of their teachers, and extensiveness of their buildings and facilities for the secondary and higher training, have not been surpassed in the State. Indeed, so marked has been their impression on the city of Atlanta that so far it has not been found necessary to supplement its system of common and grammar school training with a high school department for the colored people. It is not improbable that the city of Atlanta receives as much income from the location of these great schools as it pays for the public schooling of this entire class of its population. Among these seminaries is the Gammon Theological School, with a location and provision for students and an endowment perhaps equal to any in the Southern States. It is impossible to estimate the influence of these schools upon the colored people of a State like Georgia, since the superior teachers of the colored public schools are very largely supplied from this source, and the great general uplift of their students mentally and morally can not be denied. There are no proper statistics of the large number of private and church elementary schools in Georgia which are able to maintain a session of eight months a year, because their income is eked out by a subsidy from the publie school fund, managed by the authorities of the open country. Of course, in estimating the amount of schooling received by the people of any State all circumstances like these must be taken into account. Still the fact that in 1898 12.6 per cent of the total population of the State was reported by its State commissioner of education as illiterate, 6.7 per cent of the white and 18.9 per cent of the colored, furnishes one of the most cogent arguments for an effective system of public instruction that will lift the whole people out of a situation so hostile to its material and every other type of prosperity,

One of the most interesting points in the great work of educational development that has gone on through the past thirty years in the State of Georgia is the record of the establishment of the graded school system in the different cities. Of these, perhaps 20 of the 400 under city administration support complete local systems. Of these systems, 9 in 1900 contained each over 1,000 pupils, among them Atlanta, 14,000; Savannah, 8,700; Macon, 7,300; Augusta, 6,400; Columbus, 2,700; Rome, 2,500. The schools of all these and of a number of those containing more than 500 pupils are among the best in the Southern States. Their superintendents and teachers in the past and present are represented by men like Mallon, Ziegler, Branson, Evans, Miss Laura Haygood, and others only less eminent. One of the most interesting problems for the student of municipal history in the United States is found in the establishment of the American common school system and its development and influence on the entire community in cities of this kind. Unfortunately the local reports of even these leading cities of the State are not sufficiently ample to furnish the material for a detailed account of their success in this, the most vital department of municipal life.

In several of the larger cities of Georgia an excellent habit prevails of including the entire county in the general graded system of education, giving to the pupils of the suburban region practically equal advantages with those of the city. One of the earliest of the towns in the State to take advantage of the original offer (in 1783) of 1,000 acres of wild land for a free school was Augusta,

then the seat of government. By this allotment the town was able to establish the Richmond Academy, which for nearly a century had gone on, with the usual experiences of similar institutions in the Southern States. In 1872 the people of the city and adjacent country, despairing of their ability to improve the district and ward school system under the obstacles furnished by the public school laws, formed "a confederate board of city trustees," a practical union of the several districts in a proper school system. Under this arrangement the city established several new schools and improved others. There were four high schools, two in the city and two in incorporated villages in the country. Of these the Richmond Academy, regarded one of the best of its kind in the State, was the summit of the entire system. Normal classes for white and colored teachers were a part of the scheme. The fifth report of the new arrangement, in 1877, shows a population of the entire region of 23,768 white and 15,163 colored. There were 8,345 school children, of whom 4,912 were in the city. The schools remained in operation nine months; the attendance in the country was 2,016. In the country the schools were in operation six and one-fifth months; the expenditure was $22,706. For several years the system was greatly favored in the president of the board of education, Mr. John S. Davidson. In 1883 Mr. Lawton B. Evans appeared as superintendent, a position he has held to the present time. The report of 1894 shows a steady success. The entire enrollment was 7,330, including 2,663 colored, with a general average attendance of 4,733. There were 158 teachers, 44 with some professional preparation. The schools were in session nine months, and the expenditure was $121,137.29. This city, with Savannah and Macon, still continues the practice of admitting into the public school system several of the Catholic Church parochial schools, taught by members of the women's teacher sisterhoods, under regulations which are claimed to be in accordance with the State school legislation.

Attention has already in this essay been called to the city of Savannah and the county of Chatham. Early in the history of the State the Chatham Acad emy had been established in the city of Savannah, and in connection with the interesting Telfair institution for the promotion of art and science, it had contributed during the early years of the last century to the exceptional mental and social cultivation of this, one of the most attractive of the southern cities. At the close of the war, in 1866, the same arrangement that has already been described as existing in Augusta and Richmond County was adopted for the city of Savannah and the county of Chatham. Under this system the schools of Savannah and its suburban rural districts were developed into some of the best in the State. In 1900 there was an estimated school population in the entire school territory of 8,764, with an average attendance of 6,611, and 180 teachers. There were 18 schoolhouses, valued at $190,000, besides 34 buildings not belonging to the county board, 29 of which were occupied by colored schools. The entire expense for the system was $125,000. The location of the agricultural and mechanical college for colored youth was in this school district.

In Bibb County, including the city of Macon, organized under the same system, the enrollment includes 7,346 (3,119 colored), with 153 teachers, 64 of whom are claimed as normal graduates. An average monthly salary of $45 is paid for the white and $30 for colored teachers. The total expense is $86,277.82.

The city of Atlanta presents the most complete example in Georgia of the organization of a common school system according to the methods prevailing in the majority of the larger municipalities of the Union. At an early period of the uprising of the city from its almost complete destruction at the close of the civil war, in 1871, the present school system was organized. The city was favored in securing the services of the Hon. Joseph Brown, ex-governor of the

State and United States Senator, as the president of the school board, a position occupied by him until his death. His successor was the Hon. Hoke Smith, the son of a distinguished educator and, during the second term of President Cleveland's Administration, Secretary of the Interior, also a steady and intelligent friend of education. The first superintendent of the new system was Mr. Bernard Mallon, called from a similar position in the public schools of Savannah. Under the administration of this able and devoted executive the schools were so organized that, in the sixth report (for 1877-78), we learn that after a temporary reaction the schools were well established. In 1875 thè population of Atlanta was 32,000. The number of children of school age was 10,362 (7,238 white and 3,124 colored). The total attendance was 3,280; the average attendance, 2,400; 214 were enrolled in the two high schools. There were 53 teachers of the nine schools. There were said to be 800 pupils in attendance on private schools in the city. The value of school property was $65,000. The expenses of the system were $35,662.05. Superintendent Mallon had taken charge of the girls' high school, which he made also a seminary for the training of teachers, as well as one of the most promising schools of the kind in the State. Under this administration the schools continued until 1879, when Superintendent Mallon resigned, having supervised the system during the seven years of his incumbency and made it a model for the imitation of the other cities of the State. In that year the population of the city had risen to 40,000, with a school population of 10,340 and 4,000 pupils. The number of days the schools were in session was 197.

The successor of Superintendent Mallon was Mr. W. F. Slaton, who has held the position until the present day. Superintendent Mallon was followed in his principalship of the girls' high school by Miss Laura Haygood, sister of Bishop Atticus Haygood. Under her administration the school was developed into one of the most attractive of its class in the State or in the South; it remained under her charge until 1887, when she resigned to enter the missionary field as an organizer of a high school for native girls in China. Mr. H. H. Smith, the father of Hon. Hoke Smith, Miss S. McKinley, and Miss N. E. Sargent have succeeded in the principalship of this high school, now one of the most flourishing of its kind. In 1900 the number of children of school age in the city of Atlanta was 18,299, of whom 11,260 were enrolled, the average attendance being 10,169. The sum appropriated by the city was $128,928.62, which, with $39,864.70 from the State, made the total expenditure $168,793.32. From the report of the IIon. Hoke Smith, president of the school board, to the mayor and general council of the city in 1900, we learn that "the schools of Atlanta are all crowded to an extent that prevents the best work from being done. Forty children are as many as one teacher should undertake to control and instruct. We have been compelled, in a majority of our schoolrooms under one teacher, to place 60 children. To relieve this pressure we really ought to increase 50 per cent the grammar schools of the city. We can not hope, however, to obtain so large a sum from a single year's appropriation. The growth of the city has caused an average increase of attendance by the children upon the schools of between 7 and 10 per cent annually. For the past ten years we have built only 2 grammar schools for white children, and the negro schools have received only the increase recently made by the additions to the Houston Street School. The appropriations to the schools have not increased with the growth of the city. During the past year the city appropriated for police purposes $150,358.63, while it appropriated for the erection of new schoolhouses and for the education of 13,000 children only $128,928.62. The last council was the first to give money to build a new schoolhouse since 1893. The city of Atlanta gives less than 10 ED 1904 M- -69

per cent of her revenue to the schools of Atlanta." In a table published in his report it appears that the schools in 11 American cities of population similar to Atlanta receive from 20 to 36 per cent of the entire revenue. "There is need for 3 white grammar schools, with additions to others, and 4 new negro schools, with an additional girls' high school." "We are confronted with the necessity for so large an increase of school buildings now on account of the failure of the city council to furnish enough money for buildings during the past four years." The schools of Atlanta in 1901 received $40,000 from the State, and in addition to this the board of education reports that the schools will need $290,000 from the city. A lady board of school visitors is mentioned with appreciation for its excellent work, and the president of the board remarks that the only mistake in the matter was in not adding the ladies to the board of education.

In no State of the South has the recent revival of interest in public education met a more hearty response than in Georgia. Several important meetings of distinguished educators from within and without the State have been held there during the past year. A committee for a general waking up of the population of the rural districts has been appointed during the present year, of which the president of the Atlanta board of education, Hou. Hoke Smith, is one of the most active members. No American State that has once heartily adopted the American system of universal education has permanently repudiated it; and we are confident that the coming years of the new century will bring a hearty response to the original announcement concerning the importance of general education made by the Empire State of the South a century ago.

CHAPTER XVII.

INTRODUCTION OF REINDEER INTO ALASKA.

I. PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE GENERAL AGENT OF EDUCATION FOR ALASKA TO THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, 1890.a

By Sheldon Jackson, General Agent of Education for Alaska.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, D. C.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION,

Washington, D. C., December 26, 1890.

SIR: On the 5th instant I had the honor of transmitting to you a report from Dr. Sheldon Jackson, general agent of education for Alaska, in which he stated that the Eskimo of arctic Alaska were on the verge of starvation, and recommended that we avail ourselves of the benefit of the several acts of Congress for promoting instruction in agriculture and the mechanic arts, and thereby provide a way of introducing into Alaska the domesticated reindeer of Siberia.

On the 15th instant you very kindly transmitted the above communications to Congress for such action as might be necessary, and on the 19th instant a joint resolution was introduced into the House of Representatives authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to extend to Alaska the benefits of the act approved March 2, 1887, creating "agricultural experiment stations," and of an act approved August 30, 1890, for the better support of agricultural schools in the several States and Territories.

If this very desirable legislation is granted, and under its provisions a suitable school is established, it will be a comparatively easy matter to purchase in Siberia a herd of domesticated reindeer, transport them to Alaska, and give instruction in their care and management. This would be a great step forward in lifting the native races of that boreal region out of barbarism and starting them toward civilization-a step from the grade of wild hunter to the grade of herdsmen who live on domesticated cattle-and besides this furnish an article of exportation and commerce. The native tribes on the Siberian side are thriving with their herds of reindeer.

It seems that all northern Alaska is filled with moss meadows (tundra) which furnish the very food that the reindeer requires.

Once started, the business would grow into large proportions, and the most serious problem that threatens Alaska will be solved.

Since the subject has been agitated a number of calls have been received by this Office for information with regard to it.

I would, therefore, respectfully request permission to publish in a small pamphlet the inclosed report of Dr. Sheldon Jackson with accompanying papers.

Respectfully, yours,

W. T. HARRIS, Commissioner.

a Reprinted from the original document (Government Printing Office, 1891).