Massachusetts has been a leader in the creation of boards and commissions whose functions extend to almost every department, such as the board of education (1837) ; of agriculture (1852) ; of railroad commissioners (1869) ; of health (1869) ; of statistics of labour, fisheries, game and charity (1879) ; of insanity (1879) and the dairy bureau (1891). Others have to do with prisons, highways, insurance, banking, ballot-laws, voting machines, gas and electric companies, conciliation and arbitration in labour dis putes, registration in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, inspection of food and drugs, etc. Almost all State employees are under civil service regulations, even in the smaller political subdivisions. There are rigid laws to prevent stock-watering in all corporations of a semi-public sort. The Torrens system of land registration was adopted in 1898 and a court created for its administration. The death penalty has been carried out by electrocution since 1898. Municipal ownership of public utilities, particularly gas and elec tric light works is permitted and has grown steadily. As else where, the State is gradually encroaching on the functions of municipalities and has done notable work for them in such matters as docks, parks and water supply. In a few cases, such as Boston and Fall River, the city police departments are in the hands of State Commissioners. In 192o a State constabulary was organ ized. The influence of war-time conditions was reflected in legis lative measures, such as that directing that emergency legislation should take effect immediately and that providing for absentee voting. In 1920 over too State departments were reorganized under 20 heads.
Revenue receipts for the year were Of this, $14, 945,710 derived from motor vehicle taxes; $11,231,528 from corporation taxes; $10,000,000 from city and town assessments; and $6,937,271 from Federal grants. Expenditures totalled $83,034,848.
On June 3o, 1936 there were 481 licensed banks in the State whose total resources amounted to Liabilities in cluded $342,072,000 capital, surplus, and undivided profits and $3,057,548,000 deposits. National banks numbered 128 and had resources of $1,548,116,000. Savings deposits held up through the depression more firmly than they did for the nation at large; hav ing risen from $1,297,500,000 in 1916 to $2,868,500,000 in 1931, they fell to $2,490,800,000 in but rose again to $2,507,500, 000 by the end of June 1935. The bulk of these deposits were car ried by the State's system of mutual savings banks, which in June 1935 had 2,832,511 depositors with $2,079,595,000 deposits. Education.—In the colonial period, Massachusetts took the lead in popular education, and was the first colony to found a col lege, but at no time in that period could Harvard compare with such other New World universities as those, e.g., at Mexico or
Lima. The quality of New England colonial education has been greatly over-estimated. The real beginning of the State's modern system dates from about 1840, when the extremely bad situation everywhere in the schools of the country had aroused great criti cism. At that time 29 of the richest towns in the State maintained no schools at all as they should have in accordance with the law. The school board was organized in 1837 and under the leadership of Horace Mann conditions improved rapidly. The present sys tem is conducted under the general laws relating to education passed in 1920, with some amendments. There is a department of education "under the supervision and control of a commissioner of education, and an advisory board of education of six members, of whom at least two shall be women and one shall be a school teacher." The commissioner is appointed by the governor and council. The system includes common, high and normal schools, and all have a high reputation. Manual training since 1894 has been part of the curriculum in all municipalities of over 20,000 population. There are also textile schools at Fall River, New Bed ford and Lowell, a nautical school, and a State Agricultural college at Amherst. The first Normal school in the country was that founded at Lexington ; and in 1935 there were ten such schools in the State, including one for art at Boston.
There are many private schools of high standing, such as Phillips Andover, Groton and Mt. Hermon. The Boston Latin school founded in the 17th century is one of the oldest in the country.
Of the higher institutions of learning, besides Harvard (1636), may be mentioned Williams college (1793) at Williamstown, Am herst (1820 near Northampton, Boston university (Methodist Episcopal) at Boston (1867), Tufts college (1852) at Medford, and Clark university (1889) at Worcester. For women only there are Mount Holyoke (1837) at South Hadley, Smith college (1875) at Northampton, Wellesley college (1875) near Boston, Simmons college (1899) in Boston, and Radcliffe college (1879) in connection with Harvard. Technical instruction is given at Worcester Polytechnic institute, Worcester, and the Massachu setts Institute of Technology, Boston (both 1865).
In 1934 the number of pupils enrolled in public schools was of whom 572,562 were of elementary and 221,285 of sec ondary grade. Expenditures for these schools amounted to $72, 342,885. There were in the same year 173,313 private and paro chial school pupils who brought the total of sub-collegiate enrol ment to 967,160 or 94•2% of the population between 5 and 17 years of age. All children between 7 and 14 are required to at tend school ; and those between 14 and 16 must have completed the first six grades before they are allowed to drop out. The aver age attendance of pupils in the public schools during 1934 was 158.8 days.