EDUCATION. The establishment of public schools was regarded as an important matter from the first settlement. The first free school was organized in 1635, and Harvard College was founded in 1636. In 1647 a statute was enacted that each town having 50 families should maintain a school to teach the children to read and write, and each town having 100 families a grammar school to fit youths for college. This statute was amplified and amended. until the system has be come one of the best in the world. The State Board of Education was created in 1837. Horace Mann was its first secretary, and his reports and labors gave impulse and vigor to the schools of the entire Union. The educational system of the State holds its high rank by virtue of its superior organization and supervision, its adequate finan cial support, and its admirable adaptability to the needs of all. The local unit of organization is the town (township), each town having a committee appointed by the people and a skilled superintendent appointed •hy the commit tee. The State Board is the central coordinating and supervisory body and between it and the local organizations stand the agents of the State Board, each of whom has his particular district or his special phase of educational work to over see. Thus uniformity and efficiency in super vision are secured. Financial support is secured by taxation and by the income from the State school fund. This fund was established in 1834 from proceeds derived from the sale of lands in the State of Maine. and from the claims of Mas sachusetts upon the United State,, for military services, and it. has been greatly augmented from numerous sources, the total on Det•ember 31, 1900, amounting to $4,370,000. The fund has de rived its great efficiency from the admirable man ner in which its income has been distributed, having been used from the beginning so as to stimulate the towns to greater exertion for edu cational purposes. It has lifted the standard in the poorer localities by increasing their allow ances at the expense of the inure wealthy muni cipalities. .At present town, with a taxable valu
ation of over $3.000.000 derive no benefits from the fund, while the poorer localities, in addition to lump sum allotments, which vary inversely to the property valuation, receive also assistance for superintendents' and teachers' salaries and cer tain other purposes. With this financial back ing, every town is enabled to maintain a long school term. The minimum established by law is eight months. In 1900 only 14 towns out of 339 fell under this limit. while the average for all exceeded nine months from 1890 to 1900. The system also enables fair wages to be paid the teachers, the men (constituting one•tenth of the total number) receiving an average of 8136 per month, and the women an average of $52 per month. The scope and completeness of the school system of Massachusetts are realized when it. is seen that, in addition to the grammar schools, there are 261 high schools, every child having the advantage of free high-school tuition; that 49 towns and cities maintain night schools; that. 36 towns and cities maintain a kindergarten, system; that every town with a population above affords manual training in its high schools; and that the training of teachers is provided for by the maintenance of ten normal schools. All this is supplemented by private schools. The proportion of pupils in the private schools to those in public schools is as l to 7. While there was a reduction from 1890 to 1900 in the number attending private schools of aca demic rank, there has been a decided increase in the number attending other private schools. If one applies the test of enrollment and attendance he finds that out of a total of 630,000 children be tween the ages of five and eighteen years, 474.891 are enrolled in the public schools, and 73.205 in the private schools, making a total enrollment of 548,096. The attendance at the public schools for the last decade has averaged over 90 per cent. of the enrollment. The average taxation cost for all school purposes per each child in the average membership of the public schools is 833.92.