boys, and the natural result is a lowering of the standard of skilled labor and the flooding of our markets with shoddy work. In such circumstances, it is not to be wondered at that the public appreciation of good work has been degraded, and the consequence is that the price which has to be paid for good work is very often regarded as sheer extravagance.

It is to the remedying of this defect, to the recovery of the lost ground, that the attention of our educationalists should be directed, but the trouble is that there are generally three parties to be educated, viz, the artisan to turn out good work, the master to see that it is to his interest and credit to pay for good work, and the public (i. e., the purchaser) to recognize that it is to his advantage to have only good work, even though the cost be a little higher, for after all the difference between the cost of good work and shoddy is, in the great majority of cases, only a small percentage of the total outlay involved.

It is the purpose in this paper to deal mainly with the workman; let us call him the apprentice although he be little more than a boy doing odd jobs, and picking up such information as may fall in his way; or we may suppose him to be a young fellow who has just been raised to the dignity of a mechanic or an artisan. Whatever for the moment his exact position may be, he is in one respect in very much the same position as the apprentice of old. He has picked out for himself, or circumstances have placed him in, a particular trade, and he desires to prosper in that trade. He can only pick up the crumbs of knowledge and experience as they fall from the hands or lips of his older comrades, but the great fact remains that he is in a trade, he has a trade to follow, and he is anxious to learn all he can about that trade. We are not concerned with that type of youth whose only desire is to do as little as he can in return for his wages, and to ignore altogether the interests of his employer. Such a youth is soon recognized. But to return to the cardinal point. The lad has adopted a trade-the practical lessons he receives and which correspond to that part of the education of the old-time apprentice which was gained in his master's workshop, are the aforesaid crumbs which he picks up. Where is he to get the counterpart of the explanation of the arts and mysteries as imparted by the master of old time? Clearly this is the breach where our polytechnies and technical schools should step in, and they do step in, but only with one toe of one foot. The rest is left outside; the breach is not filled; the solitary toe soon gets trodden on and is withdrawn, and our poor apprentice is once more withont an instructor. To make this important point clear is to demonstrate the inutility of much that is now being done in the name of technical education. Let us suppose that our apprentice has the incentive to avail himself of the facilities afforded by our polytechnics and technical schools. When he has selected his "institution" he attends for the first time with confidence, but he speedily finds that the men who should be prepared and able to teach him how to become more skilful at his work might, with advantage, take a few lessons from him. Frequently his would-be teachers are young men fresh from some other technical institution, and the workman discovers that they are merely prepared to coach him up for an examination or two, thus enabling him to obtain certificates but not skill. The examination papers are in too many cases set by some professor guileless of any real practical knowledge and absolutely incapable of coming down to the level of the workman. As both the professor and his assistants who prepare the examination papers for him base their work upon the same books as those from which the teachers derive their information there can be no doubt that such teachers are or should be well qualified to cram the student so that he can obtain his certificates. Indeed, a genuine and really capable teacher dare not waste much time in imparting really useful information to his students because, in a technical institution, the efficiency of a teacher is generally judged by the number of certificates gained by his pupils, and knowledge which is useful to a man in his work is not, as a rule, worth anything in an examination. In the course of a week or two, then, our apprentice sees through this and grasps the fact that

he can derive very little benefit from a course of lectures arranged to be acceptable to and comprehended by the majority of the students (mostly amateurs), and he loses at once any confidence he might have had in the lecturer when the latter essays to describe the fundamental principles of the underlying science in a language unknown to him, when the lecturer proves himself utterly ignorant of workshop practice and language, and when, as generally happens, he describes as current practice methods which have long since been abandoned. The immediate consequence is that our apprentice, for whom, or such as whom, the class ought primarily to be conducted, will, if he be a simple-minded man, desert the class by the end of the first month or so and will do his best to dissuade his fellow-workmen from making a similar attempt.

It might be imagined that such abortive efforts on the part of our apprentice would, if frequently repeated, have the effect of entirely depriving technical institntions of pupils, but, unfortunately, the very imperfections of the system enable it to survive. The exclusion of the artisan who can not write neatly and is unable readily to give evidence of his knowledge in an examination paper is not felt as a serious loss either by the teacher or by the institution. On the other hand, it is a distinct gain, because the field is now open to another class of students, many of whom would hesitate to mix too freely with the average artisan-a class consisting largely of youths who have recently been turned out as finished by the board schools; of school-teachers anxious to obtain certificates, no matter what the subject may be, providing that those certificates can be obtained with the minimum amount of work; of clerks in offices and factories, and of shopkeepers' assistants, with a sprinkling of unskilled laborers and a few craftsmen in other trades anxious to provide a second string to their bow. To such a class of amateurs the teacher, no matter how good or how earnest he may be, must now adapt his lectures, and in the event of a student like our apprentice remaining in the class he must be content to listen to a vast amount of talk meaningless to him and often, bristling with inaccuracies. For the existing system of examination such pupils are exactly those required by the teacher to obtain good results, and he is assisted rather than otherwise by the distressing fact that few, if any, of his pupils ever have had, or ever will have, either the opportunity or the inclination to test his precepts by practice. It may, perhaps, be asserted that this doleful picture is altogether overdrawn, but the recital of a few simple facts will suffice as a refutation. One city clerk was in his year the prize carpenter in the United Kingdom; another took the prize in electric lighting; another the prize in electrical instrument making; auother in tools, and another, who had never been out of London for more than a week or two at a time, obtained a certificate qualifying him as a teacher of agriculture. A schoolmaster became a prize electrical engineer and an ironmonger's clerk a prize electrical instrument maker. Another teacher, who had in all probability never seen the inside of a telegraph station, blossomed forth as the first prizeman in telegraphy, and was inferentially the best trained telegraphist in the Kingdom.

Now, the principle of examinations is not to be blamed for these results. The fault lies entirely with the examiners, who too often base their examination papers solely on certain text-books, ignoring altogether the thousand and one points of detail and application which never get into text-books at all. The author has in mind one paper in an electrical subject, in which twelve of the fifteen questions were based entirely on theoretical electricity and could be answered by anyone who had gone through a moderate course of instruction in electricity, but who had never had any practical connection with the subject. There is another source of trouble

and waste in our present system, which may be called the overlapping or duplicating of classes. Owing to the present want of cohesion between the various schools, each school is worked as a separate entity and each school opens classes in as many subjects as it can find even a few pupils to attend, oblivious of the actual requirement of the vicinity and of the work which is being done by neighboring institu

tions. This is particularly the case in London. To take only one subject, that of electrical engineering. There is already more than sufficient machinery in the many London schools to provide for the requirements of the whole industry throughout the entire Kingdom.

Enough, it is thought, has beeen said to show that, in so far as what is herein considered to be the true objective of technical education is concerned, by far the larger portion of the money which is being spent upon the so-called technical classes is absolutely wasted, and often with pernicious results. But the leaks do not end here, for in many cases, cases which frequently come under our notice, the lecture rooms and laboratories are provided with quantities of costly apparatus which neither the teacher nor the student knows how to handle, and which is therefore damaged and ultimately destroyed by being kicked along the floor or allowed to lie about until it falls to pieces.

What is the remedy for all this waste and mischief?

In the first place, the examiners should improve their papers and make them such that only students practically acquainted with the various industries could answer them. Certificates should be withheld unless such a practical acquaintance can be proved. The questions should be framed in simple, accurate, and unmistakable phraseology.

Secondly, schools should be grouped together, each to specialize in one or two branches of industry, according to the requirements of the locality.

Thirdly, the teachers should be men actually engaged in responsible positions in the several industries.

Fourthly, the instruction should be arranged exclusively for men engaged in the several industries. Amateurs or outsiders should only be admitted on payment of a decidedly remunerative fee. Every bona fide student should be required to take courses of instruction in the science subjects allied to his particular technical subject. Let the fee for these students be an inclusive one, to cover the allied subjects. Fifthly, there should be au annual inspection and stock taking of apparatus and materials, as a check, not against the actual stock, but in reality against the use which has been made of it.

It is believed that if a scheme similar to that which is now suggested were carried out the various institutions would in a short time draw the right class of students, and in sufficient numbers to meet all requirements. The theoretical classes might be thrown open with certain restrictions to all comers. In this way the good that our technical institutions might accomplish is incalculable. The author would like to demonstrate this by showing what is being done in and by the school which he founded twenty-one years ago. None but telegraphists are admitted; nothing is taught but what is likely to be of service in the practice of telegraphy; every student is encouraged to take, in time, every class in the time-table. In the superior, or third year, classes no student is allowed to enter unless he has attended successfully all the classes prescribed for first and second year students. We started with 5 students and now number 350. All the instructors were trained in the school, all were telegraphists and are still actively employed in the service, and all are medalists. The Postal Telegraph authorities are convinced that a technically trained telegraphist is more valuable than a simple manipulative telegraphist, because he is able to detect faults and regulate his apparatus as required by the varying conditions of the lines and the fluctuations of the traffic. And by a recently issued order of the Postmaster-General every telegraphist of 24 years of age and upward who is not already receiving his maximum scale of pay, and who can produce a certificate from the Science and Art Department and the City and Guilds Institute in Electricity and Telegraphy, respectively, has £6 added to his salary every year until he attains his maximum. Last year no less than 19 of the students obtained superior appointments on account of their technical training, and such are a few of the results of technical education carried out on lines which this international congress is asked to indorse as the correct and only true basis of technical education.

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.

By BERNARD DE BEAR, Principal Pitman's Metropolitan School

In preparing this paper one of the main objects has been to endeavor, as far as possible, to remove the extraordinary misconception that exists in the public mind as to business training institutions and their methods in this country. Quite recently I was present at a debate on "Commercial education," which took place under the auspices of the London Chamber of Commerce. One of the principal speakers at that discussion was a prominent member of the London county councilone, indeed, whose special energies have been directed to the subject of education in various forms-and I was astounded to hear from his lips the utterance that "commercial business colleges were practically nonexistent in this country, or, in other words, that no gentleman would care to send his children to such as were established." It is with the object of combating such injurious and reckless statements as these that I have brought together a few facts in order to show what is being done for commercial education in this country by private enterprise and energy alone, and that despite the sneers of those who should be its well wishers if not its supporters.

As to the statement I have quoted, I will content myself by saying that it is absolutely untrue. The institution with which I have the honor to be connected is the parent institution of the kind in this country and has been in existence for twentyseven years, in the course of which it has received as pupils members of the highest families in the land, representatives of all the learned and honorable professions, and, in short, a patronage of as good status and social position as that bestowed upon any of the best public schools in the Kingdom.

In the spring of 1895, I paid a visit to the United States, with the object of inquiring into the methods of business training in America. I visited over twenty of the best business training colleges on the other side of the Atlantic, in such cities as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Albany, and Boston. In the States, at any rate, I found that students at these colleges were drawn from the very best families in the country, and though it is inevitable that the class of student at a business college, whether in England or America, should be a mixed one, yet it is a fact that the large majority of the pupils represent what we call "the middle and upper classes." These institutions play an extremely important part in the business life of the United States, for not only is a finishing course in business considered a fitting termination to the young American's educational career, but the majority of the business houses in the different cities of the States depend upon these colleges for the supply of assistants to be engaged either as bookkeepers, stenographers, typists, or in any other capacity.

As a rule, the American business college insists upon its students taking up a complete course of study as mapped out in its prospectus; unlike the method adopted in this country, as I shall presently show. The fees for tuition average about $35 to $40 per term of ten weeks, or $100 per year; say £20 of English money. The commercial course of study comprises bookkeeping-single and double entrycommercial arithmetic, penmanship, commercial law, business correspondence, business forms and methods, banking, insurance, commission, real estate, transportation, brokerage, wholesale, retail, importing, and jobbing. There is usually a separate course for shorthand and typewriting, which includes grammar, spelling, dictation, and practice in office routine; and another course, called the "English course," for those students whose elementary knowledge is not sufficiently sound to warrant their entry into the higher departments. This course comprises: Arithmetic, penmanship, English grammar, reading, spelling, United States history, geography, and letter-writing.

I may best indicate the scope of the work of these institutions by quoting shortly from the prospectus of one of the soundest of these American colleges, as follows: This college is devoted to the special training of young people who intend to devote themselves to mercantile or allied pursuits. Its course of study is arranged with the aim to develop the business capacity of the pupil, and to impart a knowledge that will lay the foundation for a successful business career. The essential feature of the system is individual teaching.

The great feature of these colleges is, however, the actual business practice. After having completed a certain amount of theoretical work, the student is advanced to the counting-house department, which is not a mere figure of speech, but an admirable and altogether realistic representation of a business house. Indeed, in the larger institutions one would find an entire floor of the college building fitted up with here a counting-house, there a bank, with its different divisions, and in other parts of the hall, offices representing firms of various descriptions. The student then actually performs in turn the duties of salesman, shipping clerk, cashier, receiving clerk, bill clerk, stenographer, bookkeeper, etc. In some places he actually carries on business with other cities by correspondence with students in similar colleges in, say, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. He orders or ships goods, draws drafts, makes and receives remittances, and, in fact, performs all the duties of a man of business. At the time of my visiting a college in Philadelphia there was actually a "public auction" going on, the instructor being mounted on a rostrum and the students in various parts of the room bidding against each other as to the manner born, paying with dummy checks, keeping practical accounts of the business and showing results. In another establishment in the same city I noted that from the first day of entry a student was set up in business, a cash capital was given and deposit slip made out. He went to the bank (an actuality) from time to time, presented his money and deposit slip and went through the regular banking routine. At a subsequent period he occupied a position in the bank, either as receiving cashier or paying clerk.

In the Gem City Business College in the town of Quincy (Illinois), I saw a most elaborate and perfect system of practical business training. An immense hall was fitted up with four banks, each bearing its title plainly over the front representing the four sections of the country. There were, in addition, two wholesale houses, two commission houses, one railroad express and freight company, one insurance and land office, and so on. Every description of document used in a house of business is brought into use in this department. There were also clearing houses, and, finally, an actual bank in the office of the college, where the actual deposits of students were received, and also occasionally of nonmembers of the school. In most of the colleges there was exhibited the market report for the day, just as it was received from the board of trade department of the State.

There can be no doubt that this elaborate and exhaustive system is attended by very good results, and that the young people of both sexes who have gone through such a course intelligently are fairly well qualified to take a place in any house of business without requiring that coaching and supervision which the raw youth fresh from the public school invariably needs, and which it is generally nobody's business to supply. But at the same time it is highly probable that the completed student-or "graduate," as he is termed in America-has in reality no sound knowledge of any particular commercial subject, but rather a general and often hazy idea of office routine, and in this respect it seems to me the American method falls far short of the English. If I might be permitted to crystallize into one sentence my criticism of American business training methods, I should say there was much to gratify the eye and to make an attractive display, but the great outlay involved in all this ornamentation and lavish expenditure on mahogany, plate glass, and gilding prevented the employment of a staff of teachers adequate to the purpose and able to carry out what is so desirable, but what in America is found to be but a mere figure of speech, namely, strictly individual instruction.