This assembly agreed that the technical universities were to offer for technical pursuits the highest possible-education required for state or communal service and industry, and to foster and promote the technical arts and sciences. Their curriculum was made to embrace four courses, architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and chemistry. The comprehensive term civil engineering embraces road-building (including railroads), surveying, hydraulics, and bridge-building.

With the development of industrial schools into polytechnical universities a decrease in the number of attendants was unavoidable. There is less demand for the highest talent than there is for men of medium caliber. Instead of recognizing the decrease in attendance as a consequence of increased requirements for admission, a small number of teachers in these institutions try to raise the number of students by lowering these requirements, while the greater number of teachers consider this procedure a menace to the scientific results. If the proposition of the former were adopted, the institutions would again become what they once were, universities and secondary schools combined; that is, through the main portal would enter students well prepared, and through the back door, so-called special students with an inferior preparation. The number of such special students is comparatively small in Austria and Saxony, while in Prussia it is very large. The university study of young men who are only prepared for secondary schools has great disadvantages, scientifical, economical, and social. These students retard the progress of those better prepared than they, and are confronted with demands upon their own strength which they are unable to meet. Hence many of these special students enter industrial life with half-digested knowledge, but they are more pretentious even than thorough students. Indeed, these weaklings require a greater expenditure of time and money than good students do, and that which they accomplish in after life is often faulty and inferior, all of which causes a crippling of German industry in the competition in the market of the world. Steinbeis says, "It must be regarded as a very lamentable fact that many students of technical universities have little or no practical skill or knowledge of industrial economy; therefore they may be made useful at the drawing board, but not for practical management and government." Genauck points out the notable fact that few machine engineers who have gone through a technical university are managing factories or workshops on their own account, while many experienced engineers of much inferior theoretical preparation fill responsible and remunerative positions. He also mentions the fact that theoretically educated architects are frequently found in the service of building masters of much inferior education. The Journal of the German Society of Engineers during the years from 1888 to 1891 points out the danger of students of insufficient preparation attending a technical university.

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The possibility of comparing the attendance of different schools is very limited, owing to the difference in the requirements for admission and because some institutions have sections which are wanting in others; for instance, Aachen and Berlin have each a section for mining; Brunswick, one for pharmacy; Carlsruhe, one for forestry; Munich, one for agriculture; Riga, one for commerce.

A fusion or combination of these technical universities with the old universities for the learned professions has been frequently and emphatically urged. It has been said that such a fusion would make unnecessary separate buildings, and do away with the necessity of duplicating certain appliances of instruction, such as libraries, botanical gardens, chemical and physical laboratories, mineralogical, geological, and archæological collections. W. Roscher urges this especially in the interest of a unified national education, so that between the learned professional men, theologians, lawyers, physicians, and teachers on the one hand, and the so-called practical men, agriculturists, engineers, machinists, etc., on the other, no feeling of antagonism or disdain may arise. But this argument, strong as it may be, is not likely to prevail in the near future.

CHAPTER VIII.

EDUCATION IN RUSSIA.1

INTRODUCTORY SKETCH.

The Russian Empire extends over one-seventh of the land surface of the globe, occupying, with its inland seas, an area of 8,644,100 English square miles. Its 114,873,008 people are scattered over that vast expanse; in European Russia alone there are 95,870,810 people within a space of 2,095,504 English square miles.

The government is that of an absolute, hereditary monarchy, the Czar controlling the whole legislative, executive, and judicial power. The administration of the affairs of the Empire is intrusted, however, to four great councils, each with its own distinct functions. These are (1) the council of state which, acting as a consultative board, examines the proposed laws presented to it by the ministers and discusses the budget and all expenditures; (2) the ruling senate, which is divided into nine sections, has deliberative and executive functions, and is also the high court of justice for the Empire; (3) the Holy Synod, which superintends the religious affairs of the Empire; but must refer all decisions to the Czar for approval before they can be enforced; (4) the committee of ministers, who communicate directly with the Czar. During May, 1888, a special imperial cabinet was created; it has administrative (economical, agricultural and manufacturing) and legislative sections. For administrative purposes the Empire is divided into general governments, governments, and districts; in European Russia there are 68 governments and 635 districts; in Asiatic Russia, 14 governments and 173 districts. Each general government has its governorgeneral, who represents the Czar and controls both civil and military affairs. A civil governor and a council of control in each government, and a military governor in frontier provinces, assist in the management of local administrative affairs. In most of European Russia and to

1 Prepared by Miss Frances Graham French, specialist in school systems of Northarn and Eastern Europe.

2 Procurator of the Holy Synod, M. Pobiedonostzew. 3 Minister of Public Instruction, Count Delianow.

some extent in Siberia, a system of communal self-government prevails, the primary unit of organization being the "mir," or village community. There are 107,493 of these communities in European Russia. The affairs of the mir are discussed and regulated in general assembly of all the heads of families. Each mir elects its own elder, who is its executive, but who has no authority except to carry out its decisions. The communes are united into cantons (voloste) which have an average of about 2,000 men each (in European Russia 9,533). Each canton is presided over by an elder elected at the cantonal assembly, which assembly is composed of the delegates of the village community in the proportion of one member to ten households. In Poland these assemblies are composed of all landholders, nobility included, police and clergy excluded.

The economical affairs of government and district are administered to a certain extent by governmental and district assemblies-the so-called Zemstvos-which are composed of representatives elected by the peasants, the householders in towns, and the landed proprietors. The Zemstvo supplements the acts of the rural community. It dates from 1867, and was in force in 361 districts of 34 governments in 1886. In 1890 there were important modifications introduced in these assemblies: the number of representatives was reduced, their powers were limited, while the nobility received greater authority. In cities and towns. there are municipal organizations with powers similar to those of the Zemstvo.

Social distinctions are most marked in Russia; the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, and the peasants do not mingle together, but each class isolates itself in a measure from every other class, and each has its own educational institutions. Of the total population only 79.89 per cent are Russians; 8.11 per cent belong to the Aryan races; 2.67 per cent to the Semitic races; 9.17 per cent to the Finnish and Tartar groups; 0.16 per cent to other races. The established religion is Græco-Russian, but all these races with different degrees of civilization have not adopted the same cult. The majority of the inhabitants in 1886 were orthodox-Catholics-the official title for the GræcoRussian faith. The different religions were represented by the following numbers: Orthodox-Catholics, 65,549,096; United Church and Armenians, 55,000; the Roman Catholics, 8,300,000; Protestants, 2,950,000; Jews, 3,000,000; Mohammedans, 2,600,000; Pagans, 26,000; these estimates not including members of the army and navy.

The vast extent of the Czar's dominions, the diversity of nationalities and religions, plainly indicate the difficulties attendant upon the establishment of an acceptable school system; and yet, notwithstanding the many different elements which combine to make up this great Empire, there is national as well as local effort to educate the people according to the needs of the different classes and according to the different conditions of life among the peasantry, the commercial and sacerdotal classes, and the landed proprietors and nobility.

THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

ESTABLISHMENT.

The empire is divided for educational purposes into twelve circuits, which are, through their curators,1 under the direct charge of the ministry of education, although there are many special schools which depend upon the other administrative departments.

The school system throughout all its ramifications is an establishment of the State, for although the authorities at St. Petersburg do not ⚫ establish all schools, they are cognizant of the plans adopted by the local authorities in regard to school organization. The educational system is based upon a general plan which received imperial sanction in 1862, and which received still greater force by an edict of May 25, 1874. According to these imperial edicts each parish is to have a school, and in cities there is to be a school for every 1,000 inhabitants, as about 50 children between 8 and 10 years of age are found in that number of people. Education is compulsory in many provinces, except when the distance is too great or the weather too bad, but latitude is left to the zemstvos in determining the age at which children are required to attend school. Under elementary instruction are included (1) the people's schools (narodnoe-uchilis-ché) divided into parish and district schools, the first under the care of the State and intended for the young children of the people; (2) the district schools (uyezdnoé-uchilisché) which are of higher elementary grade, one for each administrative district. These higher elementary grades are now fast being replaced by urban schools. All children are admitted to the elementary schools without distinction of creed or social conditions. If funds are lacking for separate schools for girls they may attend the boys' schools. The authorities having the controlling influence over the schools may make them gratuitous or may require tuition fees.

Below the elementary grades are infant and maternal schools, in which children between 3 and 10 years of age are received by the day. There are also asylums for orphans from 7 to 12 years of age in the large cities, especially in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Froebellian methods are employed in some of the maternal schools and asylums.

Generally speaking, education in the elementary grades is gratui tous, not only in point of instruction but also as far as the purchase of text-books and school material is concerned. If the authorities decide to establish a school the zemstvo usually obtains certain State subsidies to aid in carrying it on. Schools differ greatly in different localities; but, in general, rural schools have only one class, with one or possibly two teachers, while city schools may have six classes, giving the pupil a higher grade of elementary instruction than is given in the rural

'The curator is a prominent citizen who acts as an intermediary between the local school officer and the ministry.