he item of 777,864 illiterates of foreign
birth going to swell the grand total. This leaves 4,882,210 native-born
illiterates--a percentage of less than 13. Of the native-born
illiterates reported by the census returns, there are 2,763,991 reported
as colored. This number is more than one-half the colored population,
and also over one-half of the whole number of reported native
illiterates. I think none of the reformers would insist that the
illiteracy of the colored population ought to be charged to "the
difficulties of English spelling "--I hardly need to state why: the
reason will readily suggest itself to all.

Eliminating from the problem the foreign and colored factors, we find a
native white population in 1870 of 28,121,816, and native white
illiterates, of ten years of age and over, to the number of
2,102,670--less than 7-1/2 per cent. Of this number of native white
illiterates, 1,443,956--two-thirds of the whole--are reported from the
States lately known as Slave States. In these States, as is well known,
there are peculiar reasons for the illiteracy of the white as well as of
the colored native, outside of any consideration of the difficulty of
mastering English orthography. This survey takes no account of the
native children with foreign parents, as it would not materially disturb
the percentage, nor of the populations of New Mexico, Arizona, Southern
California and Colorado, all largely settled by Mexicans and Spaniards,
among whom there is doubtless a larger percentage of illiterates than
among the same number of native whites in the Northern States. If
account be taken of all these elements, I think the percentage of
illiterates proper to be charged up to the English language and American
institutions would be reduced to about 3-1/4 per cent.

The next consideration is as to the cause of this large percentage of
illiterates among the native white population of the United States.
Professor March ascribes it in part to "the difficulties of the English
spelling," and he adds: "We ar now having ernest testimony to this fact
from scholars and educators in England." He names Max Mueller and "Dr.
Morell, one of Her Majesty's inspectors of schools," and quotes from
both of them. Dr. Morell states that in some examinations for the civil
service, out of 1972 failures, "1866 candidates were pluckt for
spelling; that is, eighteen out of every nineteen who faild, faild in
spelling." Max Mueller, as quoted, bears testi