it an offense not to send those above a
certain age to school, while State or town officers, called "truant
police," are on the alert to arrest all such children who are not in
school. The following was told me by a Government official in
Washington, who had obtained it from a well-known literary man who
witnessed the incident. The literary man was invited to visit a Boston
school of the lower grade, where he found the teacher, an attractive
woman, engaged in teaching a class of "youngsters," the progeny of the
working class. After the visitor had listened to the recitations for
some time, he remarked to the teacher, "How do you account for the
neatness and cleanliness of these children?" "Oh, I insist upon it," was
the reply. "The Board of Education does not anticipate all the
desiderata, but I make them come clean and make it a part of the
course;" then rising and tapping on the table, she said, "Prepare for
the sixth exercise." All the children stood up. "One," said the teacher,
whereupon each pupil took out a clean cloth handkerchief. "Two," counted
the teacher, and with one concerted blast every pupil blew his or her
nose in clarion notes. "Three," came again after a few seconds, and the
handkerchiefs were replaced. At "four" the student body sank back to
their seats without even smiling, or without having "cracked a smile."
You could search the world over and not find a prototype. It goes
without saying that the teacher was a wit and wag, but the lesson of
handkerchiefs and their use was inculcated.

Education is a part of the scheme to make all Americans equal. A more
splendid _system_ it is impossible to conceive. Every possible facility
is afforded the poorest family to educate their children. Public schools
loom up everywhere, and are increased as rapidly as the children, so
there is no excuse for ignorance. The schools are graded, and there is
no expense or fee. The parents pay a tax, a small sum, those who have no
children being taxed as well as those who have many. There are schools
to train boys to any trade; normal free schools to make teachers; night
schools for working boys; commercial schools to educate clerks; ship
schools to train sailors and engineers. Then come the great
universities, in part free, with all the splendid paraphernalia, some
being State institutions and others memorials of dead millionaires.
Then there are the great technical schools, as well as universities
(where one can study Chi