uted the money for such a structure, but its officials have left the disbursement of the money to the public authorities. Such also has been the rule with reference to any further contribution for upkeep.

As might be expected from the above statements, there is little uniformity in the furniture and equipment of schools. A few contain the most up-to-date furniture; the majority get along with makeshift appliances. There is a general lack of text-books -which are expensive and usually indifferent in quality-of maps, charts, chalk and other essentials for good school work. Yet with this dearth of accessories some of the better teachers do praiseworthy work. In cleanliness and in sanitary conveniences there is naturally great divergence, but in the larger cities one finds a fair approximation to modern standards. In this respect the sanitary measures of the schools have exerted a marked effect upon the surrounding communities.

The expenditures for public instruction evidently form no fixed part of the state budgets. In 1910 these expenditures varied from fifteen per cent for Campeche to thirty-four per cent for Chihuahua. The average cost per pupil in the whole republic was 14.69 pesos, ranging from 4.91 pesos in Michoacan to 77.87 in the northern district of Lower California. There are few or no fixed sources of school revenue. Land taxes are inadequate and unequal. A poll tax in some states is mentioned as one source of school revenue, but usually the schools must depend on the whim of the local authorities. For this reason many are willing to accept federal aid in education, even at the expense of local control.

Curricula and Text-Books: The standard primary course is six years, divided into four years of lower and two of superior primary instruction. Few of the pupils complete the first four years, which are supposed to be compulsory. The superior primary courses are intended to prepare the pupils for the secondary schools, known variously as preparatorias, institutos, and licéos. In these the pupil usually spends five years, taking work that corresponds to the American high school, with some attempt to cover the college work of freshmen and sophomore years. From the secondary school the pupil passes directly to his professional course. Many take work in jurisprudence merely for its cultural value.

In addition to the public schools in which tuition is free, associations, private individuals, and religious bodies conduct schools. Since 1917 no religious sect could legally carry on primary instruction, but some have continued to do so, with more or less connivance on the part of the authorities. Private schools are subject to state inspection, if their pupils expect later to enter the governmental secondary and professional schools or to become public school teachers. Both private corporations and the

governments maintain night schools for adults and children and the states have made some progress in technical and vocational schools. Perhaps the commercial work has been as successful as any of the vocational type.

The country needs better text-books, but is gradually acquiring them through the efforts of her own writers. Chávez has a system of geographies; Torres Quintero and the Palacio Sisters a system of readers, and the former a text on national history. Rébsamen and other earlier teachers also produced worthy textbooks that are still in use. Perhaps it is fair to say that Mexican educators should get together and determine standards before writing more text-books. On the other hand, books that are prepared for the school children of other countries are not specially adapted to Mexico's needs. They could well serve as models, however, both in subject matter and as specimens of book-making. For the time being there are far too few copies of any book to supply the needs of the pupils, and few of the latter can afford to buy them. The tariff as well as prevalent deficits will in some measure account for the universal scarcity.

The curricula appear in extenso in both national and state laws. One is sometimes tempted to question the wisdom of so much legislation on a subject that should be divorced from politics, but a change in executive control usually means a new "director of public instruction and the new incumbent frequently deems it necessary to change existing school plans. Sometimes he is brought back from exile and must signalize his return by introducing the latest educational fad he has encountered abroad. On the other hand, the leading Mexican authorities are familiar with the modern ideas of pedagogy, either in the original publications or in translation, so their educational schemes are usually based on up-to-date principles. What their system needs above all else is stability with gradual adaptation to the peculiar conditions that confront them, so as to make the system more practical and the methods of instruction more thorough. Mexicans themselves do not hesitate to say that their present system of instruction is too superficial.

Teachers and Pupils: Some 22,000 teachers were reported for 1910, an average of two for each school. The great majority of them were without special training for their work. In 1910 sixteen states reported normal schools for one or both sexes and seven others mentioned special courses in other schools for prospective teachers. In some centers the school directors give training courses to the younger teachers, upon which they are later examined. Most of the teachers come from families of limited culture, so these courses are doubly important. Gradually, we may expect an increase in the facilities for training teachers, but an increase in pay will be necessary to attract many into the service. In passing one must pay tribute to the excellent work of

some of the Protestant schools in training Mexican teachers. Other foreign agencies might well seek similar opportunities to be helpful.

Compensation in the public schools is low, uncertain, and often grudgingly given. Military necessity has ruled the day during the past ten years, while the teacher has frequently had her pittance reduced or deferred for months. In some cases she has had to forego it altogether. But the greater part of the expenditures for instruction are for salaries. In 1910, for instance, the State of Querétaro spent 107,000 pesos for this purpose out of a total of 128,000; Chihuahua, 285,000 out of a total of 343,000; Michoacán, 89,400 out of a total of 90,700; Nuevo León, 219,000 out of a total of 274,000. Other states show the same average proportion of school expenditures for salaries. Unfortunately, the scale of salaries is entirely too low, but the proportion of expenditures for public instruction in the general budget must be greatly increased before there can be any marked improvement.

Despite deficiencies in preparation and discouraging pay, one must speak well of the Mexican teachers, especially of the women. The latter, as everywhere, are coming into the work in increasing numbers. During the revolutionary disturbances they have kept up their duties, often in the face of disheartening circumstances. Many of the men became so thoroughly identified with the revolution that they have sometimes been charged with pernicious activity in this direction. Some of the older régime spoke of the public schools as "seminaries for Zapatistas," and blamed the teachers for an apparent tendency to encourage disorder. Undoubtedly there was much in the teacher's lot to make him restive, and much in his training to make him amenable to radical ideas. Women as well as men have felt this prevalent unrest, and the men more prone to yield to it, have embarked upon a revolutionary career, ofttimes to their subsequent profit. But the greater part of the women have remained behind in the schools and have thereby done much to stabilize conditions in their communities. More opportunities for instruction will afford the only remedy for such evils as have accompanied the above conditions.

Mexican schools, public and private, will possibly accommodate a million pupils. About 900,000 were reported in attendance in 1910. This was less than a fourth of the estimated school population under sixteen years of age. These figures will give some idea of the serious problem that faces the Mexican authorities. The problem is still further complicated by wide racial variation, intense regionalism, faulty communication, and in some regions. by a lack of acquaintance with the Spanish language. Some observers profess to find a more desirable class of students and teachers along the northern border. Certainly here is where such influences as come from the United States would most affect the

people. Some compare Mexican children with those of other countries, and not always to their disadvantage. Naturally they are courteous, sensitive, and fond of public display, but are not unduly self-conscious. They seem to mature earlier than the children of more northern climes, and some think they are less persevering and dependable. Others of wide experience fail to find them materially different from other children, where conditions are at all similar.

Most observers agree that co-education is hardly feasible in Mexico at least with the present social background. "Mixed" schools with both boys and girls attending the same classes are unusual above the beginning grades, where public funds warrant the erection of separate schools. Recent experiments in Yucatán in the direction of co-education did not gain much favor. Some educators feel that woman will never achieve her emancipation until co-education becomes universal, but even the foreign missionaries seldom endorse this view.

The most distressful feature of school life is the comparatively few pupils who pass beyond the first two grades. Lack of means as well as lack of incentive will account for this deplorable mortality, but with better wages and stable political conditions we may expect a longer average attendance. The enrollment in night schools during recent years has been hopeful. Hopeful, too, has been the introduction of sports and games in connection with the school curriculum. Through them we may expect the Mexican politician in time to learn the spirit of fair play and to acquire a willingness to accept defeat with better grace. As yet the Mexican student even in the preparatory and professional courses has few "student activities," but there are organizations that keep him in touch with his fellows of Latin-America, and he frequently displays a wide knowledge of worth-while current events and of contemporary literature.

The test of any system of public instruction is to be found in popular reactions. Within the past twenty years one will note in Mexico City and other important centers, much evidence of sanitary improvement that can be traced to the public schools. Larger numbers on the streets and public conveyances are reading newspapers. The audiences at the "movies" still hum with the mumbling of those who read the explanations for the benefit of their less fortunate neighbors, but even this practice is becoming less noticeable. Art exhibits, musical recitals, and general courses of lectures are more frequent and better patronized than formerly. Learned societies and scientific foundations depend less than before on government initiative and support. The press is less hampered, and if it has taken to the "comic supplement' as one sign of progress, it still cherishes the vigorous editorial, expressed in good Castilian. Libraries and numerous museums are better patronized than of old and the better class of theatrical and operatic performances still attract appreciative audiences,

while the cinema and vaudeville allure new throngs. Not all these changes are distinctly improving in character, nor are they wholly due to the public school, but much of the impulse behind them comes from that agency and many of those most vitally affected by them have found in the school initial awakening and a steady source of inspiration.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED

For the subject matter of this article the author has obtained much help from material gathered in Mexico and the United States while a member of the commission financed by Mr. Edward L. Doheny for the study of conditions in Mexico. Mexico, Its Social Evolution, a series of monographic studies prepared under the direction of Señor Justo Serra, is a perfect mine of information. The three volumes published after the Congreso Nacional de Educacion Primaria of 1910 (Mexico, 1912) give data for the individual states. The Boletin de Educacion and allied periodicals have been of value, as well as official reports of different kinds, including the Anuario Estadistica. Nearly all the standard histories and the better books of travel contain some helpful data and the newspapers are not without value.