German Views of American Education, with Particular Reference to Industrial Development. Bulletin, 1906, No. 2. Whole Number 361

The history and purpose of the Reiseberichte uber Nordamerika (Reports of an inspection tour in North America), of which this bulletin presents a partial synopsis, will best appear in the following statements from the preface of the Reiseberichte. The Prussian House of Deputies, on the 4th of June, 1902, requested the Prussian Government to institute a number of measures for the promotion of the smaller industries. In compliance with this request, the minister of commerce and industry in the year 1903 sent commissioners to southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and England to gather data of interest and value for Prussian conditions. In the year 1904 it was decided, on occasion of the St. Louis Exposition, to extend these studies to the United States and to appoint a suitable commission for this purpose. After a short stay in New York they entered upon their studies in St. Louis. Here the extensive and rich Educational Department of the Exposition afforded a most favorable opportunity to gain a comprehensive view of the school conditions of the United States; here also the further plans of the journey were determined upon. In the preparation of this bulletin, the chief purpose has been to present the impressions of the commissioners as baldly as possible, and only in so far as they touch upon matters of education in their bearing upon industrial development, in order to afford an opportunity to see ourselves in this work as others see us who know how to look and what to look for. An index is included. Individual sections contain footnotes. [Collated from the reports of the Royal Prussian Industrial Commission of 1904. Best copy available has been provided.]