Guatemala, the country of the future

by Charles M. Pepper

PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF CABINET.

Besides the primary schools a system of higher education is supported, and there are normal schools and various faculties such as those of law, medicine, engineering, etc. Especial attention, however, has been given to practical education, that is, the fitting of the common people for their occupations. There are schools of commerce, of manual training, and of agriculture, as well as an Institute especially for the native Indians. On this subject of technical education Consul General of the United States Winslow in a special report said:

"There are few villages in the country where there are no schools. In the city of Guatemala of late much attention has been given to education, under the direction of President Manuel Estrada Cabrera, who has done more along this line than any of his predecessors. There are in the city of Guatemala 25 public schools, 8 institutes, and 3 colleges.

"President Estrada Cabrera has given much attention to his pet scheme of establishing an industrial school for boys and girls at his own personal expense, aided by several of the more progressive citizens of Guatemala city, where the most improved methods of instruction are to be employed. The President has engaged two able educators from the United States, and proposes everything shall be up-to-date.

"The Boys' Industrial College is in charge of Prof. Y. C. Pilgrim, a well-known educator of New Jersey, assisted by Professor Bellingham and wife, who have charge of the languages, and Professor Lorenzo de Clairmont, who instructs in gymnastics and military tactics. These are assisted by several native teachers. The boys are selected from the best families in the Republic and are limited to 50, and are all required to live in the dormitory. The college buildings are situated in a tract of land of about 60 acres, convenient to the city, with a campus where the boys are to be instructed in the modern sports and military tactics as taught at West Point, and all orders are to be given in the English language.

"The Girls' Industrial School is in charge of Miss Alice Dufour, a prominent educator of New York City, assisted by several native instructors. This institution is located in the city and is to be conducted on the same high plan as the boys' college. The idea is to teach the principles on which the American home is founded.

"President Estrada Cabrera means these institutions shall be the nucleus around which a solid and up-to-date system of education shall be built for this Republic. It is his ambition to firmly establish an educational system modeled after that in use in the United States, where the watchword shall be industry, promptness, and honesty."

The New York Tribune in a Washington dispatch had this to say on the same subject:

"American teachers who went to Guatemala some time ago at the request of the government are sending back interesting accounts of the progress which that country is making in adopting the educational methods that obtain in the United States. The newspapers also have a good deal to say on the subject. President Estrada Cabrera, who is a progressive man, for several years has had the ambition to give a new turn to public instruction, and to make it practical after the system of the United States. His idea is that the youth of the Latin-American countries are especially in need of newer methods, and of getting away from the metaphysical systems which created a large class of professional men, for whom there was no room and who were a drawback to material progress.

"Some time ago President Estrada Cabrera established what was called the practical school, which combined technical instruction and manual training. A few weeks ago exercises were held at the Escuela Practica, or technical school, and it is concerning this that the New York teachers have written so encouragingly. The President delivered an address on the value of work and of developing through the schools an aptitude for everyday life. Heretofore he said there had been too much theory and too much that was purely professional in the system followed. Now that the aspiration of many years had been realized he was hopeful that the experiment would be beneficial in giving a new direction to the national spirit, and would result in the kind of business training that would fit the Guatemalan youth for the activities of practical life rather than incline them to the traditions of the past. Under the direction of the President fields for farm experiments have been established, and the youth are taught the care of horses and other farm work, as well as the manual trades. There is special provision made for athletic sports."

System of Government Explained.

The Government of Guatemala is republican—democratic and representative—and the supreme power is exercised by three governmental branches, each independent of the others, called "the legislative power," "the executive power," and "the judicial power."

The legislative power is vested in a National Assembly which consists of a single house composed of one deputy for each 20,000 inhabitants or fraction of that number exceeding 10,000. The deputies are elected by popular vote for four years, but one-half of the Assembly is renewed each two years so that each time that it meets it contains an adequate number of experienced members. Annual sessions are held lasting two months, beginning March 1, but they can be extended one month longer in case of necessity. For the transaction of business during its recesses the Assembly appoints seven of its members who form a body called "the Permanent Commission." This commission, as well as the executive, can call the Assembly to meet in extraordinary sessions.