THE SCHOOLS OF KANSAS.
Education has gone hand in hand with the material growth of Kansas. It has been the boast of our people for twenty years past, that the best building in every city, town or hamlet in the State, was the school house. The census of 1880 revealed the fact that only 25,503 inhabitants of Kansas, over ten years of age, were unable to read. The growth of our school system is shown by the following figures:
| Year. | Scholars enrolled. | School houses. | School districts. | Teachers. | Amount paid to teachers. | Value of school houses. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 5,915 | 154 | 189 | |||
| 1865 | 26,341 | 640 | 721 | 899 | $86,898 | $122,822 |
| 1870 | 63,218 | 1,501 | 1,950 | 2,210 | 318,596 | 1,520,041 |
| 1875 | 141,606 | 3,715 | 4,560 | 5,383 | 689,906 | 3,742,507 |
| 1880 | 231,434 | 5,315 | 6,134 | 7,780 | 1,088,504 | 4,049,212 |
| 1885 | 335,538 | 6,673 | 7,142 | 8,129 | 1,989,169 | 6,704,176 |
In 1861 the amount expended for the support of common schools was only $1,700, while the expenditures for the same purpose, during the year 1885, aggregated $2,977,763. For the five years ending with 1865, the expenditures for public schools aggregated $262,657.21; for the next succeeding five years they aggregated $2,259,497.89; for the next five, $7,552,191.43; for the next five, $7,509,375.23; and for the five years ending with 1885 the expenditures for public schools aggregated $12,630,480.64. Thus Kansas has expended for the support of her common schools, during the past quarter of a century, the enormous sum of $30,214,202.40.
The table following shows the expenditures each year, from 1861 to 1885, inclusive, and illustrates not only the growth of Kansas, but the general and generous interest of its citizens in public education:
| Year. | Expenditures. |
|---|---|
| 1861 | $1,700 00 |
| 1862 | 11,894 45 |
| 1863 | 26,867 03 |
| 1864 | 84,221 30 |
| 1865 | 137,974 43 |
| 1866 | 225,426 27 |
| 1867 | 364,402 50 |
| 1868 | 431,316 54 |
| 1869 | 565,311 17 |
| 1870 | 673,041 41 |
| 1871 | 1,074,946 09 |
| 1872 | 1,701,950 44 |
| 1873 | 1,657,318 27 |
| 1874 | 1,638,977 99 |
| 1875 | 1,478,998 64 |
| 1876 | 1,165,638 80 |
| 1877 | 1,394,188 11 |
| 1878 | 1,541,417 12 |
| 1879 | 1,589,794 30 |
| 1880 | 1,818,336 90 |
| 1881 | 1,996,335 64 |
| 1882 | 2,194,174 65 |
| 1883 | 2,579,243 62 |
| 1884 | 2,882,963 53 |
| 1885 | 2,977,763 23 |
| Total | $30,214,202 40 |
CHURCHES AND NEWSPAPERS.
Churches have multiplied and newspapers increased as have the schools. In 1860 there were only 97 church buildings in Kansas, and they had cost only $143,950. In 1870 the number of churches had increased to 301, valued at $1,722,700; and in 1880 they numbered 2,514, costing an aggregate of $2,491,560.
There were only 27 newspapers published in Kansas in 1860, and of these only three were dailies. In 1870 the number had increased to 97, of which 12 were dailies. In 1880 there were 347 newspapers, including 20 dailies. During the year just closed 581 journals, of which 32 were dailies, were published in Kansas. The aggregate circulation of our newspapers, in 1860, was 21,920, while for 1885 their circulation aggregated 395,400. Every organized county has one or more newspapers, and, as a rule, our journals are creditable to their publishers and to the State.