The school system is divided into primary, elementary, secondary and the higher education. The secondary education, which corresponds to our high school, is provided in the National Institute at Santiago, and at lyceums located in various parts of the republic. One of these lyceums is maintained in every province in the republic, no matter how small, and in every city or town of any importance. In the same year, above cited, thirty-nine of these institutions were for men and thirty for women, having a total attendance of almost twelve thousand. For the higher education there is a national university at Santiago, which is an old and well-equipped institution, and fifteen normal schools located in various parts of the republic. For technical instruction there are a number of institutions located in different parts of the republic, which are conducted by various societies.
THE ESCUELA NAVAL, VALPARAISO.
For instruction in agriculture schools are maintained by the government at Concepción, Santiago, Talca, San Fernando, Elqui and Salamanca. These schools are all under the supervision of the National Society of Agriculture, and the government contributes liberally toward their maintenance. There is also a school conducted at Chillan for practical agricultural instruction. A number of model farms are maintained by the government, of which the principal one is the Quinta Normal in the capital, and a number of experimental institutions for the cultivation of vines, trees, etc., are also supported by the national government. The agricultural schools, as well as those for the furtherance of industries and mining, hold expositions from time to time, in which, the products of the soil and factories are exhibited, as well as the latest processes and appliances. To these exhibitions the government contributes liberally, in order to acquaint the public with the latest scientific development. The societies themselves are formed by a large number of prominent Chileans, who devote considerable time and energy to the development and improvement of these industries.
Commercial schools have been established at Iquique, Antofagasta, Valparaiso, Santiago, Concepción, Vallenar, Coquimbo, Talca and San Carlos. A number of industrial schools are conducted under the direction of the society for the improvement of industries, where technical instruction is given to those preparing them for such occupations as engineers, electricians, architects, plumbers, masons, etc. At Copiapó, Santiago and La Serena, the government has established schools for the practical instruction of mining engineers and mining in general.
Military and naval education is given in ten different academies, located in different parts of the republic. One of the best of these is the Escuela Naval at Valparaiso, which is situated on a commanding location overlooking the lower town and bay. As the navy of Chile commands great consideration this branch of the educational system receives considerable attention, and the cadets are put through a very thorough course of instruction by able instructors. The University of Santiago, as well as a university under the supervision of the Catholic Church, gives instruction in law, political science, music, dentistry, civil engineering, physics and mathematics. Then, in addition, there is a National Conservatory of Music, a School of Fine Arts, a National Observatory, an Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and a School for the Blind.
A number of public libraries have been established in various cities, at the head of which is the National Library at Santiago, which contains a valuable collection of books and manuscripts. Next to this in importance is the public library at Valparaiso. Several other cities have followed the lead of these two and established free public libraries. Museums of natural history and also of arts are maintained in Santiago.
The newspaper in Chile is as much of an institution as it is in the United States. In the cities of Valparaiso and Santiago one will find the newspapers equipped with an energetic staff of reporters, who have, what Americans would call, a good nose for news. Each one, like his American counterpart, is trying to beat his competitor, and acquire at least temporary notoriety and fame.
El Mercurio is the most noted newspaper of the country, and publishes editions in Valparaiso, Santiago and Concepción. It ranks with La Prensa, in Buenos Aires, and the Jornal do Comercio, in Rio de Janeiro. In the two former cities El Mercurio owns fine buildings, which are superior in their equipments to the average newspaper office in the United States. It has not only provided good quarters for its editors, reporters, printers and other employees, but has dining-rooms, private parlours, baths, bedrooms, assembly-rooms, and other features which American newspaper plants are not equipped with. In these rooms entertainments are given for the public, noted visitors to that country are entertained, and many other features of more or less public interest are provided for the people. The owner of El Mercurio is Mr. Augustin Edwards, who is a member of a famous banking family of Santiago, and has occupied various official positions in the country. El Mercurio was founded in Valparaiso in 1827 and in Santiago in 1900. It has long been one of the show things in Chile. The editorials in the editions are the same, but the news columns differ considerably because of local interest.
One will find the editors of these papers as well informed as the editors of the leading newspapers in the United States, and their information covers the whole world, perhaps better than the average American editor. If there is any distinguished foreigner visiting the country the reporters eagerly interview him, and the matter is displayed in headlines which are quite similar to the land of yellow journalism. In fact, in general make-up the Chilean newspapers more nearly resemble those of the United States than the journals of any other country of South America. In foreign news one will find two or three pages of cable dispatches in El Mercurio, much more than is printed in papers published by newspapers in cities of similar size in the United States. The vida social (society column) has much news concerning las distinguidas señoras y señoritas. Interspersed with accounts of balls, parties, weddings, visitors, etc., will be obituaries and notices of funerals. Echoes of the get-rich-quick commercialism will be seen in the advertising space, where columns of advertisements of banks, nitrate companies and promotion companies appear. Rates of exchange, the movement of the stock market and other items of commercial interest occupy a prominent place. Sport is prominent, of which football is an integral part, having been made popular by the British residents. The entries in the horse races, together with the various riders and their weights, form a part of the racing gossip, much as in English newspapers. In fact these cosmopolitan publications provide much interesting reading for all who can read them.