CHAPTER XX. COMMERCIAL EDUCATION IN SWITZERLAND." [In the summer of 1901, the "International Union for the Promotion of Commercial Education met in Zurich, Switzerland. Previous meetings of this union were mentioned in the Annual Report of 1900-1901. For the meeting in Zurich the editor of the Swiss “Lehrerzeitung" published July 6, 1901, an account of what the Swiss Confederation does for commercial education. Prof. Theophil Bernet-Hanhart prepared the article, which is here given in English with unimportant omissions.] INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. During the year 1888, about 125,000 persons were engaged in commercial occupations in Switzerland. The latest census, the details of which have not yet been published, will show a much larger number. In view of the unprecedented development of industry and commerce, the growing diversity of business pursuits, and ever keener competition, all members of the commercial class, especially clerks except those in the most subordinate positions-require a good education. This conviction is constantly gaining ground. Whoever aims at a better position in business must possess a great deal of technical information and a knowledge of languages. In regard to the latter, far greater demands are made upon merchants in Switzerland than upon those in many parts of Germany, in France, England, and Italy. That commercial education in Switzerland is on a higher plane than almost anywhere else is, therefore, not a mere accident, but the necessary consequence of the peculiar conditions of its commercial class. Owing to their thorough knowledge, Swiss business men have acquired a high reputation in the world of business; large numbers of Swiss clerks have won prominent positions with foreign firms, and their influence has reacted upon economic conditions in Switzerland with good effect. The greater the efforts to raise the educational standard of the commercial class in neighboring countries, however, the more we must strive not to be thrown into the shade. The people of Switzerland have other reasons to occupy themselves with the subject. Every year large sums from the Federal treasury are spent on commercial education. In the year 1891 the Federal Government appropriated 41,616 franes for public commercial schools and mercantile associations; in 1900 the appropriations for similar purposes had increased to 300,147 franes (about $60,000). These figures are taken from official records; the following are based partly upon official reports, partly upon private calculations and estimates. The individual Cantons (States) and communities have appropriated about 720,000 francs for commercial education. Tuition fees and contributions of business firms amounted to about 382,000 francs. a Articles on similar subjects published in previous Reports of the Commissioner of Education: Commercial education in Europe. An. Rep. of 1896-97, p. 207. The German commercial clerk, An. Rep. of 1899-1900, p. 835. Industrial and commercial schools in Hungary. An. Rep. of 1899-1900, p. 865. Commercial schools and commercial universities in central Europe. An. Rep. of 1900-1901, p. 21. Consular reports on commercial schools. An. Rep. of 1899-1900, p. 1431 and p. 1440. b However much this subsidy is appreciated, it must be stated that it falls far below that which is offered to industrial and agricultural education on the part of the Federal Government. In the year 1897, 1,908,773 franes (about $400,000) were appropriated for industrial and agricultural schools, while the commercial schools received only 168,710 francs from the Federal treasury. (Huber, Swiss Yearbook of Education, 1897.) In 1900 the total expenditure for commercial education in Switzerland amounted to more than 1,400,000 francs. These are noteworthy sums of money, and it seems worth while to learn to what purposes they were applied. HISTORICAL REVIEW. Before examining the present conditions of commercial education in Switzerland, we will take a look at the past. A better understanding of the whole is thus gained, and many a peculiarity is easily explained in the light of its historical development. THE EDUCATION OF SWISS-MERCHANTS IN FORMER TIMES. In former centuries, the sons of rich merchants received a good school education, according to the views of their times, and much private instruction. After leaving school they served an apprenticeship of from two to four years, after which they traveled abroad. In other cases, merchants gave their sons direct to foreign business friends for a term of apprenticeship, and took their children into their own business "in exchange." The counting houses of large business firms abroad were the universities for the merchant class, as they afforded the best opportunity for learning foreign languages and for the study of the world's markets." On the other hand, no one paid any attention to the improvement of the "clerks" or “factors,” for the obvious reason that their work and positions were subordinate; moreover, their number compared with that of present times was insignificantly small. Dr. Tr. Geering states that in Basel, in the sixteenth century, most business houses were conducted without clerks, and that fourteen large firms collectively employed only nineteen clerks. In Zurich, mostly young men from the country were appointed as commercial clerks, who, with modest means, spent their whole lives in the same office. They were not allowed to establish a business of their own, and even a change of position was often forbidden in their contract of engagement. Year's Bulletin of the Zurich Orphan Asylum, 1880.) (New In later times, one hundred and fifty years ago and more, those who were intended for business pursuits attended, in common with other children, at least the so-called German schools, likewise known as citizens', secular, or writing schools. Reading, writing, in most cases also arithmetic, and some Latin were taught. Teachers and methods of instruction in these schools were nearly all wretched. Those who desired a better education attended the Latin school, in which not only the greatest attention was given to the Latin language, but that was also the medium of instruction in other branches. It is worthy of notice that the Latin language down to the time of the Reformation, and long afterwards, occupied a more prominent position than any modern language does at the present time. According to the History of Zurich Schools, by Prof. U. Ernst, there was, at that time, no provision in Switzerland or anywhere else for the special education of business men and mechanics. He who had learned to read and write was placed in the highest grade of the German school at the Newmarket (a boys' school established in 1586). There— Söllend sy lernen eine rechnung ussstellen, eine rechte überschrifft machen, den anfang und ussgang eines brieffs uffsetzen, zyt, jar und kalender verstan. (They shall learn to make out a bill, write correct addresses, draw up the beginning and end of a letter, and understand time, year, and the calendar.) If in the commercial city of Zurich the study of arithmetic, so necessary to a merchant, was among the optional branches, being one of those to be paid for extra, it was looked upon elsewhere as an easily dispensable luxury. As late as the eighteenth century, arithmetic was taught in but one school throughout the Canton of Basel, in that of Liestal. Higher education was likewise in a state of petrifaction. aThis practice was in vogue during the first part of the nineteenth century all over Teutonic Europe. See Freitag's Debit and Credit (Soll und Haben), which contains a vivid description of this practice.-Translator. It was only during the last decades of the eighteenth century that education began to show signs of progress. Citizens' or burgher schools and higher institutions were reorganized, the classic philological studies became less prominent, and more attention was given to the mother tongue and the exact and historical sciences. In Zurich, in 1765, Heidegger, who in later years became a highly respected burgomaster of the city, presented a well-prepared plan of reform, which was not carried out until about ten years later. New schools were established, as the school of arts (1773) and the girls' high school (1774). We shall have to refer to the first mentioned again, as it was chiefly designed for boys who intended to devote themselves to business. The efforts to improve popular and "higher" schools have never ceased since, though the years of the Revolution did much to retard and injure them. We need not present here the phases of development of education in general. Knowing the opinions expressed by many merchants of Switzerland, we shall merely state that the people's schools, i. e., primary and grammar schools as they are to-day, are satisfactory in point of organization, and in general meet the requirements of the commercial class. However, owing to the great demands which are made of business men at present, all are of opinion that these people's schools require supplementary institutions for special education. ORIGIN OF COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS. So-called ciphering and bookkeeping schools were the forerunners of our commercial schools. In different cities abroad retired tradesmen, in the capacity of "teachers of bookkeeping, writing, and arithmetic," opened such schools, which usually passed out of existence with the death of their founder and only teacher. Thus Venice (from 1497), Nuremberg, and Leipzig (1680-1723) are reputed to have had schools of this kind. True commercial schools with a comprehensive course of study were first opened in Lisbon (1759), Paris (1767), Hamburg (1768), Vienna (1770, the Imperial Commercial Academy, with a practice department), Mülhausen (1781), etc. The college "La Châtelaine" in Geneva is the only private commercial school in Switzerland that dates its origin back to the eighteenth century (1776). The oldest public commercial school of Switzerland is the Cantonal Commercial School in Zurich, a department of the industrial school. The present and past history of this, not only the oldest but also the largest commercial school of German Switzerland, has been prepared by loving hands in two supplements to the annual catalogues of the cantonai school: Contributions to the History of the Zurich Cantonal School, Part II, 1883, by Rector F. Hunziker, and The School of Arts in Zurich, the first Industrial School, 1900, by Dr. U. Ernst. From these and other sources at our command we take for our brief account only the following: The efforts toward educational reform in general during the second half of the eighteenth century led, as stated before, to the establishment of the school of arts. This institution opened its doors to students in 1773; it was not a purely commercial school, but was also designed for the education of young men who intended to become artists or skilled mechanics. Nevertheless, it is worthy of notice that repeated attention was drawn to the fact that merchants should know and learn more, and for that purpose required a new and special institution; that the board of trade undertook to contribute a large yearly subsidy; and that, from the very beginning, practical arithmetic, bookkeeping (combined with business correspondence), penmanship, French, and geography (with especial attention to the products which commerce and industry are particularly concerned with and trade routes), besides mathematics, natural history, drawing, and general history, were taught. The teacher of arith By this term Swiss, Austrians, and Germans always mean schools higher than elementary.- Translator. metic at this school, Jakob Locher, can, therefore, justly be regarded as the first To afford those young men who desired a higher education after leaving the school of arts, or the corresponding classes of the classical high school, and before entering upon a practical career, the opportunity of obtaining it in Zurich, a private association was formed which founded the Technological Institute January 4, 1827, and continued to manage it until the cantonal school was established. Besides mathematics and the natural sciences, the following languages and commercial studies were included in the course: Commercial arithmetic and bookkeeping, commercial and banking law, German, French, English, and Italian. The State or cantonal school was opened on April 22, 1833, in the industrial department of which commercial arithmetic, bookkeeping, and countinghouse practice were taught. A reorganization, in the year 1839, divided the industrial school into three sharply defined sections: The mechanical technical, the chemical technical, and the mercantile. By a very considerable extension of the time given to commercial studies the mercantile section received more the character of a special school in 1855. Reorganizations of a less radical nature gradually led to a broader plan from the standpoint of a practical business as well as of a general education. The course was lengthened and the mercantile section received a more independent character contrasted with the technical sections. The plan of study approved on February 6, 1901, by the minister of education of the Canton contemplates a course of four and a half years. The higher classes constitute the commercial university. At present the whole institution, which bears the title of "Cantonal Commercial School and Preparatory School for Administrative Service,” numbers 150 students in six classes. The example of Zurich was imitated by the following cities, in which have been established commercial secondary schools, some of them being independent cantonal or city schools and others departments of cantonal industrial or high schools: In 1842, St. Gall (mercantile division of the cantonal school); 1853, Frauenfeld; 1856, Berne and Schwyz; 1860, Zug; 1861, Winterthur (mercantile division of the city industrial school); 1865, Chur; 1869, Lausanne; 1874, Winterthur (commercial section of the cantonal technological school); 1882, Basel; 1883, Lucerne and Neuenburg; 1888, Geneva; 1890, Chaux-de-Fonds; 1892, Soleure; 1895, Bellinzona; 1896, Aarau and Locle; 1897, Freiburg, and, finally, 1899, again St. Gall (business academy and school of commerce). Plans have been made for the establishment of commercial schools in Burgdorf and Biel, and their establishment is now assured. All these institutions are intended, principally, for male students, though Aarau, St. Gall, Soleure, Locle, and Winterthur also admit young women. Other cities have special commercial schools for girls, as Berne, since 1876; Biel, 1881; Zurich, 1884; Neuenburg, 1897; Geneva, 1898 (department of the secondary school), and Geneva, 1899 (department of the school of domestic economy). There are, consequently, 27 public commercial schools in Switzerland with courses from one to five years." To these State and municipal institutions must be added at least 14 private commercial schools and institutes, which enjoy a good attendance. The students are mostly young men from other countries, to whose needs and preparatory education the public schools are not, and are not intended to be, adapted. These private schools afford them the training which they require and value. a It is difficult to classify these schools, some being rather elementary in character, some secondary, and a few aspire to the rank of commercial universities.-Translator. 1 ORIGIN OF COMMERCIAL SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOLS, Whereas the purpose of the schools hitherto mentioned is, without exception, to prepare young persons for a business career before entrance upon its practical duties, and, at the same time, to afford them a higher general education than that given in the elementary schools, the aim of a second and not less important category of mercantile schools is to give apprentices or clerks with some practical experience further theoretical training. The earlier boys leave school, the more insufficient their theoretical knowledge is, and the more necessary it is for them to continue the study of commercial branches and languages in connection with their daily work. Most business clerks have left school after completing the course of the second, a small proportion after attending the third class of a secondary school or the lower classes of a commercial school. For them the supplementary school is a pressing necessity. Formerly, as a usual thing, there was nothing to do but to take private lessons from teachers often incompetent. As, however, private instruction was too expensive for unsalaried apprentices, energetic and ambitious young men conceived the thought of .coming together to receive instruction in common. Associations of young men with morning, afternoon, and evening courses of study were formed in Zurich and Berne, 1861; St. Gall, Basel, and Soleure, 1862; Winterthur, 1863, etc. From small beginnings the courses of many of these associations have developed into well-appointed commercial supplementary schools; it may, indeed, be affirmed that the schools maintained by the efforts of the present commercial associations are of the first rank. Many who owe promotion and success in business to these associations have remained true to them; for years, not only young merchants, but also mature men, have formed the membership of these commercial associations. Until the beginning of the nineties, consequently for three full decades, these associations supported their schools by their own efforts and with their own means, and have, therefore, won great merit for the education of the commercial class. Only a few cities, St. Gall and Geneva for female clerks, Zurich and Neuchatel, have public supplementary schools. On the other hand, a number of communities contribute large sums to the support of the courses of the commercial associations. Many Cantons also grant appropriations to commercial supplementary schools, but the most important factor is the powerful financial support which (since 1891) the Federal Government has granted in increasing measure for commercial education. A new and vigorous progress dates from that year. At present the Federal Government contributes to the support of 60 commercial supplementary courses in 57 different places in Switzerland and 1 school each in Paris and London. Instead of giving an enumeration of these 60 institutions, we have taken the trouble to investigate how many cities in Switzerland have no such schools. The noteworthy fact was disclosed that no community with over 10,000 inhabitants is without a commercial supplementary school. We may except the suburban communities of large cities, as the clerks there resident work mostly in the cities and profit by their centrally located and well-arranged institutions. Of all independent cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants only 7 are without such a school. Besides the 60 receiving support from the Federal Government, there are in a few of the larger cities commercial supplementary courses maintained by communities or associations that have never presented any petition for Federal appropriation. It would be very interesting to compare the schools of Switzerland with those of other countries. A statistical exhibit of the business schools of all, or even of the principal commercial States, however, would be too great a digression. A few facts must suffice. In his recently published study, The Commercial School Idea in Saxony, 1900, Prof. Bruno Zieger, of Dresden, remarks how large the number of commercial schools in Saxony (the "classical country of commercial education") is in comparison with that of other countries. In Prussia, for instance, such educa |