2317 D79F- The life and public services of Andrew 3. Draper By Thomas E. Pinegan T -•V: ■^'' ^^.M u TTie Life and Public Services of Andrew S. Draper By THOMAS E. FINEGAN M.A. Pd.D. LL.D. Auhtant Commiisioner for Elementary Education The University of the Stale of New York Albany 1914 The Life and Public Services of Andrew S. Draper By THOMAS E. FINEGAN M.A. Pd.D. LL.D. Assiilanl Commissioner for Elementary Education An address delivered before the New York State Teachers Association at Syracuse, November 26, 1913. 9 9**4 , , 'O ,» ' r , The University of the Slate of New York Albany 1914 Gasr-N 13-4000 9 • • « • • • 4 • • • « W * • « • / • • • • • « • • • • • • • ,♦• • • • • • ■ * • • ^ THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 7 ANDREW S. DRAPER Mr President^ Members of the New York State Teachers ^ Association, Ladies and Gentlemen: For more than a quarter of a century, Dr Andrew S. Draper was a fellow-worker with the men and women engaged in pubHc education in the State of New York. He was deeply concerned in the diversified interests represented by its various educational organizations. He was the acknowledged leader of the great educational forces of our State. He was able to bring the power and influence of such forces to the united support of all meas- ures inaugurated to develop and strengthen the educa- tional system of the State; to bring more complete and serviceable educational opportunities within the reach of all the people; and to raise to a higher plane the moral and intellectual attainments and the social and industrial conditions of all our citizens. Doctor Draper undoubt- edly appeared a greater number of times before this association and the other educational associations of the State, addressing the members of such organizations upon more important educational questions, giving them and the State the benefit of his knowledge and experience and exerting a greater influence upon the purposes and the scope of a great State system of public education, than any other man within his time. It is therefore appropriate that this body, so thoroughly representative of all the branches of educational endeavor in the Empire State, should set apart an hour at this meeting to give expression to its > feelings of esteem and appreciation of the fine qualities, flb the noble spirit and the elevating influence of Doctor "f Draper's character; to acknowledge the gratitude which "^ the educational workers of this State and the State itself owe to him for the distinguished services which he ren- dered to public education in this country; and to give iT expression also to our genuine sorrow and grief for the J great loss which the State and the nation sustained in his ^ death. For the honor conferred by you and your associates, D7fH 3744n;4 Mr President, in selecting me to pay this tribute of respect and honor to his memory and to express your feelings and obligations for his inspiration and service to you and for this opportunity to express my own feeling of affection for him and my deep sense of gratitude and obligation for the great privilege of having enjoyed his confidence and for having been intimately associated with him for many years, my most sincere acknowledgments are tendered. The town of Westford, Otsego county, in this State, has the honor of being the birthplace of this distinguished American educator. His parents lived upon a farm which was located in one of the most picturesque and fertile valleys of the State. His ancestors were of Puritan stock. He was the direct descendant of James Draper, " The Puritan," who settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1646. His paternal great-grandmother, Mary Pratt, was a descendant of Degory Priest, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims. Two of his great-grandfathers were officers, and one of them was killed, in King Philip's War; the other two espoused the cause of the colonies in our struggle with Great Britain and served as soldiers in the Revolu- tion. His mother was Scotch-Irish. His parents were noted for their strict integrity, their industrious and frugal habits, their unimpeachable character and their devotion to religious duties and obligations. Such was the ancestry of Doctor Draper, reaching back as it did to the very best blood which began the settlement of our country, and to a people whose ambitions and achieve- ments were inspired by noble and patriotic motives. It was also an ancestry whose descendants became enriched in each succeeding generation with the progress and patriotism of American civilization and reached its highest type of culture, power, influence and service in him whose life and labor we meet to honor and revere this morning. His first attendance at school was at the rural school- house in the district in which his father's farm was located. He did not receive more than two years' instruction in that school for, when he was seven years of age, his parents left the farm and located in the city of Albany. He did, however, attend that school a sufficient length of time so that at a later period of his life, after reflection upon this experience, he was impressed with its importance as well as with its deficiencies. He occasionally visited relatives in that section, sometimes going to the old school, and many times conversed with the speaker of the impressions which the country and its school made upon his young life. An incident of unusual interest occurred when his parents moved to Albany. They took up their residence in a house which stood upon the site of the present Educa- tion Building. Prophecy could not reveal that the mere lad who played upon those grounds and who there indulged in the sports and recreations which were aiding in the development of his intellectual powers would later rear upon those very grounds an institution which would not only stand in the ages to come as a monument to his great achievements and to his visions and his ideals, but which would also stand as a mighty power to direct the State and the nation to the influences and forces which are able to develop more completely and to preserve for all generations the spirit and purpose of our democratic insti- tutions. When the capital city became his boyhood home, he at once entered its public schools. He completed the course given in these schools and, as the city did not then maintain a high school, his studies were continued in the famous Albany Boys Academy. He was admitted to that institution on a scholarship earned upon examination and was graduated therefrom in 1866. He taught one year in the Westford Literary Institute and for a time in the Albany Boys Academy and also served as the principal of the public graded school at East Worcester, New York. Having decided to follow the profession of law, he began a clerkship in a law office, then matriculated in the Albany Law School, was gradu- ated from that institution with the degree of LL.B. in 1 87 1 and within a month thereafter was admitted to the bar in this State. In the same year he formed a law partnership at Albany, under the firm name of Draper and Chester, his partner being Hon. Alden Chester, who has become one of the ablest and most noted Supreme Court justices of the State. For sixteen years this firm conducted a general law practice, enjoyed a large and profitable clientage and became one of the most notable law firms of the city. The practice of his profession extended his acquaintance, brought him prominently before the public, developed his powers, exhibited his superior intellectual talents and established him as a citizen whose abilities were sought for public service in numerous capacities. During this period of his life he served for four years as a member of the board of education of the city of Albany and for four years as a member of the executive committee in charge of the Albany State Normal School. The duties which Doctor Draper performed in any official capacity were never discharged in a perfunctory manner. His official connection with these two boards brought him naturally, therefore, into close contact with the general manage- ment of the public school system, made him a student of the problems involved in educational administration and stimulated in him an ambition to contribute from his knowledge, judgment and experience to the solution of such problems. \jr It was only natural that a man of Doctor Draper's affable and charming personality, of his ability as a public speaker and debater, of his experience in the law and interest in public questions, and of his clear vision and sound judgment, should be induced to participate in the management of the political affairs of the country. Even before he was a voter, he made speeches in the presidential campaign of 1868 in behalf of General Grant. His voice and influence were effective in every national and state campaign from that time until 1886. In due time he became the chairman of the Albany county Republican committee and afterward the representative of the Albany congressional district on the Republican state committee. Under party customs, this position made him the recognized leader of the Republican party in his congressional district. He was a personal friend of President Arthur and represented Albany in the national Repubhcan convention at Chicago in 1884, where he labored earnestly but unsuccessfully for Mr Arthur's nomination. James G. Blaine was nominated by the convention and, upon Mr Blaine's personal request, Mr Draper was made the chairman of the executive committee_^of the New York Republican state committee and placed in direct charge of the Blaine campaign in this State. The crushing defeat of Roscoe Conkhng for reelection to the office of United States Senator, after resigning that office and seeking vindica- tion of his course through such election, had occurred only three years before. His most uncompromising enemy, Blaine, was now the Republican nominee for president. The Conkling men in this State could be numbered by the thousands. The contest in the national election would be determined, as it often has been, by the voters of the State of New York. To Mr Draper was assigned the generalship of winning a victory in this great political struggle. He did not underestimate the work to be done nor did he have any misconception of the seriousness of the situation. In the command of that great battle, he displayed such thorough and busi- nesslike methods of procedure, such earnestness and determination of purpose, such wise discretion and sober judgment, and such skilful management that he became one of the most commanding figures in the political life of the country. One incident in the campaign, not generally known to the public but related to the speaker by Doctor Draper himself, reflects his clear judgment to such an extent and reveals his ability to measure public sentiment to such a degree that it is mentioned here. Mr Blaine had been through New York State campaigning and had gone to other sections of the country. The campaign was nearing its close when he was persuaded to visit New York City again. Mr Draper was so certain of victory under conditions as they stood and so cautious as to what might happen in a situation of such delicacy that he opposed this plan, met Mr Blaine in the western part of the State and endeavored to induce him to abandon his trip to New York City. Mr Blaine could not be diverted from keeping his promise. He therefore went to New York. The Burchard incident took place and the " rum, Romanism and rebellion " issue followed, which cost Blaine the presidency. Cleveland's plurality in this State was less than twelve hundred and a change of six hundred votes from Cleveland to Blaine would have given Blaine the election. Had Blaine concurred 8 in the judgment and heeded the pleading of Mr Draper, there would have been a different record to be written of the pohtical history of the country since 1884. In 1880 Mr Draper was elected a member of the New York Assembly and served in that body during the session of 1881, made memorable by the controversy between President Garfield and Senator Conkling. He affiliated with the Stalwart faction of his party and was one of the twenty-three members of that branch of his party in the Assembly who voted on every ballot for the reelection of Conkling to the oflfice of United States Senator. He was one of the leading men in the Legis- lature. His ability was recognized and he was given positions upon four of the most important committees in the house, namely, ways and means, judiciary, public education and public printing. His seat in the Assembly was contested by his opponent. The State Constitution provided that no oflficer of the government of a city should be eligible to election to either branch of the Legis- lature. He was at the time of his election a member of the board of education of the city of Albany. His opponent contended that this position was a municipal oflftce within the meaning of the Constitution. The case has become a leading one not only in contested election cases before the Legislature but in important cases involving state policies in public education. The com- mittee on contested seats reported unanimously in favor of seating Mr Draper and the Assembly by unanimous vote adopted such report. In his able and successful defense of this contest, in which he was assisted by his partner, Mr Chester, and by Hon. Rufus W. Peckham, late Justice of the United States Supreme Court, he rendered great service to the educational interests of the nation in sustaining the principle which is vital to sound school administration that pubHc education is a state and not a local function and that the members of a board of education in a city or district are not local or municipal officers but special officers created by the State to represent it in the performance of special State functions. In 1884, Mr Draper was appointed by President Arthur a judge of the United States Court of Alabama Claims. He served in this position for about two years. This judgeship conferred on him the rank and entitled him to the salary of a judge of the United States Circuit Court. The high Tribunal of Geneva had made an award of fifteen million dollars under the treaty between this countr}^- and Great Britain. It was the function of this court to hear and determine individual claims against this aw^ard. He served with distinction in this judicial capacity, writing many opinions which showed his clear conception of commercial affairs, his compre- hensive grasp of legal questions and which also demon- strated that he possessed judicial qualities of a high order. The term of the incumbent in the office of State Super- intendent of Public Instruction terminated in 1886. Judge Draper openly announced that he would be a candidate for this office. The educational people of the State very generally opposed his candidacy and sup- ported for the position President William J. Milne of the State Normal College who was then principal of the Geneseo State Normal School. Judge Draper's ability had already impressed the leading men of the State and his integrity and his qualifications for this office were generally recognized, but it was vigorously charged by his opponents that his activities in the management of the political affairs of his party had been so recent and so prominent that, if elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction, he would be more interested in using the school system to build up his party's organization and his own personal political machine than in using his high office for the advancement of the educational interests of the State. He was elected to that office and it is no discredit to him to state that his election was due to the support which his political power and influence could command. Judge Draper now faced the determination of a ques- tion having a more vital bearing upon his future career than he had ever confronted. He was not unconscious of this fact. He approached this question with the same calm deliberation, the same sound judgment and the same comprehensive intelligence which have always been characteristic of his consideration of great problems. His critics in the canvass for State Superintendent of Public Instruction did not know that he had raised in 10 his own mind and settled to the satisfaction of his own conviction, the more important question of the wisdom of abandoning the practice of the law in the event of his election to this important office. He had also decided that he should discontinue his active participation in political affairs. When he therefore came from Wash- ington, on the discontinuance of his services on the Alabama Court of Claims, to enter upon the duties of the chief educational office of the State, he advised his law partner, Hon. Alden Chester, that he had fully determined never again to practise law but to devote his life to educational work. Judge Chester, who had been his close personal friend from boyhood and his law partner for sixteen years, was astonished at this announcement, and together with many other influential friends endeavored to point out to him the mistake he was making. They also represented to him the future so full of prospects and rewards if he should continue his professional legal career. He had, however, decided that question himself and, when he entered upon the dis- charge of his new official obligations to the State, that decision went into operation, connection with his law firm was discontinued and on the declaration that he should never resume the practice of law. Judge Draper was a man learned in the law. He was an able advocate and a skilful practitioner. He had acquired a lucrative practice. He was well known among the leading men not only of this State but of the nation as well. He had suffered no disasters or reverses in his professional career. He was but thirty-eight years of age — too young to abandon a well-established pro- fession and generally regarded as too old to embark successfully upon an entirely different professional career for which he had received no special training. His well- known success in the practice of law, his extensive acquaintance with public affairs, his high reputation, his conceded integrity, his keen legal mind, his judicial poise and his commanding personality and influence were the qualities of a lawyer which would have placed his services in demand by profitable clients throughout the country at the very time when the great commercial and industrial interests of the nation were upon the II threshold of a revolution in^their corporate management. It is not unusual to find a man, who has been a failure in a leading profession, abandon that profession to become a poor teacher. It is most rare, however, to find a man abandoning a successful legal career at a period of brilliant prospects and forsaking the oppor- tunities for political preferment in the counsels of the State and the nation, to assume an educational position and to become an acknowledged leader of his country in the philosophy and the statesmanship of the adminis- tration of public education. This notable record was the achievement of Andrew S. Draper. Since his decision on this question was so deliberate, he must have predicated it upon substantial reasons which he regarded suflficient for such important action. The literary labor and research involved in the practice of law were attractive to him. He was fond of hard work and therefore relished the industry and application required in a w^ll-conducted law ofifice. The constant bickerings and strife, the disputed questions of fact in small matters and the whole controversial character of litigation in general were distasteful to him. The methods and practices of unscrupulous lawyers, which a successful and honorable practitioner is required to meet in the prosecution of his profession, were repugnant to his high sense of honor and justice. He could see intel- lectual achievement of equal value in the pursuit of educational administrative work. He could see prob- lems of research, investigation, development and con- structive genius in the field of public education as exact- ing and perplexing as those involved in the adjudication of disputed questions of law. The review of his life up to this period shows an interest and participation in educational affairs from his youth. The impressions made upon him as a pupil and a visitor in the country school, his experiences as a teacher in the academies at Albany and Westford and in the public school at 'East Worcester, his broader and more extended knowledge of the great questions involved in our public school system which he gained in his maturer years from mem- bership on the board of education in the city of Albany and as a member of the State Normal School board, his 12 information of the defects and needs of the schools obtained as a member of the committee on pubHc educa- tion of the Assembly, his interest in the subject accentu- ated through the contest of his seat in the Assembly, when he made a careful legal analysis of the relations of the State to public education — all these experiences and influences combined to sharpen his already keen interest in educational work and undoubtedly contributed largely to his final determination of the question. For six years, Doctor Draper rendered distinguished service to the State in the position of State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction. Through his experience in the practice of the law and in public affairs, his adminis- trative skill and his natural gifts, he brought an excep- tional equipment to the performance of his official duties. The high-minded purpose of his administration was so apparent at the outset that within one year the educational workers of the State, who had bitterly opposed his election, became his strong supporters. There is not an important question involved in the administration of the public schools of the country today which he did not discuss or treat in some form during his administration of the affairs of this office. By the eflficient and progressive manner in which he discharged his public duties in this capacity, he raised the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction from a posi- tion of ordinary standing to one of the most important and dignified offices of the State government. - Superintendent Draper recognized that the most important factor essential to greater efficiency in the work of the schools was a better qualified body of teach- ers. He therefore entered upon a vigorous and deter- mined campaign to place the work of teaching upon a professional basis. He gave the subject of teachers' qualifications most careful study. He considered the question from every standpoint and he promulgated a plan for the accomplishment of that object upon broad and deep foundations. He proposed to bring together in harmonious cooperation every agency of the State intended to improve the preparation and training of teachers. Teachers examinations, teachers institutes, teachers training classes and State normal schools were 13 to be reorganized and strengthened for the performance of their special functions in this general schenie. There was no real system then for the examination and certification of teachers. School commissioners in the rural sections and boards of education or superintendents in cities issued certificates upon such standards and under such regulations as each determined. Certificates were often issued as a matter of charity, more often to meet the demands of influential citizens and not infre- quently for the purely political purpose of aiding in the reelection of the officer who issued them. Much had been said throughout the State at different periods about the advisability of establishing some system of certifi- cation of teachers based upon examinations prescribed and supervised by State authority. No real progress had been made, however. With all the educational interests of the State supporting him, Superintendent Draper undertook to effect the adoption of such plan. To accomplish this purpose, he caused a bill to be intro- duced into the Legislature. The measure passed that body but was vetoed by the Governor. The proposition that only persons of adequate scholarship should be employed as teachers in the schools was so perfectly sound and the right of the State to enforce such require- ments was so clearly obvious that Superintendent Draper was not to be defeated in his efforts to accomplish an achievement so vital to the efficiency and progress of the public school system. After mature reflection upon the whole proposition, Superintendent Draper con- cluded that the law already vested him with sufficient authority to set into operation throughout the State, under Department regulations, the very system for licensing teachers which was proposed in the legislative enactment vetoed by the Governor. He did not, how- ever, rest upon his own opinion in this matter. He appreciated the wisdom of sharing official responsibility and of bringing to his support such additional influence and authority as might properly be invoked. He there- fore submitted to the Attorney General of the State the question of the State Superintendent's power in such matter. He did not pursue this course because of any doubt as to his legal authority in the matter but because 14 of his assurance of what the law was and of what the opinion of the chief legal adviser of the State would be. He was not disappointed in the opinion of the Attorney General, Hon. Charles F. Tabor, a leading lawyer of the State and one of New York's notable Attorney Generals. That officer concurred in every respect in the opinion of Superintendent Draper. But, even then. Doctor Draper did not undertake to force the adoption of his plan. There were many progressive school commissioners and superintendents throughout the State. A majority of these officers accepted the sugges- tion to adopt voluntarily a uniform system of examina- tions upon which the certification of teachers should be based. Others gradually adopted the system until it became operative in every school commissioner district in the State and in many of the cities. Thus, by rational discussion, by the consideration of the rights and opinions of others, and by the cooperation of all the interests involved in a troublesome question he had inaugurated a great educational reform. By so doing, he had struck an effective blow at the interests and forces which were using the public schools of the State for selfish and improper purposes. Teachers institutes and teachers training classes were the chief agencies for the education, training and intel- lectual improvement of the great majority of teachers employed outside the cities. Institutes were generally held by counties. This plan was changed and they were held by commissioner districts. They were given closer supervision. The instruction was adapted to the needs of the teachers in the several communities of the State so far as such needs were ascertainable. Attendance of teachers was made compulsory and school authorities were required to close school and pay teachers their salaries for the time they were in actual attendance at the institutes. Teachers training classes had been under the supervision of the Regents from the organization of such classes in 1834. The Regents were at that time charged with no responsibility in connection with ele- mentary education. The training classes were organized to prepare teachers especially for the rural schools which were under the supervision of the State Superintendent 15 of Public Instruction. Doctor Draper claimed in the interest of efficiency and good administration that the supervision of such training classes should be transferred from the Regents to the State Department of Public Instruction. The Regents concurred in this opinion and the law was amended authorizing this change. The number of these classes was reduced from about two hundred to about eighty and the number of pupils attending such classes was reduced by more than one- half. The period of instruction was increased to thirty- two weeks. A definite course of study was prescribed and observation and practice in teaching under an approved critic were required. Examinations were set for entrance to these classes and for the granting of certificates on the completion of the course. Under these modifications, training classes were brought into harmonious relation with the State school system and became an effective force in training rural school teachers. Doctor Draper had a keen appreciation of how little the State was doing for the professional training of teachers. He believed that the cities and populous centers should be required to employ only those teachers who had qualified by special training for the important work of teaching. He officially recommended to the Legislature that the law regulating the employment of elementary teachers in cities be so amended as to pro- hibit a contract with a teacher who had not been gradu- ated from an approved high school and thereafter com- pleted an approved professional course covering at least one year. He assisted a committee of the Council of City Superintendents in drafting a bill on this subject. Although meeting with disfavor at first, it was finally enacted into law and forms the basis of the present requirements for teachers in the elementary schools of cities and villages. He knew that the normal schools were not able to supply the necessary number of teachers and he therefore recommended the establishment of city training schools. He was, however, the strong friend and supporter of our system of State normal schools. He extended to these institutions every assistance and encouragement necessary to strengthen and develop them so that they might annually supply a large body i6 of educated, trained teachers for the schools of the State. Three additional State normal schools were organized during his administration as State Superintendent. Through his efforts provision was made for the granting of certificates to college graduates without examination and for the indorsement of normal school diplomas and life state certificates issued by the authorities of other states. He also recognized the necessity of making special provision for the training of teachers for the fine system of secondary schools which was developing in the State. Upon his recommendation, the Albany State Normal School was incorporated as the New York State Normal College for this special work. What a broad conception he possessed of the power, influence and dignity of the teaching force of a great school system and with what masterly skill he organized for efficient and economic service all the instrumentalities of the State for the proper education and training of those desiring to enter the teaching profession. He believed that, if a teaching force of greater intellectual attainments was to be attracted to educational service, the status of such service should be exalted and dignified and those entering upon that service should be protected in their legitimate rights. He used every honorable means at his command to accomplish these objects. He openly advised teachers to insist upon the treatment to which their high calling entitled them. He also urged the public to accord them such recognition. When the laws were deficient in any of these matters, he frankly presented the subject to the Legislature and recom- mended and generally obtained such modifications of the law or such additional enactments as were necessary to effect the desired results. He knew from personal experience the embarrassment and hardship which resulted from the custom of paying teachers in many parts of the State at the termination of their services, or when the public moneys apportioned by the State were received. Upon his initiative there was incorporated into the law a provision requiring all school boards to deliver to teachers, at the time of making contracts with them, a written mernorandum as to the term of service and the compensation to be received. 17 This law further required that the compensation of every teacher should become due and payable as often as at the end of each month. When ingenious school boards began the payment of salaries by giving orders upon empty treasuries, he was instrumental in obtaining fur- ther amendments to the law making it a misdemeanor for a school board to issue an order for the payment of the salary of a teacher upon any custodian of school funds unless there were sufficient funds in the hands of such custodian to meet the payment of such order. This action created a wholesome respect for the law and it was cheerfully obeyed. No officer was ever charged under the law with the sacred privilege of protecting under supervisory powers or by judicial decree the inter- ests and rights of the teaching profession, who exercised such high functions with greater conscientious devotion to duty than did Andrew S. Draper. It may appear that we have placed much emphasis upon his labors in connection with the advancement of the teaching profession. This is intended, for it has proved to be a conspicuous achievement of his six years' service as State Superintendent. When he entered upon the duties of that office, the number of teachers employed in the schools of the State was 31,325 and, of this num- ber, only 2065, or a little over 7 per cent, had received professional training or had been licensed under State authority. Under the plan of his great constructive genius, of the teaching force which had grown to exceed 44,000 in the year of his death, 30,000, or 70 per cent, had received professional training and every teacher employed had been certificated by State authority. While this distinct service stands out prominently, it should be remembered that every other interest under his official charge was given the same general considera- tion and moved forward under his stimulus and guidance with equal advancement. The limitations of time will permit a mere reference to only the more important of these. The required length of time for which school must be maintained in each district of the State was increased from twenty-eight to thirty-two weeks. The amount of the appropriation made by the State for the support of the common school system was increased one i8 million dollars. The method of apportioning State funds was put upon a more equitable basis, insuring the weak rural district greater financial support. He pointed out the disgraceful unsanitary conditions existing in school buildings throughout the State, with the result that the health and decency act was enacted, requiring suitable outbuildings for every school in the State under penalty of forfeiture of public moneys for failing to comply there- with. The construction of school buildings under approved plans for heating, lighting and ventilating was required. Plans for the rehabilitation of school district I braries were set in operation. The first course of study for the ungraded schools of the State was prepared. A careful and comprehensive study of compulsory edu- cation was made, and a bill upon the subject prepared and submitted to the Legislature. This measure later became the basis of our present compulsory attendance law. In all his great constructive work as State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, he was guided by the fundamental principle that public education is a state function. He was so sane in his demands that he brought public sentiment to the support of all his great educational reforms. Minimum standards only were prescribed by the State. Each community was given absolute freedom in reaching such standards and in extending such addi- tional educational facilities as its people would support. Long before Doctor Draper concluded his six years' service as State Superintendent, he ranked as the ablest and most accomplished chief educational officer in the several states of this country. The influence of his achievements was not confined to the boundaries of our own State. It extended to every state in the nation. Under his leadership there had been a national awakening in educationa affairs. As time goes by, the student of educational reforms and of school administration will recognize the preeminence of his service and will classify him as the Horace Mann and the Henry Barnard of his age. There were bound to be many demands for the services of a man of the achievements and reputation of Doctor Draper. In the year in which he retired from the office 19 of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, he was invited to accept the superintendency of schools of the city of Cleveland, Ohio. A special law to govern the schools of that city had been enacted and the school authorities, desiring to obtain the foremost man of the country to organize the school system of that city under the provisions of such law, tendered the position to Doctor Draper. While the general duties of the office did not afford opportunities agreeable to his desires, there were certain features of the work which appealed to him and he accepted the offer on the distinct under- standing that he should remain in such capacity for two years only. He now undertook the performance of a wholly new line of duties. He had written many educational statutes; he was an accepted authority on the general principles of school administration; but he was now confronted with the task of administering the details of the organization of a large school system, meeting the needs of a prosperous, progressive city of nearly 300,000 people. When he had completed the two years' service which he had promised to render this city, he had established a modern school system upon correct business principles and sound pedagogical standards. Upon the foundations which he there con- structed twenty years ago, there has since been reared one of the best school systems to be found in an American city. In 1898, after the enactment of the Greater New York charter, when the board of education of that city was charged with the duty of selecting a superintendent of schools, that body paid Doctor Draper the high honor of electing him to that office. The honor of being chosen the superintendent of the school system of the greatest city in the nation, without solicitation upon his part, was one fully appreciated by him but, as the work in which he was engaged offered him rare opportunities for distinguished service to the country, he declined this position. Upon the termination of his service as superintendent of the Cleveland schools, Doctor Draper was called to the presidency of the University of Illinois. He was not a college trained man. He had never been connected 20 in any way with college interests. He possessed unlim- ited energy and ready adaptability in meeting new prob- lems which came to him for determination. He pos- sessed marvelous capacity for developing the machinery of any organization which he commanded. His experi- ences had given him a broad conception of the duty and obligation of a state in providing educational facili- ties for its people. Illinois was one of the great agri- cultural states of the Central West. Within her borders was the second largest American city. He saw the opportunity to render a distinct service to that state and he availed himself of that privilege. He gave to that institution and to the state which it served, ten of the best years of his life. When he entered upon the duties of his office, the institution had a student body of 750 and a faculty of 90. When he had completed a decade of service, there were enrolled in the university nearly 4000 students; it contained a faculty of nearly 425; a dozen imposing buildings had been constructed; a great American university had been established; and Andrew S. Draper had erected a monument to his industry, application, ability and service. These years in Illinois were the most fruitful ones of his eventful life. Fruitful not only in service to the state but in unconscious service to himself through the service which he rendered the state. The very best of his moral and intellectual life was more fully unfolded and developed. Through these labors, his large imagination was still further increased, the broad horizon of his view was still further extended, his deep interest and sympathy with young people was still further enlarged, the strength of his great mental powers was still further augmented and his lofty conception of the purpose and scope of a state system of education and its influence upon our national life was made even more liberal and secure. What Doctor Draper himself regarded as the greatest honor conferred upon him and what he also prized as the greatest tribute to his accomplishments and abilities occurred in the year 1904. This event not only cul- minated in the crowning achievement of his conspicu- ously brilliant and fascinating career but it became one of the chief events in the annals of the educational history 21 of the great Empire State. It is unnecessary to relate to this audience the history of that long and acrimonious controversy between the two departments charged with the administration of the State's educational interests. Its latest outbreak had extended through a period of nearly twelve years and had not only grown in intensity and bitterness but had involved the educational workers of the entire State and had become an obstruction to the orderly development and the efficient and economic administration of the State's educational affairs. The Legislature and the Governor had determined that the State's prestige in educational progress should no longer be jeopardized and that the causes of the disturbing elements should be eliminated. The unification law creating the Education Department was therefore enacted. It was an incongruous measure and yet it established the machinery whereby the differences between these contending forces were to be amicably and permanently adjusted. Under the provisions of this law, all the educational activities of the State were to be supervised and administered by the Education Depart- ment. The controlling powers of such department were to be a new board of eleven Regents selected from the members of the old board by joint ballot of the Legisla- ture, and a new chief educational officer of the State, known as the Commissioner of Education. The powers and duties of the Regents and those of the Commissioner of Education were not clearly defined. The possibility of issues as sharp and bitter in the new department betv/een the board, intended to be its governing body, and its chief executive officer, as the issues which had existed between the two former departments was an impending danger to the success of the unification measure. The sponsors for this plan of unification earnestly believed that it afforded a means for the proper settlement of the question. Their expectations were based upon a vital factor in every efficient organization — the human element. The Legislature had reserved to itself the power of choosing the first Commissioner of Education for a term of six years. Upon the expira- tion of such term, the Board of Regents was charged with the duty of electing a Commissioner of Education 22 who should serve subject to its pleasure. Timejhas justified the wisdom of this provision of the law. The leaders of the Legislature had undoubtedly determined upon the man to be chosen Commissioner of Education before the unification bill passed that body. The public officers law provided that State officers must be residents of the State. A provision was incorporated in the unifi- cation act authorizing the election of a nonresident to such office. The obvious purpose of this act was to permit the selection of Doctor Draper. He was there- upon chosen the first Commissioner of Education of this State. This action was a signal honor to him and a striking recognition of his great powers, which he cherished the remaining days of his life. He had been summoned in the name of the great Empire State, through special action of its Legislature and Governor, to return to his native state and to aid in the consum- mation of a question vital to her material and intellectual progress. His love for New York and his patriotic devotion to her history and interests compelled him to sever his relations with an institution to which he had become sincerely attached and with a people for whom he had gained an affectionate regard. He obeyed this command and assumed his new relations with his old New York friends. Those responsible for his election knew that the qualifications which he possessed and the ambition which would be his master made him pre- eminently the one person in this country for the execution of the arduous duties to be performed. The Legislature believed in the high-minded and patriotic services of the Board of Regents, and had abundant proof of its unselfish devotion to the public interests. The whole success of the unification plan now depended upon the ability of Commissioner Draper and the Board of Regents to reach a common understanding on the policy to be pursued in the interpretation of the unification law. It is no exaggeration to say that one of the most important meetings of this ancient and distinguished board in all its history was held on April 26, 1904, when that body and Doctor Draper came together to settle this question. It was a notable company of men. The meeting was presided over by that scholarly diplomat, the late Hon. 23 Whitelaw Reid, who soon thereafter became Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James. Four of the ablest lawyers and several leading professional and business men of the State sat in that board meeting. There was no certainty as to what the result would be when the meeting convened but there was satisfaction and joy in the hearts of every member of that conference when the meeting adjourned. The olive branch had been graciously tendered by Commissioner Draper and had been cordially accepted by the Board of Regents. A comity in their relations had been reached which meant peace and progress in the educational work of the State. The mutual forbearance manifested by each party and the dignified and honorable agreement which respected the interests involved was continued by voluntary agreement for a period of six years or to the end of the term of office for which Doctor Draper had been elected by the Legislature. He was not an avowed candidate for reelection but he expected to have that honor conferred upon him. His expectations in this matter were grati- fied and by the unanimous action of the Board of Regents. The best evidence of the relations between Doctor Draper and the Board of Regents during this period and the great admiration which that body manifested for him personally and officially is to be found in their official records. In nominating Doctor Draper to succeed himself as Commissioner of Education, Regent St Clair McKelway, now Chancellor of the University, paid him this tribute: I know this is the unanimous intention of the Board and the unanimous desire of the universities, academies, common schools, and of all bodies whatever in any way affected by an interest in education or by a responsi- bility for it, in our Commonwealth. I know also that Doctor Draper's election will confirm the expectation of every state in our Union and of every nation abroad with which we officially have educational relations of any kind. 24 Regent Sexton, now Vice Chancellor of the University said: The Legislature did not, by its enactment of 1904, unify the educational system of the State. It stopped far short of that. It left the door open for possibly greater abuses and dissensions than had before prevailed. But, by a compact made at that first meeting between the Commissioner of Education and the Board of Regents — a compact which would have been impos- sible with a man of less greatness of thought and sin- cerity of purpose — the actual educational unification which thoughtful educators had so long prayerfully hoped for became an accomplished fact and has since existed as an immeasurable blessing to the people of this Commonwealth. We have learned to love and trust Commissioner Draper, since our official marriage with him. We have come to feel that he is entitled to our unquestioning confidence and admiration, not only as to his sincerity of purpose, but as to his great, almost unparalleled, capacity for the special duty in life to which he has been called. The first question to which Doctor Draper gave careful consideration was the proper organization of the new department. It was a most troublesome proposition. The work of the two old departments and the men and women who had been employed in the performance of that work were to be brought together into one efficient, economic organization. In the performance of this task, it was necessary to exhibit quite as much regard for the aggressive and extensive service to be rendered in the broad field of public education outside of the Depart- ment as in the prompt, orderly and intelligent transac- tion of business in the Department. To bring together all conflicting interests and with the least hardship possible to individuals required the services of a man of integrity, generosity and courage, and one who possessed a comprehensive knowledge of the history and develop- ment of the State's educational system and the best standards of modern educational administration. He 25 established the general principle that the action of an employee who attempted to advance his interests through politics, sectarian, fraternal or social influence would be resented and such action held to be a supreme offense against Department discipline and to the prejudice of the person who invoked it. Appointments and pro- motions would be made upon the sole consideration ot the qualifications and fitness of the applicant for the special services to be rendered. Every employee, from the humblest to the highest, was to be trusted and respected. Those who could not be would be invited to find other employment. The time clock was accordingly eliminated. Every man in a responsible position was given freedom in initiative and in methods so long as he produced sound results and showed substantial progress. Every individual in the organization felt secure and was in general sympathy with the spirit of the administration. The cooperation of all the agencies in the State was solicited and obtained. When he concluded his labors, the institution whose organization he had planned and perfected was administering to the educational neces- sities of 2,000,000 children under the direction of 60,000 instructors and at an annual expense of ^80,000,000. It also apportioned to institutions and expended for adminis- trative purposes more than ^8,000,000 of State funds annually. All this work was done at an expense of only 5.7 per cent of the amount appropriated by the State. Of this, 2.5 per cent was used in meeting general office expenses and only 3.2 per cent in the salaries of officers and employees. In common with every department of the State govern- ment, an inquiry was made into the efficiency and economy of the management of the Education Depart- ment by a commission appointed by the Governor, a few weeks before Doctor Draper's death. During its progress the Chief Executive repeatedly urged citizens of the State to file complaints with him in relation to the management and service of every department and insti- tution of the State. Not a substantial complaint was entered against the Education Department, notwith- standing that it represented the vast interests above stated and touched the sacred and most cherished rights 26 of nearly every home in the Commonwealth. The chief investigator, who spent several weeks in the Education Department, and who had examined the departments of more than a dozen states as well as many large cor- porations, publicly announced that he had never before seen such a marvelously complete and perfect organiza- tion as the one constructed by Andrew S. Draper in the Education Department. Doctor Draper lived to receive from even a source not regarded as friendly this testi- monial of the greatest achievement of his public career and it was a benediction to him in his dying days. Time alone can set Doctor Draper's contribution to American education in its proper perspective and permit a just estimate of the great service which he rendered his native state as Commissioner of Education. Many of the measures which he inaugurated in that official capacity are yet to be developed and their results realized and appreciated. Time will permit only brief mention of the more important accomplishments of his adminis- tration. The State Examinations Board was established thereby bringing into harmonious cooperation all the interests vitally affected by an examination system and requiring these interests to share the responsibility of the policy of such system. New buildings for five of the State normal institutions were constructed and the courses of studies in such institutions modified and expanded to meet the demands for all classes of teachers required in the public schools. A system of professional supervision for rural schools was adopted by the substitution of qualified district superintendents for school commissioners without quali- fications. A teachers retirement plan was enacted, based upon principles which recognize the value of the service rendered the State by the teaching profession. A system of medical inspection of school children was introduced and placed under the management of school authorities. The necessary machinery for the consolidation of rural schools was created and upon a basis which already gives promise of effective results. 27 The time during which school must be maintained in each district of the State was increased from thirty-two to thirty-six weeks and the provisions of the compulsory attendance laws extended and more stringently enforced. Doctor Draper was one of the foremost champions of the country in advocating the readjustment of the school curriculum so that it would meet the needs of our complex civilization and thus make the schools an agency to serve and improve the living conditions of the people. He believed with all his soul in the equality of educational opportunity and in all his writings and in all his effective labors there breathes the very spirit of democracy in public education. The elementary syllabus, prepared upon general lines which he suggested, and the industrial education law% the general outline of which he directed, are striking illustrations of his belief in such doctrine. His addresses upon this general therne are illuminating documents upon this great proposition. Many people wondered at his marvelous grasp of this great modern school question. They failed to appreciate that he had been a student of this subject for twenty-five years and that he had discussed the question with a discriminating knowledge in his first annual report in 1887. In that report he said: Then it should be borne in mind that the greater number can not profitably seek entrance into the pro- fessions or engage in mercantile enterprises. They can more profitably take up manual industries, and there would seem every reason why the public should do for this class what it is doing for^the other through the high schools and colleges. Nearly twenty-five years later, when a system of industrial instruction was established in New; York and in several of the other states, it was upon the foundation which he had outlined in 1887. Doctor Draper returned to New York from the Uni- versity of Illinois with an ambition to induce his native state to accord some substantial recognition of its obliga- tions to institutions of higher learning. His work in the atmosphere of a great university and his knowledge of the service rendered the country through the state 28 universities of the central and western states, had stimu- lated his desire to have New York lead in such a move- ment. He conceived the idea of the establishment of free scholarships upon the basis of superior work in the high schools and academies of the State. The scholar- ship measure was introduced in the Legislature with the indorsement of the colleges and universities of the State. It passed that body two consecutive years but was vetoed by the Governor. It passed the third time and received executive approval. Under it three thousand State scholars will be in attendance upon the approved colleges and universities of the State and the benefit accruing therefrom will be practically the equivalent of the maintenance of a state university. The State's greatest contribution to higher education in all her history was made under a plan of Doctor Draper's con- ception and leadership. No single achievement of his administration gave him greater joy and satisfaction. It is not said, of course, that Doctor Draper was the first to consider or propose all the reforms and measures associated with his name or tiiat he accomplished these marvelous results unaided. No person v/as more ready to acknowledge and none possessed keener appreciation of the service contributed by others to the successful conclusion of any of his plans. He gave full measure of credit to those associated with him and to the pro- gressive men and women engaged in educational work in the State who supported and cooperated with him. He had not completed the work which his great imagi- nation unfolded to his vision when the hand of death was laid upon him. He had large plans for the future develop- ment and administration of the important interests under his charge. Before he went to Europe to recuperate his broken health in the summer of 191 2, he revealed to some of his advisers the plans which he contemplated. He knew that time would be required for their accomp- lishment. He had unbounded faith in the belief that, if it should not be his privilege to lead in the consumma- tion of such great work, those charged with the selection of one to perform that duty would be guided by wisdom and discretion in the discharge of that obligation. Those who are familiar with the scholarship, the broad experi- 29 ences and the achievements of Doctor Finley and with the ideals which he possesses have proof that Doctor Draper's faith has been fully justified. What a heritage he left to posterity and what a record of notable service in every field of activity in which he was employed: a practical and successful teacher; a* leading advocate and practitioner at the bar; a high- minded and commanding factor in the management of the affairs of a great political party; a legislator of wisdom and influence; a judge of a distinguished national court; a state superintendent of public instruction of national fame; a successful superintendent of the school system of a great American city ; a president and builder of a great state university; a commissioner of education in the Empire State for nine years, and an official whose prestige was a powerful instrument in the improvement and development of a great state system of public educatiori! The true measure of a man's greatness and culture is not the institutions from which he was graduated or the books which he has read, but the things which he has accomplished for the uplifting of humanity and the influence which the force and power of his personality and character have exercised upon his fellowmen. Measured by this standard, Andrew S. Draper stands out boldly as one of the great intellectual forces of his generation. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below :i RBr D COL IB. OCT S2196S 2.jl)l -10,' 111-191) UNIVERSITY OF C A ml LOS AKLsKLm UBKARY Gaylord u 2317 Fine^n - D79F4 Tlie lif g and - public ser- '109 s of Androw G. Draper. -cpp U 2317 D79F4 ^m^ m -•J-.v! ^ •'i^ijfe- .^J?S?i -,