USA > Maryland > Leading Events of Maryland History: With Topical Analyses, References, and questions for original thought and research, revised and enlarge > Part 14
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features of the new law is the strict requirement that all profes- sional officers, such as superintendents, supervisors, normal-school principals, and teachers, must be specially trained for their work, just as one must be properly educated before he can practice law or medicine. Another important feature is the granting of exten- sive powers to the state department of education, so that it may en- force the provisions of the school law in all counties and may give
Administration Building, State Normal School, Towson From a photograph
valuable assistance throughout the state. Several new officers are provided, such as state supervisors of high schools and rural schools.
The school system of Baltimore city is independent of that of the state. It is controlled by a board of nine commissioners, appointed by the mayor of the city. There is a superintendent of public instruction, who has several assistants. The Baltimore City College is a high school for boys ; it does not confer degrees, but its graduates are admitted to the Johns Hopkins University without examination. The Polytechnic Institute was the second institution of the kind established as a part of a public-school
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system. Originally a manual-training school, it is now a technical high school with more than a year of work of college grade. Its graduates are prepared for "technical" positions, such as those with electric plants, telephone and railroad companies, etc., and a large proportion of them continue their work in universities, where they receive advanced standing and take degrees as en- gineers. In 1913 the Polytechnic occupied a new building with a splendid special equipment. Two large high schools, the East- ern and the Western, are maintained for girls. There is also a colored high school.
In 1902 the General Assembly passed a compulsory education act, applying only to Baltimore city and Allegany county, but its provisions were gradually improved and extended throughout the state. Properly qualified attendance officers must see that all children of certain ages attend school or receive similar instruc- tion. The state provides a sum of money for the purchase of free textbooks, which is distributed to Baltimore city and the counties.
For the training of teachers for the elementary schools the state maintains two normal schools. The older and larger one, founded in 1866, was located in Baltimore until 1915, when it occupied a group of fine new buildings near Towson, in the suburbs of Baltimore. Another state normal school was established in 1902 at Frostburg, for the benefit of the western counties, and Baltimore city maintains a Teachers' Training School. At Bowie the state has a normal school for training colored teachers, and Baltimore city has one also. During recent years several of the colleges receiving state aid have established departments of education to aid in the training of teachers, especially for high schools.
117. Higher Education and Professional Schools. - The Johns Hopkins University, opened in 1876, has a recognized place as one of the leading universities of America. Johns Hopkins was
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a wealthy citizen of Baltimore, who, dying in 1873, left an estate of about $7,000,000 for the purpose of founding a university and a hospital. Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, president of the University of California, was appointed president. The universities of Germany were then regarded as the leaders in training students for research work; Dr. Gilman introduced their methods in America, and brought together a group of very gifted professors, many of whom
. Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University From a photograph .
became famous the world over. Since its organization under the gifts of Johns Hopkins, other public-spirited citizens of Baltimore have contributed several million dollars to the institution, which in 1916 was able to occupy a group of new buildings beautifully located in the northern suburbs of Baltimore. The Medical School of Johns Hopkins, opened in 1893, has maintained un- usually high standards in the training of physicians and surgeons and has had a great influence on medical education elsewhere, while the researches of its professors and students have done
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FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT 201 - much to advance medical science. Women are admitted on the same terms as men. In 1910 the Maryland legislature appro- priated a large sum of money to establish a school of engineer- ing as a part of the university. The state has also made annual appropriations for the general work of the university since 1898. Free scholarships are offered to Maryland boys, both in the college department and in the engineering school.
Johns Hopkins Hospital From a photograph
The Johns Hopkins Hospital was opened in .1889, and oc- cupies an elevated site in the eastern part of Baltimore city. Its magnificent buildings occupy four squares and cover about fourteen acres. This hospital is considered one of the finest institutions of the kind in the world. Connected with it is a school for nurses.
The Maryland State College of Agriculture (situated in Prince George's county, near Washington) in 1916 received its present name and passed under the control of the State Board of Agri- culture, whose enlightened policy under the chairmanship of
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Samuel M. Shoemaker has resulted in many improvements. In 1917 the board, after a country-wide search for the best man' to carry out their plans for a greater institution, chose as president of . the . college Dr. Albert F. Woods, dean of the agricultural school of the University of Minnesota. Goucher College,1 in Baltimore, is one of the leading colleges of the country for women. St. John's College at Annapolis, Western Maryland College 2 at Westminster, Washington College at Chestertown, . and Blue Ridge College 3 at New Windsor receive state aid and offer free scholarships in return. Morgan College, of Baltimore, is an institution for the higher education of colored students. Besides these may be mentioned Mt. St. Mary's College 4 at Emmittsburg (Frederick county), Loyola College 4 at Baltimore, and Rock Hill College 4 at Ellicott City. The University of Maryland, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Baltimore Medical College, and several schools of dentistry and law are located in Baltimore. The Maryland Institute of Baltimore is an excellent school of art and design, which receives appropriations from the city and the state and grants free scholarships. Pro- visions for the professional training of teachers were mentioned in the preceding section.
At the session of 1914 the General Assembly created the Maryland State University. This was not a new institution of learning, but a new body of officials with power to bring about · closer association between existing colleges and professional schools. Those named in the law were Washington, St. John's, and Blue Ridge colleges ; the University of Maryland (schools of law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry), College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Maryland Medical College. The Board of Regents may admit other colleges, schools, libraries, etc. by mutual agreement.
1 Methodist Episcopal. 2 Methodist Protestant. 8 Presbyterian.
4 Roman Catholic.
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In 1916 the General Assembly continued the existence of the Educational Survey Commission, which during the preceding two years had directed an expert study of the public-school system. The Commission was instructed to make a similar study of higher education and to report in 1918.
118. Public Libraries, Learned Societies, Art. - The Peabody Institute 1 of Baltimore was dedicated in 1866. Provision was made for a free library, a gallery of art, courses of lectures, and a school of music. The Peabody Conserva- tory of Music is one of the fore- most of the country. The Peabody Library contains about 200,000 volumes, besides pamphlets and maps, and is one of the large and important libraries of the country.
In 1882 Enoch Pratt, a wealthy merchant of Baltimore, gave more than a million dollars to found a public library. A central building was erected on Mulberry street, near Cathedral, and was followed George Peabody From a painting in the gallery of the Maryland Historical Society by branch libraries in various parts of the city. The library was opened in 1886. This valuable gift of Mr. Pratt is called the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The institution has circulated a vast number of books and has been a source of pleasure and profit to thousands, but owing to lack of sufficient money has been seriously hindered in trying to meet the needs of a city
1 Endowed by George Peabody (see Secs. 96 and 110), a generous and public-spirited man who gave away much of his wealth to relieve the poor and distressed and to benefit the public.
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which has more than doubled in population since the library was opened. A gift of $500,000 from Andrew Carnegie 1 has made it possible to increase greatly the number of branch libraries to serve different sections of the city and suburbs. There were eighteen of these branches in 1917, and a dozen others had been planned. The city, with many other heavy expenses, has not felt able (up to 1917) to give the library nearly as much money as other cities of the same size spend on their public libraries.
Peabody Institute From a photograph
The State Library, at the capital city, Annapolis, contains about 100,000 volumes and is especially strong in law books. The Washington County Free Library, in Hagerstown, has about 30,000 volumes, is very well managed, and gives its community invaluable service.
In 1902 the Maryland legislature passed an act enabling any county or municipality to establish a free public library and
1 Famous as the founder of many libraries. He said that the example of Mr. Pratt gave him the idea.
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reading-room, and provided also for the appointment of a state commission to give advice and assistance in making the plan a success. The law was later extended for the further encourage- ment of libraries, and the commission was directed to conduct traveling libraries throughout the state.
The Maryland Historical Society was founded in 1844. Its objects are the collection and preservation of material relating to the history of the state and the arousing of an interest in his- torical study.1 It has a very valuable library of about 60,000 vol- umes, and a collection of manuscripts and historic relics of great interest and value. From the income of a publication fund left by George Peabody thirty-seven historical and biographical works have been published. In 1884 the General Assembly made the Society the custodian of the archives of the province of Maryland, and has since that time made an annual appropriation of $2000 for their publication. About forty volumes have thus been published under the supervision of the Society. Since 1906 the Society has also issued the Maryland Historical Magasine, published quarterly.
The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland was incorporated in 1799. It now includes in its membership the leading physicians of the state and has its headquarters in a hand- some building in Baltimore, where its library of 30,000 medical books is housed. Besides its original aim of promoting medical knowledge, the Society now aids the city and state health depart- ments in spreading among the people a knowledge of hygiene and the prevention of disease.
The Maryland Academy of Sciences was organized in 1863 and gathered a large collection of geological and natural history specimens, Indian relics, etc. Its building is in Baltimore.
1 The Society's home is in Baltimore, where it has occupied the Athenaeum Building at St. Paul and Saratoga streets since 1848. A new home at Monument street and Park avenue was presented to the Society in October, 1916, by Mrs. Mary Washington Keyser. During the succeeding year these buildings were prepared to meet the Society's needs.
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Connected with the Peabody Institute is an art gallery contain- ing a collection of paintings, sculptures, and bronzes. Among them is the beautiful statue of Clytie, the masterpiece of the famous sculptor Rinehart. The Maryland Historical Society also possesses a gallery of paintings, which is located on the second floor of the Athenaeum building and is open to the public. Connected with the home of Mr. Henry Walters on Mt. Vernon place, Baltimore, is the finest private art collection in the world. It now includes paintings of almost every famous artist, vases, jewelry, furniture, and sculpture, among the latter "The Thinker," by the French artist Rodin, one of the most famous works of one of the most famous of modern sculptors. A splendid new structure for the gallery was opened in 1909; on certain days the public is admitted, a small fee being charged and the proceeds given to the poor. There is no large public art collection in the state.1
119. The Spanish-American War. - In April, 1898, Congress declared war against Spain. The war grew out of the cruel oppression of Cuba by Spain and the destruction of the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor. Maryland, as usual, can claim a fair share of the honors in the war, which soon ended in complete victory for the United States.
The Pacific squadron of the United States, under Commo- dore Dewey, attacked and destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila bay on May I, without the loss of a man. In the second assault the cruiser Baltimore led the line of battle and performed gallant service. Her commander, Captain Dyer, was voted a sword of honor by the city whose namesake he so ably commanded. Lieutenant Commander John D. Ford (later Rear Admiral) of Baltimore was chief engineer of the Baltimore, and shortly after the battle became fleet engineer.
1 See also the account of mural paintings in public buildings of Baltimore (Sec. 121).
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The battle of July 3d was fought off the southern coast of Cuba. The Spanish fleet, blockaded in the harbor of Santiago by the American fleet, attempted to escape and was totally destroyed. Acting Rear Admiral Sampson was commander-in-chief of the American fleet, and the officer second in command was Commodore Winfield Scott Schley of Maryland. When the battle opened Sampson was ten miles away to the eastward attending a conference ; he followed the running fight to the westward with all speed and arrived at the end of the battle. These peculiar circumstances led to an unfortunate controversy as to who had been in command at Santiago and who deserved the credit for the victory.
Schley's friends charged that he was persecuted by the navy department, while his opponents began to criticize his conduct Winfield Scott Schley From a photograph Stereograph copyright by Underwood & Underwood New York throughout the war. Finally, at the request of Schley (who had become a rear admiral), a Court of Inquiry met at Washington in the fall of 1901, Admiral Dewey being its president. The majority decision disapproved of Schley's conduct in a number of respects but acquitted him of cowardice, while Admiral Dewey rendered a minority opinion more favorable to Schley. The navy department approved the majority findings, and President Roosevelt declared that the battle of July 3d "was a captains' fight." Popular sympathy, throughout the country, in many ways showed itself favorable to
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Admiral Schley, and the Maryland legislature, in 1902, placed his life-size bust in the State House.
The Maryland Naval Militia had an exciting cruise in the fine auxiliary cruiser Dixie, and rendered important service in the waters of the West Indies.
One of the notable exploits of the war was the wonderful voy- age of the United States battleship Oregon from San Francisco, California, to Key West, Flor- ida. She made the trip of 13,587 miles in sixty-six days. The Oregon was built by Irving M. Scott, a native of Baltimore county, Maryland.
120. Monuments to Distin- guished Marylanders. - To her many distinguished citizens Maryland has from time to time erected suitable monu- ments. Baltimore's popular name, the "Monumental City," has already been mentioned in connection with the erection of Edgar Allan Poe From a portrait the noble monument to Wash- ington, and the Battle Monu- ment (p. 157). Since that time a large number of similar testimonials have been raised ; among others, one to the memory of Colonel Armistead, who commanded Fort McHenry in 1814, during the attack of the British army and fleet on the city. One of the most interesting of the older monu- ments of Baltimore is that to Columbus, in the grounds of the Samuel Ready School at North and Harford avenues. Erected in 1792, it is the first monument to Columbus erected in America.
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Literary genius is remembered, too. On the 17th of Novem- ber, 1875, a monument was erected to the memory of the Mary- land poet Edgar Allan Poe. The monument was erected over the poet's grave in Westminster churchyard, corner of Fayette and Greene streets, Baltimore. Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, where his parents happened to be at that time. His father was a Baltimorean of good family, who married an actress, and his parents were fulfilling a theatrical engagement in Boston at the time of the poet's birth. Poe died in Baltimore in 1849. This monument was erected to his memory by the teachers and pupils of the public schools of Baltimore. Tributes from a number of American authors and a letter from Lord Tennyson, the poet- laureate of England, were read in the Western High School, then adjoining the churchyard.1 Poe's writings embrace poems, tales, essays, and criticisms. He takes very high rank among American authors, and by many foreign readers and critics is regarded as the most original literary genius that America has produced.
On the site of the ancient city of St. Mary's a monument was raised in 1891 to the memory of Leonard Calvert, first governor of Maryland. The ceremony of unveiling was performed on the 3d of June, and many persons of prominence were in attendance. This simple granite shaft, thirty-six feet high, suitably inscribed and bearing the coat of arms of Maryland, marks the spot where the Ark and the Dove landed the first settlers of Maryland, nearly three hundred years ago. The following lines, inscribed on the monument, are but a just tribute : -
By his Wisdom, Justice and Fidelity, he Fostered the Infancy of the Colony, Guided it Through Great Perils, And, Dying, Left it at Peace.
1 In the spring of 1917 a very beautiful statue of Poe by Sir Moses Ezekiel had just been completed in Rome and was awaiting transportation to Baltimore.
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Three days later a granite monument, eleven feet high and bearing upon its face crossed Confederate flags, was unveiled at Loudon Park cemetery, Baltimore. This monument was raised to the memory of General James R. Herbert, a Maryland officer who fought with distinction in the Confederate army during the Civil War (see Sec. 109).
In 1892 a modest cube of Maryland granite was unveiled on the battle-field at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, in mem- ory of the soldiers of the Maryland Line. The great services of Maryland troops, and the splendid charge they made at Guilford Courthouse, have already been described (see Sec. 74).
In the history of the Revolution the heroic sacrifice of four hundred Maryland soldiers at the battle of Long Island has also been described (see Sec. 68). Here, near the spot where the brave men under Major Gist laid down their lives for their com- rades, a monument has been dedicated to their memory by the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. The : ceremony took place in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on August 27, 1895, the one hundred and nineteenth anniversary of the battle. The monument, twenty-seven feet high, consists of a beautiful column of highly polished Tennessee marble, resting upon a block of polished granite. It contains the following inscription, in raised letters of bronze : -
In Honor of Maryland's Four Hundred, Who on this Battle-field, August 27, 1776, Saved the American Army.
The same Society (Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution) erected in 1898 a modest monument to the memory of General William Smallwood, the Revolutionary soldier and governor of Maryland. It is a plain granite block,
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five feet in height and suitably inscribed, upon his grave in Charles county.
In 1898 (August 9) a bronze statue, nine feet high, was un- veiled at Mt. Olivet cemetery, Frederick, to the memory of Francis Scott Key (see Sec. 90). In its granite base rest the remains of the author of the " Star-Spangled Banner," with those of his wife. In 1911 a larger monument to Key was erected in Baltimore, on Eutaw Place ; it shows him with a companion in a boat, looking upward at the flag. A few years later the Congress of the United States appropriated $75,000 for the erection of a Key memorial at the entrance to Fort McHenry.
One of the most notable achievements in this direction was the erection in Mt. Royal Plaza, Baltimore, of a beautiful monument to all Marylanders who aided the cause of freedom in the Revolu- tionary War. The monument is sixty feet six inches in height, the shaft is of Baltimore county granite and surmounted by a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, and the pedestal is suitably inscribed. The monument was erected through the efforts of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. The state and Baltimore city each contributed. The unveiling took place on October 19, 1901 (Peggy Stewart day).
On January 16, 1904, a splendid equestrian statue of John Eager Howard, brilliant soldier and governor of Maryland, was unveiled on Washington Place, Baltimore. The statue, which was the work of Emmanuel Fremiet, the leading sculptor of France, was presented to the city by the Municipal Art Society.
In Baltimore city a number of other monuments to those who have served their state have recently been erected. Among these may be mentioned the memorial in Druid Hill Park to Union soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War, and the monu- ment to Confederate soldiers and sailors on Mt. Royal avenue. A " hero of peace " is honored in the statue of John M. Hood
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(unveiled in 1911), who was for many years president of the Western Maryland railroad and did much to promote the prosperity of Baltimore and Maryland.
121. Progress of Baltimore, Metropolis of Maryland. Baltimore has nearly half the population and more than half the wealth of the entire state ; this relation does not exist in any other American state except New York. It thus happens that in welfare the city and counties are very closely associated. Baltimore is also one of the largest cities of the United States, ranking seventh in the census of 1910. Other sections of this chapter show its importance in commerce and manufacture and as a center of higher and professional education, and tell of its schools, libraries, monuments, etc. We have followed the story of its beginnings and its part in the earlier history of the state (see Index, under " Baltimore "); since the Civil War the record has been, on the whole, one of steady progress and improvement.
Baltimore has been associated in a very interesting way with the new age of machinery, steam, and electricity that came in our country during the nineteenth century. Her citizens took the lead in introducing the steam locomotive (see Sec. 95), and here the first electric telegraph line was operated (see Sec. 97). " It was in Baltimore that the first electric railroad operated in America for actual commercial service was constructed and run successfully." This was accomplished in August, 1885, the cars making a speed of about twelve miles an hour. Later the Baltimore and Ohio rail- road introduced here the first electric locomotives. It is said also that Baltimore manufactured the first metal pens to replace the old quill pens (1810), was the first American city to be lighted by gas (1817), built the first iron steamboats (1838), and was first in many other interesting ways. The linotype, which sets type by machinery and has made wonderful changes in printing, was invented in Baltimore. How the city led with its monuments to
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