Elementary Schools. 
The foreigner who hears of the enormous sums which the 
German Empire expends every year on the maintenance and increase 
of its army and fleet, may easily fall into the mistake of assuming 
that this outlay, imposed by the history and the geographical position 
of the country, leaves the German nation only few means for the 
promotion of ideal interests. There may be an appearance of justifi- 
cation for such an assumption, when merely the proportion is con- 
sidered, that exists between the State expenditure for the army and 
for the schools. But nevertheless, the sums devoted in Germany, by 
the State and by the communities, to elementary education, is not in- 
considerable. The total outlay for this purpose in the German 
Empire (with the exception of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin, for which no information was available), in the year 1901, 
amounted to 412886000 M., of which 120357000 M. were derived 
from State contributions. 
These figures of 1901 represent the last ascertainable stage 
in a constantly progressive development, and will probably be con- 
siderably exceeded at the present time. And when, in the absence 
of uniform imperial statistics of the educational system, already re- 
ferred to, this progression cannot be verified equally for all the 
States, the following survey may, at least, give some evidence of the 
permanent advance in the svstem of Prussian elementary education. 
German Empire. 
Public Elementary Schools 1891/2 and 1900/1. 
1891/2 1900/1 
56 563 58 164 
i. Public Element. Schools . . . . . 
2. Fully occupied teachers (male and 
female) . . . . . 120 032 
3. Pupils of Elem. Schools . . . . . 7 925 688 
4. Expenditure for Elem. Schools . . . M. 242399 000 
5. State Contributions . . 69 310 000 
6. Number of: 
a) Inhabitants to each Elem. 
School . . . . . 
0) Pupils to every 100 inhabitants 
) Pupils to each fully occupied 
teacher 
144 484) 
8829812 
412 886 000 
120 R57 000 
874 969 
16.03 15.66 
- 
~ 
“363 
6 
“Among these 22339 female teachers.