EDUCATION AND THE ARTS
Modern Chile owes little to the mother country for its educational
system. With the exception of the establishment of a university at
Santiago, and one or two minor institutions, Spain almost entirely
neglected education in this province. The wealthy classes sent their
children to Europe for their education, and the poorer classes were given
a little instruction by the church. The Indians and peons were taught the
catechism and church doctrines in a desultory way. With that all attempt
at general intellectual development was ended. It is little wonder that
only a small proportion of the population were able to either read or
write, when the Spanish yoke was thrown off, or that even to-day, when
Chile has celebrated the centennial of her declaration of independence,
her educational system will not compare favourably with those found in
the Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic nations of the world.
Education in Chile is absolutely free, though not compulsory. Within the
last few years the Chilean government has given considerable attention
to public instruction, and has been greatly extending the school system
all over the country. According to government reports there were, in
1907, twenty-two hundred and fifteen elementary schools, with forty-seven
hundred and twenty-nine teachers, and an attendance of one hundred and
seventy thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven pupils. This is only a
small percentage of those of school age, according to standards in the
United States. Besides these public schools there were more than one
hundred private schools for elementary instruction, which were subsidized
by the government.
The school system is divided into primary, elementary, secondary and
the higher education. The secondary education, which corresponds to our
high school, is provided in the National Institute at Santiago, and at
lyceums located in various parts of the republic. One of these lyceums is
maintained in every province in the republic, no matter how small, and
in every city or town of any importance. In the same year, above cited,
thirty-nine of these institutions were for men and thirty for women,
having a total attendance of almost twelve thousand. For the higher
education there is a national university at Santiago, which is an old and
well-equipped institution, and fifteen normal schools located in various
parts of the republic. For technical instruction there are a number
of institutions located in different parts of the republic, which are
conducted by various societies.
[Illustration: THE ESCUELA NAVAL, VALPARAISO.]
For instruction in agriculture schools are maintained by the government
at Concepción, Santiago, Talca, San Fernando, Elqui and Salamanca.
These schools are all under the supervision of the National Society
of Agriculture, and the government contributes liberally toward their
maintenance. There is also a school conducted at Chillan for practical
agricultural instruction. A number of model farms are maintained by
the government, of which the principal one is the Quinta Normal in the
capital, and a number of experimental institutions for the cultivation
of vines, trees, etc., are also supported by the national government.
The agricultural schools, as well as those for the furtherance of
industries and mining, hold expositions from time to time, in which, the
products of the soil and factories are exhibited, as well as the latest
processes and appliances. To these exhibitions the government contributes
liberally, in order to acquaint the public with the latest scientific
development. The societies themselves are formed by a large number of
prominent Chileans, who devote considerable time and energy to the
development and improvement of these industries.
Commercial schools have been established at Iquique, Antofagasta,
Valparaiso, Santiago, Concepción, Vallenar, Coquimbo, Talca and San
Carlos. A number of industrial schools are conducted under the direction
of the society for the improvement of industries, where technical
instruction is given to those preparing them for such occupations as
engineers, electricians, architects, plumbers, masons, etc. At Copiapó,
Santiago and La Serena, the government has established schools for the
practical instruction of mining engineers and mining in general.
Military and naval education is given in ten different academies,
located in different parts of the republic. One of the best of these
is the Escuela Naval at Valparaiso, which is situated on a commanding
location overlooking the lower town and bay. As the navy of Chile
commands great consideration this branch of the educational system
receives considerable attention, and the cadets are put through a very
thorough course of instruction by able instructors. The University of
Santiago, as well as a university under the supervision of the Catholic
Church, gives instruction in law, political science, music, dentistry,
civil engineering, physics and mathematics. Then, in addition, there
is a National Conservatory of Music, a School of Fine Arts, a National
Observatory, an Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and a School for the
Blind.
A number of public libraries have been established in various cities, at
the head of which is the National Library at Santiago, which contains a
valuable collection of books and manuscripts. Next to this in importance
is the public library at Valparaiso. Several other cities have followed
the lead of these two and established free public libraries. Museums of
natural history and also of arts are maintained in Santiago.
The newspaper in Chile is as much of an institution as it is in the
United States. In the cities of Valparaiso and Santiago one will find
the newspapers equipped with an energetic staff of reporters, who have,
what Americans would call, a good nose for news. Each one, like his
American counterpart, is trying to beat his competitor, and acquire at
least temporary notoriety and fame.
_El Mercurio_ is the most noted newspaper of the country, and publishes
editions in Valparaiso, Santiago and Concepción. It ranks with _La
Prensa_, in Buenos Aires, and the _Jornal do Comercio_, in Rio de
Janeiro. In the two former cities _El Mercurio_ owns fine buildings,
which are superior in their equipments to the average newspaper office
in the United States. It has not only provided good quarters for its
editors, reporters, printers and other employees, but has dining-rooms,
private parlours, baths, bedrooms, assembly-rooms, and other features
which American newspaper plants are not equipped with. In these rooms
entertainments are given for the public, noted visitors to that country
are entertained, and many other features of more or less public interest
are provided for the people. The owner of _El Mercurio_ is Mr. Augustin
Edwards, who is a member of a famous banking family of Santiago, and has
occupied various official positions in the country. _El Mercurio_ was
founded in Valparaiso in 1827 and in Santiago in 1900. It has long been
one of the show things in Chile. The editorials in the editions are the
same, but the news columns differ considerably because of local interest.
One will find the editors of these papers as well informed as the editors
of the leading newspapers in the United States, and their information
covers the whole world, perhaps better than the average American editor.
If there is any distinguished foreigner visiting the country the
reporters eagerly interview him, and the matter is displayed in headlines
which are quite similar to the land of yellow journalism. In fact, in
general make-up the Chilean newspapers more nearly resemble those of the
United States than the journals of any other country of South America. In
foreign news one will find two or three pages of cable dispatches in _El
Mercurio_, much more than is printed in papers published by newspapers
in cities of similar size in the United States. The _vida social_
(society column) has much news concerning _las distinguidas señoras y
señoritas_. Interspersed with accounts of balls, parties, weddings,
visitors, etc., will be obituaries and notices of funerals. Echoes
of the get-rich-quick commercialism will be seen in the advertising
space, where columns of advertisements of banks, nitrate companies and
promotion companies appear. Rates of exchange, the movement of the stock
market and other items of commercial interest occupy a prominent place.
Sport is prominent, of which football is an integral part, having been
made popular by the British residents. The entries in the horse races,
together with the various riders and their weights, form a part of the
racing gossip, much as in English newspapers. In fact these cosmopolitan
publications provide much interesting reading for all who can read them.
_Zig-Zag_ of Santiago, and _Sucesos_, of Valparaiso, are two illustrated
weeklies, which are really admirable and enterprising publications.
Each edition is practically a pictorial record of the week both at
home and abroad. There will be photographs of those prominent in the
social and political life, pictured scenes of the leading events of
the week, cartoons and news of the world depicted from the illustrated
publications of other countries. There is one English newspaper published
in Valparaiso. One feature, which is always displayed in the Chilean
newspaper, is an editorial on the foremost topic of the day. It is given
the leading position, every one reads it, and it is generally the topic
of conversation for the following day. These editorials are generally
well worth the reading, for they not only display knowledge but a
catholicity of treatment that speaks well for the Chilean.
_La Union_ also publishes editions in Santiago and Valparaiso, and it
is a well edited and well conducted paper. Other newspapers of more or
less importance are _El Dia_, _La Lei_, _La Patria_, _El Chileno_, _La
Reforma_, _El Diario Popular_ and _Las Ultimas Noticias_, and others.
In all there are more than two hundred publications of all kinds. Every
one who can read at all generally reads about all the newspapers, so
that even though the reading class is not as large as with us, yet the
circulation of these newspapers is very creditable. Nevertheless one
wonders how they are all supported and manage to survive.
Like all Spanish people the writers, though not numerous, are usually
voluminous. The number is not great because of the lack of readers and
library privileges. One Spanish writer says that the circle of readers
in each Spanish-American nation is in smaller numbers than in a single
street in London, a square in Paris, or a district in Italy. Such a
statement is not true of Chile, for Santiago, Valparaiso and Concepción
have large numbers of educated Chileans. But it is true that the writer
has a small circle as compared with the clientele of an American, English
or German author. Chilean writers have been the most prolific of any of
the countries on the Pacific coast of South America. The comparatively
stable rule for four decades was conducive to literary development.
The French influence in literature is more noted than any other, and
especially so in literature of the lighter vein.
Before independence the chief subjects were history, religion and poetry,
and many of the writers were ecclesiastics. Since the establishment
of the republic fiction, philosophy and political economy have been
prominent, and lay writers have taken precedence over ecclesiastics.
Ramon Briceño and Venturo Marin are two well known writers of modern
philosophy and ethics. Other Chilean writers along similar lines were
Errázuriz, Casanova, Aracena Lopez, Arrasco, Albano and José Lara.
Andres Bello is a name that towers above all. Says Professor Currier:
“I regard him as one of the most extraordinary men that the Western
Hemisphere has produced. Entirely a self-made man, he explored almost
every field of human knowledge, and his numerous works testify to
his labours. Poet, philosopher, linguist, philologist, litterateur,
historian, educator and jurist, such was Bello. His civil code of Chile
places him among the world’s legislators. It is, perhaps, to be regretted
that in his earlier years his attention was so much divided among various
subjects that many of his labours remain unfinished. Few countries can
boast of a man so versatile and of such intellectual activity as Bello.”
Journalism in Chile, like the other Spanish-American republics, is an
important profession. One of the greatest journalists Chile has produced
was Zorobabel Rodriguez, who exercised immense influence on public
thought for many years. His editorials were the ordinary topics at the
breakfast table, and were looked for by all parties from day to day.
Rodriguez was also a poet, novelist and all-round literary man.
Chile has produced a number of historical writers. Among these might
be mentioned the brothers Miguel Luis and Gregorio Victor Amunategui,
Manuel Bilbao, Vicuña Mackenna and Diego Barrios Araña. Many have dropped
into poetry, for such a form of writing is popular and natural with the
Spanish race. The drama is also an important branch of Spanish literature
and Chile has produced her fair share of dramatists. The best known is
probably Carlos Walker Martinez, who succeeded in touching a sympathetic
and patriotic chord. A number of novels have also been written by Chilean
writers, but they are unknown among English readers.
The artistic is a strong element in the Latin character. Foremost with
the Italians, perhaps, it also bears a vital relation to the Spaniard.
Any one who has visited any of the Latin-American countries has not
failed to observe this trait, for art has been well preserved in the
New World, wherever either Spaniards or Portuguese have held sway. In
Chile this art has not been tinged so much with Indian influences as
in Mexico. Here is found the transplanted art of the Spaniard with
very little modification. There are many fine churches, of which the
cathedral of Santiago is the most noted example. It is a fine specimen
of ecclesiastical architecture. Hospitals and other public buildings
are built with an eye to the artistic. Plazas are arranged with skill,
and fine statues abound all over the cities. Municipal theatres have
been built in several cities. The Municipal Theatre of Santiago is a
commodious building and of artistic design. Although it will not compare
with the Colon Theatre of Buenos Aires, or those in Rio de Janeiro or Sao
Paulo, Brazil, it is an artistic building. Through the aid of a subsidy
from the national treasury operatic talent is brought from Europe for at
least a few weeks each season.