ILLITERACY.
With the approval of President Hoover,_ who is deeply interested in the subject, the Secretary of the Interior has appointed a distinguished Committee of educators, editors, social workers and legislators to make a thorough investi- gation into illiteracy in the United States, and suggest means for its reduction. The President's personal concern has been aroused by his experiences in meeting mountain folk in the neighbourhood of his Rapidan Camp in Virginia, and his discovery of the lack of educational facilities for children there. Illiteracy is an old problem in the United States, but beyond what was learned about it as a result, of the education tests applied to men drafted for services dpring the World War,* and estimates at the last census showing some five million illiterates of ten years of age or over in the country, the subject has never been thoroughly surveyed or understood. The present investigation is designed to ascer7 tain the extent and ovoaranhie location of illiteracy. how far it is due to isolation, the lack of educational opportunity, physical or mental handicaps, poverty, or other causes. - The investigators will also consider- the relative merits _of such agencies for meetingthe problem as new schools, transportation, radio, and talking motion pictures.
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