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.

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.