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RECORDING * I speak to you today of some national and international problems of education, but*let me speak first of a great American achievement. This remarkable accomplishment can be best expressed in terms of pupils. For each 1,000 pupils enfolled in the 5th grade in the United States in 1942, our high schools graduated 505 pupils in 1950. For the first time in the history of any nation, the high schools of this country in 1950 graduated over half the young people of the appropriate age. This is an amazing fact' No other country in the world even starts into the high school half of its young people. This record-breaking achievement, carrying us further toward the American ideal of equal opportunity for all, is one of the bright spots on the present scene. Though I am going to speak to you of a number of educational problems, it is proper to lift our eyes to larger perspectives to see some of the promise of a better life for all of us through education. It is a pleasure to know therefore that we have so far realized the American dream that the average child now completes a high school education. Some of the credit for this record should be given to our free enter- prise system. Thanks to our inventors, investors, and the highly productive labor force in this free system, the average wage earner has been able to make a living for his family without sending his children into the labor market at an early age. In brief, machines have freed children to go to school Enlightened business leaders have led the people in a remarkable faith in education. * By Earl J. McGrath, U. S. Commissioner of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C., for use in series to be made available by Educational Recording Services, Los Angeles, California, Recorded by U. S. Recording Company, Washington, D. C., January 8, 1953, 1:30 p.m. EST.