published instructional papers, booklets, and textbooks for the International Correspondence Schools, a subsidiary department.
The International Correspondence School started in 1891 as a question-answer column in the pages of the mining journal Colliery Engineer and Metal Miner, also published by Foster.
This column was a response to the in-depth tests required of miners and inspectors by the Pennsylvania Mine Safety Act of 1885.
Philanthropic Scranton bankers and businessmen who saw the potential impact this school would have on their workforce and community reorganized it under receivership in 1905.
These books were used and made available in at least 184 colleges, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Cornell University, and at least 649 public libraries.