Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1849-08-31
G0ucotion.

I as tiCS nave III lIldt Oh war Tor lnelf UcStruc-
! ton, the darkest chapters in the history OF
earthly calamllies would soon be brought 10
a close. But where units have been grudged
for education, millions have been lavished
for war. While, for one purpose, MANKIND
have refused 10 part with supernuiiies, for
the other, they have not only impoverished
/ themselves, but levied burdensome taxes
upon poSterity. The vast national debts
of Europe originated in war: and, but for
that scourge OF mankind, they never would
have existed. The amoant of money now
owed by tie different European nations, is
SAID, on good authority, To be SG,3S7 600
( 600. OF ths inconceva5le sum, the share
al G!eat Britain is about $4 900, 600. 900,
| I'm round numbers eight hundred millions,
OF pounds sterIng;) of France, $3.50, 00O,-
goo; OF Russ ia and Austria, S300, 0OO.O 900
each; OF Prussia, Sl00, 000,000; and the
! debts ol the minor powers inc. ease this sum
! sum To SIX billions, three hundred and
eighty seven millions of dollars. The ma
/ tOnal debt of Great Britain now amounts
| to more than $40 for every man, woman.
and child IN the three kingdoms. Allowing
SIX persons to each family. it will average
more than eight hundred and fifty dollars to
every hoUsehold,--a sum which would be
deemed by thousands and tens of thousands
Of families in that country to be a handsome
competence hay, wealth itself Ill it were
owing to instead Of from them.
1t is estimated that, during the twenty
two years preceding the general peace of
1878, The unimaginable sum of 46,250,.
100000. sterling, or thirty billions OF dol
lars, had been expended in war, by nations
calling themselves ChriMionS;-an amornt
Of wealth many fold greater than has ever
Le'n expended, Tor Tie same purpose, by all
the nations on HE globe whom we call sac.
age, s'nce the commencement the Chris
tan era. The earth Itself could not be
paWncd Tor so vast Il SUM as this, were there
any paWn-brokcr' office which would ac-
ceP' such pledge. Were it 10 be set up
at auction, IN the presence OF fierce com
PcuiorS for The purchase, it would not sell
for enough To pay for It's war bills for a sim
gle century. The war estimates of the
BRUSH Government. even for the current
year OF peace, are eighty five millions Of
dollars; and the annual interest ON the ma
tionai debt incurred by war, is least hum.
Cred and twenty millions morc;-or more
Ihan two hundred millions Of dollars, for
common, and, on the whole. a very favora-
BILE year Wei might Christ, in the Beat
nudes, pronounce his emphatic benedicton
upon tie peace makers
We have cmnated, in this country, the
same gigantic scale of expenditure for the
a.,
The Federal Government, in 1889, the eX-
pcnse of our military and nav~l establish
menls ana equipments, in round numbers,
is seven hundred millions of dollars. Two
Of our ships Of the line have COST more than
two millions of dollars. The value of
arms accumulated, at one time, at the Arse
nal in Springfield, in this State, was two
millions of dollars. The Military Academy
at West Point, has cost more than four
millions of dollars. In our town meetings,
and in our school district meetings, wealthy
and substantial men oppose the grant of
s. 5 for school library, and $50 for both |
library and apparatus; while, at West !
Point, they spend fifty dollars in a single |.
lesson at target-hring, and the Government !
keeps a hundred horses, and grOoms and /
backsmIlhs to take care of Ihem as an in
dlsPrnsable part of the apparatus of the
academy. The pupils at our Normal
Schools, who are preparing 10 become /
teachers, must maintain themselves; the ca
diets at the academy receive S2S a month /
during their entire term, as compensation |
for being educated at the public expense. |
Adding houEllcs and pensions TO wages and /
rations, | suppose the cost of common
foot soldier in the army cannot be less than
$3.50 year The average cost of female
teachers for the Public Schools of Massa-
chuSetts last year, was only Sl3,G0
month, inclusive Of board; or, at a rate
which would give SlG3,20 for the year:
bat the average length of the schools " as
bat eight months, So that the cost of flcO
common soldiers is nearly equal that of
fire female teachers. The annual salary of
a colonel of Dragons in the United States
army is 50 pos; of a Brgadicr General,
S2.9lS; al a Major, General. 81, SIP; thai
of a captain OF ship of the line, when in
service, $500; and even W en- of duty,
1t Is - 500! Thero are but seven towns
in Massachusetts where any teacher of
PuOllc School receives so high a salary
as $1,000; and, in four Of these towns, one
teacher only receives this sum.
" Let US suppose, for moment, that
njncty-nin2 per cert. OF our whole com
nunily should be temperate, honest, INDUS
irlous, frugal peopIe,-conscientous in
feeling and exemplary in conduct,-is it not
certain that two grand pecHniary corse-
quences would Immediately follow; namely,
Il vast gain in productive power, and a vast
saving in criminal destruction aud loss of
property! Either Of these sources of gain
would more than dcfrav the increased eX~
penses of the system which. according 10
the evidence have obtained. would insure
both. The current expenses, last year, for
the education ol all The children in the
Stale, between the ages Of four and sixteen
was 81, 4 on an average. for each one
Look into the police courts OF our cities in
the morning, and especially on Monday
morning, when the ghasIy array of drunk.
ards is marched IN for trial. A case may
not occupy ten minutes, and yet the fine,
costs, and expenses would educate Two
children for 4 wear in our Public Schools