Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-07-06
RUTLAND HERALD.
SATURDAY, JULY l, 1865.
Reading and writing.

In his recent speech at Faneuil Hall,
Henry Ward Beecher ridiculed the idea
of making the ability to read and write
the basis of suffrage. "Citizenship" he
says, "has nothing TO do with reading
and writing" Talk of education being
necessary to make voter To vote
only requires good common honesty, and
good common sense" The Troy Press
takes up the refrain and says:
"There is deal of force in this. There
are scores of men in the country who
can neither read or write, who are bet
ter informed Of public affairs, who vote
more intelligently, who are more sue
cessful in business, who are better citi-
Gems every way, than some of their
neighbors who have been able to read
and write from their early childhood"
ut is beyond all doubt true as a gen.
eral thing, the man who can read has
more knowledge of certain kind, than
man who cannot read. But it by no
means follows that he will perform any
specific duty, whether as voter, faith
er of family or member of church,
better, more intelligently, more consci-
entiously.
"There is a greater evil than igno-
rance connected with popular suffrage
and elections. 1t is party spirit, party
rancor, over-heated zeal for " our side,n
without why or wherefore; office hunt
ing, money corruption, pipe laying bal
lot-box swindling, etc, etc. Now who
compose the classes who indulge in and
encourage these? Why the college bred
party leaders, the graduates of our acad-
emies and high schools, and free schools,
the political clergy, the lawyers, mer-
chants, the clerks, and the master me-
schanics- the reading and intelligent
classes-who become party mad from
reading nothing but one-sided partisan
newspapers and documents, and listen
ing to the appeals of the educated
clergy and the educated" political
stump speaker and lecturer"
There is this to be said generally
about those who cannot read. They
have remarkably retentive memories,
and are much given to doing their own
thinking. Take one having these quail
ties, and let him mingle freely with the
world, and in nine cases out of ten, you
have man of strong common sense
most excellent material out of which to
manufacture the voter. With such, the
elective franchise is infinitely safer than
with young men educated to DEATH"
and who step out of college to mount
some hobby for fame or for Congress-"
We should think Mr.. Beecher would
be proud of his company, and powerfully
pleased with the deductions which the
Press has succeeded in making from his
postulates. We hardly know whether
it is best to spend time in refuting such
vagaries, let them come from whom they
may. We will say this however; the
burden of proof is on Mr.. Beecher and
his associates.
1t has been the well settled opinion of
every intelligent, thinking man in New
England for century or two, that an
ability to read and write is an essential
qualification in voter. It is logical to
take it for granted that the existing
dispensation is the true one, till the
contrary is proved. Until Mr.. Beecher
has brought forth his strong reasons, as
strong as confirmation of holy writ, we
may continue to rest in the belief that
those who vote omght to be able to read
and write.
What the Press says about the ire
tentive memories" and all that sort of
thing, of those who cannot read, may for
the sake of argument be admitted
Those who have lost one arm generally
have more strength in the other, than
those who have two. Those who have
lost their eye sight entirely have been
found to have remarkably retentive
memories" as well as remarkably"
quick sense of touch and hearing. But
we never yet heard of anybody that
thought they would for these reasons
"perform any specific duty better, more
intelligently, more conscientiously."-
Neither could we have believed, till Mr..
Beecher came upon the stage, that any
body but an incorrigible copperhead
would have dilated upon the superior
sense, bliss and power of ignorance over
those of knowledge.