The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1866-04-05
From the New York Tribune
The School Master Missing.

The American Freedmeu's Aid Com
mission, whose self lf-imposed duty is to
teach the emancipated negroes, and the
American Union Commission, whose
self imposed duty is to teach poor whites,
at a recent meeting of their officers re
solved to consolidate their organizations;
and under the name of the American
Freedmen's anu Union Aid Commission,
to undertake the stupendOus task of
educating all the unenlightened classes
of the Southern States. This Commis-
sion is now the most important philan
thropic association in America While
the physical condition of the Southern
poor will still be cared for, to a limited
extent. the Commission will mainly de-
vote itself to the great work of educa-
ton If it shall be as successful as this
its patriotic purpose entities it to be, it
will create, for the first time in our his
tory self governed and enlighted peo-
pie, south of Mason and Dixon's line
1t was because the masses of the popu-
lation in the Southern States were bru-
tally ignorant that the most illiterate and
ill bred oligarchy of the century ruled
them as with rod of iron; and. with
out consulting them, against their inter
terest, against their wishes, seceeded
from the Union, and drove them by hun
dreds of thousands into the deadly
trenches of Virginia and Tennessee
Generals Lee and Johnston were our
National truant officers, whose duty was
to punish their grown up boys not at
tending school.
1t was "a big job TO whip the South,
and it will be big job to teach it. Take
the negroes to begin with, and we find
nearly 4,000, 900 young and old who are
eager for instruction, who prize it as
tangible sign Of their freedom, because,
in the days +" before Abrsham was.' it
was o penitentiary offense to teach them
to read. These 1900, 900 will need 100
900 teachers. But suppose that we
take one fourth of them only, even
this population will require at least 20,
900 " school -marms," and each of them
at this rate will have so pupils, which is
as many as can be properly instructed
by one person.
Instead Of having million of pupils
in the schools at the present time, Gen.
Howard's report shows that there are
not sixty thousand. 1t will be seen,
therefore, that this work is still in its in
fancy.
The expense Of educating one fourth
of the negroes will be about ol0, 900, 900
per annum until they are enfranchised,
when they will have the power-and ex-
ercise it of establishing common
schools in every town or parish, and of
taxing the entire population for their
support
1t is surely not necessary to argue
tha. the old ruling class, If it obtains
the power, will do little or nothing for
the work of education. OF course, it is
absurd to expect them to do anything
for the negro. If they do not Danish
the teachers whom the North employs,
it will be more than their present atti-
tude and threatenings warrant Us to ex-
pect For, as Gen. Howard says, Il be-
lieve the majority Of the White people
to be utterly opposed to educating the
negro. The opposition is SO great that
the teachers, though they may be the
purest Of Christian people, are neverthe-
less visited, publicly and privately. with
undisguised marks of odium." Testi-
mony from every point where colored
schools have been established confirms
the truth of this statement
But it seems to us that il is EQUALLY
idle to expect the oligarchy to do any-
thing for the poor Whites. These did
not surrender their ideas with their ar
mics; and their old philosophy tended
to keep the poor in ignorance. The
Charleston Mercury once WAS honest
enough to say that the working people
had no more right to education than the
slave Their mode of political manage
ment was based on the assumption that
the masses are uneducated. and OF no
account excepting IS ciphers to be
placed after their unit Of authority--
This old class at present is again in pow