The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1867-03-07
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AsactNre by the Rev. HenryIy yYnrd
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Asecture by tbe Rev. Henry vVnrd
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The time has coihe when nations can
not be built up in isolation, and with a
vast, neglected class at the very bottom.
WeAhase,5 iif the orderiot development
in time reached that period when, we
begin to discern, the, truth which bad
never dawned apeh antiquity, that Uitis
impossible 80 TO separate society as that
yop can take up one Glass, npless YOU
make provisioh'tO take upevery other
class with 1t. God does net7mean to
make soil of the half Of men for the sake
of making trees of the other half. He
has 50 ordered our social relationships
that, except in certain ways no man can
go up, unless he has made PROVISION to
bring up all below him with himself.
Nor can one State go far unless there Is
provision for contiguous ones TO 90.
Nor can nations go up far in the line Of
civilization unless their influence hah
become SO wide and universal that all
nations shall go too. If we say to any
nation, State, town, family, or individul
al, March," God will say To- all the
rest, "March," and they will all be
marching, Applause. One man can
not be perfected, alone The best con-
ditions of the best men require that all
men should be educated, aud all men
made capable Of their civil duties.
When, therefore, it is asked, Is it not a
dangerous thing to bear so many iS-
norant men to the ballot box? my reply
is that tits dangerous thing to have SO
many ignorant men, but it is in the
power Of the ballot-box to take away
their ignorance and make them safe.
Applause Suffrage is in itself a pow
erful educator Consider, for instance,
what questions have been discussed ia
camp, in cottage, in shop, at the hust-
ing0in the papers-4the rightsof man
the structure Of soGiety-the nature Of
goverpment-the policy Of States--the
elementsiof war 1.-The elawsof trade-po-
litical economy. This nation has been
one vast debating society--an epcyele7
pedia of facts, as deep as manhood; and
as broad and inclusive as society.
These questions have become familiar,
not to the wise and learned, but to the
great mass Of American citizens II is
the nature OF free government to make
men think. Where government has
laid upon man the responsibility Of cast
ing his vote, it carries with. it neces-
sary tendency to education.e Beside
that, howmany schoolmasters afeready
toleducate a man. the moment he has
vote to cast7 When Patrick has just
gothere, and has not yet taken out his
naturalization papers; who cares for
him, except the contractora Not the
gentlemen, the lawyer, nor the ainbi-
tious candidate. They do not care
whether his children go to school OF
not. They do not, care whether he
knows much or knows, little, But afs
ter he has taken out his naturalization
papers, and sets down to eat'bis homely
meal, he hasa scheolmaster at he other
end Of the log laying out the law, a
candidate establishing his, claims, for he
has a vote now. No sooner has he
gone, than the opposing candidate takes
the other end of the.log, and instfucts
him in the other point OF view, And
thus every voter. has two schoolmasters,
who lay out the whole subject, between
them. 1t may not amount to rlfhph to-
day or tomorrow it may be said that
he obtains exaggerated, distorted views.
This may be true in any one campaign,
but take the rudest man that ever land
ed in New York, andle him be subject
for one year to the discussion of public
questions, and he viii learn what is the
difference between q vote, and a shille-
lab, which at first he did not know.
He will know that aVote is something
like a bow, .wherewith to shoot at a
mark. The second year he begins to
feel that he can serve his party, or his
clique, with that vote, 1t may be that
his ambition may be ignoble, but he has
learned the swing Of it, and he votes for
something--Notes to accomplish some-
thing. The third year he begins to
vote more intelligently. He feels his
relation to aparty, and that party as
sumes to hin some dimensions, some
historical glory, itamay be. nuthe
fourth year, he begins to have some
sense ofpatriotism, some feeling for the
public good. And in the fifth year, if
he has voted steadily for FIVE years, the
probability is that he knows how to
vote about as well as you do. Voting
brings necessarily mental excitement,
and mental excitement, for definite
ends, amounts to education. But, it is
said, you agree to exclude criminals,
idiots, those uuder age, paupers and
women from voting, You are. not
therefore consistent in advocating the
doctrine of universal suffrage. / reply,
that exclude criminals because they
have forfeited, in becoming thusthe en-
emies of soCietyStheir rights under So
ciety We exclude idiots, not because
they are men; but because they are not
men. A wateh-cass iS not a watch,
and ina6Rcasels not a man. ( We ex-
,clude those under age, simply because
of thelaw Of the immaturity before ripe
nesssfwe wait for some deterninate
ability, when man has become a man,