Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-04-21

: gressive are these 'spracticaP' ledu
Z Gators in their assaults upon tn
presentsystem ofcoIIege educatioI
that some of our best institutions ar
introducing optional" courses, ant
) crowding the classics into the back
ground, If this "practicam doetrin.
prevails, twill dry up the verJ
fountains of knowledge and fooe
the country with a swarm ofnarrow
one-sided, shallow-pated pretenders
as numerous as the locusts Of the
plague and az, destructive to all thai
lis high and noble in science and lit.
erature, as were these to the verdure
and loveliness of the fields and gar
dens of Egypt. For the most useful
of what is called practical knowledge
is only useful becauseit' enables us
to live il, can do little or nothing to
sweeten, brighten, elevate and puri.
,fy life. Ttspropagandists assa11 not
only the classics, but all study, for
the sake of culture. They care for
nothing except what is useful in
making money. They would, not
hesitate to turn the temple of know1-
edge into a market-house, as did the
money-changers and dove-sellers lef
old the temple of their God, This
doctrine Impractical education also
strikes attthe very foundation ofour
whole social system, for what pleas
ure would it be for men Of exclusives
1y technical education to meet and
mingle tpgether? There would be
nothing Ofs cong genialfty between
them. Even now Grant White COM
plans q THE unsociableness of 500
cietyn and closes his article by say
ings IA change must be made ere
long, or some day all men for whom
society does not mean the German
will stand out in sVlien revolt, win
refuse toappear on social parade and
women viii be left to texhibit the
frivolous costliness of their toilets
one 10 another. lust so, but as long
as empty-headed e.nnen remain too
ignorant to engage in Intelligent con-
versation, having nothing better
they will have "the German" or
something worse, and SO long as
women are shallow, simpering and
uneducated, we may expect them to
vie with each other In the frivolous
ness and costliness oftheir toilets.
AS for a change for the better in
these things, in view of the ''practi-
cal" tendency of the zage,T am con-
strained TO answer like Poe,S raven,
that it will come "Nevermore. +"
Those who denounce ourcolleges and
declare their graduates unfit for the
practical duties of.life are in the hab-
it ofreferring to a few such men as
Lincoln and Greeley to prove that
eminence may beSattained without
an education. Very well, butifig-
norance made a philosopher of
FRANKLIN, general of Jackson an
orator of Clay, a statesman of Elm
coin, and ajournalistof Greeley. why
not make more such2 There GER
tain1y is no lack of material. IT is
true thatsthese men attained distinc-
ton in spite of all disadvantages, but
a list of regularly educated menwho
have become iIlustrious is never
made out, for the reason that itwould
embrace the larger portion of the
great men of all nations. The great
of history, Alexander, Caesar,
Cromwell, and Napoleon, were
each by.some of the most
learned men of. their days. The most
brilliant orators of whom we-read,
Cicero, Chatham, ,Burk,
Fox and Pitt, were all accomplished
scholars: The great reformers of the
WickIiffe, Huss, sLuther,
Knox andWesIey, prepared them
selves forthe work of their lives in
college halls. The greatest of the
philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Bacon |
and Newton, were trained by the |
best instructors of their time. Among
poets,. Milton, Cowper, Pope, Swift,
Byron, Goldsmith, Thompson and |
Scott, may be mentioned as men of
educations. To mention the
men of thepresent in Europe
and America, whoare regularly ed
ueated mensWonldS extend this sarti-
Gle to an unreasonable length, but 1
may say that I do not know of aman
of very great eminenee on either
continent who is not. Even in New
York Mr.. Greeley is literaly sur
rounded with journalists who are
college men. There is Bryant, of the
Evening Post; Curtis, of Harper's
Weekly; Charles SWeetser, of the
City, Godkin of the Nation: Hurl-
but, of the World ;Dana, of the Sun
and host of others that might be |
who are men of finished edu-
If there is nation under
the, sun that needs a broad deep sys-
tenn of education it is the United |
States. There are three millions of
ignorant blacks now among us;
there is constant stream of the poor
and uneducated pouring in from
Europe and in addition to all this
Asia is threatening to flood us with
a vast influx of heathens. In view
of these facts, 1T seems certain that
I'VE must educate or we must per-
ish." Let our practical" men estab-
lish technical schools such as they
have in Europe and educate the