The Louisianian. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1870-1871, 1870-12-18
A FRIENDLY, CRITIC.

In this admirable address at the Coop
fer Institute Mr.. Mnndella praised very
warmly much TINT he had seti..in this
country but he made some valuable
criticisms. Thus he said chat in generai
mr system of education was the best 10
the world, but that It. needed one thing
to make it perfect, and that H. that
education should be made compulsory.
This remark was received with applause
by the audience, and it is one to which
the people Of the country must soon be
accustomed The coincidence of the
universal Pr1lssiafi education, and the
amazing advance of Prussia to the lead
rship Of Europe, is too significant not
to be remarked. The fact that in this
country electoral corruption is most pre-
valent among the most ignorant class is
one that suggests to us the remedy. In
deed, the chief reliance of American
liberty is an intelligent public opinion,
and that il impossible without educa-
ton. To maintain that opinion, and
constantly to elevate it, the State must
not only provide education for every
child, bnt it must insist that every child
be educated.
There is one danger in this direction
to which we have often called attention.
and that is the resolution Of one of the
religious sects of the country to break up
our present system Of public schools,
with the intention Of throwing It under
ecclesiastical control. Nothing could be
SO fatal to the country as such Il policy /;
but it will be steadily pursued, and not
without chances of success It il de-
sign frankly proclaimed and defended.
It's advocates declare that they wish only
that each sect should have it's share Of tn G
school money, because education should
be religious by which they mean ecclesias-
teal. Now, to resist this school policy,
we must have an. enlightened public
opinion. But we can not have it if the
the people are ignorant, or if the schools
are suffered to become sectarian or &c
clesiasticaL Moreover, rs the Protes-
tant sects can never he SO closely bound
for common action as the Roman CathO-
lies are-as they are divided by thou
sand theological differcnces-the way in
which not only the school system, but
the principle and spir it from which that
system springs, can best be maintained,
is by the same enlightened opinion.
The condition of that enlightened
opinion, which is the true American con-
scrvatisnl, is education (; and it is the
highest duty, therefore, to insist that the
people shall he educated. Look at the
Prussia Of to-day, and at that of the
-flther Of Frederick the Great They
arc both called despotisns But the
vital difference between them il that to-
day there is public opinion, while then.
there was none. And to TINT opinion
every thing is really referred Bismarck
'is Tory of the true blood. But he
comprehcnds the spirit Of his age SO well
tlrat he constantly refers to that final
tribunal 1t is a painful fact-and one
that should be startling to the degree Of
inspiring a national resolution that it
shall ce,lse t. be a fect--that We are NO
longer the most generally educated
people in the world. The statistics pre-
pared and published by the Bureau Of
Educatiou show some very diasgreeable
facts upon this. subject. And among
the grave labors tn which Congress should
devote Itself, this -is certainly one of the
chief-to devise some method of COM
pelling every State to. do its duty to the
citizens of the Union by making the
most ulnple educational provision ),
while III e:sch State where this provision
is already made, as in New York, the
duty Of compelling every child to take
advantage Of it should be strngenty
inc,lcate.l l -as ss
Il should be uncandid,' sid Mr. |
Mundella ..i l did not frankly tell you
that Nogth Germanys and Switserland
excel syou in the thxpughness and uni~
versatility Of their systems, aud this be.s