Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-08-25

ucated National Union Univer-
: sity, standing at the head of all,
crowning all. then will we indeed
have a perfect system Of American
: public education, and one that shall
, be TO t0ttIS tereS dJQue TOttglOlGs.
; Mr.. VIM. l.. Harris, Of Missouri,
: followed with a speech, in which he
reviewed the whole question, claim
ing that such an Institution was
! among the designs of the founders of
! the government, and that il was
! clearly Constitutional
DR.. Hoyt, of Wisconsin, presented
an elaborate report OF the common
!, national university, which recon-
mended the appointment of a perma.
. nent committee of thirteen to cOncen-
trste the best thought of the country
upon the various important questions
involved in the perfection of a plan for
the institution, and TO marshal the
strength OF the country in a systematic
and potential support of the measure,
when at last it would be formally
brought to the attention of Congress.
The following committee were ap-
pointed for this purpose: DR.. J. NJ.
Hoyt, of Madison, Wisconsin; DR..
/ Thomas Hill, of Waltham, Masss-
chusetts; Z. L. GOdkin, of New York
city; Hon. J. P. Wickersham, of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Colonel
d. F. Boyd, of Baton Rouge, LOuisia-
/ ma; DR.. Barnes, of Sears, Virginia;
DR.. Daniel Reed, Of Columbia, Mis-
souri,; W. f. Phelps, OF WiaOna, Min
nesota; Hon. II. c. Gibbs, Of Port
land, Oregon; Hon. Newton Bate
man, OF Springfield, Illinois; er-
O6ici0 members, Hon. E. Z. White,
President OF the National Educational
Association; John Eaton, ir., United
States Commissioner of Education;
DIR. Joseph Henry, President of the
National Academy of Science, and
| DR.. Samuel Elliott, President of the
American Social Science Association.
Mr.. Wickersham proposed the fol-
lowing resolution, which was unani-
mously adopted.
ReSOlUed, That this Association will
look with favor upon any plan giving
pecuniary aid to the struggling educa.
| tional system OF the South that the
General Government may deem judi
ciOUs.
John Eaton, jr., United States Com
missioner of Education, offered a res
Olution, which was adopted, that a
committee of one from each State and
| Territory, and one from the District
of Columbia, be appointed by the
Association, 10 take such action as
shall seem to them expedient to secure
full presentation of the improve
ments in American education at the
international Exhibition in Philadel-
phia in 1876.
The Convention will to morrow
visit Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob,
Thomas Allen, President of the Iron
Mountain railroad, having rendered
a special train for that purpose. The
inner man will be provided for on the
occasion by the Board OF Public
Schools and the citizens.
In VIM. F. Harris paper, on how
far the State provides for the educa-
ton of her children, at the public |
expense, the following passages occur: |
Unless we educate the people and |
place in their hands the directing |
power in continually increasing
extent the secret drops from our
national hand, and we approach the |
brink Of national death. 1t was clear |
that this Convention gathered |
strength and had become organized |
into the policy of the State.
When we read, three years ago, in /
the report of the State Commissioner,
DR.. HOyt, of the immense efforts made /
ali over Europe to found a system of
industrial education, the democratic |
idea of civilization sends forward as
its advance guard the legiOns OF
productive industry, and covers It's
tianks with the all powerful engines
of intercOmmunicatiOn- railroad,
the steamship, the telegraph, but
man will not submit TO be educa-
ted merely as director of
machines and instrUmentalities of
industry, he soon aspireS TO
direct himself and be selfgOverned.
II the monarchs of Europe think to
put on the people with mere poly
technic and industrial education, they /
will find that they will have fOstered
a directive power that will grOpe for
and find the helm of State, and then
attempt TO direct the administration
of the government. The mistake will
then become visible that the people
must have a universal education, tit-
ting them for the highest as well as
the lowest positions; and not only the
mechanical directive power should be
taught in the peoples schools, but also
the spiritual directive power. Leave
sut the humanitie5 from education,
and you leave out the cul-
ture that guides the course and
communism and socialism and
sbstract theories will find their way
into the heads Of the labOTing classes
Net u1eFely a prescriptive education
on the p2St of the church or the school
can prevent the peoples minds from
being fly-blOwu with crazy political
and social theories, destructive to all
sound growth. Not merely natural
philosophy, chemistry, mathematics
and geology must be studied, but like.
wise science OF a socially, State
art, religion and philosophy in all
their phases, by each child, but must
be waited on by the Instructions
of man and invited to see spectaoles
spread before HIM from the lofty sum-
NIT of human civilization, his human
brothers that have added cubit to
the worlds stature by their heresy;
labOrers must be pointed out to him
the methods and results Of the ele-
ments of their ends must be revealed
to him; the nOblest aspirations Of a
self-sscrificing endeavOr must be i'm
parted to him as the means OF achiev-
ing his individual destiny. The
whole world of the past and present
is made by educatiOn-the auxiliary
of each man, woman and child. The
Government OF a Republic must edu-
cate all its people, and 1t must educate
them 30 far that they can educate
themselves in a continued process Of
culture extending through life. It is
indeed q great thing TO have even
class Of society educated. No doubt all
profit by it even when the education
is confined to the few. But in a de-
mocraey all must be educated. The
interest Of property demands it; the
interest of the government demands
il, and one generation Of well
educated people in a state forces
upon all adjacent states the
necessity Of public education as
q mere war measure, as a means
OF preservation Of the State. An ig-
norant people can be governed, but il
Is only wise people who can govern.
In the department OF Higher Edu-
cation there was long discussion on
the pronunciation OF the Greek Ian
guage, after which a committee was
appointed to report rules at the meet
ing next year, after correspondence
with the Pathological Association.
The Howard system tOf degrees also
the attention Of this depart
ment for some time.
In the Elementary section, Miss
Mary A. Smith, of New York, spoke
on the methods of teaching geOgra-
phy. and was listened to with close
She said that geography,