Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1871-11-01
NEW SERIES--V0L. l2, NO. AZ.

's""y VI tuiS suvJeCt Win no pfecOn-
ccived notions, and utterly uncertain
as to tho conclusion which would be
reached. But truth compels me TO
sum up the answer in word, old in.
deed, and monotonous in sound, but
gathering fresh meaning from this
new connection. 1t is the word Educa.
tlon. We must educate two classes,
the poor and the not-poor, which you
will admit to be pretty exhaustive
subdivision cfAmerican society.
We must educate the laborer, first,
for his own work If knowledge is
power, much more so is skill In
this respect lesson may be learned
from France. For example, drawing
is taught in our schools merely as an
accomplishment, and in most instan-
ces very imaginary accomplishment
at that in France, on tho contrary,
it is an art, and when tho French
peasant-boy leaves the school for the
workshop, he is able to sketch the
machine before which he stands. =
Hence certain independence and
independence breeds selfrcspcct. The
workman should be taught not only
how to work, but also how TO man.
age, Of all the blessings which the
genius of man has bestowed upon Ia.
bor believe that cooperation is the
greatest and best for this reason 1t
makes the employe his own employer,
and thus capital and labor cease to
quarrel. 1t is destined to throttle
monopoly, and TO be the lever upon
which the working class will raise itself
to power. But hitherto il has been
almost useless TO them because thcy
have no competent managers. Our
duty is, by industrial schools, by insti.
tutes of technology, by free CONNER,
cial colleges, or by some other means,
to put them in possession of those ac-
quirements which will meet this de-
nand. Educate the workman thor
oughly in his own sphere alone, and
half the charity houses in the land
will be compelled to pull down their
signs.
But, secondly, we must bcstow up.
on them that broader intelligence
which will fit them for position in
society. Give Yankee boy five
years in district school, and he is
ready to do anything-trade, shovel,
or lecture. His selfcnnlidence may
be absurd, but it contains great Sc
cret nevertheless. The misfortune of
the foreigners who fill our workshops
aud perform our drudgery is that they
are able to do but one kind of work.
The Irish boys father dug bitches,
bis grandfather did the same, and
there is no reason, unless society takes
him in hand, why he should ever know
how to do doanything but dig bitches him
self Consequently when the ditch digg
ing basinoos booono vororowd dod, tho
boys one talent goes begging for en-.
ployment, and he takes lower wages
or starves This is how capital is
able 30 completely to manipulate GER
tain large classes of artisans, But
give that boy enough arithmetic to
keep bis accounts with and enough
geography to know where the prairics
are, and the very day that competi.
ton presses upon him he is off to the
West in search OF new fields for his
new born capacities. Thus the bal.
ance of industry, which is more i'm
portant TO the world than the balance
of power, preserves itself by its own
huidity. Division of labor, when its
course is free, is n blessing But it
becomes national curse if il takes
the form of Ilindoo caste and regu.
latcs industry by arbitrary rules
From the horrors of that system
America must be rescued by n wide
spread intelligence.
Now society must make this its
special work. The poor can not help
themselves, They are tied hand and
foot with an enslaving destitution
Gpenury-Ed.1 We say, at is free
country; let every man make of him
self as much as he can" We chal,
lcnge one and all to unboundod com
petition. But to these people the
seeming fairness is mockery. 1t rivals
the brave boy who first takes u good
long start, and then turns aronnd and
offers TO race with you to the ncxt
corner. The child of the laborer may
lift himself from his degradation and
become power for good. But there
must be some measure OF intelligence
to serve rs basis upon which TO
build. They must be made to feel
that society is their friend, not an
enemy whose prosperity is their dc.
feat. What, then, is the laying of u
cable or the spanning Of a continent?
What beauty do they find in litcra.
ture, what oxaltation in scicnce,-I
had almost said, what solace in rcl,
gion Not in the name of an cDdan-
gered society, imminent as its peril is;
not in tho interest of great money.
wielders, plainly rs those interests
point to educated labor, do | plead
the cause Of these people but because
they are part of our common humani-
ty, and have right to partakc of our
common intellectual, esthetic, and
social delights.
But it is equally important, and far
more difficult, to educate the other
part Of society. The nearest duty is
TO impress upon employers some sense
of responsibility. IL would seem that
even with the almighty dollar for
text, the outward form OF humanity
might be preached to them with eff
cacy for experiments havc proved
that tho comfort and intelligence of
workmen are large fractions in their
productive efficiency. A distinguish.
cd professor n England asserts that
his country is losing her manufacture.
ing supremacy because the Continent
is outstripping her in the intelligence
of its artisans. But, not to dwell on
dry statistics, let mo lead you to an
oasis in this desert of facts. Not far
from tho city of Liverpool company
commenced business few years since
with eight hundred operatives from
the very scum Of the Irish population.