The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-01-25
The Com mon school System. /.

-. -, The ComunOn school System.
The leaders Of the Radical party In
South Carolina before, and even since,
their. advent into power in 1868. have
pfofessed great interest in the cause Of
public education, and have been lavish
instheir promises and in the expenditure
Of the public money! s.. ostensibly for the
establishments sofSa system of common
public schools But year by year has
passed ssAd hnndieas cs Thousands of
dollars'of the Hard earned money OF the
white people has been appropriated and
exhaqated, without Sny visible improve
ment ia sthe condition: Of the colorcd
race. THE plan that'shey have adopted
OF dividing, the several Counties into
School Districts 81 convenient, size. and
alternating the white and. colored schools
At regular intervals in each Distriot.
seems simple enough, and is as proper
an arrangement in that regard as could,
pefhaps, hs made The cause Of failure
does ,nnpt .rsst here; hut. is attributable,
like every other evil that retards the
.pnblio prosperity. to the dishonesty aud
utter inoonpetenoy, Of those in official
poaition. The State Superintendent Of
Education. Mr.. Jillson. is, We ars in.
clined to believe, an earnest man. and
moderately qualified to discharge the
duties OF his office. But aside from him,
even amid the ranks OF Radical ignor-
anoe in the State, where could there be
found such combination OF laziness
and stupidity as characterizes the Ooun-
ty School Commissioners. and ninety
nine hundredths Of the teachers in the
so-called public schools Of South Caro-
linap The bulk Of them cannot con-
struot simple English sentence gram
matically. and numbers are unable even
to spell their names correctly. It 10
absurd to expect that men can succeed
in imparting instruction to others, who
are themselves devoid of q knowledge of
the simplest elementary branches Of edu-
cation; and the colored citizens must see
toit, it they desire to have their chill
dren secure the benefits of school ad-
vantages, shat honest and efficient Com
missioners and teachers are placed in
charge of the public schools.
The intelligent property holders in the
State are not averse to contributing, and
contributing literally, even from their
soanty means, to provide wholesome in
struotion to those who. now that they
are vested with the rights Of citizenship,
shpuld be prepared to exercise them in.
teiligently. Our opposition to universal
suffrage was based upon no hatred or
dislike of our former servants, nor OF
envy or Jealousy at their advancement to
places Of power and trust. but from u
we'll grounded fear that through their
ignorance they would be made tho dnpcs
of designing and unscrnpnlous dema-
soguss. WHO, seeking only their private
gain, would sacrifice the public interests.
The result has justified our gravost ap-
prehepsions, and four years of Radical
rule, based upon negro suffrage, finds
South Carolina on the verge OF bank
ruptcy and laden with debt four times
as great as that incurred under near a
century OF proper and intelligent govern.
ment. We stickle for no discrimination
in civil privileges in favor of the Saxon
race. for we are we'll aware, and free to
accord, that neither the color OF the skin
nor the CURL of the hair can make IN
honest man or worthy citizen. Expe.
rience. however, and common sense,
alike, teach as that there should at least
be an educational qualification to the
right OF suffrage, and we should be glad
were it possible to throw snch protec-
tion now around the improper exercise
OF electoral privileges in South Carolina.
But there is no hope for snch thing.
Universal suffrage is engrafted funda.
mentally upon our organic law, and it is
idle and irrational to expect that any
class OF people will, OF their own accord,
surrender political power once they have
INDUCED in it's exercise. Revolutions
never move back wards. We need not