The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-04-10
OUR FREE SCHOOLS.
Speech OF Hon. George II. MOfeff-
Delivered in the Convention,
March 2JtlI, 1872

March 25th, Is7"
Mr.. PRESIDENT Being one Of the
Youngest members on the floor OF this
house, have deemed it my duty hith-
erto to remain silent, and gather wisdom
as it fell from the lips OF my elders.
have endeavored to do so, and feel sure
that | have not taken up any Of the
time Of this Convention unless the i'm
mediate interests Of my constituents re-
qujred me to do so. But as this subject
Of Education is question OF immense
importance to the State at large, and
one in which the people of my district
feel more interest than perhaps any
other that will be before us for con-
snleration, ! take the liberty to briefly
submit my views. ! am not only a
friend of Education, but a friend of a
common school system properly and
economically conducted. We not only
want such system, but want it so
managed that every dollar so collected
shall be applied directly to the purpose
| for which il was collected.
The idea Of popular education is not
new one, Mr.. President 1t is as old
AVE, older-than the government
Itself The only true theory Of human
government is that which derives au.,
tnority from Il e people who are gov
erned. The stability Of such a form OF
government depends upon two things
the rtue and intelligence Of the people.
Even the virtue Of the people dspends,
in great measure, upon their iDtelli-
gence; it is well recognized fact that
ignorance is a fruitful source of vice.
We may form some idea Of the an
tiouity OF the system of universal edu.
cation, when we remember that it
formed part of the organic law Of the
Hebrew commonwealth. 1t is true in
that case the duty Of educating the
young was primarily laid upon the pa
rents, or heads Of families; but the whole
Levitical tribe were required to super
wise the work, and the result was that
no Hebrew child, however o. or hum
ble might he its parents, WAS allowed to
grow up in ignor nee.
We are tod by Jewish historians
that in the reorganization OF the people,
after their return from their Babylonish
captivity, "every Judean town contain
ing a certain number OF inhabitants
was bound to maintain primary
school, the ha=en, or reader OF the syn
agogue teaching" and schools OF a
higher grade presided over by the
scribes were organized, and a certain
portion of the publ C revenue set apart
for their support. So fixed did univer.
sal education become as national
habit, that in all their dispers;ons, they
have never ceased to educate their
children and to do so universally. No
stronger argument could be used in
favor of universal education, than to
call to mind the fact that this organic
law of the Jews was Divinely inspired.
But without reference to that fact,
strong arguments NAV be drawn from
their history. 1t is true that the Jew
of to-day is not the Jew Of the day
when peace and prosperity dwelt with
in the walls Of Jerusalem" Under the
Mosaic economy they were an agricul-
tural people, but since their final sub
iugation and dispersion, they have not
been land owners, but have been COM
PEELED to live by trading. Owing to an
aversion felt for them by Christians,
they have been unjustly dealt with;
have been living under the ban Of
society, and consequently have become
absorbed, TO a great extent, in their
private interests. But take them as a
whole, they are a peacable, vir;uous
and thriving population. They are not
found in the ranks OF beggary, pauper-
ism or drunkenness and rarely do you
ever see ones name on the records OF
crime, or hear o! one as An inmate oil
asylums for insanity. AS has been
truthiully remarked, a want Of chastity
among Jewish women is almost
unknown, and profanity is rare among
the men," They have always produced
men of literary distinction, and wherev.
er admitted to equal privileges, they
have been found in the high places OF
the land. When compated with
others, il we consider them as they an.
peared under their own nationality
they had no equals in their day, and
have exercised a greater influence upon
the world than all other people COM
bined.
Their Constitution. so far as we know
was the first to make the people the
source Of power, and it may not be out
of place to remark just here, that the
Jewish nationality, made up of local
sorereignties, exerted a greater influence
in the construction of our own Federal
Government than is generally known.
They seemed to regard education as the
preparatory qualification for the duties
Of citizenship, and in their organic law
Heaven inspired as it was, we find
these two fundamental principles
linked together, unirersalsu6rage and
universal education
! We even find the throned powers oil
continental Europe adopting systems
Of general education-even des
potic Turkey has provided for it by
establishing a compulsory system
And this we find upon close examipa
ton that those nations which are mos,
prosperous, are those which have the
most efficient systems OF common