New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-04-17

| fully understood by the people.
| =.
| A National System Of Education.
Sixty-seyen per cent. of the population of
! the South are unable to read or write.
Slavery denied the colored people all oppor-
tunity, and deprived the poor whites of all
desire to learn the mysteries Of the alphabet
emancipation the supposed vulgarity of pub
| lie schools, crowded with colored pupils, and
taught by Northern ladies', has been an all
sufficient bugbear to brighten all white peo-
pie in the rural districts away from them.
So that ignorance among the poor whites is
on the increase. Lightning whisky melts to
bestiaity the money which should be paid
| for private tuition, and an unreasoning preju-
dice burns down school houses, runs off
teachers, and waylays the children Of colored
schools.
Where this is not the case another class of
evils affiict Southern communities. The
school laws are defective; school superin-
tendents are, in the majority Of cases, incOm-
petent or unfriendly, or else the school sys-
tenn is made mere political machine and run
| in the interest Of demagogues and rings, or
robbed by the county school boards, the
members of which are appointed to do the
dirty work of reckless partisans.
| Nor does this enumeration exhaust the
catalogue of evils. Some States like Mis-
| sissipp, beng destitute of credit in the
money market, depend upon their counties to
raise school fund, and this fund is not only
unequal as to the amount raised, but prccari-
Gus as to its continuance. Some counties are
rich enough to raise greenbacks to pay off
with dollar for dollar, and others are so poor
| that they cannot print the script as mere
promise to pay. Other States like Louisiana
are so heavily burdened with debt that the
school money is the last item audited and
the first fund exhausted, and yet with these
| drawbacks the superior officers under the
school system got, last year, three thousand
dollars apiece per annum, while teachers
| were compensated at the miserable rate Of
from thirty to sixty dollars per month for
teaching in leaky houses without fire, and
| trying to teach children without books.
These are but a few of the defects of the
Southern school system, others of which have
already been stated in these columns, where
many more are vet to be added.
The question which arises to the lips OF
every intelligent reader is, can no remedy
be found for these evils on the soil where
they seem to grow in such rank offensive
ness: We answer. no. The tide of benev-
olence which swept a great school of COM
petent and trustworthy teachers South is at
its ebb. Those who at first were willing,
from the novelty Of the work and the romance
of the change, to teach, under great hard
ships, in the country, have become so hated,
or enfeebled, or proud, and they have sought
employment in the cities where their services
are in demand. The people in the country
refuse to tax themselves for the building of
school houses under a system they despise,
and the teachers who accept the inferior ac-
commodations of the country are, in most
cases, worse than no teachers at all.
What, then, should be done to save our
institutions from the wreck threatened by
this flood tide of ignorance which arises to
the height of siXty-seven per cent. of the
whole Southern population: Educate it of
course But how? Let the nation take the
matter IN hand
In Great Britain they have what is called the
British schools. Government makes up what
the people are unable to pay, and by this
plan earn the right of supervision, and in
many cases absolute dictation in those
schools. We can do the same here to the
infinite advantage of the people and to the
assured safety of the nation. A Republic
cannot afford to have this large per cent. of
untutored people within its boundary. We
must conquer these evils, or they viii con-
quer US.
We are not unmindful Of the so-called
constitutional difficulties in the way Of our
plan. But after all, recent events have
shown that Our Constitution is very flexible
whom we desire to make it so, or at least
that it is patchable when it really needs
new piece in it to cover the genius OF our in
stitutions. Let us set ourselves to thinking
and working in this matter, and it will not
be long before a wise craftsmanship will find
a solution fol all constitutional difficulties.
These events are not lessening but incIeas-
ing, and danger is looming in the distance.
Sectional bitterness, which has not yet been
cured, and brutal natures still untaught, to-
gether with reckless and rapaciOus, all VEN
turers who are making use of their time,
make up AN amalgamated threat which can
not be contemplated without alarm.