Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-02-08
ENFORCED EDUCATION.

Sixth avenue, New York, to larg
and attentive audience, the subjec
being Enforced Education.
In opening, the reverend gentleman
proceeded to consider the true value o
education, first, as means of individ
ual progress, and, second, as qualifi
cation for citizenship. As means o
progress its value is the greatest, bu
as a qualification of citizenship it i
over-estimated by those who favor
compulsory education. In substanti
ating this he called attention to tn,
fact that the statistics show that bu
thirty-three per cent of the crimina
class is illiterate out of the entire
citizenship Of the State of New York
but six per cent is illiterate. 1t is not
the uneducated class that is the mos
dangerous in citizenship.
THE CLASS MOST DANGEROUS
to our political institutions is that Of
the educated schemers for power and
wealth. The class which refused to
vote when New York most needed the
vote of every true man was not the
illiterate one. If educated men were
best qualified for citizenship certainly
all possessing education would exercise
that first duty of good citizen and
vote. With these qualifications upon
the value of education the speaker pro-
fessed himself in favor of the widest
reach of it-even of an enforced educa-
tiOn, but one enforced by public opin-
ion rather than by legal enactment.
He then proceeded to give the reasons
why this idea of compulsory education
Is taking. First, because when duty
has been neglected for long time we
naturally favor extreme measures :;
second, it promises 4 sweeping reform;
third, 1t is done for us, and we are re-
lieved Ofall responsibility-theg govern
ment takes it off our hands. But
though this idea of compulsory educa-
tiOn is thus taking, he regarded the
reasons against it as controlling. and
proceeded to enumerate them. 1t is,
he said,
LEGISLATING BACKWARD,
and admitting that the people are not
equal to the duties ofself- government.
Again, it is exceeding the powers of
the government. The civilized world
has just decided that the State must
not teach religion, and for the same
reason the State should not compel ed
ucation. The functions ofgoyernment
In this age are not carried on under
the old paternal i6ea of controlin every
relation of life, but upon the demo-
cratic idea of teaching man how to do
for himself and protecting him mean
while. But it is claimed that this is
measure of
SELF-PRESERVATION.
If so a more direct measure would be a
law compelling every man to vote.
This would De no greater infringement
of private right, and as the great ma
jOrity of those who do not vote are ed
ucated, the desired end would be more
surely gained There is no proof that
the law if enacted would diminish the
number of illiterate persons. The
truth is government interference is not
necessary. Our school system has not
proved a failure. Mr.. Beecher said
in recent discourse on this subject.
The masses are demanding to be taught
to think" If so, no compulsion is
He thought that the chief
in favor of compulsory edu-
cation is drawn from anomalous COM
like greatcities. Every great
city is abnormal, and it is not safe to
reason from its condition for the whole
country. We are in an abnormal con-
ditiOn here on account of the great in
fiuX of immigration and the consequent
large illiterate population. But for
such condition special legislation is
required and not one applied to the
whole country. But legal enactments
In the matter of education would not
stop there. The government says we
have right to educate men to be good
citizens. Who is to judge as to what
good citizen? Why, the
government Of course. And so it has
the right to prescribe the text books
and the course to be pursued in order
to form a good citizen. Aud so we
shall go back to the condition in Prus-
sia, where all private schools were
abolished and the goyernmenteontrols
all that relates to education, or in
China, where everything to be taught
the child is laid down. The end will
be that obedience to the government
will be taught, whatever its character.
tits
BROUGHT BACK AGAIN.
In considering the practical working
Of compulsory education he thought
the tendency would be to change the
character of the great educating class,
the noble army of schoolmasters, who
would become mere government Off
cials and only responsible to it, and
the same evils would creep in as in all
government offices. The teachers now
expend all their ingenuity and ability
In their profession because it is neces-
sary. But the change would take the
spring of life out of them. Again, the
law would destroy one Ofthe most val
liable forces in our system of civiliza-
tion, the sense of responsibility which
the head of the family feels for the
education of his children. And, final
ly, our whole theory of political pro-
gress is based upon control, not by law
but by public opinion, and if we once
abandon that theory we yield our en-
tire national claim to having better
upon better principles. We
virtually adopt the
THEORY OF PROGRESS,
whereas our theory is that of growth
through forms and not by forms. The
sense of individual responsibility is the
life of a nation, as it is the life of every
constituting it, and that
sense is destroyed by legislation which
throws the responsibility elsewhere
than on the individual. The supreme
moral resultOf our civilization is stated
to be the individual power which it
creates to postpone present good for
a future greater one. Self-control and
self-sacrifee are among the leading
products of civilization, but these pro-
ducts will be lost, in a degres, by
man no longer a moral agent
in the education of his children. There
fore, let us have compulsory education,
not by creating a host of officials--like-
" to be no better than others of their
kind-but let US have education com
PEELED by are-awakened public opinion,
which is the OILY instrument of pro-
gress compatible with our Institutions
and civilization.
An intoxicated man in Lawrence,
Kansas, was found clinging to q
fence looking helplessly at a neigh
boring row of shade trees. Hal
low,n said friend who came np,
~ NNiiafIs fha m n ffar Lake ~ q Dunn