Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-02-21

Remarks Of Mr. MObsOn Of wiscasaee,
In HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Yeb. lsa,
Oh the Free High School Bill. TaH l1 fa91
Mr.. HopsoS of Wiscasset said:
NJ. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Rease
| OF Representatives;
came to this legislature believing that the
question OF education Is the most important
question that can come before any legislature,
and intending to vote for every educational
measure that would come be fore il. Believ-
ing as do that education is a necessity to Z
free people, and that every child has Z right
to demand it Of the State, / felt that no meas.
ure was too ultra, no expenditure too great,
that is necessary for the education Of our peo.
ple In these views have not changed, snd
still believe in the importance Of the subject,
the necessity to the State, ana the rfcbf ONE
child to demand 1t !; bat experience herr aias
taught me that the question il not 80 mnch
what should be done - how it should be done.
presume It Is unnecessary to argue In favor
OF the proposition. That education IL neces-
sary for the welfare Of the State cannot be
doubted. Itisproved beyond question that In.
teiliyent labor accomplisfes most; that In ev.
cry branch Of industry, to be successful, 4 Il Il
absolutely necessary to be intelligent and that
the amount of success depends upon the
amount OF intelligence. All experience and
ous, healthy, happy and virtuous, in proper.
tion TO their intelligence; and perhaps may
say tha, they are religious in properties .
they are intelligent, or intelligent Us they are
religious. Sure we are that true religion and
intelligence are handmaids, and separately
cannot travail far. In addition to this, 1t d
proved most conclusively that to make rood
lighting men, good soldiers, defenders of .
nation. education is absolutely necessary.
That the intelligence Of the Northern soidiers
carried US successfully through our recent
struggle in defence Of liberty, there can be no
doubt, and had it not been for the general dif.
fusion OF education among our people, not o.
ly African slavery would be dourishing to.
day, but the armies of Jefferson Davis would
be quartered all over New England and the
North. Their muster roll would be called
under Bunker Hill monument, a. vas pre-.
dicted by Southern orator.
This being the case, education is not indebted
to the State, but the State can never repay the
debt that II owes to education; consequently
the children Of our land have right to dsmand
education at the hand Of the State. and u
great as the debt of the State 10 to educatIon.
it must be greater, for contests will come
again, indeed the great contest between big.
otry and ignorance, under the lead of pspacy
on one side, and our civil and religious Ibsr-
ties on the other, is at hand; already & 10
begun in some of our cities, and viii continue
until one or the other shall triumph. II may
not be known to all, that the splendid system
ofpublie schools which fiourished in the city
Of New York until 1868, are already broken
down, supplanted by system that has been
established under the Infamous Tweed, IN the
interest, and under the direction ofthat great
power which has been the enemy Of civil and
religious liberty for the last fifteen centuries.
HborofOro tbo orol 4 Sc ol,
is the only hope Of our countr, and an abso.
lutte necessity exists, that it shall be not only
encouraged bot insisted on by the State.
But the question that wish to deal with
to-day is how it shall be accomplished; what
we need to make it sure. To do this, il
strikes me that we must adopt system and
adhere to it, one that is both economical and
efficient, system so well recommended,
based on such sound. well established prfnci.
pies, tina. it would be free from attack, so thar
even no self constituted watch-do Of the
treasury would presume to question it, nee
essity. s"9 ~'As
The various schemes that have been pro.
posed, and shall refer to but few, and only
refer to them, have not in my judgment met
the necessities Of the case. 1t has been pro-
posed to support our schools wholly by the
State in the form Of a mill tax. This II my
judgment is open to the most serious obiec-
ton; even public necessity forbids such
support, and demands that the State should
not assume the whole burden.
The trainers of our constitution exhibited
remarkable wisdom on this point; they be-
lieved that public necessity demanded that
the town should assume the burden, and that
the state should only assume q supervisory
or encouraging influence, nothing more, and
this is right. It is necessary that towns
should assume this burden because they can
do it cheaper; like individuals, towns will
spend money more economically that they
furnish themselves. When furnished BY the
town it is better appreciated, all will look
more carefully after its expenditure, will see
that it is not wasted, that every dollar tells.
When furnished by the town, every individual
who contributes has personal interest to see
that it is expended economically, and to the
best advantage; the arguseyes of the multi
tude will see to it that it is not wasted.
Therefore claim without further discus-
sion thai it is public necessity that the bur-
den should be on the town, and that the State
should see that the town does its duty, con-
tributing only in a way that will stimulate the
town, and giving extra encouragement only
when the poverty of the town demands II.
But this question has been most ably discus.
sed when before the House.
The question of free high schools as pro.
posed az this time, IS another proposition
which is open to serious objection. I do not
propose to speak against this bin because
think the principle is right, and If properly
established would do good work but a.
proposed it has serious defects. 1t b satis-
factory to but few of the friends of education;
it is not economical, and considering the smalt
amount of good that it win do, the same money
can be expended to much better advantage.
1t will not stand long, will soon become nu-
popular, and will be attacked and overthrown;
and in my judgment no educational measure
should be defeated by the enemies Of educa-
ton; every measure that 10 defeated divides
its friends therefore, in adopting education
al measures, great deal of caution should be
exercised. The defeat Of county supervis-
ion, even if the measure was not what il
should be, was injurious to the State. il had
better have been retained until the friends OF
educa ticn saw its defects and proposed Z rem
edy.
And now Sir, in my judgment, what We
want Is system; one mstured under favora.
Bile circumstances, and by the best minds in
the State. A system that while II is econom-
ical will do its work veu ha an hnrnr - eba