The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-04-03
Ia Our School Law Justin It's Pres
emit Formp

Ia Our School Law Justin It's Pres
ent FormP
We often hear the remark made that
our system of public instruction is very
extensive and does not pay even first
cost; and that the public never received
anv benefit by way ofthe system, making
from those who receive its benefits bet
ter citizens. or by decreasing crime or
,lrc number of criminals. That the
whole system is for the purpose of sup
,,orting a class called teachers, who are
500 INDECENT and shiftless to carr a live
Iihood in the usual vacations of life;
while the very fact that they are teach
ers is sufficient evidence to them of their
perlect future in all other departments
of human industry. With this class the
idea is very prevalent that anybody can
teach school, and that any M who does
teach is fit for nothing. They also aver
that it creates fat offices for party pets,
who manage by tricks, known only to
themselves, to place a large part of the
school fund into their W private
purses. Those persons who have taxa
jle property, but no children to educate.
s;,y that the law is unreasonable and I'M
lust to the greatest extent, declaring
ina. a man who cannot educate his own
children should be sold out as Il public
pauper; that a tax SO collected is moth
ing more or less than the State rohbing
the rich to give to the poor. Many
other objections of similar import are
vehemently urged against IL system of
public instruction. The question, there
fore, resolves itself into this proposition
Which Is the cheapest, education and
refinement, or Ignorance and vice? 1t
has been demonstrated in all ages that
ignorance, vice, and crime 60 hand i'll
hand, and where one is found the others
are in close proximity. For proof OF
this position, we have but to refer to
ancient rs well rs modern history, every
page of which declares it in the strongest
terms. In every nation where ignor-
ance aboundS, we find vice, crime, Sill
perstition and excuses of all kinds in
the greatest abundance. Life and pro-
perry are held only by the will and in
clination of the strong, justice and
tuultN uCliP ulihlio"h. "hiO Nv
pleasures of man are merely animal,
without genius or intellectual culture,
man becomes, under its baneful intlu-
cnce, a creature of animal and sensual
passions, seeking or caring for nothing
else but self qualification. Then we
affirm that it is cheaper to educate the
masses than to pay for the crime, de-
b~aucherv and vice of all kinds that fol-
low fast in the steps ofignorance. There
can be no doubt that crime is more
abundant where ignorance most
abounds. Statistics are abundant and
uavarying upon this point. In the
Eastern States seven per cent. OF all the
inhabitants over the age of ten Years
can neither read nor write, while eighty
per cent. of all the crime committed in
those States is by this illiterate class.
Or, to state it more plainly, the illiterate
class committed iifty-three times more
crime than the same number of the cd
ucated class. In France, in 1869, one
half of the inhabitants could neither
read nor write, and ~ninety-ffve per
cent. of all the crime committed was by
this illiterate half. The statistics of
New York and Pennsylvania show that
seven crimes are committed by the illit-
crate to one committed by the educated.
These are not isolated cases, but the
same are found everywhere, in all coun-
tries and among all people. Now, no
one can doubt for a moment. since this
large per cent. of crime comes from the
uneducated class, that it would be much
cheaper to educate than to ecure the
conviction and punishment of crime.
Then we see that it becomes an actual
saving to capital to educate the masses
of the people, not taking into account
the moral and social improvement of the
same. Hence the Government assumes
it to he right to compel capital to edu-
cate the people. The equivalent the
Government proposes to return, is the
happiness, peace, prosperity and protcc-
zion OF all its citizens. But there is one
bitter, burning injustice in the system
as it is at present. Capital is compelled.
by taxation. to pay for the education of
every inhabItant, while those whom it is
designed to benefit may receive it or
reject it at pleasure. In this land of
liberty we are very jealous of anything
which looks like curtailing our personal
feelings and c~Onveniences or the right
TO do as we please. Hence we are not
surprised that this sentiment should be
shocked by the proposition to compel
children to be educated, at least to the
extent afforded by our common schools.
The first impressions which such propo-
sitions make upon the mind of almost
every one are, that it is an unwarranta-
BILE assumption OF power and an en-
croachment upon the rights and liber-
ties of the individual. That if Il man,
from imagined necessity or inclination.
feels not disposed to send his children to
school, it would be inconsistent with the