New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-30


vaccination in smallpox; DIR. Draper. who,
through his experiments on the chemical
actions OF light, fret discovered the art OF
photographing the human face: Liebig, who
organized the principles of agricultural
chemistry and enormously increased The
productive power of the soil.
These names are but scattering instances
out of an innumerable host Of inventors
whose purely intellectual labor has pro-
duced of mai Il ial wealth to the world an
UNNECESSARILY larger amount than all the
manual laborers who have lived on the
globe.
If this be tue OF inventors, much more
is it true of that grand cloud 81 glorious
witnesses, that select and immortal band,
that chosen band of high priests at natures
altar, the abstract students OF the world of
letters and science. Those men who, by
patient, solitary self-denying, lifelong and
wearisOme study, labor and investigation,
sometimes on solitary abstract point or
theory or conjecture, with not even re-
mote practical application in visw. bat with
the soie object of finding out a truth, ana
whose toll did not bear any material trnit
for hundreds of years after their death
those men who perhaps scorned simply 70
invent machines for money, and refused
tempting offers to apply their genius 10 that
end-whOse hands, perhaps never raised
blade OF corn or turned q spoke OF
wheel-these men ara the great producers
par excellence of the world. 1t is through
them that o-day two bsshels OF corn grow
where one grew before; that q laborer
receives one dollar now where he
before received ten cents; thai one dol
lar now buys more health, more ana better
food more and better clothing, more rest.
more ease, more comfort, more relief from
disease, more enjoyment, more mental ana
moral culture. than one hundred dollars
did before; that fields with crops are now
where once were swamps and forests. that
smiling and graceful children, full OF beauty
and promise, are now where once were de-
PRAYED and brutahzed imps growing I'd
into human blocks: that towns and cities,
and marts of trade flourish where once were
Wigwams and wildernesses and sQualer:
thar now, for S24. a journey OF 1000 rniles
can be taken IN chariot filled with every
comfort and luxury, in perfect ease by Gav.
and repose by night, and with a speed and
noiselessness that surpasses the fairy tales
Of marvellous geniI, and enchanted carpets.
where few score of years ago. a Journey
of the same length, IN the most civilized
country of the globe, would have occupied
weeks land weeks of slow and toilsorne
horseback riding, through wildernesses,
over mountains, in storms and IN foods,
resting by night even IN the best OF houses
on straw filled with vermin, eating poor
less plaques and pestilences, and perils
innumerable of savage beasts and more
savage men; and all at such enormous
cost of money that the rich and noble only
could afford to travel at all. These ex-
tracts, selected at random, are but Illus
trations of the favorable material changes
brought about in the conditions of men by
the purely intellectual labors of men and
those not specially directed 10 these
material ends hnt rhp Ir11T of
them-those that were the foundation Of
all the rest being caused by pure and
simple desire TO discover scientific facts.
A literal recapitulation Of all the valuable
material results of such labors, even if con-
densed into mere catalogue, would i'll
volumes.
But to return from this lengthy disgres-
sion to our boy, setting out IN search OF az
education.
Stumbling over this prejudice the best ne
can, with kind of dim and shadow idea
that liberal education will help 70 elevate
himself and help him to mako an hon
orable way and name in the world. ne goes
TO the common school and picks up, 20 start
with, a way of reading and talking. such as
1t Is. that serves the purpose of making him
partly Ineligible to those around him. bu.
which ii he ever is called TO use them in
public, is in nine cases out OF ten the most
awkward and uncouth imaginable. embar-
RAISING to himself and sadly inefficient in
conveying his ideas 10 his hearers. and
here let me say that two of the most diff
cult things to teach, and the worst taught
IN opr schools, are just these-the way 10
talk and the way to read. And one OF the
reforms which we hope may be brought
about by this college is TO send out corps
of teachers who shall reform the barbarous
instruction in these two important arts row
given in our schools.
He then, with close economy and much
saving on the part of himself and friends,
furnished with a heathenish. inar-iculate,
ungraceiul, unmondulated style Of speak
ing and reading; writing, if in good luck.
the beginning OF a toiera5ly taiF hand;
knowing some arithmetic. little grammar,
less geography, for that is not taught at all
flor, az an eminent living scholar lately
said, all the real and useful geography that
a man knows he learns after leaving school
the boy starts to hunt an academy. Hero
he learns absolutely nothing at al, except
q little of the grammar of the LATIN and
Greek, parsing his way through few chap
tiers OF some OF their classics. In the higher
mathematics he learns few of their formula
and rules: Of their principles he gets little
of the little that their teacher knows or has
leave to impart: and of their practical
application he learns absolutely nothing.
As to chemistry and philosophy he simply
IOOUo anu ulCLlOIILts Il AAllt GpUuL
them. OF these sciences, and, most impOr-
tant. OF the things and forces themselves
about which they treat, he learns nothing,
Tor there is no way Ii the academy TO teach
them. OF anatomy and physiology he
commits to memory few names, which he
forgets a few weeks after. OF hygiene he,
perhaps, never even hears. Some fossilized
absurdities about logic and rhetoric. put
together by some machine book maker,
such as furnish to publishing houses and
school boards most OF our school books,
round OF the poor fellows last session. and
he begins to look upon himself unless he is
lad of pretty GOOD hard sense. as tolera-
bly, fair scholar, and prepared 10 teach.
He gets a school, perhaps. for that is the
only thing absolutely that the boy can get
to do which will give him chance 70 save
up enough to help or assist his further edu-
cation. Directly he has little money saved
the family scrape up some more, and the
youth starts Oft with high hopes beating
heart and honest plans of Jealous. hard
study to one of the thousand and one
colleges of which the United States can
boast-if it does not care much what it
boasts about.
Here he finds in the s'cassic shades" a
large, long brick hall, faculty OF two or
three overworked, under paid men, a few
recitation rooms, four years course, and
at the end OF it that long dreamed OF, much
coveted konor-a diploma. Oh, what an
aurora of cherished ambition, brilliant
hopes and vague but enchanting ina gina
lions play round that prize to the bright
eyes OF the boy; and how sad, how dis
graceful to American education that such
shams as the average American college
should SO
Keep the word of promise to The ear,
And break it TO the hope"