The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1874-03-07


Yesterday We received letter from
a gentleman in Illinois, DESTROYS o!
vibrating to Texas, and, after express
ing himself warmly in favor Of free
common schools and Democracy, be
asks this question:
"iis II true, as charged by your Texas
noble State are opposed to wise anc
reasonable common school system.
Please answer frankly"
Departing from or USUAL custom We
wrote very full reply to our Illinois
correspondent, in which, among other
things, we said:
"Thc printed documents sent will
answer most Of your questions. The
Radical charge about Democratic OPP
position to education il lot only lie
Of ITSELF known to them to he such,
but an unholy SANDER on the memory
OF the illustrious fathers of our state.
Why, sir, in our declaration of indie
pcndence, adopted March >, 1885,
among the charges against Mexico, for
justifying revolution, this occurs:
at the government of Mexico) has
failed to establish IL public system OF
education, although possessed of al
most boundles resources (the public
domain, and although it is an axiom
in political science, that unless Il peo-
pie are educated and enlightened, ii is
idle to expect the continuance of civil
liberty, or the capacity for self-govern-
lnpnt."
Remember that this is what the
fathers of Texas declared as one of
their reasons for separating from
Mexico.
But further. The constitution adopt
ed, March Il, 1885, by that same body
of illustrious men, provides that
at shall be the duty of Congress, as
soon as circumstances will permit, to
provide by law, for general system OF
education"
In full harmony with this original
idea, the Congress of 1889 set apart fifty
leagues of land l22l 400 acres, for the
purpose of founding two univer-
stiles, and mt the same time
granted to each county three
leagues 13,2S4 acres Of land for
the purpose of building up common
schools. The State constitution of
1915 Sc. apart perpetually one-tenth of
the annual revenue of the State for the
same purpose, in addition TO the mag
niiicent land grants previously made
Later still, rs State of the Union,
when Texas received 100000 in
United States interest bearing bonds,
for the sale of her Northwest territory,
a large amount of il!nsc bonds (the
exact amount we cannot ut the mo-
meat recalD was set apart as portion
of tho common school fund. But,
prior to this, as VIC should have said,
the Congress of the Republic had in
creased the land donation Ia four in
stead of three leagues Tor HIP in
stead of 1924 acres TO each county
then in existence, or thereafter TO be
created, which law is still ia force and
applies to Waller, Gregg and Rock
wall counties, created only one year
age.
Under these various endorsements,
the Legislature Of Texas, several years
before the war, enacted common free
school law, and it was put into active
and successful operation, and so con-
tinued, rapidly expounding and grow
ing in public favor, until checked by
HE war.
Now, dear sir, this Is " hat Texas did,
Of her own free viii and accord, before
what is now called Radical or scalawag
had an existence on Our soil.
BY the war Texas fell under hayonet
rule, and then, for the first time, we
zane to know those classes of man
kind now known as Radicals and scala
wags. In 1870, under the reco1struc-
ion laws, inaugIrated under the
frowns Of the bayon,i, the leading
spirits of those classes were forced on
1ur people As a Legislature The bone
and Sine,r Of The fsuTf1ifrv-flr mon