New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-09
A Scheme for National Education.

The Times, in a recent editorial article.
has shown that the chief need of the South
is education. A prominent citizen of South
Carolina declared at a late convention in
that State, 'that probably three-fOurths of
the children are growing up in mental dark
ness, and many are learning nothing but
how to do evil" The Times also showed
that, from the statistics OF the last census,
it appears that in 1870 there were in the
United States 4.43S, ,206 persons OF the age
of ten years and upward who were not able
to read. This illiteracy ia mainly confined
to the following sixteen States: Alabama,
Arkansas, Delaware. Florida, Georgia, Ken
tucky, Louisiana. Maryland, Mississippi,
Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Vir-
ginia In these States alone $3.50, 424 of the
whole number Of illiterate persons we're
found. A bill has already been reported to
the House OF Representatives which is de-
signed, in some measure, to remedy this
evil.
1t is the bill introduced by Hon. George
+. Hoar, of Massachusetts, ''to establish
system Of national education, and to apply
the proceeds of tho sales Of the public lands
to the eoucation of the people," This bill
has been unanimously reported from the
Committee on Education and Labor, and
the committee, by right, hold the floor in
the House for its discussion in the first
morning hour after the holidays. The bill
is substantially the same that passed the
House last session, but which failed of
passage in the Senate, owing to the opposi-
ton of the friends of the Agricultural Col
lege bill. The President in his message
calls attention to the objects which it is the
purpose of this bill to accomplish. 1t is
one of the purposes of this bill to place the
influence Of the national government ON
the side of education.
The friends OF the bill. taking counsel of
an eminent French Statesman, have agreed
that ''it is cheaper to build schoolhouses
than to build prisons The bill is based
upon the idea that suffrage is dangerous if
not intelligent 1t proposes a remedy for
the very great increase of ignorant suffrage
incident to our liberal naturalization laws
and to the extension of home suffrage. The
bill, it is claimed, 'seeks in a constitutional
and practicable way to establish schools by
national authority where the States would
not, without interfering with State that
would do it for ITSELF" The constitutional
right to pass such law it is maintained, is
to be found in the simple proposition that
"the sources OF power being in the people,
free schools and general education are es-
sential to good government and the per-
petuation Of free Institutions and that
schools are as necessary to republican gov
ernments as courts.
Since the United States, as charged with
the duty of guaranteeing republican gov
ernment in every State, might interfere to
establish courts, where the administration
of justice was denied, so, it ia argued, the
general government migh interfere for the
establishment of schools, where State
refused, or is unable, 60 provide means for
education. The mechanism OF the bill is
very simple. The bill "torever consecrates
and sets apart the proceeds of the public
lands to the education Of the people, as fol-
lows: One-half the receipts of lands, after
deductiDg expenditures, is to be distrib-
| uted among the States, Territories, and
District of Columbia; the other half is to
be invested, and to create fund, whose
income is, in like ma ener, to be distributed -
| The distribution for the first ten years is TO
be on the basis OF illi:erac,. This would
give the greater portion of the fund for the
| first ten years to the Southern States.
1t is claimed for the bill that it would
put an end to the waste of the public lands.
1t is expressly provided, however, that the
provisions in the bill shall IN no wise inter-
| fere with the operations of tha homestead
law, Or with the laws granting bounties to
| soldiers of the late rebellion. 1t is esti-
mated that the future net proceeds of the
public lands will amount to $2,000,000 an
nually. Mr.. George F. Hoar, the framer of
| the bill, has arranged table showing, upon
| the distribution of 81 600, 600 to the differ
ent Sta. .es, what would come to each pro
rata. The basis of illiteracy Of persons ten
years old and upward, unable to write, is
ascertained from the last census. The fol
| lowing is the table: