New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-02-11

New ORLEANS. February 9. 1874.
| EDITOR REPUBLICANS:
The question o. public schools is now
! being agitated throughout tho United
| States. 4 majority of the States are favor.
| able to Che general system which prevails.
From your excellent editorial of thelsixth
! instan. on The Getty School Fund.-
learn that Mr. Boothby says that ''tht,
cost of education per pupil is as low as the
average in the United States
furthermore learn from that editorial
that nearly one half Of the school tax here
remains uncollected. Surely if the full i'm.
portance Of our public schools were more
generally understood. there would be no
such record a. thai. The following ex.
tracts from very able report Oh compul.
sorry education, just made to the New York
City Council O: Political Reform, can not
fa,! TO interest and instruct many who have
so far taken no active inteves: in this i'm.
povtant subject.
When it become. inteligentiy understood
tina: our schools are cur emily hope for the
removal Of paaperism aud crime, then. and
not before. can we hope Tor y reduced de.
!iD1uent tax list:
Take crime: Between the years 1867 AMI
1869 One-hali G. the population of France
could not read or write, and out OF this one.
half came, during those years. ninety i've
per cent OF the persons arrested for crime,
and eighty seven per cent of those con victed
of crime. In New England only seven per
cent OF all the inhabitants above the age of
ten are unable to read or write: yet out of
that small minority of illiterate persons
comes e ehty per cent OF the criminals. In
New York and Pennsylvania seven crimes
are committed by ignorant persons to one
by educated persons: while throughout the
whole country the ratio is as ten to one,
Take pauperism: The statistics o: the
principal countries of Europe for q long
period ct years show that, other things
being equal, pauperism il invariably in the
inverse ratio of popular education: as the
latter increases the former decreases. The
same fact is illustrated in the experience of
this country. Limiting our view to the
three great States of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
and Illinois, we ind that, of the persons
who can not read and write. one in len is a
paupel; while OF the persons who can read
and write only one in 300 is pauper.
That political virtue decreases among the
people in proportion as ignorance increases
| is too obvious to require argument. "The
greatest part Of the world" as Maechiavei
Ii says. consists Of the people, and when
the people are ignorant trey become exact
ly what Macchiavelli calls them. 1.-The RAD.
BILE and yascality," tit and willing victims
for de;uagcgues, vote-bnyeTs and the enc.
mics of constitutional liberty. In fact. from
this point of view. popular education be-
comes matter OF life and death for the
present political institutions Of America.
v.sl. ~
''our foriG'! government is the best vet
devised: but. with. ignorant: voters. j: is ono
Of the w0Vst.'
From these facts the inference il irrcsi-t!.
bic tina. the continued safety OF The nation
depends on the education Of tie people y ho
compose il: and If this can not be secured
by the Spontaneous actlen of moral and in
tellectual Inducements. it must be secured
bv the compulSion OF law. Our own expe.
rience shows that the voluntary system: IS
inadequate. In our own state. for sxan-
pie. the acreage daily attendance upon the
public schools is only aUou. Onctbird of the
entire reho0! population. and upon AL
schools. public and private. it is only :bou.
one halt. The class most in need OF school
training seldom. attend schOr. a. all. to-w:,,
those :shnse parents. through ignorance.
poverty or crime. give then. i.ttl- Or 80
home sducation.'
y -
echoos thu, break. down. even at our own
doors. not less complete is the failure o.! the
system wherein attendance upon schools is
a matter o! church influence. In Italy and
Spain the experiment -; parochiat schools
has been TIED for ages. VIII any enc cuots
the RESULTS al an argumeii: III favor Of that
system Indeed this system is far less fl.
cient than that o. free public schools. wit.
only voluntary Attendance. By 4 coiDpaEi.
NJ .r1t s.s.
FRS and criminals 10 the 10 600 inila pitants.
Mr.. Hawkins obtains III. following a,toussh-
il. ta1ula':Dn q: Results:
i!er faup. CI.r,-
aa"s. ~. mas.
rar1.!,Ia. sc!.cr. 50 ...,a...... lsr, ;r 30
Fable schooi sys..n. ia tHt.-
ty-One States.............. 20 20 g.
Public school system! in Mas.
sachusetts..... y y
Surely, in the face Of these I, cures. wha.
else than se!!i-hrsss. or blindness. can max.
any 90. lore: hostile 90 "ur public schools
W.F.".
S.V III. a