New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-18

over 23O, 600 pupils in its schools. It en-
ployed 5000 teachers and school officers,
and expended upon public education
| So, 300,0 900. The citizen, however humble,
has only to send his child to the public
school, and government furnishes him
there, free of cost, an educational palace,
warmed and lighted, the best text books
and apparatus, and the most skillful
teachers.
Stewart and Aston, with their hundred
the public schools, like true hearted Amer
lean citizens, gladly pay the school taxes
that educate the sons and daughters OF
thousands Of poor laborers who Lave nc
property to be taxed Aided by the free
school, the greatest wealth and the highest
honors and Offices in this broad land are
within the reach of the sons of the
humblest workman.
TILE PROPERTY SHOULD EDUCATE The chill.
DKEN.
The American doctrine is, that ''the
property of the State shall educate the
children of the State" This benefits
equally the rich and the poor. 1t de-
creases crime, reduces taxes, improves
labor, increases the value of property, and
elevates the whole community. One OF
the first and decisive questions asked in
seeking a location for ones family is,
What are the means provided for educa-
ton? A village, town or State with good
free schools is the resort of families; with
out them it is the home Of criminals.
In this city it costs more to support
police and police courts to restrain and
punish few thousand criminals, nearly
all of whom became such from want of
education, than to educate our 23O. 0O0
chirdren.
CRIME THE CONSEQUENCE OF IGNORANCE.
In France, from 1867 to 1869, one-half
the inhabitants could neither read nor
write; and this one-half furnished ninety
five per cent of the persons arrested tor
crime, and eighty-seven per cent OF those
convicted. In other words, an ignorant
person, on the average, committed seven
times the number Of crimes that one not
ignorant did.
In the six New England States of our
own country only seven per cent Of the in
habitants, above the age of ten years, can
neither read nor write, yet eighty per cent
Of the crime in those States is committed
by this small minority; in other words, a
person there without education commits
fifty-three times as many crimes as one
with education.
In New York and Pennsylvania an ig.
norant person commits on the average
seven times the number OF crimes
that one who can read and write
commits, and in the United States the
illiterate person commits ten times the
number of crimes that the educated one
does.
These facts are derived from official
statistics.
THE SCHOOL THE PREVENTIVE OF CRIME.
We may have supposed that il is the
churches rather than the schools that pre-
vent people from becoming criminals, but
the facts indicated by statistics collected
by government show the contrary.
The Kingdom of Bavaria examined this
question in 1870. In Upper Bavaria there
were fifteen churches and five and half
school-houses to each 1000 buildings, and
six hundred and sixty-seven crimes to each
100, 900 inhabitants. In Upper Franconia
the ratio was five churches, seven school
houses and 444 crimes. In Lower Bavaria
the ratio was ten churches and four and
a half school-houses and so crimes. IN
the Palatinate, the ratio was four churches.
eleven school-houses and only i25 crimes.
or less than one-half. In the Lower Pala-
innate, the ratio was eleven churches. six
school-houses, and 600 crimes. while in
Lower Franconia, the ratio was FIVE
churches. ten school-houses. and only 394
crimes.
Tabulated for clearness Of comparison.
it is as follows. Per 1000 buildings. and
crimes, per 1000, 600 souls: