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

In shot, it seems that crime decreases
| almost in the same ratio that schools in.
crease, while more or less churches seem
in Bavaria to produce very little effect
upon it.
Those unerring guides OF the states.
man-statistics- demonstrate that the
most economical, effective and powerful
preventive of crime is the free common
school. Universal education tends to UNI
versal morality.
| THE SCHOOL THE PREVENTATIVE o. :.rPIE-
| Ism.
An examination of the statistics OF Eng.
land Scotland, Ireland, and Of the differ
countries of Europe, indicates that, other
things being equal, pauperis1n is in the
inverse ratio of the education Of the mass
of the people; that is, as education in.
creases pauperism decreases, and as edu-
cation decreases pauperism increases. The
same rule holds good in our country.
Taking the three States of Pennsylva.
MIA, Ohio and Illinois for illustration, We
find that Of the illiterate persons, one in
ten is pauper, while of the rest of the
population only one in 800 is pauper.
In other words given number Of persons
ouhSitu w SIoW ny LII lSuOldlIS llSll,
on the average, thirty times as many pau
pers rs the same persons would if required
to get such an education as our free pub
lie schools afford. Add to this that they
furnish also ten times the number OF Grim
inals, and the right as well as the duty of
government, as the protector Of society,
to enforce general education IS clear, for
it is the plain obligation of government to
protect society against pauperisnl and
crime.
EDUCATION, THEN, SHOULD III COMPULSORY.
Government should prevent both crime
and pauperism by extirpating the cause
of each, to wit, ignorance An educated
citizen is of more value to himself. to So
ciety and to the country, than an igno-
rant one.
An examination, covering rromfren:
points or centres Of labor in twenty
States, made three years ago. developed
the fact that even such education as our
free common schools afford, adds, on the
average, fifty per cent to the producing
quality of the citizen: while !. higher
training increases it two or three hundred
per cent.
He can do more and better work, from,
street scavanger up to the most skilled
mechanic, with the same expenditure of
time and force, from the mere fac. Of pos
sessing knowledge.
A well educated commonwealth. how.
ever narrow its borders, or poor its soil.
soon becomes rich and powerful, while
an ignorant one, even under the happiest
circumstances of land and sky, falls a
prey to anarchy, poverty and despotism
Government is making ample provision
for the secular education OF all. Has it
not right, then, to require all to be edu-
Gated, either in the public schools, at pub.
lie expense, or in private schools, at pri-
vate expense. We think it has, and that
secular education sufficient for the COM
mon affairs of every day life, and to enable
the citizen to vote with intelligence, should
be compulsory.
Prussia and many other German States
have tried it for years, with the happiest
results. 1t is her vigorous system of COM
pulsory education that in sixty years has
raised her from bankrupt and conquered !
petty kingdom to the ruling empire of |
Europe, and made her the seat and home |
Of intelligence, industry and wealth. Bos-