Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1875-05-19
Compulsory Education.

II req onr Compulsory EAuCauoh
friend, a Poor Man." Of the rsmocrat
raG Register, two weeks TO get in a reply in
favor Of hi. monsrchical system Of schools.
He seems to bc in mental distres, concern
ing his dear Frenchman, and labors TO ex-
ficate his foreign ally in the advocacy OF
Compulsory Education out of the slough in
which lac fioundered AZ an apologis; foi the
sound fhreshing that King William with his
c"nsolid ted German army administered to
Nrdngling and dismcinbcred France.
Our a Poor Man Friend" has not dis
crimination enough to see that France was
divided by contcnding factions. There was
no integrity OF purpose among them. They
had no high moral object in view, such
the unity of the nation or people; what
they wanted vas Napoleon, some other
man, or the Commune. They are morally
tliseascd-r"ttcn-and that is what their
overthrow il attributable TO, and not to the
want Of Compulsory Education.
II sounds harshly on the American mind
10 hear 4 man advocate monarc hical policy
Of government for this country. viii "A
Poor Man tell how much better the people
of King Williams government are, and how
Inrch better they live than the people oi
these United Statesl VIII he tell that
that people never elect their chief rulers
win he tell that the chief rulers are born
chief rulers, and die chief rulers, unless
some born ruler drthrones them and sits
himself in their place or puts another
bloodcd noble To govern Will he tell
that all the officers. from the throne
down. are as much under the government
of the King, as are his own hands anc fin
gers. and that they are all Hooded people,
and that poor man has not shadow Of .
chance for Office OF little else than a life OF
hard scrabble 10 obtain n livingl II the
Register man is correct in his premises,
Prussia should be a posr mans Paradise.
We have never heard it called by that name.
Perhaps he expects to tell us in a future ar
ficle that il is "a Poor Man's" d" Paradise,
and that he proposes to make it his future
home. Ii such j. his resolve, we must in
form him before We take him by the hand
ic ssy "good- bs'-for then il would be
discourtcsy 10 tell him that We are glad to
see him go, that here in this free country
he is not in his proper place, that he is like
fish out Of water, gaping for something he
will never g-t--that he is going to a coun-
try that has system Of government coh-
genial to his tastes and ideas of govern
ment. How happy he will be when he gets
10 Germany, and just 10 think how near he
Will bo to his French friend with no
passport requirement he can go to Paris and
discuss 10 his hearts content on the qucs-
ton of the Causes that lead to the defeat of
the French people in the late war. We
almost feel happy TO realize how happy he
will be when he has left this country. whose
free people tolerate no arbitrary or compul-
sorry laws, further than are necessary for
the suppression of actual crime. II Com
pulsory Education is the thorough system
and works the good that its advocates say
il does, vhy IA, il not enlarged the rights
OF the citizens of Germany7 Why has it
allowed the breaking up of the State gov
crnments and their consolidation into one
powerful empire that is ruled by a dynasty
"A family that has governed Prussia hun
dreds Of years. If Compulsory Education
argues anything in that country, 1t argues
in favor Of the promotion OF kingly gov
-,
extended under it more rapidly since its
adoption than at any time before.
"a Poor Nan''-hc should call himself
"A Royal Subject''-says he has shown
bow the race has been elevated by Com
I,ulsory Education. When and where did
he show il { such declarations must be the
cnanation of the imperfect shades ofdrcam-
land. All his showings have been against
himself. lie has said good deal about
Prussia and France. and word or two
shout New York, where the system has but
quite recently been put into practice, and
has alread: been pronounced failure. The
growth of arbitrary power is usually slow
when there is public sentiment against it.
This government is .ounded on a basis di-
rectly S!S.sSed to arbitrary power, aud the
sgiv deformed system Il arbitrary rule that
undrrlics Compulsory Eiuc alton, IN the ma
ture of things, onr would believe would be
SOW TO assert itself in this country. Such,
however, is Lot the case. In New YORK it
has been quick to manifest itself 10y enter
ing the family without summons or writ,
and taking children aSay to jail for not
attending school. Like the tabled snake
that was almost deadened BY being ont in
the cold, when taken into the warm BY a
kind and mistaken and over good hearted
man, struck It's fangs at its benelactOr, the
arbitrary feature in Compulsory Education
in New York has already shown ITSELF
Colonel McClure's TIMES of last Friday
writes, in regard to it, thus:
.New York is testing her compulsory
education act. and though opinions differ as
10 its workings, from the weight of the
evidence il is plain that the MEASURE has
not come up 10 the hopes and expectations
of It's projectors and supporters. The Su-
pcrintendcnts Of Truancy recently arrested
n boy in New York anu had him committed
10 prison under the compulsory school act.
The father %. the lad took out writ Of
hsbeas corpus 10 try the cons;itutionality of
the law. The superintcndents would not
meet th,. question. They released the lad,
and there the case ended. That boy will
MT go tn school in the future, and his ex-
ample will aid hundreds of recruits 10 the
sru!S of truants from school in all parts of
New York. Ii the law is not eniorced To
Iilr letter, it should be sponged of the OIL
,.isl slate at once. tor a dchcd statute l.
worse than no Law at all. The people Of
fiiis conn,ry have never clearly manifested
their appreciation of this compulsory plan,
and Legislators should ponder the matter
well before they iOnce II upon the etisca-
,;onal system of any p'rt Of the nstion.'
"a Poor Man" sees EO difference between