The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-09-29
FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

y BULLETIN, Lee. ~. 1914, ON fuOttc E0ucdtaO
ls, by request, republished this morning.
is by the hand of one who has made himse
complete master of all current argument
against the secular education of the masses q
] the expense of the State.
To these arguments, as condensed from vol
umes into the article of A. NJ, no adequat
reply can be made within the compass of on
or twenty editorial essays of tolerable length
. Opposed as we are to the whole theory. ant
all deductions from it, we can spare room ani
! time for little more than synopsis of thu
contrary opinions which we entertain, leaving
) it to our correspondent and those who concu,
with him to note differences between our edu
catonal creed and theirs, at their leisure.
1t is some ones bounden duty to educate
every child to some extent, the least of which
adult to read the Bible and the creeds and
prayers of his religion, to read the Constitu-
ton and laws OF his country, to read the
classics OF his mother tongue or whatever
else he may find useful therein, also to write
fairly. and legibly enough for ordinary bust
ness, and also to perform such arithmetical
calculations as are necessary in the usual
course Of business. With these as his instru-
ments youth may become useful citizen;
without these and all of them his usefulness
and value to the State will be more or less i'm.
paired. Without education to this extent the
doors of an infinite variety of useful
information are barred; with it the
intelligent youth has key to the whole
great storehouse of knowledge. Without it
native talent has no chance for distinction
and success Without it the boy with Unborn
capacity enough to become general, a bishop
or senator will pass his life as an ignorant
laborer, and without it the boy having but
average capacity becomes mere serf, igno-
rant even of his o n rights as citizen, with
no higher pleasures than those which animal
instincts afford, without the ability to cast
an intelligent vote, without the ability to
avail himself of advantages within his reach,
q mere clown, degraded in his own self
esteem by self-comparison with those who
shut out from the temple of knowledge by
poverty, by caprice of parents, or by the un-
wise stinginess of the governments
under which they were born, now
mourn over their incurable ignorance and
their incalculable misfortune. Is any child
citizen of free land so meanly born that
the State may slam the doors of the school
house in his face, and send him home to live
and work in barbarous ignorance, because he
was born poor? The boy of eight years,
from the State the boon of being taught to
read, and his right is just as sacred as jury
trial, habeas corpus, free speech or that of
self-defense. To give this tuition is the duty
of parents, but if they lack the means or the
will then it becomes the duty of the State.
1t is no question of taking the money of the
rich to educate the children of the poor. Ed
ucation being a right, property held in vio-
lation of that right is held wrongfully. That |
which is needed fer the economical and |
limited education of the children Of the State
belongs to the State, and may be rightfully
claimed when required. When the property
Of State in pursuance Of law and by the will
Of the people is taxed to support schools for
Ill, it is not charity On the part of the rich,
t is not an aims received by the poor, but it
s duty which property ful6lls and right
which belongs absolutely to the uneducated
children. The rights Of property are sacred
md they are we'll guarded by laws, but the
light of the poor mans child to go to
chool is in ali respects as sacred.
t man asks why HE property
hould be taxed to support schools for
ther mems children, let him be answered
hat the property of the State must support
he State and that well regulated system of
chools, in these modern days Of civilization,
ttaches as necessary feature to every civil
zed government Let it be distinctly re-
nembered that education, limited to rudi- {
1ents as we have said above is no luxury,
ut public necessity to the State and posi- {
i've right to the youths of the State, means I
f selfprese rvation to the State and means i
f self-support to the youths. knowledge
mong the masses is both strength and wealth
} the State, and that property which is c
hielded under the strength of the State, forti- q
ed by the knowledge of its people, may
ghtfully be compelled to contribute to the a
xpense of its own protection. '
Owing to modern enlightenment such COM !
ulsion is not necessary. 1t is we'll under c
,ood in all the civilized countries on both G
emispheres that there is great governmental b
economy in general public education, fact
roven by ponderou' tones Of statistics and
olumes of arguments. 1t is the settled c
olicy of the civilized world to open the 1
,hool-house to every boy and girl long enough
, enable them to learn to read and write
neither the government be an autocraey, a t
onarchy or republic, whatever may be d
he prevailing faith, whatever may be the I
ationality or race of their origin, however
d and venerable may be their property 0
ties, they all concur in having some system Z
public and general education. 5
he &c 49, la, 10