The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-10-14


in school is an 40 warrantable interference
with the proper religious training of the
/. children OF pinus parents who are COM
PEELED to send toit.
Whence does the State derive the right
to take charge of my children and say
when, where, what, and by whom they
shall be tuught2 Whence does it derive
the right TO take another mans money al d
devote it to the education of my child I
That it has exercised the power to do these
things history attests that it has the power
judicial construction has setTted. But
whence, repeat, does it revive the right? I?
Certainly not from Heaven, for the Great
r Her OF Heaven holds the father directly
| responsible for the maintenance and educa-
tionof his children, and to the end that he
may fulfil these great duties, directly de-
wolves upon him the authority to control
them. i turn my eyes in vain to the great
charters of human liberty to find whence
the State derives this right. Whence comes
1t, then What is its history, and what its
| concomitants We will have to go
back beyond the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, beyond Bunker Hill, beyond the
landing of the May Flower, beyond Magma
Charta, why not find it in the English Con-
stitutions No, SIR not there; that is the
last place in the world to look for it, but
back, back, along the centuries through
| thousands TO years to Sparta, in the time of
| Lyeutgus, l trace it, and maybe some gen.
til maj more familiar with history might
find 1t even farther back-nearer 'the rag
ged edge" of time than that, and what, are
its concomItants there? Iron money, the
murder by the States of children ON &C
count of defornity. Adultry and theft
made virtuous. Then we follow 1t down to-
Prussia and what are its concomitants there
absolute dominion of the government over
the person of the subj ct from birth to the
grave. The government registering his
birth, the government putting him into.
the schools-the government putting him
into the army, anu when too old and in
| firm for service in the field assigning him to-
duty in the arsenals, dock ya.ds or furtiti-
cations-his place in the regiment never
empty the yoke never thrown off his weary
neck until he goes to the grave or comes to
America. Now let us follow it to New
Eng land and seewhat were its concOmitants
there-men. fined for kissing their wives on
Sunday, Quakers whipped out of the
colony at the carts tail on account of their
religious opinions, poor wretches burned at
the stake for supposed dealings with the
Devil. Now let us follow it o,Texas, the
only place in my life where have met it
face to face and what have been its con
comitants here? An irresponsible police,
armed to the teeth, riding over the country
arrestlng, imprisoning, aye, and sometimes
shooting down citizens without an affidavit
ever having been filed before judicial Of
ficer of the State, charging them with an
infraction of the laws. The suspension of
the civil laws Zeaeetits.tie.-z,. --=>e i.s
| law III different districts OF the State In
time of profound peace; orders to county
boards of school directors to levy per Cent,
tax upon the property of the people, and
when the boards levied less than the amount
ordered to be levied, although the law left
the amount to be levied to their discretion,
the refractory boards diSSoloed by this q had
almost said omnipoten) power, and others
willing to do the dirty work appointed;
the children of people forced 10 attend
schools, in many instances, under the con-
troll of incompetent teachers-one, for eX
ample, within my own knowledge, who, III
a copy set for one of his pupils, spelled the
word education thus: edjucGttOn, and an
order requiring these instructors to teach the
children the Constitution of the United
States Imagine if you can, sir, this
teacher who spelled education as l have
shown, teaching some BOBBY of a boy, who is
barely able to spell outthe story of the by
in the apple tree, so graphically told by old
of the Constitution of the United
States question too great for the intellects
of Webster and Calhoun-a question
great enough to predicate the greatest war
of modern times upon, SO great that still,
after wasting hundreds of thousands of
| lives, and thousands of millions of treasure
upon its solution, it remains unsolved.
But we are told sir, that men must yield
uplsome of their rights both of person and
property to secure good government.
grant it sir, but they are to yield up their
| rights only to the extent necessarily to Sc
cure protection to life liberty and property,
to the whole people. But is 1t necessary
to secure these great ends of government
that the father be required to surrender to
| the State the holy rights of fafherhood,
and that the State should enforce agra1ian-
/ ism, 6or what, it to take the hard earned
dollars of a portion of the people and d.
vide 1t among the whole people for educa-
] tional purposes, if it be not agrarianism.)
| If I honestly believed cir, that it was ne
cessary in order to secure the great bles
| sings of good government for me to sur
render these great rights to the State,
would do so, but reason, experience and
observation, all teach me that it is not. /
am nearly City years old, the earlier years
of my life were spent in Tennessee,
| my native state; Tor the last quar-
ter of a century 1 have been a citizen
of Texas, and never saw this power exer-
cised by the State until within the last four
or five years, and know that the security
i afforded by the State to life, liberty and
property was as ample for the first forty-fv
wears of my life as it has been since. know
more sir-I know that virtue, both public
and private, was rated as high then as now.
But We are told again, sir, by the advo-
Gates of public education, that education
can be made cheaper when controlled by the
J State than whep left to private enterprise
, that If we will tuin over to the State the
, money we expend upon the education of
: our children, the State can manage it so as
81 to pay for its assessment, collection and dis
: bursemelt, and take out OF it also sum
] sufficient 20 pay the salaries Of the host Of
{ officers necessary to the proper administra-
: ian of system Of schools and educate all
: Tue children of the State and still have sur
' plus left; ana strange as this statement may
4appear, viii not undertake TO refute 1t,
i for can very well see, sir, how, II Smith,
{ who is sesding his son 10 college, where he
{ is being taught The languages aud sciences.