The Van Buren press., 1876-02-29
AN APPEAL.
Tc the Educators and School Officers OF
the Public Schools of Arkansas.

GENTLEMEN The interest OF popular
| instruction in Arkansas Is behind the
same interest in the majority OF her SIS
ter states. This interest is one OF vital
importance to the veal of our state.
Arkansas is a country of great resources
Her soil is fertile; her minerals are abhh
dant her nnyi9able streams are numer.
Gus her abundant water power easily ap
piled. But it takes intelligence to devel
op these resources Ignorance will nev.
er do it.
The unlettered savage walked over our
mountains for hundreds of years without
ever having uncarthed the bullion they
contained He trayersed soil fertile as
that of Paradise, aud did not gather a
support for himself, his squaw and pap
poose He looked up through the branch
es of trees as magnificent as were cut
down on the sides of Lebanon, and utili-
zed no more of the timber than was re-
quired for his bow and arrow.
Stroud the Arkansian of 1876 in igno-
rance and he will do the same. The dlf
ference between you and the Indians that
have retired westward with the buffalo
is the knowledge you possess. knowl
edgei 1t is the golden key that unlocks
the treasure house of nature. 1t is the
developing, vitalzing, enriching power
of the world The education Of the peo-
pie and the wealth of the people! The
Siamese twins were not more indissolub-
ly united The ignorance of the people
and impoverishment of the people Here
is union equally invarible
"While Egypt was the school teacher
of the world, Egypt was the granary of
the world" Bnt Egypt sunk in igno
rance with the same mighty Nile fruetl
fying her soil, tire same grand monuments
telling of her former glory, sits clothed
in rags and feeds Upon the earnings of
beggary.
Every idea YOU put into little Tom
mics head helps to cut down forests,
build cities, dam rivers publish newspa-
pers, cultivate farms, drive steamboats,,
set up manufactures, disembowel mines,
lay down railroad iron, decorate home,
and transform Arkansas into an Eden
In proportion as the people are informed
they are Industrious; in proportion as
the people are ignorant they are lazy.
The people when nneducated are cOnenlt
to sit down in hut and sleep in the dirt
The people when educated build tasteful
cottages and reeline upon snowy linen
The people when uneducated leave their
hair nneombea their dress in disorder,
,hcir yards uaadoraed The people when
educated comb their hair, adjust their
apparel, and beautify their yards.
Which Of the two pictures do you pre-
fer2 Can You hesitate as to choice be
tween darkness and light, beauty and de-
formity, happiness and misery, wealth
and poverty?
But it will cost effort to effect the ed,
ucation of the masses There must be
no dead men in school offices there must
be no dead teachers in school rooms
Every officer must discharge his duty
every teacher must teach; every student
but give us the honest. earnest, consci.
cntions employment of your abilities.
Will you do this? Then success is ours
The undersigned. in assuming the du-
ties Of his office, adopted for his motto
F" Arkansas must. Arkansas shall have a
system ofpuhlic instruction in success
full operation" He intends to act square
ly up to that motto He throws down
the gauntlet of defiance and crnsalcs to
the death against all opposition to pop
ular instruction, He will connive at nc
neglect of duty; he will fail to commend
no earnest compliance with the law Ev
cry officer shall have the means of infor
nation as to his duties every officer shall
be left without excuse for the non per
formance Of those dsties.
Educators, come to the front and bat
tie manfully for the veal of Arkansas
and the world. GEO. W HILL
State Superintendent
Will the Arkansas papers please copy