The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-03-01
Public schooIs


be that AZ it may, THE HERALD more
especially desires to call the attention
Of its readers to the great necessity of
vt once establishing good graded pub
lie schools; not only in the city and
county, but all over the State, and will
endeavOr to give the reasons therefor.
Let the reader refer to the criminal
statistics OF the older States, and he
will see Mt once that the common
wealths where the most liberal educa-
ti0nal advantages are open to the peo-
pie are in the best financial condition,
and their criminal record is much
better than the States not so fortunate.
Furtherm ore, Texas possesses every
inducement to immigration except
free schools, yet the lack of that is
sufficient to keep away the very class
Of people whom we are most anxious
TO bring. No man who has lived In al
older state were popular education has
attained good footing is willing to
remove with his family to a State
where he is obliged to send his chill
dren to o private institution, at an
enormous expense, or let them grow
up in ignorance, 1t is often urged that
the school fund OF Texas Is most mu-
nlficent. 1t may be 80, but il not
practically and properly applied it is
not worth anything.
Fathers will not live in n place
whsreItheir children must grow up with
out educational advantages, or il they
do, they will leave their children i'll
other Statea, come here and work
themselves, and send their money to
their families to eXpend In other To-
calities. This THE HERALD knows to
be the case; there are men in this city
to-day earning good wages, who send
their salary to other States. Why?
Because their children go to school
their, and they will not bring them
here and deprive them Of those
advantages Suppose Dallas should
determine on good system of public
graded schools, and issue bonds If
the law permitted it--lor the payment
Of the erection OF scho0l-houscs. The
HERALD ventures the assertion that
no class OF securities the city could
offer, would be Us eagerly sought after
by capitalists rs these school-bouds,
and, that they would help the citys'
credit, instead of iujuring it, AZ re-
CARDS additional taxation. The poor
man who owns u HON estead worth
from six hundred to one thousand dol
lars, were he taxed one or even two
per cent. would not have
to pay but II trifle
compared to his outlay at present to
send his children to school, and no
matter how excellently u private ca.
adjustment is conducted, it cannot
compare with a good graded school
In private Institutions the sch lars
vary in ages and studies, while in
graded schools scholars are thrown
into ono class according to their Sbili-
Ties, and there being higher and lower
grades, one teacher can handle one
| hundred scholars in the same study,
while the private teacher may have
twenty different classes and not be
able to give sufficient time and atten-
ton to any Of them. In public schools
the best OF apparatus will be found,
and will do service for hundreds of
scholars, and this cannot be obtained
in private schools, unless at "a very
high cost, Last year, when the subject
OF popular education was preached,
much opposition was made on the
ground that taxpayers were unwilling
to spend their money for the benefit
of the negro. Now that is an argument
that will not hold water, The HER
AID puts 1t to any intelligent man If it
isn't better to have quiet, intelligent
colored man in our midst, who by edu-
cation knows and understands his po-
sition and behaves himself, or an ugly,
ignorant black brute, who, from sheer
ignorance, which ia the handmaidsn
OF crime, becomes u nuisance to the
community where he exists. If the
people of Texas will pay less to their
officials and law courts, and devote u
small sum to educate the masses, our
jails will contain less criminals and
our penitentisres less convlcts, while
the tide of immigration will set in and
bear on its bosom the intelligent, law
abiding, industrious fathers of other
commonwealth, who would gladly
make their homes and bring their bone
and sinew and capital to Texas, but
who at present deem the door shut
against them by the lack Of popular
education.
Commissioners Court,
The members of the Commissioners
Court are called to meet on the first