The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-05-02

instruction in the rudiments ofthe English
language, writing, arithmetic ad geogra-
ply. A foreign language is an advanced
and difficult study, which ranks as an ac-
complishment and has no place in a COM
mon school. If it were possible for us to
propagate a European language in this
state at the public expense it would be
highly impolltic for us to do so. The
English language has the richest literature
in the world; it has penetrated wherever
the waves beat or the winds blow; it is the
tongue in which the history of our liberty
and of modern progress is written; it was
the speech OF the men who won our free
dom and formed our constitution, and of
the men who invented the steam-engine,
the locomotive, the mship and the tele-
graph; it is destined to be the language OF
this country and nothing can shake its
supremacy. To attempt TO nurse up RI
val at our hearths would be absurd. In
so far as we succeeded we should be max
ing unnatural divisions among fellow
citizens, segreGating races and nationalities,
inStend OF matchmaking them into one
common stock. This would be bad states
manship, since we cannot have two Ian
guages aud one nation. From an educa-
tional standpoint the project OF teaching
dual tongues in the common schools look as
unsound as it does from political stand
point Every one who has had any
experience as school teacher, or
who remembers his own school
days, knows that learning to read and
write the English language forms a task
difficult enough in itself to engage the
whole attention OF ordinary children. To
impose upon them the burden of still
more difficult speech can only result in the
neglect Of one or both. The employment OF
double sets of teachers, the allotment o
time for each language and various other
difficulties of detail create confusion, and
the scheme must sooner or later be aban-
doned, We venture to say that no good
has ever resulted from the pretense of
teaching German which has been kept up
in various cities, further than the en-
ployment of a few German teachers and
the gratifcating of German pride. This
is the way the question strikes the Ameri-
can mind; but we are not so devoid of ina
gination as to be unable to understand the
German feeling on the subject. 1t is
natural that emigrants from the fatheriand
should love their own language, every syl-
liable of which is suggestive of home me-
mories 1t is Datural that they should
learn with distaste to employ this mon,
grel of hundred breeds called English. u
1t is natural that they should desire tc
perpetuste in their own households the
tongue of Luther, of Goethe, of Beethoven
of Bismarck. But it is not natural tha
they should expect to impose the speech
upon others or have it taught to their OWL
children at the general expense. 1t il
hard saying; but the truth is they hav
come to America, and should conform
themselves to American institution as ia
as possible. The English tongue beins
the only one at present necessary to Amer
lean citizenship is therefore the only on,
for the teaching Of which American citizen
should be taxed. The German tongu
may be inexpressibly dear to many of GU
adopted citizens, but the teaching of it i
private matter, to be conducted as prI
vate enterprise With respect to the com
mon schools it stands on the same footin!
as the Catholic religion. Those who de
sire to have their children instructed 1
it are free to follow their inclination i
= what way they think best, but they car
t not ask the public to do the work in pull
, lie institutions and at the public COST sine
it is in no sense public concern.