Salt River herald., 1878-03-09
POPULAR EDUCATION.
The Social and Material Prosperi-
 ty of Our Country
A. D. LESIGN.

ton Of our children. To them We transmit our name, our honor, our indeed all that life has given to us. To them we bequeath our country, governed by wise rulers and just laws. permanent and pros porous, fulfilling to the measure the highest destiny of free govern ment, or beligerent, corrupt, degen crate and weak, as our own hands have fashioned ii. Turn to the open book of nature, mans great teacher, and we find there deeply inaprinted on the solid rock, covered by the drift and alluyiaI deposits of time, the footprints of the crystal rain-drops, impressed there unnum bered ages before their reflected lovelmess, that radient arch which in beauty spans the sky, was de clared a token of Gods covenant with man. So with the educational systems of all nations and in every age of the world, we recognize their certain and unmistakable footsteps on every interest which concerns man or has claimed his attention through all the revolving years of historic time; dim and uncertain at first, but growing more distinct, more beautiful and perfect with he advance of each succeeding aH. Do we fully realize the proposition that
 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER?
 Let us look into the moral and in- tellectual forces of civilization and see if it is not true that human pro gress is always in the direct ratio of the diffusion of knowledge among all classes of society. The idea of general culture is scarcely one hun dred years old yet there is not a State represented in the azure deep of our cOuntry's flag that las not made some provision in its funda mental law for a system of publi, schools.
 "Is EDUCATION ESSENTIAL TO so GAL AND NATIONAL PROSPERITY 2 If we desire proof of this inter rogatory-proof that amounts {, moral dcmonstration-let us take { stroll in memory through thos'
 wondrous halls of exhibition a
 London, Paris, Vienna, and at Phil
 adelphia during our Centennial
 where the nations of the globe con
 tested for the award of the world
 prize, in testimony of the superior
 ity of their works of industry an
 art. The great truth was there re
 vealed that those nations where ed
 ucation was most widely diffuseI
 among the masses of the people where the right to liberal learnin was the birthright of every citize
 or subject, there, and there alon,
 were to be found the highest ey
 dences of culture, as exhibited i
 their works of useful labor and i their grand achievements in th sciences and the arts. These inter
 national exhibitions of industry ar
 great focal points from which rad ate the dearest evidence in beha'
 of the general diffusion of know
 edge or the education of the masso
 of the people. How wonderfu
 have been the improvements, dul 9 ing the last half century, in all th useful arts and industries, especia ly of those that contribute most { l. the comfort and prosperity of th s people. The Press. the railroad s and telegraphs of our country al d the legitimate opponents of the il
 proved systems of public educatio
 and have done more to exemplii S. and illustrate the awakening powt t acknowledge and the certain resul y of popular learning than all oth