The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-02-18
THE PUBLIC LANDS FOR
ED UCA TON.

Our public lands, which originally con-
stltuted more than half the present ter
ritory of the United States, have been
immensely reduced by gifts and subsidies,
and 1t is believed have been source of
fraud and corruption in many forms, and
now 1T is proposed that the remnant of
this magnificent domain shall be set
apart for the education of the people, not
IN the way of bringing education under
the control of the Federal Government.
but by the simple distribution of the pro-
ceeds of sales among the States, to be
used In connection with the State sys-
TENS of education, and this distribu-
ton for the first ten years to be made on
the basis of illiteracy The animus of
the movement seems to be, specially, to
render aid to the Southern States in the
heavy work of educating their illiterate
masses. A bill for the accomplishment
oil this purpose has been favorably re-
ported to both houses of Congress for sew
eral winters past. Mr.. Goode. of Vir-
gina, is the chairman of the House COM
mittee which re-introduced the bill this
winter He is laboring zealously for its
passage, and has good hope of success.
The Peabody trustees have also taken up
the subject, and meet in Washington to-
day Sfa the purpose of furthering the
movement. The next day tomorrow
there will be meeting of the School
Superintendent, who are members of the
National Educational Association, before
which body the subject will be discussed
and, it is expected, acted on favorably
The Virginia Legislature has endorsed
this movement on more than one occasion.
as well as other State legislatures.
Whether all the representatives. Of Vir-
gina IN Congress are exerting themselves
IN behalf of this bill, we are not advised
The success of the movement will un
doubleday afford great relief, at least in
Virginia, to our burdened finances; and
If this system of State education is to pre-
vail among US, (and there is little doubt
that 1T will, whether some of us are op-
posed to it or not), it will be fortunate
thing In our present financial perplexity,
If we can procure aid from the Federal
Government, always provided (and such
IS alleged to be the fact) that the control
of these funds are to be entirely in the
hands of the State authorities. The
State of Virginia, and the remark is true
OF most of the Southern States, is not able
to instruct the white and colored children
IN primary schools from its own revenues
alone.
DR.. Ruffner has urged this measure in
his Reports for several years, furnishing
information bristling with statistics and
figures about the public lands. We learn
that he has been specially invited to ad-
dress the meeting OF. School Superintend-
ents in Washington, on the subject, which
he has agreed to do.
We are now, in our impoverished con-
dition, annually collecting from our
struggling people very large sum. to
educate the colored children of the State.
1t is eminently proper that the Federal
Government, by whom the negroes were
emancipated, should aid us in carrying
this burden, and especially from fund
which is really held by it only in the ca
Pacity of trustee for the States
We had an idea that in a pecuniary