Morning journal and courier., 1880-10-08
NATIONAL AID TO EDUCATION.

The Republican party and it's predecessors holding the same ideas of the elastic quality of the Constitution have always favored na- tional aid to education. Under the influence of these ideas over 68, ,OOO, GOO acres of land have been given for public school pur- poses by Congress to the various States. The Agricultural College act of 1862 was Repub- ican measure. Under that act thousands of acres of land have been given, and under that act there is generous number of free schol- arships for poor farmers and mechanics of Connecticut in the Sheffield Scientific school The Republican platform of 1880 pledges the party to give additional aid to education It says: '"The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several States but it is the duty of the national government to aid that work to the exteEt of it's constitutional ability. The intelligence of the nation is but the aggregate of the intelligence in the sev- eral States; the destiny of the nation must be guided, not by the genius of any one State, but by the average genius of all , This declaration expresses the feeling preva- lent in the Republican party that it's next great work is the increase of educational fa- cilities in the various States by an adequate and systematic use of portion of the of the funds of the nation.
 The need for national interference in this matter is very great in the South. How great was ably shown by Hon. Lynde Harrison in his address to the Republicans of Fair Haven last evening. Mir. Harrison finds that in the three States of Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee there were in 1850 47, 539 white males over 21 who were unable to read or write. In 1860 there were 47, G86 In 1870 there were 66,632. The large in crease between 1860 and 1870 was doubtless owing mainly to the disorganized state of so- ciety during and after the war. Of the num- Der reported in 1870 over 65 1000 were born in the States named. There were also in the same States in 1870 T ,OO0 white males under 21 and over 10 who were unable to read or write. Mir. Harrison takes these three States as fairly representative ones, and esti- mates that in the whole of the southern States there were in 1870 6,287 illiterate white males over 21, of whom about 300, ,OOO were native born. On the basis of the cen sus of 1870 there must be to-day more than 800, GOO illiterate white males over 21 in the South. The school returns show that in 1878 there were, of blacks and whites of school age who were not in school 2,477, 488. These are not pleasant figures.
 But MT. Harrison not only showed the great need of national aid in educational matters. He went further and showed how he would have that aid applied. He would have the control of the schools, the election of school officers and the appointment of teachers left entirely to the different locali- ties He would have the appropriations of money apply to the whole country, North and dance in the schools. He would have sufi- cient federal inspection to see that free pub lie schools are kept open for all, and that there are no frauds in the returns. As to the amount to be appropriated he agues that the present appropriations for the army and navy are about $40, ,OOO,0O0 annually, and that the nation can afford to pay more for the education of it's children than for mill tary purposes in times of peace. The pres ent surplus revenue is over $7O,OO GOO an nually. With the refunding of the bonds of 'S1 at lower rate of interest the surplus will probably be so increased as to provide a suffi- cient sum for the sinking fund and leave at least $60, 900, GOO. This is about equal to the present revenue from the whisky and beer tax. MT. Harrison is in favor of appropriat- ing that sum to the support of schools. Such sum, distributed on the basis of average at tendance, would give Connecticut about $75O, ,OO0.
 We are glad that some Republican speak CTS are calling the attention of their hearers to this important matter and wish that more of them would do so There is no nobler work for any party than to labor for the edu- cation and uplifting of the people.