Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-02-26

rem If tho school Is not at Cedar lliil. It's
clearly evident In country like ours every man
cannot expect to have school at his door.
There is another very bad impsdlment-the
condition Of our school houses. A number Of
thom would not make a respectable sheep fold.
Our SCHOOL houses should bo moro comfortable
than majority Of our dwellings.
Our County has superior educational facilities
to most others in the State. We have two ex-
ocllent colleges and two or three high schools
which we should patronizo liberally. We need
three or four good common schools in eaoh'
township for a term Of ten months. Aet me say
to those Of our oitzcns who are depending upon
educating there children in free SCHOOLS in this
State they will certainly fail. We arc informed
that II would require $l,000,000 to run our
schools ten months. In our county 1t would re-
qure one mill per month to run our schools.
Our citizens surely would DO very much opposed
to paying ten mills annually for school pur-
poses. 1t takes money to pay taxes, but q ma
jority Of our teachers are willing to receive any
thing our farmers Gun spare.
When we look At tho reports Of illitoracy of
our corntry ut large it is very alarming. We
aro informed that fifty.seven per cent of the
voters Of our State cannot read the ballots that
they cast. We are also informed that in tho
nine cotton States there arc 2555,75l persons
over tho age Of ten years who cannot read and
write. There are 1887, SOB persons over tho
agc of twenty-ono years who cannot read and
write. In the Northern States it is said there
arc 445, sG2 persons over the age Of twenty.one
years who cannot read and write. History tells
us where the ballot is placed id the hands Of
the predomnaing iliteraoy that tho government
becomes corrupt aud finally falls The Southern
States have felt somo of the pangs of this doc
trine during the last ten years.
II is said that France in 1903 established q
republic with universal suffrage; but majority
of the voters were lliterato, aud the republic,
OTTER shedding rivers of blood, became military
despotism Spain has since undergone similar
fate. Tho Spanish colonies in America, some
years ago, founded several republics, oil based
upon ignnrant suffrage. They have enjoyed
neither domestic pcaoc nor prosperity since.
Crime and pauperism are the natural pro
ducts of illitcracy. Is is said that in the United
States that the iitcratcs commit ten times their
numerical proportion of crimes.
Tho Grand Duchy of Baden. by universal
education, in soycn years reduced the number Of
crimes frty-onc per cent. and tho number Of
paupers twenty-five per cent. 1t is said that
England pays five times as much for crime and
pauperism rs for education. In Sweden just The
reverse. How is it with us on this point? ltis
said that education adds from fifty TO one hun
drcd per cent. to the productive power of
nation in time of peace and doubles its objective
force in time of war.
Taking all these facts into consideration,
trust our citizens viii give the subject of COM
mon school education duercfccton and establish
scorc or moro of good common schools in our
county for ten months and in the future let the
public funds bo mere supplement. r.