Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1881-03-17

discussing the great qufs1ioHr - : aespb-
i interest. Shall they be denied the
opportunity Of giving their powers the
reau;si,e discipline to enable them %
srs.p the progressive sdeas OF the age
the greater poriion, by far Of The H.efl
whose talents are conspicuous ~ the
rouneigs Of nations are not those Tho
have obtained their position ~ me
wea,sl, Of their ancerioTs--thcy have
.uranp from The racks. View The sub
ieet IL al ITS relations; compare The
presen. condition OF mankind with what
Il was even century ago, and what =
i. that have brought about this change
for the better. The diffusion OF knowi-
edgp. not elementary merely, bui SCI
enti6c. classical aud artistic. Let any
government give elemental instruction
alone and deny Il hasthe right 70 make
provision for the higher education OF as
neople. and scare generation will pas
away ere II will be reduced 10 ine po-
silion of third rate community Ihere
viii be a class, Il is true, whose weaIsn
has procured them the requisite culture,
and perhaps there will be few who
will rise in spite Of every obstacle %.
nineteen in twenty will belong 10 inat
class whose members are not eapaoie
oil thinking and acting for themselves,
save after the manner OF brutes, ~
prey for the arts Of designing men.
In the proportion that nations nave
acknowledged this idea. 80 have they
sncfeased in prosperity; 70 The pfopoIton
that they have neglected It, SO nave
they declined IN importance. The re-
u,,lt Of having a class OF men, with pow
ersripenedby culture, ocontroIsd Pp'iic
cpinion, composed Of members drawn
from every grade OF society, and WHO
are bound TO serve the interest oil Inc
State by the memory of great benehl
bestowed. on them, is more than sum
Gent condensation fer the money ex-
pended. The greaterthe culture gwen to
men, the greater their influence and
the less crime and psuperism to be con
tended against. Experience proves that
where the greater amount Of money u
expendpd In education, there Is less re-
CURED Tor the prosecution OF criminals
and the maintenance OF paupers, and u
is manifest, that the higher the cdnca-
ton, the greater the influence exeTted,
for the cultivated refined gentleman
never fails toexercise great influence IN
his community, while the man who has
not had his mind disciplined by the stu,
DIV of the great questions OF society VIII
exert little or no influence. And wonio
il be q safe experiment not to siiore
men. sprung from the mass, the opPor-
tuniiy OF exerting this influence by re-
iusing 10 aid them IN acquiring the ne.
cessary cultivation, of mind requisite
II for no other reason than this, the
State should foster these institutions
for the money expended in educating
lis youth in the highest principles Of
rational conduct, is money saved.
The nations Of Europe recognize thi'
idea in ITS highest degree, tor not only
do they extend large support TO unIver'
sIties, colleges and acade mics, but also
10 schools for instruction IN the mechan'
ical arts, in painting, sculpture. music
carving. Austria has her six greal
universities, TO which she grants $751;
c0U annually; her seven polytechnic m
stitutes, which receive 1896, 900 pei
annum; beside these, she supports
schools wherein her youth are instruc-
ted in the arts Of weaving, lace-makingr
matchmaking, and even toy-making.
Little Belgium appropriates SzIl ,OOO
for her academies, and Sl92,OOV, ioI
her two universities annually. Holland
gives her two universities S319, 900,
her academies S66l.000 per annum.
Germany has iwenty-oRe great unlver-
sites supported by the State and afford
ing educational facilities TO 2O,OOO stu
dents: besides these, she has numerous
academies equal TO the majority OF our
colleges in their course. Even Italy,
backward as she is in improvement,
supports no less than twenty-one uni
yersities. This is showing that COM
ments severely on those who would
have superior education confined 70
"private enterprise" and especially IN
our country, whose government-"a
government by the people aud Tor the
people"-whose salvation depends upon
The qualification OF ITS people to exer-
else the responsibilities Of citizenship.
Certainly, ifthese kingdoms, where free
agency has been denied for centuries,
are granting their people these inestl-
mable privileges. our noble old State,
where liberty is not iettered by sin
gle chain, canaot but continue to grant
her benelaci.ons which so essentially
serve 20 preserve that liberty.
Let Us see what those States, justly
celebrated for the excellence OF their
institutions OF learning. do towards this
idea oi aiTcrding means Of higher edu-
cation to their youth. Massachusetts,
gives 1922 900 annuallyto her colleges:
New Jersey, with population but lit
lie greater shan Maryland and with less
area and natural resources, gives S404,
900 annually. New York 1884, 600 ex-
elusive of New York CITY which gives
her city university alone $4,000 an
nually. Rhode Island, bu. little larLe r
than The counties of Charles and ST
Kfary's, donates S11S,000 annually
Connechcus sos, 900. Virginia, i'm
poverished as she is, and loaded with
The weight OF an enormous debt. chngs
10 the time honored institutions which
more than aught else have formed the
public mind, and pade the world ring
with the fame OF her sons, gives 10 her
institutions OF learning $4,000 an
nually. thinking herself amply compen-
sated for the outlay by the influence OF.