Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-08-12

IEAWE Anu DA8 A4AN@A~@
While II mus Be conceded that educs-
ton on the whole tends 70 the prevention
Of crime, Il Is none the les true th&t
mere brain culture i TOO frequently sn
aid 70 The criminsIy disposed Crimes
which in rude- ages would have been
astounding are now 20 common that
newspaper that does not contain full
quota Of them Is reckoned unentsrpris-
ing.
A large percentage Of What may be
called refined crime is committed BY
people Of high culture, and the evidence
Of this fact Is 50 striking that the psssi-
mist i wont TO contend that the worlds
progress in morality is more apparent
than real How ever committed one
may be 10 the doctrine Of the indefinite
pertectblty Of the species. he cannot, il
view Of the conspicuous exceptions that
are daily brought 70 his notice, subscribe
70 the dictum Of Buckle that mental cul-
ture Of necessity insures that Of the
whole man
1t is one Of the merits Of our public
schools that they, for part Of the day a.
least, bring the youth exposed to VI
cious training al home into new and
more elevating associations with teachers
and others more fortunate in their home
Influences This fact deserves better re-
cognition than II has received from edu-
Gators. Forgetting what il is that shapes
disposition and character, they are apt
70 rely too exclusively upon mere mental
trsining-she three R's-for the creation
Of The sentiments that antsgoniZe crime
II good moral character Is more desir-
able than mere intellectual agility il Is
quite conceivable that youth having
good home influences may, if with
drawn from them 3 great part Of the
day. receive more injury than benefit
from instruction not coupled with high
regard for morals. That a close rela-
ton holds between crime and illiteracy-
the absence Of ability to read and write
Is believed by many educators, but the
figures cannot be said to be conclusive.
The most recent and most carefully pre-
pared statistics on this point are those Of
the census Of Massachusetts Of 1875.
The Baltimore Sun, Analysing these
figures and contrasting them with the
census returns Of Maryland and the
statistics afforded by the report Of the
Maryland penitentiary, says:
Taking account only Of persons if
teen years old and upward, we find that
of the total population Of 1.166, OS2, the
number Of iliterstes is 80, 472; the num-
Der Of convicts, 3,971; the nImber Of il
literate convicts, 1874 But if the ratio
Of illiterstes TO the entire population (of
fifteen years and over were the same as
that of the illiterate cOnvicts TO the en-
tire number Of cOnvicts, we should find
the number Of illiterates in the State
128, 490-a number greater by co.
O1s than it actually is. In
word, the expected proportion does
not hold, and we cannot deduce the
crime Of country from its illiteracy.
In fact, they seem both the results of the
same things, which are poverty and un-
favorable home influences in early life.
The census Of 1880 reekOns the pOpuls-
ton OF Maryland at 934 632, the number
Of illiterates Of the age Of fifteen and
over at IL, 6j4 The annual report Of
the Maryland penitentiary for 1880 shows
the number Of convicts 10 be sci, Of
whom $50 cannot read or write, and So
can read only. In Massachusetts, the
nliterates are per cent Of the pOpula,
ton over fifteen years of age; in Mary
land the illiterates are u per cent Of
the entire population. Ia the former
State the convicts numbering 2 OIL or
g per cent. of the pOpulali1l; in
the latter g per cent. Msssachu cts IL
literate convicts are II per cent Of the
whole number Of conVicts; In Maryland
reckoning also those who can read but
cannot write as illiterate-52 per cent. of
the whole number Of convicts are IL
literate, With a greater number Of
illiterates, Maryland has much less crime,
but Of her criminals larger proportion
are illiterate. This greater number Of
criminals in Massachusetts, with smaller
proportion of illiteTste criminals,
might be twisted into proof
that education had promoted crime
in that State But the fact is
that these figures prove just nothing as
10 the effect of education on morals If
there is no close relation between a
knowledge of reading and writing and
sltruistic sentiments it is not surprising
that We can not extort an indication of
it from statistics. The Maryland State
Board Of Education hits the nail on the
head in its last annual report when it
says: The school can do much, but the
family, with the religious, social and in
dustrial influences, which surround it,
does more for the impressionable charae-
acter of the young"