The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-03-24
Tho Necessity for Education In This
County,


The census Of 1880 has not yet made
public the number Of adult persons In this
country who arc illiterste-thRt ia, unable
10 read and write. But tho fact that we
have out OF our fifty millions oil population
over six millions OF Colored people and
about the same number Of Foreigners, In.
dictates that the number must be very
large, saying nothing Of native whites.
This fact presents grave question for the
government.
Recently there was an interesting dis.
Cussion in the United States Senate as to
the expedionCy Of devoting tho proceeds
OF the public lands aud the profits Of the
Patent Office to the cause oil popular edu
cation In tho different States. There
were those who desired that the whole
revenue Of the government from these two
sources Of income should be devoted to
the cause Of education, while others IA.
vored the idea Of amaasing permanent
fund and devoting the interest only to that
object.
We took occasion to say at the time that
the bill was under discussion, that in our
opinion the whole Of the proceeds referred
to should be devoted to the cause Of com.
mon school education. The crisis In re-.
speCt to illiteracy Is upon the country
now. We havOa mountain Of ignorance
to deal with, and we cannot deal with II
in gingerly way, We should go at its
amslioratiOn by a whoeSale method.
A republic rests for it's security on the
intelligence and virtue OF the masses.
The necessity therefore for rudimuntary
education 10 very apparent. An ignorant
population Is necessarily prey for dema.
goguery. Designing men are constantly
on tho lookout Tor false issues whsrewlth
to appeal to the popular passions and
prejudCes for their own elevation and az.
graRdiSemenI. Even NJ the best there
must DO q good deal Of this demagoguery
III politics. Evea in country OF univer.
sal education those who are thoroughly
intelligent arc comparatively few. The
necessities Of labor occupy so much Of
popular attention ns to preclude the posi-.
bility OF thorough information touching
important issues rs they arise.
We have the advantages In this country
Of cheap newspaper reading. The press
Is itself II great educator. But even among
nOwppapetreadipg population certain
amount Of advanced education Is necessary
to euable the people to separate the chat
from the grain. As q rulc, the press largely
reflects the condition Of the popular mind
in tho various localities Of the country, In
far too many instances II falls In with
and champions the prejudiCea Of the PEG.
pie, instead Of devotlng itself to the work
Of eradicating those ptejudlces. This 10
partly owing 10 the lOcs that the people do
not suffer a newspaper 10 travel very far
in advance Of them. They repress Ito Ut.
terancss by the effective agency Of patron.
age. This is the popular rod constantly
held over the head Of the press-especially
the local ptess.
The great necessity Of the country Is
thorough common school education. The
ftBtimpottant step is TO teach the ignorant
mind to think for itsslt-to read, hear and
reflect. The motto Of Lord Bacon-the
greatest Of all phllOsophsts-wm simply,
Tread, weigh and consider" The motto
Of every common school In this country
should DO not 10 stuff the young mind but
to awaken tt edHcate IL, in the general
sense Of the word-that lie, draw II ont
Teach II to think, not 10 te.
peat-develop liz reasoning iaCul.
" instead Of taxing lie memory.
The anal result Of all true education il
to make a man tolerant Of disSsnt-to
teach him that there are two sides 10
nearly evety question that can be submit.
ted to his judgment, Some one has said
that the perfection Of education IL 10
49, -. A. 81 lit At. ...S--..-.