The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1881-08-04
AMERICAN EDuc.TIoN.

Dr. D''eher, President. Of Roanoke
College, Airsinia. read a paper ii, ths
late meeting Of fine cd,catInnsp .Asesn.
ciauoh of Virginia, Mt Nefinlln. an, the
Benevolent Spirit aid FEgheF IFIu-
cation,r IN which he ssidi fist the re-
garded the abnlirihn' Of E3,ivti'e as an
occasion Of dovout gratitude to the
Whole country, and especially ii. the
educators of the South. So soon after
a great civil conflict ending III, bilter
def,a.,- the South is instinct With a
new life, the Inspiration Of universal
freedom and education. He e0ntin-
ued:
a new era Of material. dcvelopc.
ment is dawning upon us. We must
teach economy in the use of time aid
money. There are yet enough idlers
in Virginia to make it prosperous.
The people waste in whisky and tobac-
co many millions which should be bet
ter invested. We cannot ignore these
facts. Idleness and indulgence never
render mer benevolent. In the COM
ing prosperity we must not forget that
man has higher, spiritual nature.
and that there is something better than
factories, railroads, mines and cotton.
Manhood is the great want of the age;
character is more precious than gold.
In our educational work we should
not expect too much from legislation.
We must aim to develop the liberality
of our constituencies. Many patriotic
and benevolent persons look with
alarm at the prospect of completely
secularizing education, both lower and
higher"
At the University convocation in
Albany last week, Professor Gardiner,
of the Albany Academy, read a paper
upon National Education-T rela-
ton of the General Government to
the Education of the People" This
paper shovel an alarming amount of
illiteracy in the United States and sug-
gcsted methods Of removing it. 1t
presented statistics, showing that in
1870 the voting population of the
United States was 1923 900. The
voting population of the Southern
States 2,775,O0O. The ilhterate vo-
ters in the United States were 1885,
600, and the same class nf voters in
the Southern States numbered 1,123,-
600. Twenty per cent OF the entire
voting population of the United States
and 45-pcr cent. of the voters Of the
Southern States could not read their
ballots The total vote cast and
counted at the last general election in
the whole country was 9,297, 600:
Advance sheets-of census reports and
careful estimates say that from twenty
to twenty-five per cent. Of thenI' were
illitersttc. The proportion is larger
to-day. Sixteen Southern States con-
tain one-thifd Of the entirc vote of the
country, and three-quarters of that
vote were illiterate. rhere are 49,
000'illiterte voters in the Eastern,
Northern, and. w estern- States. New
York has n, 420' illiterate voters.
Pennsylvania, 81, ,1ol, Illinois, ], HI,
and Ohio, 1870. These 457 900 IL
literate voters in the North showed
their distinctive power in the riots of
1877, and they can decide every cor
tested election. The rapid growth of
city population and illitefacy is an evil
omen for American democracy. In
1870illitefacy had grown to one-sixth
Of our population, and in 1880 it WIS
one-fifth of our populatioh'in Virginia.
Nearly fifty per cent. of the illiltrate
live in cities.