Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1881-01-20

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like the duties of parent or president
OF college, cannot be enumerated in
legislative enactments. have held
that one indispensable qualification Of
a Superintendent is the sense of NOR
al responsibility beycnd the reach of /
legal definement."
In the prosecution of moral means
to secure uniformity IN text books,
and to promote knowledge of the
State, and foster proper State pride,
l labored and expended Of my means
to have a series OF N G. Rea,iers pre-
pared and used. and prepared and had
published, a Nnrtt. Carolina edition
ef Geography, the first precedent of
the kind in the United States, and
siuce fcxlowed in a number Of instan-
ces. In our State Educational Asso-
citation it was often proposed to me
moraliZe the Legislature 20 vest tue
power of debating text Books in me
or some ceDtral authority, and l al
ways opposed the measure aud final !
ly, on one occasion, when the move
ment seemed likely to prevail, l de-.
featrd it hy declaring my purpose to
resign Immediately on the passage Of
such an Act, and stating it rs my
op,nion that no competent man would
serve when hribes could be offered,
aud bribery De charged, whatever his
course. This is my record, aud will
ever stand Icy it; and now. as the
matter is one Of prime import ancs,
70 ~ x.yl,r
in my judgement, are tnsurmountable
objections To the measure IN question.
l. Il will inevitably load to corrup-
tion, and the ink Of the signatures to
the law, will hardly be dry before the
State Board will be beseiged by agents
and agents of agents, by attorneys,
and by disguised and paid dnfueaces,
which will meet them at every turn.
1t is no answer TO say tha: teachers
and local authorities are best with
l'EporLuni:ies--it would be next to
Impossible for one publisher to carry
all o: these by improper approaches,
and the patronage of each wculd he
SO small that it weuid not Justify a
resort to heavy bribese But the book
trade for the hundreds Of thousands
of children of the whole State is a
great prize, and put its absolute con-
troll in the hands of a central author
ity, and you offer powerful te;npta-
ton to evil enterprise, and at the same
time simplify It's work, and as surely
as there is corruption in the world, So
surely will it soon be entrenched ard
| flagrant in another vital center of
public life. Our present authorities
would shrink in horror from the con-
temptation Of such results, but we
have had honest officials because We
have jeaiously shielded our State
powers from corrupting allurcments /;
and the only Certain way to pre>crve
free administration az public aF ,irs
is to guard the Government against
temptation.
We remember Hazaers indignant
answer when told OF the atrocities he
would commit on the people Of the
prophet Elisha, AZ 1 we know that be
saw with other eyes and acted from
other motives when he became king OF
Syria. The eagles will soon gather to
the carcass; great prizes Of power and
me ney will attract dishonest enterprise,
new and vitiating elements will enter
into our elections. the immense PATTON
| age of the Superintendent Of schools
| will give power and influence to incum-
5ents wholly unit for the duties of the
place, and will bring out 4 rev class OF
candidates, rings and combinations will
be formed to select plant men, and our
school machinery will rapidly demoral-
lze under t h o pernicious ma
nIpulations which seem to be injecting
all the sources Of patronage an the
world. Our remedy for disorder MOI
fatal. will bring upon us a mortal plague,
the very blight OF lep.osy; and if We
are wise we will stand il the old paths,
we will heed the injuncti on obsta prip-
cipiis, and resist the beginnings Of evil.
2. In the course of the tenn of years
prescribed, there will be changes and
! improvements in text books, and those
forced OF u, by law may, and probably
will be, deareY and inferior to Others
before We will be permitted to change
them.
3. Such law will stultify the State,
and SO fetter teachers that competent
ones will not yish to serve. We es-
tablish a system cf fschoo!s as beneti-
cence, and tax all the people to support
it, and then by our legislation degrade
it in vital centre, and declare it teach
ers incompetent to the discharge of their
moste ien,ent .ry duty and prlvlase, that
of selecting their own text books, when
even every master mechanic will refuse
J to work unless he can choose his tools.
Can we expect good and improving
teachers IN system which presunes
the lncompetency of all, and ties their
hands?
A. And what guarantee have we that
heads of departments in the State gov
ernment, who are ec-e6feio members o.
the Board, Of Education, who are elcc, ed
with reference to the duties of theil
places. or on political grounds, will be
any better jndges Of school books, than
persons who MAKE the business Of teach
ing and profession? Surely. a self-res
/ psctlng, spirited aud emulous teacher
| wo,,Itl resent stlch an IDEA as a seriou.