The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-12-13
SOME FACTS WORTH NOTICING.

JsCt VI llllttrdCy, anu tuc Heuieo uiN H'o' ~"
ing. 1t was but natural that in the decade
ending 1870, the states which had ielt the
brunt of war, should show in the census re
port degree of illiteracy greater than othei
sections of the Union, but it seems that by
the last census even the same proportion is
kept up against the southern and south
western states. The cause of education
within the past ten years has re-
ceived great attention and won
dorful impetus everywhere through
out the Union, but the field seemS
in portions of the country simply to have
been entered so far. Unfortunately the
figures Of the census to which Mr.. ARTHUR
refers show the darkest pictures in the
south. The fact, of course, is due TO the
negro population in that section, but the
returns are not such as could be desired
even among the whites. In some two or
three Of the southern states, the per cent
age of those ten years old and upwards who
can neither read nor write is almost half OF
the population. Thrce.iourths of the blacks
cannot read or WRITE and among the
whites the per centage is from fifteen to
twenty-five per cent. Figures such as these
are lamentable, and demand the earn
est attention of the citizens of our states.
There can be no object demanding so i'm
mediately and continuouslya states atten-
ton as the matter of the education of its
youth. To allow half, or fourth or fifth
even OF its population to grow up without
being able to read and write is a crime
against society, and yet it seems that with
all our prosperity and rapid growth ana de.
velopment in the south, our legislators are
doing this very thing. The evil can be
remedied if the proper effort be made. 1t
is possible that one of the chief reasons for
the fact is the costly character of the sys-
tenn. The poor throughout the south are
numerous, and most of them extremely
poor. Many of them cannot dispense
with the help Of their children so that
they can send them to school, but there
is greater obstacle in the way probably
than this. though the schools are free
and hold but four or SIX months in the
year, is found impossible by the poor
parent to keep his children in books.
Schoolbooks are costly. The little scholar
isrushed into five or six studies and some
81 to $40 must be Immediately expended
for his books. Half of them he doesn't need
In month or two the studies are changed
and new set of books must be purchased
and so session after session. Aside from the
loss of the child s. services, the pinched and
cramped parent cannot produce the
ready cash to keep up with the
change in the text books, and if there
are two or three children to be sent it simply
cannot be done. Hence the youths are
placed to work and grow up without even
having peeped into the mysteries of books
The complaint referred TO is one of the
commonest throughout the country and the
practice objected to is largely responsible
for the illitcracy that exists. In a word the
school system is not adapting itself to the
wants and condition Of the people, but is
strenuously attempting to make the people
adapt themselves to the complicated courses
OF study and machinery now witnessed in
running the frce-sChool system, and ma,
jority of the citizens of nearly every com
munity are wholly unable to do SO. This
order Of things should be reversed, or the
state should make some provision for
tnrpigl,intr inyt hAnlrg thn g.l,nlg
IL is subject worthy of the most earnest
attention on the part OF legislators AID
they have heretofore seemingly forgotten
10 note that there were thousands upon
thousands growing up in the states who
can neither read nor write. While our
public school system and the means for its
support are crystali2ing AID receiving the
impress of legislation, the one question
should be among the chicest, how best can
the largest possible attendance be secured
without compulsion? How can we pre-.
vent the recurrence of past errors and COM
binaton of circumstances by which thous
ands of the youth are left annually behind
to grope in the ma2es Of darkness and yet
assume to exercise intelligently the rights
and duties of citizens where honesty
and intelligence constitute the only
foundation upon which the government
can permanently standCD The subject has
been neglected too much already, and the
president will have done good work if he
can arouse attention sufficiently to have the
true causes of illiterscy in the country dis.
covered and the proper remedies applied.
We might as well turn our borders over to
the savaccs rs to permit from fourth to u
half of the young to grow up to manhood
and womanhood without an elementary ed.
ucatlon at least, The subject embraces
both black and white, as the rights of citi
zenship and suffrage belong alike to both
and the des,inics of the state are within the
keeping OF the ballot. The president makes
suggestions, hut not, as 1t strikes us, OF any
practical value. The work is properly tina,
Of the states, and il they fail 10 attend Il
1t 1t is hardly probable that the genera
government will undertake the parental of
flee Of educating its children,
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