The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-03-08
DIR. CURRY on .EDuoATIoN.v
A Pcrtinent and Interesting Address In
The Hall OfIhe House Yesterday.


was expected 10 deliver an address on III,
subject OF Education and the purposes OF the
Peabody Trust Fund, in this city this even
Ing The carrying out Of this arrangement
was, however prevented by nm engagement
the Doctor had TO meet with the COngFes
Sional Educational Committee at Washing
ton this evening He therefore came 10 thii
city yesterday, and was invited by the HOus,
Of Delegates TO deliver Ills address In thei
hall yesterday afternoon.
At three o'clock other exercises were sus
pended and the House surrendered To thu
orator and his audience. -
In addition 10 the members OF the House
most Of the Senators and large number O
citizens and ladies were present. Among thu
latter we noticed Miss Taylor, OF the Female
College. The Senate entered In q body, ant
the members were conducted TO seats by thu
Sergeantat-Arns
DR.. Curry began In very deliberate man
ncr. After brief acknowledgement OF thu
honor conferred upon him, he said he can't
not TO indulge In oratory, butte make an Rp
peal TO the intelligence OF his Legislative
herers. lie said representatives were thu
Consclences oil their constituencies, and the
guardians Of their interests. They were also
hNStsoulNo VI AAS Nultulo NANlllAhtlOI
Of those who chose them to discharge theil
high offices.
The young State of West Virginia Is rich
in material resources-rich In the elemenu
which other States covet, and which II cult
V1ted right will bring Astounding pAnperity
and place the State high on the roll OF com
m0nwealths
McCulloch says that the foundation Of
England's superiority Is In her vast coal beds
II this be true, 1t needs no prophet TO say
that the coal deposits Of this State, rightly
developed, will become the foundation Of
distinguished wealth and position for her.
Close beside the coal is the iron ore, and
mining and manufacturing join hands Ia
contribute to the prosperity Of West Wiz,
ginia.
Need stop to ask why your State is fur.
ther advanced now than twenty years ago!
The resources were here, but they lay unde.
velopcd aud prOiitless. When the lthuriel
spear OF industry assaulted them, they rose
as factors In the history Of the State.
There Is something in West Virginia more
rich and valuable than your coal and iron
ore; more 10 be desired by those who Covet
for the State commanding position than
your commerce, though your commerce may
whiten all the seas Of the globe This Is
DukI AlhG NOul anu HUH kllla 10 Vi
profit to community until it is developed
and brought forth, and made an element in
the community's progress.
The aim of nations is to make Of the cen
sumner producer, and to multiply his pro-
ductive capacity. Thus is there secured q
surplus, and an accumulation of wealth.
That which will give the highest productive
capacity is the training Of the intelligence OF
the producers From the creation Of Adam
TIL tue last OF time ignorance never did nor
will contribute to the happiness or wealth OF
a people. There are in West Virginia
oil 900 people who cannot read the
Bible, or the ballot they cast, and
10 per cent Of these are white peO-
pie. Suppose you increase this 81 ,0OO until
1t constitutes majority Of your people.
What would be the result? Is 1t not then the
duty OF every statesman to see that this pro.
portion is not increased, but diminished .?
From the lowest view you can take OF it.,
from the standpoint Of mOney-making, the
proper course for any state TO pursue, the
wiSest measure OF economy Is to adopt those
measures which will conduce to universal edu.
cation. 90 farther: Intelligence enters cS-
sentially into every question OF wages. We
pay. man not so much for physical strength
as for the mind which IS in alliance with it.
A"'SAy illS llACllllG llSGU uIlyWutTG
is the result Of science applied to the me-
chanic arts and TO labor Every lumber
lamp, chair, house, every invention of man
which distinguishes modern from ancient
civilization, which distinguishes enlighten-
ment from barbariSm, Is the product Of in.
teliiSence. Look at the telephone and the
saving 1t effects. 1t was produced by intclli.
gcnce
The speaker could remember when We had
no gas, no mAtChcs-ot seeing old men strike
fire with flint and steel. We do not realize
the progress We have made by art in comb.
nation with intelligence. The pnrtnershipof
the hand aud brain has produced It all.
When DR.. Arnold, Of Rugby, went into the
school room to teach boys people all said.
What pity that man OF his mind and
learning should so waste his life He should
have entered politics" Yet the speaker
thought Dr. Arnold did more to lift IN and
benefit his fellow men than all the statesmen
OF his day. Your coal fields are in certain
localities, your iron mines in certain local..
ties. You can stick pin on map and
show where they are. But you can't do this
with minds. They are in every family and
home everywhere. So we find everywhere
the sources Of wealth and power. lie had
not time to demonstrate that man had right
to be educated lie said. however, that SO.
clety can't afford, West Virginia can't afford
to let 81 900, or 10000, or 900 children grow
up IN Ignorance. The government that fails
to use all legitimate measures for the cduCa.
ton OF youth commits treason against hu-
mainly, against civilization and against God.
And the parent who nPgleCtS to educate his
offspring to the best OF his ability commits
worse treason than did that arbitrator.
Benedict Arnold. Applause
There is not in the history Of civilization
or governments n single instance, single in
cidcnt where there has been anything an.
prOaChing universal education unless il was
furnished by the State and by the public
revenues. There were no public schools in
the South prior to the war, and there was
nothing like universal education. The Doctor
assumed that education must be by the State
graded schools and free tuition, with gen
eraI and local supervision, must be the main
features OF the system to be cilGCtual. The
defect in schools is the incompctcncy of Inc
teachers. There are many excellent teach
ers, md meanly paid as they are it is n won.
der there are so many Of them. But the gen.
eraI fault OF schools from the highest to the
lowest is the want Of good teachers. Some
system therefore Ought.to be devised to train
teachers tor their work. There are mnnv
people who say that because man has Il
liberal education, no special training is
necessary to fit him fora teacher You might
MS well toll me that a thorough student Of
physiology was fit to make operations IN
surgery without special experience or in
struCtiOn.
To teach properly requires that the teacher
be trained professionally and specially for
the work DR.. Curry believed that the rcn.
son boys and girls made such slow progress
was the Culpable aud shameful incompc.
tencc OF teachers. Teaching involves three
things-matter, method and mind. In the
first place the tcnChcr must understand his
subject thoroughly next, he mus under.
stand the method Of teaching it, the whole
process Of imparting information effectively.
and true teaching involves thorough anal.
ysis aud understanding Of the mind A man
who does not understand something Of the
human mind. and Of the hest ways To train
and develop its various faculties, Is no more
NJ to teach school than he is to make laws.
You educate n man to he tooth doctor n
l. H. Al