The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1882-08-02
Intelligence Or ignorance?
SHALL THE CRUSADE AGAINST
FREE EDUCATION MEET
WITH SUCCESS?
Shall We Aspire to a Higher Civllizi'
ton, or Shall we be False to Our
Past History {?
Is THERE ANY MAN IN ANBENlLLE
COUNTY, WHO WILL VOTE FOR \
CANDIDATE WHO WOULD DENY
HIS son FREE EDUCATION?
The South Carolina UniverSity--Shall
We IIaye II.


The candidates for the several Offices
within the rift Of the people, are no%i in
the field. daily addressing large audiences
and making known their views upon the
more important subjects which demand
the attention of our State Government;
and soliciting the sutirases OF cur dear
people, -.
! The dear people," as usual, arc wide
awake, and seem to know what it is that
is required of them. Each party hns its
jealous and Ovcr-ZcalouS adhcrcnts, who
| discuss, with much vim, the questions OF
| the day. One OF the i:cstioIS, over
! which there is much discussion, is this:
'Sinll the State make an appropriation
to the South Carolina Univcrsity?'
On this question each candidate for the
Senate and House Of Representatives
must define his position. In doing so, if
he SAYS II favor making the appropriate
tiou,' he is ut once declared Il "Maxwcll
man" II he is opposed 10 it, he is claim
cd rs Il "~IIcinllill man. and no doubt
about it.
Here, then, are two parties within a
PARTY. The one in favor Of Education,
Inc other opposed to it. The one advo-
eating enlightenment, the otlier, Indirect
lv If not directly, advocating ignorance.
The one would have you stand, as it
were. upon the loflicst peak of the dis
tant IIimalaya, without Il cloud between
You and the noOn-day sun; the other
would have YOU stand III the shadow of
your own Table Rock, where no ray of
light ever comes. The II would have
YOU "drink deep of wiSd"m'S crystal
waters" and intelligentlv cast your suf-
~lra.es upon the important question IN
volving the welfare of our country. The
other would have you bound in the
strong letters Of Ignorance that rot may
the more readily he made tho tool OF tho
unprinriplcd politician.
If it is said that this is putting it too
strong, l answer, it is not too strong, Eut
it probes to the bottom and shows the
matter up in its last anal siS.
The Maxwell party ~tavors, yes, advo-
Gates, the election of Senators M LeglS-
latorS vino are willing to tax the proper
tv-holdcrs in order to make the appr0-
p%riatinn to the University and thereby
educate many Of our Young men. The
opposing party, being unwilling to make
the appropriation, would hnye our youth
grow up a super>titious and ignorant pao-
pie. The tendency of the one is to u
higher order Of civilization, the other
to barbariSnl.
And strange to say, many Of the poor
ct cllSS-lllc lIijpI INK tl'bNo-siS ~
ing themselves with the latter party.
Why. in the name of reason, are these
people so gullible? Why do they fear
high taxes, seeing that the rich, and not
poor, pay most Of the taxes? The poor
have but little property, and their taxes
amount to but little. A drink OF rum
or a nickle cigar wonld cost more than
the average poor man' would pay to the
the University, even if the tax for this
purpose was three times what 1t 9 is
1t is the rich mans money that fills the
treasures Of our counties and State, and
if anvbady has Il right to complain Of
high taxes it is the wealthy uian--not the
poor man..
The poorer classes are unable to dcfray
the expenses of educating their children
and vet many of them are unwilling to
vote for men who would have property
holders taxed. and q system of universal
education introduced. Some one may
saw that it is not right to tax tbs wealthy
man in order to educate the child Of the
poor man. But this view of the matter is
too narrow-too miserably selfish. The
harmonious education Of mans several
natures Will eradicate such "iittlcneSs OF
soul' from the inner man. The wealt ny
man, if properly educated, knows that
il is to his interest to live in Il community
Of intelligent men and III He
knows that there his property is en-
HANGED in value, that his life is safer, that
it is better III every way, to llV sur
rounded by a people noted for lntelll-
genre and moral uprightncss. Hence he
is willing to contribute literally 10 the cd
ucation Of the whole people.
! hope there are but few citizens of onr
State, who arc SO mercenary, whose intel
1,.t, ,.n -, ,1N.nrfal and lvhnSa hn1rtS
are so u~ngcnerouS, that they cannot be i'll
duccd to contribute literally to the cdu-
cation, and consequently TO the elevation,
Of the rising generations. If there are
many such, it Is because their intellectual
and moral cducations have been sadly
neglected. \ man properly educated is
not influenced by sOrdid considerations
and s%eltiShncss. He knows that ''by i'll
creasing the joys Of others be adds TO his
own"
Can a parent be a true citizen and neg
lect the mind of his child? Goo has been
pleased TO endow man with a mind that
is capable of "Eargcst reaches of thought,
highest aims and noblest purposes To
neglect the proper development OF his in
finite gift OF God, is criminal:
1t has been said that ANY community,
State or Nation, that is not alive to the
Importance Of educating the rising gcner-
atoms, must go to the rear and seek COLI
ISOLATION in the shadows of by-gone ages"
Then, fellow-citizens, let us be alive to
this important duty. The necessity OF
providing for tile education of our youth
is a matter of the first Importance. 1t is
pre-eminently aboye all other considera-
tons. 1t is Of a nature, that it cannot,
with impunity, be neglected.
Then let us cave common schools all
over our country, and at the same time,
let US so provide for the University OF
South Carolina, that it will be all institu-
ton Of learning, second to none in all this
land of ours.
\ FRIEND TO EDUCATION.