The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-03-24

O
pie which will guide them in the use o
, this information should be carefully in
fused. Now, is it IL fact that our childre
are taught, while at school the principle
of our government and tho advantage
of morality? 1t would be far from til
truth were we to render an affirmativ
answer to this question.
Now, let us suppose that this state O
affairs will exist for another century,
and ask, what will be the resulti o,
the supposition that the mass will be lei
by infiammatory defamation of aspirin.
politicians for one hundred years to come
would it he an exaggeration to say tina
it will be tottering and ready to fall
Even now how many are swaynd to ani
fro by the willy eloquence Of the intriguin.
politician and his nonsensical displa,
of banners, etc. This will increase if TIL,
popular mind is not educated, until reason
and Judgment will be no longer employed
by the mass, and the rens of our govern
ment will be grasped by u few, if not by
one
(! Hundreds of thousands vote who car
/ hardly tell for what. Tens of thousands
talk OF the constitution who have never
read it. Hundreds of thousands annually
arrive at the age Of majority, and appear
at the polls as voters, who have never
read the Declaration of Independence
or the Constitution of the United
States" Many pass through life and an.
nually cast their vote without giving
these great national papers Il careful
perusal. This neglect cannot continue
wit!Dut sapping the foundation of our
government.
But, laying aside this topic, we migl,
proceed to show that the we'll being of
society demands that its members possess
good degree of general information.
Education refincs and eXalts the mind
1t opens field of beauty to the view,
which raises the affections above those
things which are sensual. Cast the eye
over he world, pick out those nations
which are educated, and those which are
not-compaie them and strike the differ
ence. You may begin with the Hottentot
and pass mp the scale until you arrive at
the most happy and prosperous, and you
E,,1
and literary, is the groundwork of this
difference.
Other nations, it is true, lave their sys-
TENS of popular education as well as we.
But here consists the distinction. The
schools of European nations are designed
to teach subjects how to be subjects;
while our schools are designed to teach
the art Of self-government.
AS a nation we have much at stake.
We occupy Il peculiar position among the
nations Of the earth. 1t devolves upon
us to demonstrate Il great political prob
lem, which has never been solved, viz:
that man is capable of sclf-government
The eyes of the European world are upon
us, and they ave carefully observing our
progress i'll this noble work. IF we fail,
Il shout of derision will commemorate
the event. If we succeed, we will give
despotisnl fatal wound and break the
spell by which our brethren of the east
ern hemisphere have been SO long bound
Our success is certain if we educate all
and failure is equally certain if we per-
nit the rising generation to grow up
without the advantage of good moral
and literary training. What can be more
alarming, what can be more harmful in
its results than that course which will
overthrow our government and place
upon our necks the yoke of despotsms
Nothing! nothing! must be the unhesi-
tating answer of every patriot. And let
every patriot remember that nothing is
more certain to produce this result than
apathy in the cause of popular education.
Had we Il silver trumpet whose notes Ct
could be made to reach the ears !
of all, we would send it ringing through |
the land, in tones that would almost |
awake the dead, "Educate educate the
masses of the peopIe!" Let the cost bc
what it will, though the expense be half
The nations wealth, every motive of
and sclf-prescrvation i'm
pels to it. c.