Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-02-11
rendered his resignation TO Gov. Bate, to
take effect on the 1st Of next month.
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF TENNESSEE

ne OOuDly thanked tne LeglSl AZURE Tor Inc
honor they conferred On him in allowing him
to address them. 1t was the duty Of the
representative to reflect fairly and impair.
italy the will, best interests and honor of
the whole State. He would not insult their
honor and intelligence by asking what they
were here for? The representative miscon-
ceives his duty who narrowly gauges it
| BY the exclusive interests of the immediate
constituency who elected him. He
was as much the representative of the whole
State as be was Of his own county. lie knew
of no divisions called East, Middle and West
Tennessee which denagogues had created,
and he would be glad 10 see these divisions
swept away. He was here 10 direct their at
tention to subject which interested them
one and all. The governor had called atten-
ton to the subject upon which he was going
to address them in his message. Whatever
might be said Of the governor of Tennessee
| OF his political opinions or in any other way,
he would say he had seen Gov Bate when
the music Of bullets was heard, and never a
Drawer man engaged in battle or drew
sword in defense of principles which he be-
lieVed TO be right lApplause.l In his work
| HE KNEW NO PARTY,
no politics, no religious denomination, no
sectional feeling. Ali alike were citizens of
the great commonwealth of Tennessee. The
| governor spoke of education as a great sub
| jsci, and went further than any other gov
ernor had gone, in recommending that there
be two superintendents, thus recognizing the
right OF black and white alike. He had
been asked whether he had any connection
with bonds owned by the Peabody Institute
| OF the city oil Baltimore. He had not, and
without passing upon the matter, one way or
the other, he would say that the Peabody
Education Fund did not own one solitary dol
lar in Tennessee bonds. The Peabody Edu-
cation Fund had been given to the trustees
with absolute discretion. They could give
it all to one State il they liked, but they
did rot go choose. They chose to aid the
South, and especially 10 aid in the education
of teachers. They acted exclusively in CO.
operation with State systems; they gave no
aid to private or denominational schools.
Schools OF certain qualifications were chosen
and aid extended temporarily, after which it
was Withdrawn and extended to others. The
fund was now largely, and in a few years
! might be exclusively, devoted to teacher
! training. A few years ago the trustees
| selected Nashville as the location of uormal
| school. The salaries and all expenses we're
paid from the Peabody Fund, and until two
years ago Tennessee never gave cent. Two
years ago Tennessee had appropriated
$4,000 for
nOhmAL tDuSAIlON,
but, with deductions for colored students
educated elsewhere and Tor Tennessee stu
dents, the college realized only 5000 in
1SS1-s2 and $1,000 in 1S82-S3. Since the
| college started over 400 young men and
young women, Tennessee boys and Tennessee
girls, had been educated without the cost of
a cent for tuition. There was a bill now
| pending appropriating $4,000 year to the
college unincumbered by conditions. 1t was
10 be given TO a college here in our midst,
| under our control and for our children. The
trustees desired to put Tennessee on foot
| ing with other Southern States; these States
had scholarships, each paying the holder
| 5000 annually for meeting their expenses.
| The object was TO build up a great normal
college here that should be a monument
| TO The memory of Mr.. Peabody more en-
| during than brass. II this bill passed, Ten
| nessee would stand on the same footing
with other States, and the pupils receive 5000
each besides free tuitiou. He confessed to q
| feeling Of humiliation; his sensitive South
ern nature revolted at the position he occu-
pied to-day. 1t brought the blush OF shame
to his cheek to have to stand and beg q
Southern Legislature to take a gift, and to
aid in the building up of an institution
that other States would gladly take under
harder conditions. He asked the passage
OF no bill as a bounty; let it come as an
| act of justice, and let il be as a forward,
ssgacious step IN the direction of giving 10
the children OF Tennessee the highest train
| ing in education. Give the amount as an
act due to self and an institution of learn
| ing, as an act due to the children. Public
schools in Tennessee were a res a6judicatd.
Anybody who fights them might as we'll
fight the eclipse OF the sun or the cataract Of
Niagara. This means that
PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE RIGHT
and necessity, and in our age and humani-
~ education was a right and a privilege of
every human being. Universal education
was right by virtue OF the fact that we are
| American citizens. They are opposed by
some who believe in the divine right of
kings and in the right of the better-born to
govern, and who insisted that some should
be educated while others were not. But
they were always careful to draw the line 30
ss to let themselves and their children in.
Then if the question was settled they must
provide not only a school but teacher for
the school. If they wanted doctor, a law
yer, an engineer or an artist, they selected
one fitted for the high work but when it came
10 children, many acted on the principle
that anybody could teach school if they
could be had for $40 month. To farmers
he would say that there was not a machine
worth using on the farm that was not the
product of cultivated intellect. If they
get skilled labor for machines, hew much
more should they get it for the training Of
the young. 1t was obvious that no man
could teach what he did not know, though
many tried to do so. The teacher must know
the thing to be taught, and the person to be
instructed. knowledge had laws, and per-
son wanting to impart it must know the laws
OF the mind. If he did not know it he was
pretender. Take
THE PICTURE OF ANDREW JACKSON
hanging there. When the portrait of one
of our great men, or Of a loved one, was
wanted, an expert was employed who worked
on the dead canvas until it seemed almost to
live. The teacher did not stand before a
dull canvas or irresponsive marble; carved
not on figure that would decay, but on one
that would live forever. Parsimony in edu-
cation was liberality to crime, encourage.
ment 10 poverty. Withholding from school
houses was giving TO poorhouses and peni
teutisries He was here in the interest Of
wise and ssgacious legislation. He needet
not to speak of the valley of Tennessee; he
would speak of her iron, her zinc, copper
coal and Manganese; her forest treighteC
with valuable timber; her water power, able
TO run the machinery of the world; bel
J agricultural advantages; her climate, giving
health TO invalids; her lines of railroads
her immense water transportation, and say
TO these representatives of Tennessee tina
scarcely ever in the history of the common
wealth had they such great questions Il
meet. They might call him an enthusiast
missionary of education, and say he haC
gone mad on the subject. He did net care
He appealed to white, black and all CLASSES
: when he said if they desired to bring tn
industries forward, they must educate tn
r people. Call it
THE DREAM OF AN ENTHUSIAST;
0 no ignorant people were ever prosperou
people. As fast as \ State approaches uni
versal education it added TO the wealth an,
resources of the people. 1t would take tn
Q iron ore from IFS bed where it had slept 10
: centuries and fashion it to a thousand usefu
shapes. The last census gave to Tennessee
in 1880 population of 100000 people, VIII
in the census year produced 500, 900 tons c
coal and 100000 tons of iron, owned les, 90
farms, 100000 horses and mules, 500, 90
beef cattle, 100000 sheep, and 100000
hogs, and raised 100000 bushels of corr
e 1850, 900 bushels of wheat, 100000 bushel
= of oats, 100000 pounds of tobacco an
100000 bales OF cotton. All realize
. that the Safe went down in the seal
:. of prosperity from 1860 to 1870 br
u the people did not realize that from 1870 {
u 1851 they got poorer and poorer. lhe al
}, sessed valuation of property in 1870 va
= S253, 7s2, 161; in 1850, S2ll us. 53S. TIL
was because they had gone backward in ayr
- culture. The South had been Impoverished
1t investments were swept away; a terribl,
}; crushing disappointment befell her. W
still walk amid the debris and ruins of th
war, but instead Of giving away 10 hopelel
despair, and gong with heads bowed dow
e dragging about the dead corpse OF the pas
l. let ns, rather, with heads erect, hope in GU
"a hearts and energy in,our limbs, strive to n
pair our position, develop our industrie
) and, like
THE ROME OF MODERN DAYS,
Is build up from old ruins a city of far create
. msgni6cence and splendor than was th
. oIden Rome in its palmiest days. Look
a the States of the North, inferior to Tenne
see and Virginia in all the elements
70 wesltb, but because of public sehsels the
l. had higher prosperity. The thing to d
e was to educate the people of Tennessee
A Did they need it? Let us see. Gov. Bal
and Superintendent Crawford tell US thel
y were $40, l79 children of school age in Tel
e, nessee; OF these there we're at public an
RS private schools 29o, 504, leaving 258, 675 chi
NJ dren in Tennessee that never darken