Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-05-20

TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 40. 1894.



TUESDAY EVENING, May 40. 1894.
A Petition That Needs Amendment.
Judge Tourgee Is nothing II not sensa.
tIonal. A few years ago he wrote q
clever book, "A FOOLS Errand," and 1t
was thought that q new literary star had
arisen in the Ornament but the prom
ise OF his FIRST work was dissipated by his
later productions. Just now, as editor
Of The Continent, he is engaged In prop.
agating every manner Of social and
political theories, the chief recommends.
tion for which is that they are all
startling.
The Judge, as might have been ex'
pected, has taken very kindly to the un-
constitutional Blair bill that would
distribute more than $780, 900, 900 OF the
surplus in the national treasury among
the states for educational purposes. The
opinion has already been expressed In
these columns that the bill is not only
inexpedient, but Is absolutely un
constitutional, as In no way coming
uuder the general powers of Congress to
"provide for the common defense and
general welfare OF the United States"
But waving these questions Of the con.
stitutionality Of this scheme, Judge
Tourgee would have the funds distribu.
ted among the states on the basis Of
illiteracy in each. To bring about the
result desired, that is, educational facili'
ties widely distributed, this method is
perhaps the best, and IL the eminent
lltterateur had held his peace after max
ing the latter suggestion, his credit for
good sense might have been saved.
But petition has been addressed
to the United States Senate and House
emanating from the Continent office, In
which Tourgee's fine Roman hand il
discernibls and which contains among
its preambles the following:
WHEREAS, Many riots, and murders
and outrages Of various kinds, have dis
turbed the peace and disgraced the oiyili.
zation of those (Southern) states, and VI
believe that only tho general enlighten
ment Of all classes Of the people can represi
suoh evils, can prevent conflict betweer
the races at no distant day, which mus
result In the most horrible of all forms o
civil var, We implore you, also, by you
sworn obligation, to provide for the ma
tional defence and the general safety Of tn,
land, that you, without delay, make sucl
appropriation and provision for the pro
motion Of intelligence and education as
without extravagance or unnecessar.
expenditure, shall most speedily auC
certainly tend to the immediate reduction
Of the ratio Of ill;teracy in the Southern
states and among all races and classes o
citizens.
1t will be noticed here that bolC
assumption is made of a fact that can
not be proved. No intelligent observe
will say that the best educated classe
are the least or minal. The contrary i
too often true. Massachusetts, anC
Connecticut, where the percentage o
illiteracy is perhaps the smallest in th'
union, afford evidence that educatio;
per Sc does not diminish crime, anC
recent offenses, the most heinous anC
most subtle, reported from that quarter
verify the charge that in the grades o
wrong doing most dangerous to society
there can be no superiority of virtue
predicated Of any particular section o
the country. The past few years have
seen far more riots and murders and
outrages of various kinds" in the North
ern states than in the Southern, as
witness the Molly Mcguire crimes, the
outbreaks at Pittsburg and Cincinnati,
and the countless lynchings throughout
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and other
Northern states. Education is a good
thing, but in our own county, by the last
annual prison report it is seen that Of
the 1876 convicts now in prison, 10 can
read but not write, and only : cannot
read or write, while llS can read and
write. Thus we see that the thoroughly
illiterate make up but s per cent. of the
prison inmates, while those who have
had educational advantages, so far as to
learn to read aud write, comprise the
enormous number Of 81 per cent.
AS 1t is impossible to deduct Il sound
conclusion from false premise, it Ii
respectfully suggested that Judge Tour
gee cut from his petition the balderdasll
alluded to. But with that gone, his case
goes too. Indeed, since the Blair bill
reached the House, the suspicion is
growing that 1t is buried somewhere
therein. At any rate, it stands little
chance Of passage among the strict
Democratic expounders of the constitu
tion. II Judge Tourgee would save hi:
reputation as a logician, let him amend
his petition, while there is vet time.
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