The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-04-16
The Bill to Work lniquity under
Pretense of Education-E The
Final Vote.

Mr.. Ransom. wish TO say before |
vote or this bill that | have received 10
common with my colleague-and | speak
"a well for him as do for my>e.f-the
instructions Of the last Legislature OF
Norih Carolina that We should vote Tor a
bill of;hi- character. | regret very much
that there are provisions in this bill which
are r~epugnant to my Judgment and which
| think greatly impair Its value, but l
feel called upon to vote for the bill hrst
under the instructions of the Legl lature
of North Carolina
hope that future Congress, if II be-
comes necessary, may remedy the evils /;
and still more, if it be allowable for me
TO saw 50, | do trust that in the course OF
this bill through Congress 1t will finally
take such shape that the States shall re-
ceiye this grand donation just as the
States of the great West received the
donation of the public lands, with full
faith and confidence that the States them
selves will do right In the use OF the do
nation, and not be embarrassed by con-
ditions which impair the value OF the
measure. :
Mr.. Coke. During the period that |
have been a member OF the Senate 10 my
humble judgment no bill has ever been
introduced into this body and received It's
serious consideration iraught with SO
much evil to the country as this bill now
about to pass. ] think, Mr.. President,
that [ see in the future more trouble,
more strife, that | see the fermentation of
more difficulties between the two races IN
this country, aud especially in the South,
to arise from this bill than ever ensued
from the reconstruction laws. think
see a system of extravaganza and corrup-
ton in the administration OF common
schools in this country beginning with
the passage of this bill if it shall pass,
removing as it will the management OF
these schools ultimately from the super
vision of the people of the States to Fed
eral supervision Of this capital. | think
see more extravaganza and corruption
than has ever existed before In the man
OF a school sytem think
can see in the future great dissatisfaction
among the people. | think, look where
| will where this law will operate, that |
can see only evil and no good.
hope | may be mistaken if the bill
shall pass. | hope that its passage, how
ever, will be arrested in the other House
of Congress; that the institutions of the
people which have been reserved to their
management in the States will by the
House be preserved to them, and that
the action of this body, if it shall so far
forget what believe to be its constitu.
tional duty as to pass this bill, will pass
for naught.
1t is useless to look to the Senate any
longer. The people must rely upon the
House of Representatives if they would
be saved the misfortune which il my
Judgment the passage Of this bill will
bring upon this country.
Mr.. Hawley. Mr.. President, | viii
make just one or two observations.
The extent of illiteracy has been.great.
" exaggerated by the statistics spread
before US. The total illiteracy of the
country according to these tables is Is.
l2S, The total of children enrolled
in the public and private schools is 10
245, ga hat is to say 67.7 per cent. OF
all the children in the country are en-.
rolled. 1t has been the habit of those
who defend such bills to say hat there.
fore 1913 per cent. are growing up with.
out the possibility of knowing the English
alphabet, but let me show in a single
moment the gross mistake this is.
In some States the limit of school age
is from 5 to 81 that is to say, the schooI
life is sixteen years. 1t is obviously pos.
sible that the return of those States shall
show that only one half the children are
enrolled in the public schools. and yet
that every child In each OF those States
may go to school eight years aud acquire
a comfortable common-school education.
Thele is where the error comes in this
reasoning. You may take the best sys-
tenn of education you please and you
never can find that all the children OF
school age are enrolled. They come as
near it perhaps in my State as any.
The average attendance Is probably
1O4 years cut of the II; therefore, with
67.7 of the children of the country en-
rolled, it is yet possible that every child
may attend school 9 years and ! months.
The average school time in the country
is l4.2 years. Every child, it may be,
will attend 9 years aud I months. and
yet the returns show these frightful fig.
ures ofilliteracy.
| wish to close with just five lines from
the address of the school superintendent
in my State in opposing this genera,
measure:
All experience teaches US that such
distributors Of public money are waste
full, hat they give opportunities for job
berry and corruption. that they kill tho
very Interests which they are planned tc
| promote, and that they end in debauch.
ing the people with their own money
God save that this is not true prophecy
in this case. (Amen !-ED. +. & NJ