Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-05-08
THE NATION AND THE SCHOOLS.
VIEWS OF COL. COWARD, STATE SUPERIN
TENDENT OF EDUCATIOH


Federal aid to education, and his conclu-
sions will, 1 am sure, be interesting and
instructive to the readers of the Ne1cs and
Courier. TO open the subject by the most
general method now prevailing in South
Carolina, I asked:
"Colonel, have you read Senator Buffers
letter on the Educational bill?"
"You mean the letter to Mr.. Connor?
Yes.
"How do you understand it?"
II have understood it to be q formal eX-
planation of his attitude in opposition to
the Educational bill before the Senate, and
definition, in part at least, of his views OF
popular education"
"What do you think its effect is?"
II fear" said Col. Coward, "that the eff
feet is preiudicial, to a certain extent, to
the educational interests of the State, be-
cause it has reawakened latent opposition
to the public school system which had be-
come almost dormant. am persuaded that
our people have fully adopted the schools,
and will not be inclined under any circum-
stances to be deprived of them, but the ad-
verse sentiment which Gen. Buffers letter
is calculated to encourage will cause great
er degree of friction in the work OF the
public school system. In nearly every
school district there are some individuals
who are at heart bitterly opposed to
THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO
and who, persistently turning their faces
backward to the feshpots of the past, fail to
realize the fact that the negro is now free
man and citizen. The great success that
has attended the public schools in the State,
the declared purpose of the Democratic par
ty to maintain them for all classes, and
the general advance Of public opinion to a
higher and broader plane, had shamed most
of these individuals into silence. Now that
they find themselves standing under the
shadow of prominent name they. are be-
coming more outspoken and aggressive than
ever"
"What is your answer to the ODJectlOns
which are urged against
NATIONAL AID TO EDUCATION
as now contemplated
"These objections, it seems to me, may be
classed into four groups-objections on con-
stitutional grounds, objections to the partic-
ular bill before the Senate, objections to the
general policy of public education, and OBJ
iections growing out of polical partisanship.
Although reared States Rights man ac-
cording to the straightest of the sect, CAL
houn's disquisition on Government and
treatise on the Constitution of the United
States having been textbook in my alma
mater, must candidly confess my inability
to appreciate the force of any objection
urged on the ground of constitutionallty.
Following the views of the most enllght-
ened writer's on the subject of government,
the trainers of our Constitution with slngu-
lar unanimity, recognized and acted upon
the great fact that a government such as
they desired to form must be based on the
virtue and intelligence of the people. In
one of his letters Mr.. Madison says: "A
popular government without intelligence
or the means of acquiring it is but the pre-
lude to tragedy or farce, or perhaps to
BOTH Accordingly
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
in the days of the Confederation saw the
necessity of providing the means to secure
intelligence by making liberal provision for
public schools So early as 1885 the 10th
section of every township of the public do
main was reserved and consecrated to that
purpose. No doubt was entertained Of the
necessity and propriety of this step. The
only question upon which there was any
division at all was to the agent by whom
the schools were to be organized and man,
aged. The Federalists generally advocated
that the work should be done by the Gen.
eral Government; the Republicans, whose
lineal descendants are the present Demo
cratic party, and not the modern wolf in
the guise of that august name, were OF the
opinion that the States individually should
do it. It must be remembered that in the
government, under the Articles of Conted-
Grafton, the principle of State autonomy
was carried to such an extreme that the
cohesiveness Of the government was, IN the
language of that day, little better than
rope of sand. From this fact we may infer
the intensity of their conviction about the
necessity of popular education and the pro-
priety of its support by the General Coy
ernment. Upon the admission OF Ohio in
1902, the State was made the trustee of
the donations and the irresponsible agent
of its administration.
"The twelve States admitted up to 1913
received the benefit Of the 10th section, and
all the States admitted since that year have
received the 18th and 36th sections.
THE LANDS THUS GIVEN
to States and reserved to Territories up to
1880 amounted to 81, $685. ,919 acres. Besides
this, special grants have been made for the
support of universities, amounting to ,565,-
$40 acres. These enormous benefits were
conferred only on the Public Land States !;
but in 1862 the educational endowment was
enlarged by donations to all the States to
promote the establishment of agricultural
and mechanical colleges, amounting to 600
600 lin place and lin script Of this South
Carolina received in script 100000 acres,
from the revenues of which the agricultural
and mechanical department of the Univer-
sity are supported. The total of all these
grants up to 1880 is 1888, ,439 acres, which
at two dollars per acre reaches money
value of $l57 ,51S,778 or more than twice as
much as the Senate bill proposes to use.
Now here is
4 PRINCIPLE RECOGNIZED AND ACTED ON
from the very foundation of the Govern
ment. It's constitutionality has never been
questioned, but, on the contrary, it has been
accepted as the practical working out of one
of the important objects for which the Con-
stitution was ordained and established,
namely, to promote the general welfare
Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of any
other means by which the General Govern
ment could so we'll carry out this particular
object. 1t would be puerile to assert that
the principle involved in the distribution
of the SIT 100000 contemplated by this bill
is different from that upon which the land
grants have been made. Every acre of the
public domain cost money or both money
and the blood of our citizens, in other words,
was acquired by direct purchase or at the
cost of war
"While was in Washington in February
last, I studied very closely the bill intro
duced by the Senate committee on educa-
ton, known as
THE BLAIR BILL
and thought it absolutely free from objec-
tions. It was amended in many particulars
before it finally passed the Senate, and some
of the amendments are, / think, objection
able and calculated to arouse serious Opposi-
ton in the House. The most Objectionable
provision is to be found in the last sentence