The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1885-01-07

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of all that had been done our State was
still behind the times i'm providing for
the education Of her children. Her
live, progressive people had had many
obstacles 10 overcome, and had not yet
reached a place where they could sit
d,wn and rest. The powers Of dark
ness were ever active. Ignorance and
81 lfishpess were fearfully stubborn and
f. ught with brute courage not to be
despised. II might be asked, whose
fault was it that Kentucky Jagged be-
hind in this matter Of popular educa-
ton? Ii was fruitless to answer such
an inquiry that might subject us to .
curse for uneovering the nakedness Of
our fathers The whole story might be
told in one word, Slavery" but this
would not help us as We tried to get out
Of the slough Of despond into which
its malign influence had thrust us.
How should We secure the system
which the needs of the State demanded
aud to which her people were entitled.
This was a tremendous problem, and
be was not presumptuous enough to
think he had the power to solve it. The
speaker suggested to the Association
that they calmly, and not in q passion,
consider the character Of the new
school laws, and point out the more
serious defects as they appeared to their
practical and experienced eyes. vio-
lent denuneiatioh would not advance
the cause. Criticism to be useful must
be intelligent and fair. They should
urge the people Of each Senatorial and
Legislative district to be careful and send
men favoring popular education to the
Legislature Previous and special
preparstiolf>Sas expected of preachers,
lawyers, doctors and mechanics before
entering upon their life-work, but
teachers in Kentucky were supposed to
be born and not made, and to spring
into life armed like Minerva. The
great crying need in Kentucky, %
througout the South, was money.
"MOney makes the mare CO." and
without it the finest theories and the
wisest legislation would be of no avail.
The State tax was now rs heavy -
could reasonably be asked. IL was
equal in percentage to that Of the most
advanced commonwealth. The ma
jority Of the votes would not. In many
instances, appreciate the Importance Of
better schools until they themselves
were better educated. They could not
be better educated until they had better
schools. They could not have better
schools until they had more money.
They could not have more money until
they had voted more taxes, and thus
We went around the circle without
solving the problem. The sum and
substance of 1t all was that we must
have Federal aid in the Southern States,
if we hoped to see sufficient system
of free schools during generations to
come. The public men of the South, Is
Brown, Pugh, Hampton, Lamar and
Others warmly supported Federal aid
In Kentucky Senator Williams was liz
ardent advocate, and it was source Of
deep regret that Senator Beck should
lend his great talents to the enemy Of .
cause so vitality important to the people
Of the South. The next Kentucky DEL
egation were all friendly to the measure,
save Carlisle, and he hoped that those
nearest the throne of Grace would pray
for him without ceasing.
"Why should we not have Federal
aid? ? Jeffsron favored Ii, and jackson
signed the bill distributing q surplus In
the Treasury, from which is derived In
substance our present school fund.
Calhoun and Clay were its friends. The
Government has supported military
and naval, Indian and negro schools.
IL has given millions of acres of land to
educational institutions and to the
States for school purposes 1t has do
mated vast portions of the public domain
TO railroad and other corporations and
spent its treasure without stint in i'm
proving the harbors of the coast and
the water ways of the interior. 1t
maintains museums and botanical
gardens, it experiments in agriculture,
in horticulture and in pisciculture, and
it builds monuments, all for the inn
provement and education of the people.
But when il is proposed that IL shall do
Justice to the Southern States, and
equaIize them with their Northern
sisters, to whom II has given such vast
quantities of land sor school purposes,
up rise some of our so called Southern
statesmen and object, lest the Govern
meut shall become paternal, or States
rights be assailed, or our people be put
in the attitude of subsidized paupers-
want the common agent of the States
to he paternsl enough to do equal justice
to all the members of the Union, which
it represents. l am not uneasy about
the rights of the States when IL goes no
further than Jefferson favored, and 30
far as pauperizing the South Is eou-
cerned, have never heard that Ken
lucky has in any way lost caste. or
been less proud because Of the school
fund that she now enjoys through the
bounty of the Federal Government"
The speaker went ON to elaborate his
Argument in favor of Federal aid and
then wound up as follows:
although as friends of this cause,
We may be few and scattered and sur
rounded by an unsympathiziug world,
yet let Us toll on. each in his own
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