Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-03-13

this is true does 1T not set n to think
ing? Some say "we can not afford to
have longer schools" Now friends
right here is where the trouble comes
in. We want to do good for our chill
dren. We want to leave them a legacy;
but do we stop and consider what the
best legacy is that we can leave them!
Do we consider that it would be but q
few hundred dollars difference, at best,
that our children would get, provided
gave them two months more school
ing each year, while on the other hand,
if we yer to advance them 90 per cent.
in their studies would it not be worth
ten times as much to them as a few
psltry dollars? Can we weigh money
with intellect? The thinking man
asks, what will benefit my children
most through life? What will tend to
make their lives more useful? What
is essential to prepare them to meet
and perform their many duties in the
church, the school, in society and In
their family? What will teach them to
the beautiful works of ma
ture, and thereby better understand
the principles of religion, which in the
end, is all we enjoy at best. Will chill
dren not bless their parents all their
lives for giving them all the education
possible, even if they inherit a few dol
lars less? Where is the young man or
woman who would exchange a good
school education for a few
hundred dollars? We hope that such
are not to be found In our county. If
our people were inspired with the
right spirit, they would put their whole
souls in the great work OF preparing
the minds Of their children to become
happy and useful citizens. The old
maxim, "Where there is a will there is
a way" will hold good in this matter.
Then every citizen would become in
terested and go to work to a man, and
this spirit would become contagious.
There is still a great work to do, even
in our county. We look back to our
boyhood days and bring to mind, with
grim satisfaction, the old log school
house, the slab benches, and the
puncheon floor; but we are. satisfied
that our parents did the best they could
at that time. The schOolhOuse COM
pared we'll with the dwelling houses.
How is it to dayp Our county is dot
ted all over with dwelling houses
which cost from 81, 900 to $4,000. Will
the cost of the public schoolhouses
average $500? Yes, there is still a
work to be done in our county in edu-
cational matters. We need larger
schoolhouses, with higher ceilings and
better ventilation; we want better scots
and more school apparatus; we want
longer school terms. In short we want
things SO arranged that a school can be
q happy place. Then good teachers
will instinctivsly find their way hither,
aud the whole county will receive the
benefit. When we begin to look upon
our children, not as children always.
but as the future fathers and mothers
of the coming generation, we will get
a glimpse of the spirit which should
prompt US to work. When we, find
men who do not send their children to
school at all, should not public opinion
be 80 strong as to make education COM
pulsory with such2 Should not such
men be pointed out as thieves who are
stealing that from their own children
that which is of more value than
money! Now friends talk has been
long enough. Talking leads to think
ing, and thinking leads to work.
We have time to think from now to
the coming school election; then let US
put our heads together and be ready to
work. 1t is true times are hard and
money is scarce, and we can not do all
we wish to at once; but we can vote
for longer school terms, and encourage
the directors to employ good teachers
even if they have to pay a little higher
salary. In many places we can replace
the old benches with better ones, and
in other districts we can buy necessary.
school apparatus, and thus step by
step, we will build up our schools.
Now if we were asked what we
thought would be the best way to adj
vertise our county in order to get the
better class Of immigrants to move in,
we would answer; "Build a $1,000
schoolhouse in each sub-district in the
county: make the school term eight or
ten months, and we not only invite
immigration but we enhance the price Of
our land from S5 to $40 per acre, and
then, with pride we could point to our
county as being one of the best in the
state. The beauty of all this would be
that we would be preparing to give our
children a legacy for which they would
bless us all the days of their lives.
w. F. w.