National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-04-27
Reasons For the Passage of the National
Education Bill.

Boston Globe, April III
The Sunday Globe has requested me Ito
state concisely the reasons which, In my
judgment, ought TO secure the passage of
the bill for temporary national aid to COM
mon schools. They are as follows:
/. The general education OF the people
is indispensable to their happiness and to
the existence of the republic. Ignorance
in Alabama or Oregon is as dangerous to
the whole country us In Massachusetts, or
Kansas. A fatal disease is as dangerous In
one part of the body as in another.
2. The southern states have one-third the
population Of the whole country, and,
although taxing themselves more heavily
than the north In proportion to their
ability to pay taxes, they have only one
sixth Of the money annually expended In
the whole country for schools. In six OF
the southern states the illiterates are about
90 per cent. Of the population over 10 years
Of age.
s. Notwithstanding the earnest efforts
admitted TO have been made by the south
ern states, since the census Of 1880, to edu-
cate their children, and although northern
emigration and movements Of capital have
led to marked improvement In some locali-
ties, as In Florlda-which Is becoming O
northern state-still the Improvement In
schools, on the whole, hardly more than
Keeps pace with the increase OF population.
The total expenditure of the country for
schools is at least $50, 200, 900, OF which not
over $17, 100000 is in the southern states.
In 1880 the total was $T7, 900, and in
the southern states, $l2, $780, 900. Exclud.
ing Maryland, Missouri, and the District OF
Columbia, the southern states have one
tenth Of the money and one-flfth of the
school population. Their school plant Is
poor, so that school houses and furnishing
and their teachers require very large extra
expenditure IN order that they may do
the same work with the same amount of
money.
4. The south is now expanding, OF her
own money raised by taxation-not from
school funds like those of many OF the great
northern and western states, which were
derived from the national bOunty-twice as
much as the education bill proposes to add
TO 1t from year to year for eight years, and,
whatever may have been formerly the case,
the people are now aroused and guard the
school money quite as jealousy as In any OF
the northern states. II they prudently and
honestly apply their own, what danger II
We add triie to |. to be expended for the
same purpose, under the same local super
vision, and subject to strict review by ma
tional authority yearly before another In
stallment 10 paidY The expenditure will
be made with perfect safety, and even II
half Of 1t were wasted 1t would be better
than that nothing be done, and In no case
will a state receive more than she expends
OF her own money,
o. New England participated In the build
ing up Of slavery and had her share of the
profits. The fortunes of New England and
Of the South always were aud always will
lie most intimately connected.
The real danger to the educated, free,
highly civilized, and therefore highly paid
labor Of the whole north, is not from
foreign cheap production by cheap labor,
against which we can protect ourselves by
tariffs and antl-contract labor laws, but
from the cheap because ignorant labor Of
the south, with which we must always have
fee trade, and whittier now capital is
tending, until the cheap productions OF the
IN the east and In the west. Educate