Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-06

tiers.
Church disestab lishmeut and freedom
OF conscience were principles coincident
with our Declaration of Independence.
Whether the application of such princi-
pies was ever made as complete as JET
ferson. Hamilton and Washington and
Adams intended is doubtful. 50 long as
any class of property remains un,aXed
the tendency is for such property to rap
idly accumulate. One hundred years sge
two acres out Of every five in France
were untaxed. The end WAS revolution.
Freedom Of conscience is not Sc
cured when mans life is safe. 1t is
not secured when he must pay for
another mans views of catechism.
Society unquestionably is widening the
way of free thought and rationalism.
England has, believe, let out of j.il re-
Gently the last minister she will ever i'm
prison for anything short of crime. We
congratulate ourselves that we do not
live in the age that was brooded over by a
theology that defended the murder of
heretics. Fifty years from now another
generation will congratulate Itself that it
Is not of our day. We are sure that
theology enlarges and humanizas itself IS
all other things do.
Arbitrament, as method accepted By
civilization for the settlement OF national
disputes, is @ principle we shall soon see
universal. 1t is growing conviction lthat
to fight in masses is no less q savage trait
than to fight our single-handed qusrrels.
The poet Horace tells us: "Men first
fought with fists, then with clubs, and
then with spears We have, however.
outliYed the duello period. Il is
no longer code of honor on this CONT
nent. Still the world is burdened with
fighting score of not less than 20, 900, 900.
This is mainly in the interest of old Gus
toms and forms, civil and religious, in
herited from brute force ages, that ought
to die. The railroad binds. Literature
unites. Wsr is the expression of the Old
anita goniz!Dg forces. But close under
the surface of society lies moral force
that will rise TO the surface and abolish
legal slaughter as an older sge abolished
human sacrifice. The calm convictions
OF the world as to what is right invariably
gain the mastery.
Equally sure are we Of revolution in
education. Indeed, 1T is already upon Us.
The sciences have steadily pressed to the
front. In another generation we shall be
ashamed OF any child who is ignorant Of
the elements OF biology, Of physiology.
zoology and botany-quite as surely as
we are now ashamed of one who is ig-
norant OF grammar and geography. To
know the world under foot, and over
head, and the living world, Of which he
is 3 part, will be the earliest lessons
taught child. The education Of
the hand will 60 on with The
education of the brain; and so no
child be called educated who has not
power to earn living, or do days work
ct some honest toll. With all this will
keep pace moral culture, an education OF
the child, not in religious etiquette, but
in natural morals. At present the intel
lect alone is cared for in our schools (the
knowing faoulties) Itake it the driving
OF religious teaching out Of our schools
was only preliminary to larger moral
culture. Education has moved along this
line of evolution during past generations:
l. Religious education, and nothing
else
2 Education controlled by the church.
). The state cooperating with the
church in education.
4. The church co-operstlng with the
state.
5. The state alone controlling educa-
ton.
The church forbidden to interfere.
I. Free and compulsory secular educa-
ton.
s. The eighth and flal stage may be
described as the culture of the whole
man-morally, Intellectually and physic
ally, into perfect citizenship under the
state.
There is another feature OF modern life
that is so different from what we learn OF
ancient civilized states that from it we
can safely forecast in another direction
l mean the tendency of modern society TO
slough off social sins. We killed slavery
Oy natural process. We are sure to do
more OF the same sort of work. No mat
ter how powerful any evil may appear to
be, it is always Inherently weak. The
saloon power is evil, and IS such bears
with itself inevitable extinction. The
time is not far distant when our
ablest boys will 10 longer be
turned into bloated sots. Equally
sure SIN 1 that prudery will ere long
lose it's power to conceal the laws Of life,
SO that 999 tbousand!hs OF human babes
shall inherit the passions of their parents,
inatead OF their best thoughts and hopes.
1t is only by force of the few well be-
gotten men and women that the world is
moved forward. Tkere can be no gre.ter
vice than breeding bassness, and gross
ness, and weakness, and sickness instead
Of health, and besuty, snd power, and
fac Instincts. We have to consider
not only how best to educate, but how 10
get the best things to educate.
Some form OF CO operation is almost |
sure to displsce the present purely wsge
system, leading TO condition Of social
harmony never yet known. That such q
change cen be wrought in year, or in |
this century, we cannot expect; but 1900 |
will bring US Well into the vestibule of !
co Cooperative lsbor. It Is simply republi- |
canism applied to our daily living. As
we cooperate in legislation we shall CO.
operate In work. Every man must have |
8 consciousness Of beng able to better |
his condition, or you add him to the dead
weight Of society. Cooperation will |
revolutiopize society in a
moral point Of view-putting into every
laborer q stimulus to do his best.
II is impossible to view the world Justly |
from any standpoint truly open to a large |
range of facts and rest in pessimism. In
deed that philosophy has steadily teclin- |
ed in its control of civilized nations.
There will never again be any large de-
gree of contempt for this world and for
human nature. Our creeds and our phil
will be more forward looking
and more inspired with finer sort of
worlGliness. Our progress roul'iplies in
geometricsl ratio. Our average comforts
have more than doubled within century, |
while our average individual require
x,aanxa In oHdnx a no cnnf0rfahla have |