Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1888-12-01
Answer to "a Correction"

EDITOR OF WOMANs CHRONICLE In your last
issue, under head of "a Correction appears
criticism Of an address on Social Purity, written
by me, at the solicitation Of the president OF the
W. G. L. U. of Arkansas. The criticism is mainly
predicated on false assumption, namely, that
wrote, ''The LARGER per cent of vicious children
who attend these schools make them as powerful
agents for evil as for good" | wrote: 'sThe
LARGE per cent, etc." | noticed the geographical
error Immediately on perusng the printed copy, as
we'll as one or two Others But as | have never
been able in Little Rock to get a typographical
error corrected, l concluded not ''to try, try
again.
| wrote, "The large per cent OF vicious children
who attend these schools make them as powerful
agents for evil as for good" still believe this to
be fact, but was speaking from the moral point
of view and not from the intellectual. While
believe public schools are public benefactions,
still think that they should, as all good things,
duce to the greatest good to the greatest number,
and do not think the teachers can be held re-
sponsible for evil influences exered in their schools
OF which they may be Ignorant. But this ignorance
of the eating cancer of moral depravity is fact
to which would gladly direct the attention Of the
teachers of our public schools. If after careful
and thorough examination of this subject they
still remain ignorant of sthe large per cent of
vicious children who attend these schools" will
be much surprised.
l did not say they came from poor families. l
said further on in the address that the evil in
huence was exerted alike from palace and howell.
We have all heard the old tale OF the rotten apple
corrupting the basket of sound apples, and moral
chemistry is just powerful as physical, and the
good apples in the basket or in the school do not
sweeten the corrupt ones.
am not DESTROYS of proving myself right and
my critic wrong, far from it. l wrote the address
for private meetings Of our organization and was
overpersuaded by the W. G. T. U. of this place,
to allow them to do as they thought proper with
their copy. 1t was left subject to their criticism
to change as they might choose, and later it was
turned over to prominent public school teacher
Of this city, with full authority to amend, revise
or correct as was thought proper. This teacher
informed me of many things which more fully con-
frmed me in my opinions than ever.
did not use the public schools in this connec-
ton with any invidious distinctions. They are the
most generally patronized schools and you know
that if the vicious children from the sums of city
90 to any school, it is to the public school, Go
not wish them turned out as pariahs | wish the
teachers to watch them, to save them, if possible.
Christ died for such innocent curses as they are.
Then, pray you, teachers of the public schools,
think not desire to find fault with you, nay, far
otherwise, beg you to awake to the RESPONSE
blity of your high calling, t watch, foster, care
for the young, especially those from homes where
no moral influences are exerted upon them. In
no other way will the moral and intellectual growth
of our people equally develop If not looked to
we will become nation noted for our cunning,
sbarnened intellects while the great moral main