The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-20
Senator Brown and the Blair Bill.

| senator Brown and the Blair Bill.
! Senator Brown thinks that Senator Vest
| did not know what he was talking about
the other day when he ntmated Z at if the
Blair educational bill were passed the Presl-
dent would veto IT, Perhaps Mr.. Vest as.
sumed that the Presid ny would veto it be
/ cause all of the Mugwu hD newspapers are
/ opposed TO it, but he ought 10 be aware by
this time that the Pre,de Il doesn't think
that the Mugwump papers are the deposita-
ries of all the wisdom ther' is in the coun-
| try. When they are on the right side Of a
/ question the President no doubt needs what
they have to say, but it is not difficult TO
4 cite instances where he has not thought
they were on the right side. They are GER
tainly not on the right side Of the Blair bill.
1t is true that there is something to be
said against that bill, but the arguments for
it certainly outweigh those against it. The
strongest argument against it, and the one
oftenest urged is that It's influence is in
favor of Capitalization. That influence
however, will not be very strong if the pro
visions Of the bill remain Us they are at
present.
Some of the Western Senators are its
strongest opponents. They seem TO forget
that they or their predecessors offered no
, objection when great blocks of the public
lands were donated to their States for
! school purpo7es. These lands were not very
valuable at the time the donations were
made, but they have since become so. As
far as the question of Capitalization is CON
cerned what difference does it make whether
ha ,le
education is in lands or in money!
Senator Brown says he has no doubt
about the constitutionality or the necessity
of the Blair bill. 1t is for the lawyers Of
Congress to determine whether the bill is
constitutional or not, but the people are
able TO determine whether there is any
necess. ty for it. The ablest lawyers Of the
Senate say it is constitutional, and 1t is GER
tain that four-fifths of the people Of the
South are convinced of its necessity. The
Southern people are giving the public
schools all the support they can, and yet it
is pretty safe to say that not more than half
tho children of school age attend school.
The reason why so many are not in the
schools is a want Of school facilities. These
facilities the Blair bill proposes to supply,
and in the opinion of the great mass Of the
people of the South they cannot be supplied
| too soon.
Some Of the strongest opponents of the
Blair bill in Congress are enthusiastic advo-
Gates of about every pension measure pro-
posed. 1t is doubtful if the Blair bill will
do half as much to encourage CEN
tralization as pension legislation is
doing. In every Northern State
there are tens Of thousands of people who
depend largely for support upon the general
government As far as they are concerned
their State governments seldom have a
place in their thoughts, and yet some of
those who oppose the Blair bill because of
| its Capitalization tendencies would like to
| double the pension burden. They have
nothing to say against any proposition to
distribute in the North the public money
1t is only when it is proposed to distribute
in the South a little Of it that they exhibit
| symptoms of alarm.