The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-11-19
BILE by any force the adversary may bring
against him"
He thinks his little commonplace truism is
AZ ARGUMENT AGAINST pIrRIIc SCHOOLS

are TWO tniN2S ABOUT a man OF inns sort Cdtl
not make out-he is generally man of more
than average book learning, and he is generally
( inclined 10 be pious- Does he really believe that
knowledge is in itself favorable TO vice
and that Ignorance is the mother of devotion
What risks he took in knowing so much. d.
not argue with a man like this: "he is as one
born oIt Of due time"-he belongs, OF right, 70
the thirteenth century. Yet you dare not dis
regard him, for, like other dead things, he is
capable OF much mischief.
Another inyincibIe man is he who meets your
plea with the statement that there are "edu.
Gated people In the penitentiary. Tell him, II
You VIII waste words with him, that his logic
should keep ignorant people out of the pen
Tertiary, he will stare at you in a plying way
and tell you you do not understand the subject
There is another the friend of popular education
you need not argue with-the man who believes
that education will raise the price of wages and
enable tenants and employees to keep accounts.
There may be many more equally inyinclble by
arguments or facts, but | mention one more
only-with him you can do nothing, till he is
born again.
1t is a delicate matter for public speaker to
run the risk of being personal, but am reason
ably slfe-he is not here tonight: it is against
his principles to attend meetings in the interest
OF education Besides he is busy man he ~
fully employed: indeed he has mission, and
he devotes himself to it, BY the votes OF
ignorance he is member of the legislature.
His consuming desire is to save-or pretend to
save, which is far better for his purpose-the
peoples money for them. He votes against all
appropriations. or votes for the lowest sum,
not because it is enough to accomplish
a needed work, but because it is the lowest sum.
All rules, they say, have exceptions. His eX-
ception is to vote the highest sum whel il con
Germs him or his. With this slight exception be
is consistent. He votes against the department
of agriculture, although better farming in Geor-
gia is the basic condition of general pros
perity. He will vote against the school
of technology, SO splendidly started, so
greatly needed, and SO rich in blessing, because
ne don't understand the subject and cant miss
q cbauco tn "a thn DpnDip'S tor them,
Georgia may be rich in undiscovered minerals,
and Alabama and Tennessee may be outstup-
ping her, but what is all this to him-savinR the
peoples money? He meets proposition to APP
point the best geologist-for bookSeeper S
salary with ridicule. lie sneers at
1.-The fellow who goes around tap
ping rocks, - and men of sense submit TO him.
Parasitic insects may rob the barnyard of poul-
try, STAY the hogs in the field, blight The grapes
in the vineyard. rot the potatoes and destroy
fruit, trees by, the million, costing the
people untold Thousands OF dollars,
yet when France is redeening her
vineyards by the researches of science
and the civilized world follows her example,
if some bold man we're to move the appointment
of state entOmologist to investigate causes and
discover remedies this saviour OF the people s
money runs to the dictionary to find the mean
ing OF the word, grns the grin OF ignorance ana
conceit, and ridicuies wisdom by talking OF
wasting The people money on bug hunters,
and men of sense submit him.
Tell this man about the more than half mil
hon or children OF bCuOOl dgs IN GeOTRld, whose
| per capita claim-Should they all attend tne
| miserable little three months schools. and the
| miserable shanties and hog pens called schoo
| houses could hold them-is 81 cents per an
num-; tell. him how poor and needy the
people are; tell him what evils such
masses of ignorance portends for the future Of
| free institutiomS-he frowns and grins by turns
| tells you that his father never went to school
| day in his life, and that he himself picked up
| what education he has" He is right Tor once
| for he picked up what he knows. And men o
| sense submit to such man as this-than WHOM
| Georgia has no greater enemy. To this man
make no appeal, but d appeal to better mei
| than he.
l appeal to the honest constituents he has de
ceived with his pretentious zeal for econom.
| that wastes what it spends
How many and great evils grow out of our
| ignorance and starving schools God only knows
| But an observing and rejecting man may know
| enough to make language lmpotent for full ex
preston.
| Some things lying on the surface,
| mention without discussion now. We are los
| ing, for one thing, our best teachers. Meager pa
| drives them into other business or into othe
| states Texas has better schools than Georgia
| and so has Florida, and because they pay bet
| ter salaries. Their training schools are not bet
ter than ours, or so good, but they draw teach
evil deep and far-reac ing; our hes
| country people are moving TO town
| when it is possible. They have despaired of tn
| half-taught three months schools in the coun
! try, and they move to town With the hope o
bettering the opportunities of their chidr N 70
| education. The results are evil. Town life in
| creases expenses; absenteeism reduces the pre-
| ductive value of the farms; they fall into debt
| the farms are consumed. Unless they all tu1
| traders they drift into idleness. If they 60 int
trade, most of them fail.
THE EQUILIBRIUM OF POPULATION
| is destroyed; there are more people in tow
| than town business can support, while the cour
| try is drained of its energy and Intelligence /
| all this movement there is at work q sort o
natural selection that tends to leave in the cour
| try, by and by, only the most helpless and inca
pable.. Ten years Of thorough,g0ing six months
| schools for the half million children of GeOrgi
| who live in the country, would develop gu
| farming interests more than improved lmple
| ments intensive birmingham all the Farmers
| Alliance can do in a hundred years, II the ALI
| ance should in its plans for lettering the con
dltion of the farmers, leave out the education
of farmers children.
Economists speak and write of the neces sit
of diversified industry, if we are TO have gen
eral or permanent prosperity. They are right
but diversified industries are impractical
among illiterate people. Diversified industrle'
| as characteristic of the state, will never com
to Georgia while half a million of chi
dren, with few exceptions, Deepen
| for education upon our wretched litti
three months schools, starved by stingines
born of ignorance. Twenty years Of good com
| mon schools will build more factories in Georg
| than all the syndicates Presently, if Georgi
does not educate her people, the syndicate
| must stop investments, for ignorant and poo
people cannot furnish patronage enough t
| Justify large extension in manufacturing
| How can one who loves his state and fellow
men be silent when he hears the cry of these
| half million children-moSt of them conntr
| children-who least or all can afford to grow nj
| in ignorance-ths pitiful wailing cry for learn
| ing-not any high and costly learning, but tn
| rudments-the learning that will set then
free from the helplessness of ignorance
How can the pulpit-in the example an
| teaching OF Jesus bound to concern itself i
whatever vitality concerns the welfare of tn
| human race-how can the pulpit be silent whel
| il hears this cry? But does it hear2 Alas
| there are some pulpitS that see not, neither d
| they hear. How can the press-the press tina
both reflects and molds public opinion, if il ha
| no other motive than self interest, seeking {,
extend circulation-how can the press be silent
| From our noble governor;down to the hum
roeS, down to the humblest negro who trusts hin
for justice and mercy, let every Georgian
heed with plying heart the cry of our hal
! million children for knowledge and comman,
the state to give her hungry ones bread instea'
| of stones.
In this discussion AM appeal I have sale
nothing of the two races that make up the popU
| ation of Georgia, rs to their special needs an
perils. Nor will l. the plea make Is for tn
whole people. In the constitution as in Tn
| Gospel in the statute law as in the righteous
ness of God, the claim and the right of Ties
! two peoples are equal. Georgia, exercising tn,
common sense that respects facts, has separat
schools for the two races. This. as have laugh
north and south for many years, is best, and
! is necessary for both races But Georgia mus
make adequate provision for all her children.
Only so can Georgia do justice by them onll
SO can Georgia prosper with them The RICH
| edtfcation OF the peoDle-the real and perma