The Press., 1888-04-05
TEMPERANCE COLUMN.
tconductsd by tho W. O. Ul


 THE BLAIR EDUCATIONAL BILL NOT DEAD.
 One of the methods of opposition to the
 educational bill was to declare the measure dying or dead, and to suppress all evidence
 to the contrary as far as possible, while the
 great debate for 1t was going on in the
 United States Senate, and every objection
 was there being met by southern, as we'll
 as northern men, whom this nation honors
 as wise patriots.
 The charm of novelty no longer fingers
 about its discussion but senators on the
 floor, and the crowded galleries listened
 with wrapt attention to the masterly speech
 of Senator Evarts of New York, as he ex-
 posed the sophistry of the false claim that
 it "is unconstitutional" for the Federal
 government to give of its surplus wealth
 for the education of the neglected children
 of our land, who otherwise will grow into
 citizenship that will imperil the govern
 ment itself
 "What is there" he asked, "in the con-
 stitution that obliges us to bend our front
 before this invasion of ignorance and de.
 basement confessedly arrayed against free
 dom and the perpetuity of freedom in this
 country?' He pointedly declared "that no demarcation' could be found in the
 constitution which allowed national appro. priations to rivers and harbors and other
 material wants and left us helpless when
 looking into the face of great moral, social
 and political needs and duties" " like this perilous question of ilhteracy.
 It was a noticeable fact, to those who
 watched the debate, that many of the sen
 ators who objected to this bill at the same
 time directly or indirectly added an obJec-
 tion to public schools as such, advocating
 private, or what they called "parental edu. cation" instead. To them, Senator Evarts quoted the Pilgrim fathers as saying
 "The state cannot suffer anybody to be ig. l norant while there is in the power of the state the means of wealth and the means of
 education" "We have arrived at q period where the people of this country have made up their minds that there shall be no ignorance where it IS in the power of the state, and I may say the United States, to 7 prevent it." The illiterate voter votes on national as we'll as on state questions. Sen B ator Evarts said "For myself, do not look with any complacency upon either l that political scheme or that personal or $ social feeling which treats the situation at 3 the south as the situation of the south. It 3 is the situation of the United States, of our g country"
 This masterly speech closed with these : impressive words
 And now, MT President, the great popu. 8 lation of the south does not stand still It
 has not stood still for two years. It will not a stand still for the next year. The tendency D from gravitation, without resistance from req |. :, son and aim, will go on and on and on and a if education is not to dissipate this dark cloud r of ignorance, then the cloud will grow darker II and larger If ignorance cannot be lifted if from that level at which it now rests, it will Q not stay there, but will go lower and lower, ii and 1t will become brutal and savage and hos. = tile to society.
 :. Senator Pugh of Alabama, in vigorous ' speech in defense of the bill, put the ob Q ljectors in the strong light of merited ridi Q cule, as he referred to their fine spun ,t theories" in defense of voting, as they had ]. done repeatedly, for gifts of federal lands if to be sold, and the proceeds used for pub |. lie schools in the northern and western d states, and opposing now the gift of money
 for the same purpose in all needy states. W "The plain, common sense people, " he said e will enquire How is it that our land-mon s ey has done good (when used for educa Q tion) and caused no harm in half century IT and our tax-money is to produce such wide h spread ruin and destruction that we ars ,s solemnly warned by senators that it vii e prove Trojan horse filled with armed I. Yankee school marms let loose upon tho l. southern states to destroy their liberties r Q In answer to the olaim that the soutl 's does not need this help Senator Pugh quot If ed: "The superintendent of public in e struetion of Alabama, whose annual report l like that of superintendents of public in l. struction in other southern cities, urges the n great need of more money for their public l. schools, in the face of the fact that the peo. e pie there, impoverished by war, are taxing ii themselves to the utmost to furnish the Q meagre funds that keeps their public "a schools open three months per year, ir if school houses not worthy the name, and ,e for only fraction of the children" h The last cry against it is the claim thai Q ''it will destroy the spirit of self help : a but nobody objects to the federal appro. s priations for internal improvements con f gress is now making in the way of public n buildings in unheard of places, because if such gifts from the public treasury would 2 destroy the spirit of ''self help" in the peo ,e pie receiving them. Federal aid for the ,e educational improvement of future men ,l and women is equally safe and far, more n necessary, in view of the fact that there are If now no schools for five twelfths of tn, school population of this republic. I Applause rang through the crowded gal d leries as the president of the senate declar ,e ed the bill there passed. Then the speots tors crowded into the halls. A man among IT them was heard to say, in confident tones I'd that showed his opinion was born with the "a wish, "That's the last of the bill It goel ,e now to the house committee on education d Speaker Carlisle has made that up agains . it it's dead and buried there" The news "a papers have echoed the same opinion. ,e But the bill is far from dead. Not al ir of the old members who were on this com. I. mittee in the 49th congress, and who are ap Is pointed to the same post in the Both, ar, n enemies to this bill, and some new and de m terInined men have been added to thei T. number, who will vigorously oppose th' ,s old smothering method. Neither the bil ,p nor it's friends in or out of congress ar, es dead, they have no idea of retreating, anC le will soon be heard from again.