Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1888-01-31
The Last Say on the Blair Bill.
En-. SoUTH KENUTCKIAN:

I'D. SOUTH hENUTCklAN:
The clipping from northern pa
per, published IN your issue of the
9th at the request of an unnamed
correspondent, merits comment. |
suppose the gentleman who handed
in this northern editorial endorses il
therefore, presume he endorses the
following words therein contained
"The passage of years has dissipated
arguments for the (Blair) bill which
at the time of its introduction, was
plausible and practical enough" Thai
is, your correspondent thinks the bill
plausible and practical enough,
only we have no need for il now,
lie objects not TO the bill itself, he
endorses ii, he only thinks the South
has worked up TO place where ii
don't need national aid to education.
lie thus finds himself commencing
the bill as plausible and practical"
in one place, and conforming il as
"anti-democratic" in another. Rather
an amusing predicament this.
Nearly all the opposition to the
Blair bill in the North is confined to
lot of violent partisans who hate
the South and think il is wrong for
the government t6assist in educating
rebels and traitors. That is about
the way they state their views on
this question, and whenever see an
argument from that quarter, it makes
no difference how it may be inocula-
ted with other and better reasons and
veneered with statistics, l am dis
posed TO disregard 1t for the motive
that floats it. This northern opposi-
ton is so small minority, however,
that at home it makes no impression,
as the great mass of the people up
there are generous and patriotic
enough TO wish the South, God speed
and are willing ia. vote her $4,000,
600, to help her on the way. For the
sake of argument, l readily admit
that the editorial in question is not
the outgrowth of vindictive section
alism now let us see what force or
reason there is in it. Two points are
made. First that the Blair bill sta
tistics were misleading and are at
this time false; second that the states
have now grown rich enough TO be
independent Of help. Let us consider
these in order.
First. A wooden idiot could never
have believed that the Blair bill ex-
penditures were ever intended fol
persons beyond The pupil age. The
would have been stronger If |
t had lugged into its calculation al !
he babies and i gndfaeocatcs of Nation o
aid have all along based their ar
lments on the census statistics for
irsons of pupil age, and the only use
icy have made of these twenty one
sar-old illiterates was to show con-
ition of ignorance that was to be
elieved most readily through Nation
aid, not that they hoped to enlight-
II these but to cultivate and educate
he generation that would supplant
hem. Since 1850 we have no statis-
les of reliable nature, and the fig
Tres adduced TO prove the present
tatus of affairs are for the most part
,onjectural. To discuss legitimately
his question, we must resort almost
to the statistics of 1880.
Secondly. Do the states need help ?
There is no man but takes a just pride
in the wonderful recuperative power
of the South. She deserves all praise
for her educational progress. But
take Kentucky. Our State pays over
half her income TO educate her chill
dren. There is no man who will say
she ought to do more, yet it is well
known that there are 100000 illiterate
voters in Kentucky to-day and l00,-
600, more uncared for boys growing
up to take their places. What are we
going to do about il? Appeal for
larger State aid? The State is doing
her full duty-more than most any
other state in the Union. Stir up To-
cal aid? Who is going to do the stir
ring? All, here's the rub. 1t is ac-
knowledged on all sides that our
public school system is inadequate.
Why? Because we haven't the mon
by TO command the services of first
class teachers, teachers who by the
force of their own culture and zeal
will evangelize the people and stir up
a popular demand for the best schools.
1t is demonstrated fact that the peO-
pie wont pay for such teachers, the
State is dividing her duty but even
that is inadequate, now where is the
money to come from to support these
teachers for it must come before we
can get them and we must get them
before there will be any general dis
of knowledge. l say take
a few millions every year, for or 10
years, out of the $l40,OOO,OOO, that is
accumulating annually and use it for
this purpose. Ifitis "anti-democratic"
to look after the best interests of the
whole people by educating the indi-
vidual for intelligent citizenship, then
| confess my idea of Democracy is as
tangled as my friends notion Of the
Blair bill. DEMOCRAT.