The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-01-09
COMPULSORY Education.


Among the questions that will engage
the attention of the legislature is that OF
compulsory education. In the last legis-
lature Senator THOMPSON of this county
introduced bill to compel the attendance
at school not less than sixteen weeks In
every consecutive twelve months of all
children between the ages of seven and
fourteen, except such as were physically
or mentally incapacitated. The bill re-
quired parents and guardians to cause all
children, within the ages specified and
with the exceptions noted, to attend
school, or receive instruction elsewhere in
reading, writing English grammar, geog-
raphy and arithmetic during the hours
and term when the public schools are in
session, excepting such as are properly
employed to labor at home or elsewhere.
1t also provided that no child under the
age OF fourteen years should be employed
to labor unless such child had attended
public or private school regularly for six
teen weeks during the twelve months
next preceding any month in which such
child was so employed. Suitable penalties
were imposed for violations Of the bill,
and school trustees and other officials
were charged with its enforcement.
The bill was quite favorably received,
the senate committee on education, 70
which it was referred, recommending its
passage with some amendments; but the
measure failed, in common with nearly all
other pending projects Of legislation,
owing to the dead lock"
Senator THOMPSON will re-introduce this
bill in the coming legislature. 1t is
measure oil the gravest Importance, and is
entitled to and will doubtless receive the
most serious consideration. In every
government resting upon the popular will,
illiteracy is an evil pregnant with serious
dangers TO the body polite. An ignorant
electorate means inefficient and corrupt
government. \ high standard of popular
intelligence is the best safeguard for our
institutions. In Indiana, at the last
census, the per centage of illiterates was
7.5. That is TO say fifteen persons in
every two hundred over ten years of age
were unable to write. There were 70,00S
persons above this age returned as unable
to read and ll0,76l as unable to write.
The per ceptage OF illiteracy was
greater than in Maine, Dakota,
New Hampshire, Michigan, Montana,
New York, Ohio, Kansas, Connecticut,
Oregon, Wisconsin, Vermont, Minnesota,
New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts,, Col
orado, Washington territory, Idaho and
fc r,loo nj
condition of affairs to contemplate. Edu-
cation is by common consent one of the
most important functions Of the several
states in our scheme of government. Every
state in the Union maintains system of
free instruction. This system costs the peo-
pie vast sums every year. Its existence is
due to the universal recognition of the fact
that popular government cannot be main
tanned except upon basis of popular intel
igence. The argument in favor of COM
pulsory education is that Of self-preserva-
ton. The question it prese nts is whether
the state is not justified, in order 10 per-
petuate itself, in asserting the power to
compel the instruction of youth in those
rudiments of knowledge, at least, without
which no adequate discharge of the duties
of citizenship can be expected. Educa-
ton is compulsory in Germany and sew
eral other European countries. A num-
Der of American states have also made
education compulsory. The results of the
experiment have not been, in all cases,
up to the expectations OF its advocates,
but We know Of no state in which. the re-
peal of the law is advocated