Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-10-15

of Texas, too. But he is reinforced by the
Democratic platform. / have not been an
advocate of paternaliSm in government.
But government which has no interest in
its own well being, and in the happiness
and prosperity of its citizens as whole, is
too weak and too mean long to exist. Cries
of ''GOod."l PaternaliSm-yo said pater-
nalism. The Democrats are in favor of
compulsory education which shall make a
man send his child to school. Isn't that
paternalism? They are in favor of prohib-
iting child labor. Why, it has been the
law for hundred years that the father
was entitled to the wages OF his minor
child, to bind him out, to put him at work,
and here is the law that steps in between
the parent and his child, and says: ''Stop,
sir; that little boy shall not be put to labor
like. galley slave; that little mind shall
not be shut out from the sunlight of knowl-
edge. Stop, sir; you are the father, but i'll
the interest OF society, In the interest OF
the state, in the interest of humanity, we
put our power between you and your
child That is not Democratic paternal-
ism. They are in favor of that, and
they are in favor of compulsory
proposition that the state shall enact
laws which will guarantee-that is good
word, that word neutrality-suspicious.
means-you all know what it means, il
some man does not do his duty, then
/ h Eau ii; guaranteed 1t it, oi will do do
the first chance to do it. So that all
this platform says is that it is the duty of
the state to enact laws which shall guaran-
tee to every child, English, German, Sean
dinavian, whatever he may be, an oppor-
tumty to learn enough of the legal Ian
guage of the state to enable him to read
and write it, and that our Democratic
friends denOunce as paternalism. Laugh
ter. Ladies and gentlemen, this obligation
is notput upon the school, tits put upon the
parent or guardian, and no man in this
country OF ours can have any difficulty in
giving his child the opportunity to learn
English. The state does not say when or
where, it says sometime, somewhere and
somehow, at the option of the parent and
the guardian, the child shall be given OPP
English language. He can have it taught
IN his own home and | would like to read
that letter of Gov. Hoard's. He
has been misrepreSented on the
subject, and I will read the letter to you:
''Have received your esteemed favor of the
10th inst, and thank you for the friendly
spirit which inspired it. did not say that
our children would he obliged to attend
the public school, nor to attend the private
school. did say that knowledge of the
language OF the country was necessary for
an intelligent American citizenship. This
knowledge can be obtained in the private
school, the public school, or at the child's
home, in fact at any place where the child
can receive instruction." And yet they are
telling all over this state thai Gov. Hoard
is anxious to dictate through law to the
parent where his child shall be educated
He says further: ''The friends of COM
pulSory education have no desire to inter-
fere with the private and parochial schools
in any manner whatever They ONLY ask
that all children shall have an equal OPP
portunity for advancement, and they can
not have such an opportunity for advance
ment without a knowledge OF the language
of the country"
Who is there that cannot give this chance
to his child? He can have him taught at
home. He may have him taught at the
private school. He may have him taught
in the parOchial school if he chooses; only
If it be somewhere; any time, only if it
be sometime; any method, only if it be
some method, and if there is no other way,
if he can send to no other school, If he can
not afford private instruction, thank God
there stands near by the little schOOl-hOuSe
[cheersl with wide open doors and the
In, to drink from an ever-tlowing fountain
without money and without price.
Some one here the ether night said that
there was hatred in the Republican party
against the foreigner. That is lie and [
want to say here tonight. we are all one
ship, and [ think that that man who for a
temporary party. purpose is willing to
divide our citizenship on lines OF
religion ought to be branded at
the bar of public opinion as
one who puts into orr paradise
serpent of discord. Loud applause
They say we have prejudice against the
German language, Scandinavian language,
simply because this platform declares the
right and duty Of the state to see to it that
some time and some how every child in
the state shall have chance to learn to
read and write our language; that we
would Danish, if we could, all foreign
tongues from our midst. That is another
reason why | would have no respect for
the man, nor would any CT u.s. who would
fail to teach his children, as they gathered
around him in the precincts of home, the
language of his nativity, the language in
which his mother sang to him the songs of
childhood, the language in which she
taught him to breathe his first prayer to
her God abOVe-WhO asks such a thing as
that? No one on the face of the earth.
TRAMPLES ON NO MANS RIGHTS.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, have
talked to you already too long. That
clause | believe to be in the interest of the
state, in the interest of parents, in the in
tereStS of good citizenship. 1t tramples
upon no mans right, it only provides that
where the father fails, or where tho guard
ian fails, the state will not fail, and, what
ever may be our political fortunes in this
fight, that plank in the Republican plat
form mas come to stay. [Cheers.
Consumption.