The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-06-12
have felt especially called upon to speak
thus in regard to our public school.
TEACHERS INSTITUTES.

Within the last few years new Sclehce
has been developed and has sprung into
general lrecognition-theSc Science OF Teach
ing How to Teach The Princeton Re
utec informs us that ''Books on educa-
| ton have been written as far back as the
| time of Ascham Milton and Locke. But
| it is only within the last quarter OF cen
tury that the seed so industriously soWn
| by Rousseau Froude, Herbert and Others
have borne fruit on English or American
SOIL
| Educational journals have increased;
| training schools have multiplied in num-
Der aid Importance, Teachers Institutes
! have been organized and now look De-
yOnd the routine of the school house Tor
| topics of study and discussion, and In
fact, to use the words OF another OF the
greatest reviewers OF this country, 1t
! has burst on the minds OF teachers that
they are members of a Noble Profession
profession that has a history, that has
a scientific basis, and classic literature.
And now says the same authority: "Jhe
| United States is doing it's share to prove
to it's teachers-about 31O, ,OOOi number
that though teacher may be born, he
nevertheless must go through the pro-
cess of being made, if he is to obtain the
best results with the least expenditure OF
force and smallest waste of material
And why should not teachers be trained
to teach, just as Prof Mclver has been
training those of Vance county for the
past week? Are not the professors OF
every vocation in life trained, thoroughly
| trained, before they can accomplish the
highest results?
The triumph of the pen is more to be
desired than that of the sword-and yet
do we not see millions trained in the
use of arms? Look at the military schools
of the world-Annapolis, West Point,
Saint Cyr, Woolwich and the War Schools
of Berlin. Why has Germany the best
army in Europe, the most perfect on
earth? Because for three years every in
dividual in the Empire is subjected to the
most rigid training, and $4,000 officers
are trained without cessation in every
possible branch of arms and tactics.
OUR REPUBLIC.
Ny friends, look at our Republic. Says
great philosophic, economic writer,
"Take Great Britain, Ireland, France,
Germany, Austria and Italy, and then
add Spain, Portugal Switzerland, Den
mark and Greece, and you might place
them all down in the United States, West
of the Hudson river, once, twice, three
times.
"Lay Texas Oh the face of Europe, and
this giant with his head resting upon the
mountains of Norway, with one palm
covering the city of London, and the
other Warsaw, Poland, might stretch
himself down across the Kingdom of Den
mark, the Empires of Germany and Aus
trja, still downward across Northern
} Italy, and lave his feet in the Mediterra-
mean Sea-"
The United States to-day furnishes
| L acl 1 l i Il, 1x,
of gold and silver.
earth.
Her crops in 1879, after feeding fifty
millions of inhabitants, furnished two
hundred and eighty-three million bushels
of grain for export.
She has already taken first rank as a
manufacturing nation, her products OF
1880 having exceeded those of Great
Britain $65O,OOO,OOO.
Her people have the greatest inventive
: talent on the globe.
She issues four times as many patents
as the English Government.
At the International Electrical Exposi-
tiOn in Paris, q few years ago, we are
told that five gold medals were offered
for the greatest inventions and discover
!, les and all five of the medals were award
ed to America.
Well might Mr.. Gladstone declare that
. we have "the greatest natural base for
the grandest continuous empire ever es-
, tablished by man
And Matthew Arnold spoke propheti-
cally and truly when he said, " America
holds the future"
Together with all this our Republic is
blessed with free institutions. Here the
sweet goddess of peace has stricken from
the limbs and minds of men the shackles
that bound their forefathers, and placed
the Press as a mighty sentinel upon the
watch-tower to tell of the approach of
danger, whether from the Government or
individual
Here we know no title but merit, no
aristocracy but that of brain, brawn and
character, except unfortunately for the
country there is fast developing an aris-
tocracy of Gold.
Land of the West, beneath the Heaven
There's not fairer, loyelier cline,
Nor one to which was ever given,
A destiny higher, more sublime.
DANGERs-NATIONAL DEMAND FOR EDUCA-
TION.
But, my friends, notwithstanding our
; prosperity and vast resources, it requires
no prophets eye, indeed any student of
social and political history can see the
mighty dangers that threaten the per-
petuity of our institutions and the life of
! this nation.
We are informed that in 1880 there
were in America 1908 ,SO1 illiterate
voters who could not write their own
/ names.
, The school population of the United
States is now $4,000, 900 of which T.
, 100000 or 5-12 of the whole are grow
= ing up in absolute ignorance OF the Eng
lish alphabet.
: The true significance of these figures
| may be realized when we remember that the
result of a national election may depend
r on a single State, the vote OF that State
may depend on Il single city, county or
> town, and the vote of that town, county
} or city may depend upon a capitalist, a
4 corporation, or upon some llliterate
voter who cannot write his name, but
. who can thus change the policy and per
' haps the autonomy OF this Government
S The time is coming in America, and it
# is coming fast, when the Forces OF Light
e and of Darkness, of Virtue and OF Vice,
= of Ignorance and of Enlightenment, will
engage in deadly conflict for the mastery
\ of this Grand Domain.
i The conflict must come sooner or later;
{: there are clements at work that l fear
G will never compromise or surrender.
= Lift the curtain but few years in ad
4 vance Look see yonder mighty legions
g with their blood red banner. Hear their
r shouts of, away with private property;
'away with the State "private prop
i erty must be abolished if we have to blow
ninety-nine hundredths of the people OF
C the globe"
II They are the Anarchists. They have
: shouted those demon like slogans before
/ and will continue to do so until suppress
t ed or annihilated.
If Hear their tramp, tramp, tramp, al
they move down to battle.
d Look again! see those massive column.
e all in rags and stained with crime, armed