Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-04-03

d country, that moment local and State In
!. terest begin to decline; that moment an
9 other set of feelings and desires and ex
9 pectations relating to education takes pos
h session OF the minds of the people-th
desire to secure more, the desire to b
n freed from home burdens-and out of thi
n comes the death of the local and neighbor
o hood feeling which has given vitality I.
: our common schools. The humble bu
/ useful fabric reared BY local and State In
e terests Is torn down. and In its stead |
J built up vast imposing structure, reare,
r and maintained by the General Govern
i ment.
; Under such doctrine as this, whethe
, applied to common schools or to other va
rious subjects which are better left to tn,
: localities, but one result will follow-th,
line Of local interest and State interest. th,
! line Of local power and State power
! recedes and fades, an uncertain shifting
shore that disappears before the restleS.
aggrandizing sea of Federal interference
Mr. President. there is another reason
which the Senator has beittled In his re-
marks to- day, why the Senate should hesi
tate In adopting policy based on alleged
Information gained ss to the real condition
tor from New Hampshire, in the Forty
seventh Congress, reported his bill ITO aid
IN the establishment and temporary sup.
port of common schools, and afterwards
called 1t up In the Senate. he spoke upon
the actual state of education in this coup-
try a. follows
| wish now to call attention to the aetusl
condition OF the American people ~ revealed
bS The most authentic evidence. Fortunately
the returns of the census OF 1880 are 10 fully
| complied that through the lahors OF the BiI-
reau OF Census and Of the Commissioner OF
Education the most important data have beer
tabuiatsd, and am able to give the country
the cold steel OF reliable statistics These are
| more eloquent than any other statement and
demand the profoundest study OF every citizen
Of the land.
/ Mr. President. eight years have passed
| and we ARE no" on the point Of taking an
I other Federal census While the statis-
/ ties which have been given are assumed TO
/ ne approximately correct, no man to-day
! knows the exact progress which has been
/ made In the common school system of the
/ South. What We need now to act upon
| intelligentlv Is what the Senator from New
HatIp -h,rc then pluncd himself ss acting
upon--"the cold steel Of reliable statls-
tics" These" as the Senator said. ..are
more eloquent than any other statement.
and demand the profounde>, study OF eyerv
citizen of the land"
" hat the Senator based himself then
upon In the eloquent speech he made in adj
vocacy OF this measure was that the CEN
sus had given to the country undouhtcd
Information a. to tine condition Of the
South. and exploring as he did faithfully,
into the volumes that contained the evi-
dence a 10 the existence of certain facts
In the South. he brought this information
before u from the work OF the Censu. Bu-
resu, calling it the ''Culd steel OF reliable
statistics"
When the next census shall have been
taken, as 1t will during the summer months
which are soon 10 follow, here are some of
the results that can be laid authoritativcly
before Congress, They do not depend up |
on the estimates OF educators who are
either for or agaiast the hlli
| have taken occasion to send 10 the .
Census Office and get from 1t statement
as to what is the purpose of that office up. /
on this most important subject and here
i what | received In reply
DEPARTMENT or The INTERIOR CENSUS
OFFICE. sshington. Feb. !, l.t,o. FL
My DEAR SIR: have the honor 10 a,,. 4
know ledge the receipt Of YOUR lciter OF Febru-
ar, !, concerning the ilteracy 10 the South,
aud In reply beg To inciose memorandum pre-
pared b, Mr.. William {. Hunt. special agent
of this ofice,to " HON the subject " n referred
Very respectfully. ROBERT L. PORTER,
Superintendent Of Census
Hon. Er1E>E HALE, United state senate.
" istt. .....n.O..,
ofFIcK. W a-hngion, FEB. d. 1870.
There are four inquiries on the population
schedule W hich bear directly on The question
OF illiterscy. Two Of these inquiries VIII be
asked OF every person ten years OF age and up
" ards. male and femsie. white and black, ~ to
their ability To read and rite. BY combins-
ton OF the answers 10 these inquiries, " ith the
answers concerning age, place OF birth, parent
naiisit, aud occupations, II " III be- possible TO
present most interesting results. For the col .
ored, also. cla->ih catiou San be nade accord
Ing as they are Of pure negro blood Or Of mix
ed blood that t., whether muiattnes, quad \
rooms or octor"on.. A classification bt age, !
periods. and color would show, for IN
stance the number Of colored maie- ho are /
native born between the ages Of ten and four
teen betw cen the ages OF fifteen and twenty,
aud tw ents-oLe years and upwards " no are .
able TO read. but not 10 wriic, aud also tbo-t
Who can neither read nor write. Applying
such result, TO the v hole number Of persons
Of the specified aLe-. 1t Viii be possible 10 .
show the percentage who partially or 4
wholly ilhterate. In all eases also where the \
question ~ TO particular pince OF birth. par
entsge or occupation Is Of value. similar com +
binations eau be made regards each or all .
Of those special features.
The third inquiry conccrning llIiterate> per- |
tain. TO the attendance at school during the |
census wear, the answer To this inquiry being /
given in months, and a- applied 10 the question /
OF llitcracy will show the amount OF school /
ing which the iliiteraie children. both white I
and colored may have received during the I
census wear.
The fourth question concerns the ability Of
all person. Of tan years of age and upw ards TO I
speak the English language-that Is, 50 A. 10 +
be understood in ordinary conversation; ana
OF those who can not speak English IL Is Inc {
purpose to ascertain the particular language /
spoken This. however, does not pertain spe- /
cially TO the question OF iliiteracy in the Soath
as regards the coored.
Briefly stated then, it will be possible to
show in the reports OF the Eleventh Census,
the number and percentage OF white and col
ored persons, classified as TO sex, age, place OF
birth, parent nativity and occupations, who
are able To read but not write. or who can
neither read nor write. and for those OF school
age the number aud percentage who NAV have
attended school during the census year and
the amount OF schooling they may have re-
ceiyed. WILLIAM Y. HUNT
Mr. President, as have said, this cen
sus is directly upon us. The Senator says
he can not wait The Senator has waited
and has tired not in his advocacy of this
bill for eight long years, until at last the
opposition that has come up against 1t has
brought him to the eve of the next census,
one great object of which is to demonstrate
facts in relation to the condition Of the
school children in the South, both white
and black.
For one, Mr. President, | am willing to
wait another year until we can see what it
is that ''the cold steel of reliable stats
tics" furnished US by the census will show.
| believe-in that may be wrong-but |
believe and hope that these returns will
show not less favorable condition than
has been disclosed by the partial statistics
which Senators have been able to present
before this body, but that better condi-
ton than is shown in these partial reports
will be seen to exist when we get this au-
thoritative statement which the Govern
ment has set on foot as one of Its first and
most serious duties; and then, If the breath
of life is left In this bill believe the facts
disclosed in the next census, so soon to be
taken, will give to it the finishing stroke.