The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-08-02

have more gospel light.
Now, make very practical use OF
this question when tell you that the
sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter was a
type of physical, mental and spiritual
sacrifice of ten thousand children in
this day. There are parents all un-
willingly bringing to bear upon their
children class of influences which
will as certainly ruin them as knife
and torch destroyed Jephthah's daugh-
ter. While ! speak, the whole nation
without emotion and without shame,
looks upon the stupendous sacrifice.
In, the first place, l remark that
much. of the system of education in our
day is a system of sacrifice. When
children spend six or seven hours
day in school, and then must spend two
or three hours in preparation for scnool
the next day, will you tell me now
much time they will have for sunshine
and fresh air, and the obtaining OF that
exuberance which is necessary for the
duties of coming life?
No one can feel more thankful than
do for the advancement of common
school education. The printing OF
books appropriate for schools, the null
tiplication of philosophical apparatus,
the establishment of normal schools,
which provide for our children teachers
of largest caliber, are themes on which
every philanthropist ought to be con-
graduated. But this herding of great
multitudes of children in ill-ventilated
school rooms and poorly equipped hails
of instruction is making many OF the
places of knowledge in this country
huge holocaust.
Politics in many of the cities gets
into educational affairs and while the
two political parties are scrabbling for
the honors, Jephthah's daughter per-
ishes. 1t is so much so that there are
many schools in the country to-day
which are preparing tens Of thousands
of invalid men and women for the fu'
ture; so that, in many places, by the
time the child's education is finished
the child is finished! In many places,
in many cities of the country, there
are large appropriations for everything
else, and cheerful appropriations; but
as soon as the appropriation is to be
made for the educational or moral in
terests of the city, we are struck
through with an economy that is well
nigh the death Of us.
In connection with this l mention
what might call the cramming system
of the common schools and many of the
academies children of delicate brain
compelled to tasks that might appall a
mature intellect; children going down
to school with strap of books half as
high as themselves. The fact is, in
some of the cities parents do not allow
their children to graduate, for the
simple reason, they say: I'VE cannot
afford TO allow our children's health to
be destroyed in order that they may
gather the honors of an institution
Tens of thousands of children educated
into imbecility, so, connected with
many such literary establishments
there ought to be asylums for the
wrecked. 1t is push, and crowd, anc
cram, and stuff, and jam, until thu
child's intellect is bcwildered, and thu
memory is wrecked, and the health il
gone. There are children turned ou
from the schools who once were full o
romping and laughter, and had cheek
crimson with health, who are nov
turned out in the afternoon pale-faced
irritated, asthmatic, old before thei
time. 1t is one of the saddest sights oi
earth, an old-mannish boy, or an old
womanish girl.
Girls ten years of age, studying alge
bral Boys twelve years of age racltinl
their brain over trigonometry! Chill
dren unacquainted with their mothe
tongue crying over their Latin, Frencl
and German lessons! All the vivacit.
OF their nature beaten out of them b!
the heavy beetle of Greek lexicon
And you doctor them for this, and yol
give them a little medicine for that, ant
you wonder what is the matter will
them. will tell you what is the mat
ter with them. They are finishing thei
education.
In my parish in Philadelphia littl'
,hild was so pushed at school that sh'
was thrown into a fever, and in he
dying delirium, all night long, she wa
trying to recite the multiplied tion ia
bic. In my boyhood remember tina
In our class at school there was one lat
who knew more than all Of us put TO
gether. If we were fast in our arith
metic, he extricated u.s. When we stoot
up for the spelling-class, he was almos
always at the head Of the class. Visitor
came TO his fathers house, and he wa
almost always brought in as prodigy
Ateighteen years Of age he was an idiot
He lived ten years an idiot, and died al
IDIOT, not knowing his right hand from
his left, or day from night. The parents
and the teachers made him an idiot
You may fatter your pride by forcing
your children to know more than an.
other children, but you are making
sacrifice OF that child, II by the add
tions TO its intelligence you are making
a subtraction from its future. Th
child will go away from such maltreat
ment with no exuberance TO fight tn,
battle OF life. Such children may ge
along very well while you take care o
them, but when you are old or dead
alasl for them, II, through the wroni
system Of education which you adopted
they have no swarthiness or force o
character to take care of themselves
BE careful how you make the child
head ache or its heart fiutter. / hea
q great deal about black mems rights
and Chinamen's rights, and Indians
rights, and women's rights. Woul'
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