Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-02-28


~ bird that can sing and that will not
sing, ought 10 be made to sing, says the
old adage, la like manner, a father who
can educate his children and will not edu-
cate them, ought to be made to do it. 4
law of the character which we propose
would have no terrors for the man who
does well and who abides by its dictates. 1t
is the man Ol easy or vicious propensities
whom the law touches and whose liberty |
it invades. l have 10 patience with the |
man who says that he will do as he pleases !
in his community. 1t is an idle boast to |
say that a man is his own master. Deceive |
himself as he may, there are a thousand |
and one restraining influences which keep
him within the beaten track Of pursuits, 1t
Is well for society that this is so and that
the celltripetal and the centrifugal forces
in the breasts of men act usually in such
a way US to prevent serious catastrophes.
If the family-as Mr.. Bradford recently
asserted before the interchange Club of
this city-and not the individual, is the
unit of civilization--and none will dispute
the statement-then it follows that what.
ever disintegrates the family merits the
Interpretation of the State; while the con
verse is equally true and true with the ad.
dltional force which positive virtue must
always bear to positive vice-that what
ever conserves the family merits the ap
probation ana the support of the State. An
educated family is much more apt than its
opposite, the llliterate, to illustrate the
principle of cohesion which is what alone,
makes tolerable the divinely ordered con
dition of things expressed by the Biblical
terms, the solitary in the family"
Some Directing father may say with
fTankness which is partially engendered
by pride, II never had but two or three
years schooling in my life, and have
gotten along pretty we'll in spite of defec'
i've early advantages" II is to the credit
of such man that he has succeeded in
spite of being mentally handicapped for
the race in life; but many solitary in
stances Of this sort, here and there, do not
affect the general proposition that educa.
| ton disseminated SO broadly that the
| prince in his palace and the peasant in his
| hut may be alike brought within its genial
| rays, makes for the good Of the common
wealth. A monopoly of intelligence is
! just as injurious to the highest interests OF
the State as any other form of monopoly,
and is equally likely with trade monopo.
| lies. to breed dissatisfaction and hardship,
to Alternate man from man, to foment dis.
cord and to create an aristocracy of brains
which is not consistent with the dwelling
influences now at work in society, of the
gospel of Gods grace to humanity. You
have seen the shooting star, have watched
perhaps, the baleful flight of the comet
Does the cratic course taken by either
| negative the assertion that might unto
night showeth knowledge" or cast doubt
| upon the wisdom that evolved an orderly
universe? Not at ALL All isolated facts,
therefore, are not to be regarded as over
| turning the rule, but. rather as proving
the rule by the very paucity of the eXcep-
tions brought against il. All students in
any science know that exceptions prove
the rule and such exceptions as | have
| quoted above of success without previous
preparation for it, only make more patent
the necessity for providing opportunities
il we would calculate, with any degree of
| certainty, upon success.
Think of the material upon which the
educator works--the human mind, and
marvel not that pains are being taken in
this and in other countries to prevent it
from becoming besotted thing which is
either dead TO all impressions or, else,
sensitive only rs low, coarse pleasures are
offered to it. More plastic than clay, more
retentlye of impressions than marble the
human mind ranks among the Godlike
attributes of the human body. "A blade Is
small thing. At first it grows very near
the earth. II is often soiled and crushed
and down.trodden, But it is living
thing, The great, dead stone beside it is
more imposing; only it will never be any
thing else than stone. But this small
blade--it doth not yet appear what il
shall be-" So it is with the human mind
Those who are dealing with the educationa
problems of the day are setting the seal 0i
eyerlastinguess upon their work.
II may be asked what Is the real objec
of education? The New York Etehihg Pos
says: The real object Of school education
is to give'a knowledge of self, to promot
morality and refinement through TIL
teaching of discipline aud self-control an,
to lead the pupils to see that the highes
and only perfect content is to be obtained
not IN the valleys of sense, but by con
tinual striving toward the higher peaks .
reason" In the main, this is Il nearly per
feet definition, and allows large liberty TO
! the play Of the doctrine OF Gvolution--th
ascent, not the descent of man. Mari
Twain says, humOrously, that the human
family is divided into two classes, tn
educated and the uneducated and tina
} there is not so great Il difference as on
would think between the two classes
1.-THE caulillower," he asserts, lis only til
: cabbage with college education" Blu
society generally prefers the cauliilower B.
r its humber antecedent, the cabbage
/ Society is safer too, a1 education is NOR
g widely diffused. "The iliterate settlers
5 on our border lands and territories ar
4 always more prone to lynch law and otlIe
l deeds of violence than are educated settlers
$ \ cablegram recently announces that tn
A Gar is about to close u college. A new!
|
: that "he is making no mistake about tina
4 The spelling-book is more dangerous t
h his despotism than dynamite"
r The comparative study of the variOu
!, compulsory educational measures that al
in force in European countries is MOI
Y interesting than any romance, aud leal
/, us Americans to lament uUr backwar,
Il ness in this respect. England has u con
II puls0ry system, although all the schOo
II collect tuition fees, in this respect diife
= ing radically from our free system. Til
l. at least, was the case in 1891, but belle,
If that Parliament has since enacted u la
* providing for free tuition. Outside
4 elementary education in England, IL
is universities have established system
~ lectures and home study in vast numb
IS Of local centres under the general nan
so | of university Extension" Ncw-Centu
Id Club women do not need special intr
ar ductiun to this class Of educational wOr
It. bu; there is one feature OF this Kind
"a work which seems to establish d
he authority OF higher learning on an q
he tirely new basis, that ! want to ORA
at attention 70, namely, basis Of recognize
IL and atiectionatc respect rather than I
nd former one Of caste and naughty assuui
d. tun Of authority. We heartily welcor
al the migration of the II University lixtc
en- sion lectures 10 America. 4 paragraI
OF ii lust now going the rounds of the prt
OF upon the effect in England of educat
&c. upon crime. Sir John Lubbock regent
! addressed the Sociological Congress
NJ Paris upon this very subject and assert
lat that since lSI0.the number uf children
be English schools has Increased from L. 10
he 900 10 . 100000 and the number of pers0
of in prison has fallen from l2.OJO to %
G.. This IS an important historical fact 4,
Ill. deserves to be put away 10 Our minds, il
ial convenient place for ready reference.
ts France provides compulsory eduuati
on between the ages Of 6 and l3: has nlg