The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-26
NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOL.

AS one listens to the talk of men on
the streets where little knots gather
to hear some enthusiastic silverite
descant on the beneficence of his the
cries, listens to the questions put and
answers given, hears the opinions Of
business men who should be better
informed, reads the editorial discus
sions Of this all-pervading topic in the
papers advocating more and cheaper
money, one wonders where is the
source Of all this error; how comes it
that in country where education is
boastfully claimed to be superior to
that in any other nation, such erratic
ideas Of finance and government can
find place in the minds of SO many
men. In no country in Europe is such
a condition to be found at present.
For 200 years England went through
what we are experiencing; France had
to learn wisdom in the hard school Of
experience: in Germany, save among
few heavily mortgaged landlords,
bounties, one hears nothing of opposi-
ton to the gold standard, and in Can
ada no one disputes the existing mon
etary system.
Our schools are justified because
they prepare the youth of the land for
the duties that they will have to dis
charge when the years bring the age
OF citizenship to them And what. in
all the text books used by the great
mass of students, do we find that
teaches them the elementary, simple
and easily understood facts and laws
of government, of money, it's nature.
origin, supply, and the relations of
government to it? We have text
books on civics that teach the skeleton
of government, but nothing of its SOUL
and an obsolete law REQUIRES appli-
cants for positions as teachers to be
examined in the constitution. In our
high schools and colleges the merest
smattering is given, at the close of the
course. in political economy. Even
then it Is regarded as a dismal sci
ence," in the instruction of which there
is little realization of the fact that in
this study lies the only practical edu-
cation in citizenship the student re-
ceives. While there are colleges and
universities Of which this cannot be
said, it is true of most of them.
In some, controlled by partisans of a
school whose policies contravene the
laws Of economics, and where instruct
ors hold their place through parti-
san boards. the teaching is merely
perfunctory.
voters who are now to pass an unin-
formed judgment at the polls on this
money question had been taught in
their common school course what
money is, how it originated, how gov
ernments came to be associated with
it; their true functions relating to it:
what value Is and how created; what
credit Is, its money functions and how
maintained or impaired; what trade
and commerce are and their relations
" SOFSi AiACHl anu us 10 Inen, can
enc imagine body of voters, SO edu-
Gated in the elementa1s of economics.
entertaining such visionary notions as
are passing current among them today
as unquestionable truth? Could the
general impression that money is q
thing that congresses can create,
change or destroy at will find Gre
dence? Had Graham McAdams' "a B c
Of Finance" say, been a text book In the
graded schools for the past quarter of
ing today that congress can make
BIN grains Of silver, worth In the
markets So cents, the equal in value of
25.s grains of gold. worth In the mar