The news & observer., 1897-01-10

editor in order that the weighty utter
auces Of our Chief Magistrate might be
carefully considered by all our readers
COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
Education has always interested hu-
Imanitarians who have had the good Of
/ their fellow men at heart. Few sub
jects have been more extensively written
about
! Universal education is also a subject
that has been very much talked Of, but
compulsory education as a system, is
comparatively a modern idea, and is now
deeply agtatiug the public mind. Saxony,
! England, Prussia and Germany and other
| European nations, under the leadership
of their great teachers have adopted
some system of compulsory education
Those who have been interested in this
subject in some Of our own States have
not been behind these European couu-
tries in aeitating this question. Among
the States and Territories having adopt
ed compulsory education we find Massa
chusetts, District Of Columbia, Connect
/ cut. New Mexico. New York, New Jer
sey, Kansas, Ohio, Idaho, Colorado and
/ Utah And the demands Of the times
seem 10 Justify a greater effort. than
ever before to have some law applicable
4 to enforcing compulsory EDUCATION. The
States individually and our nation col
/ lectiyely have expended much thought
and care upon this subject, in organizing
a compulsory system These systems are
far from perfect, but when put into prac-
/ tice the proper corrections can be made
as the faults are discovered. In my opin-
ion the State calls for such q system Of
education as will require the attendance
Of all the children. The time has ar
rived when it is necessary for North
| Carolina to move forward in the line
! some Of our States have adopted Our
people must be- educated and in their
education more hope for the Statefthan
in the accumulation of great wealth.
Compulsory education is necessary in the
State and this will be seen clearly when
we consider the facts
| BY the last report OF the National Com
mittee OF Education. Hon. William r.
| Harris. H. l.. H., we learn that zone
tenth OF those children from six to six
teen years did not attend school at all.
and that each child of the other nine
tenths averaged less than eighteen weeks.
| This means that thousands do not 90
even seventeen weeks, and great mum
| ber of them hardly at all" But as he
says This is the bright side of the pic
| ture. There is q dark side not easily
shown by statistics. But even the bright
side is not a bright side. What can we
expect from these people when they come
1 to form our laws and manage our gov
| ernment? Certainly we cannot have
good government. This is the number
| side OF the question. The kind Of chill
dren thus unedueated is another aspect
| which leads us to see the necessity for
| laws making attendance obligatory Six
1 thousand arrests made in years in New
| York, before compulsory education laws
| were enforced, were from children be-
| tween s and ii years old" This un.
| educated class produce a greater part of
| the crime, especially those committed in
| the cities and large towns. This crimi-
nal cost would go far toward defraying
| the expenses of rhe schools. We all are
aware that the cost OF criminals is, as a
rule, greater than the schools-this class
of our population is disgrace to it, Those
so belonging TO it will go TO school only
when compelled TO do it by the strong
arm Of the law. They have remained
away from school and do not see the
necessity of going to school, and we can
| not rely upon ignorant parents to send
| them. The less education men have the
| less they see the necessity for it. Law
and its endorsements must teach them its
necessity. Again there are many manu-
facturers who desire TO employ child la
| Dor, as II is much cheaper And there
are thousands of parents, who, having
no education themselves covet and value
| the wages which they procure from their
childrens 5 labor more than their educa-
ton. These will ever belong to the ignor-
ant classes. if they do not avail them
selves of the opportunity in their early
childhood.
Certainly law is needed to compel
these children to go TO chool. The great
armies of immigrants coming from other
countries, where educational provision
does not take the form of compulsory
attendance laws, is another reason for
these laws. These people have not been |
compelled to send their children to school |
They come into this country knowing |
that it is Il free land. They make it |
more free than was intended. They have
extravagant views as to their rights and |
contracted views as To the necessity for |
education. The children know nothing |
higher than the wisdom OF their parents |
Fortunately for North Carolina we have |
few of this class in our State-having |
few or no large cities, we are not threat
ened from this source of evil. Compul- |
sory education laws would show free
thinkers, that, though the country is free,
yet this freedom ends ut the point Of
another mans hose, that there is law and
order along with this freedom The
children are educated in this order, and
are brought UP TO be Obedent citizens,
for school teaches obedience; that most
necessary quality which all good citizens
should possess The criminal class
comes from the youthful disobedient
class. Few doubt that it is the right Of
the State to impose a compulsory school
tax. Ii it is right that the State should
compel sordid men to pay for the educa-
ton Of the ignorant, it is certainly the
right Of the State to see to ii, by force
Of law, that this money fail not of its
purpose through the carelessness, the
weakness, vice or intemperance OF par
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