The age-herald., 1901-02-12

An outrageous measure to destroy per sonal liberty is being urged upon the General Assembly of Alabama.
 It Is a monstrous sin against human freedom; though it is clothed in the tin- sel and gilt of advanced" education.
 It is the boldest and most odious ef- fort toward tyrannical paternalism yet put forth to cripple and enslave a self governing people.
 In the form of a bill to compel the edu- cation of Alabama children, it Is serious ly proposed to invade the home, even to the sacred altar of the mothers knee.
 The promoters of this ancient tyranny in a new form have purpose to create system of espionage which no good man should countenance and no free man con- sent to endure.
 Some persons who are daft concerning public school education are attempting to create anarchy in place of conserva- tism, and tyranny In place of freedom, to make free schools synonymous with op- pression and to create the teacher an au- tocrat with inspectors as his spies
 These persons may mean well, but no thoughtful man, none of enlightenment, who has given the question serious and patient consideration can perceive the well-meaning element in these most ob- noxious propositions to force Tree eau cation upon the people.
 There Is no good in it. The meaning. the purpose of 1t all, Is evil. It aims at the subversion of freside and faith alike
 It would take from the mothers side her own child whom she sought to teach as her mothers heart taught her to teach; would remove the innocent mind from that atmosphere of mother love and truth and piety and thrust 1t, maybe, into goddess and Irresponsible associa- tlons beyond the reach of all spiritual in- nucnces.
 It would invade the home of refinement, where scholarly father or trusted tutor imparted wisdom to little children, and drag the head of the household before some magistrate learned In nothing, per haps, except profanity and general blackguardism and there amongst the cuspidors with the unwashed the gentle- man would be adjudged by fool guilty of teaching hls own children or employ ing a competent tutor to teach them.
 Fathers unwilling to trust in any degree the formation of their children's charac- ters to possibly ignorant and goddess toachers-and there are many such In the land-or unwilling for any good and fntherly reason to send their children to tho public schools, and being able and desirous to otherwise educate such chill dren, would be vigorously punished by the hirelings of an insufferable tyranny. To jail with good fathers-they dare to provide for the education of their own children. It Is an infamous proposition.
 Mothers of fatherless children dear, patient, striving, noble mothers! They shall not presume through their tears and by their heartaches to point the children of their bosoms the way to knowledge of books and thereby knowledge of God.
 What have school-children got to do with God? What has God got to do with schools? Isn't God but another name for "sectaria nisnn" and isn't "sectarianism" forbidden in public schools? Stuff the children-all tho chidren-every mothers son and fathers daughter of them, from seven to sixteen-stuff them with books, good goddess books That is the cry.