The new age. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1902-190?, 1902-09-20


NAV also @ questioned-as it was
questioned by an honored Judge and
democratic leader who said to the
writer recently: 1T would not be
right. il would be unworthy a strong
Christian people. to withhold the light
from this weak and needy race
IL appears. therefore, that in the
consideration of this scheme three
questions demand attention:
Is it constitutional?
Is it righteous.
Is it expedient?
In this article only the last of these
Intermediates shall have attention.
We believe that the proposed
change is inexpedient because
l. II would destroy the foundation
of our public-school system.
2 Ii would aggravate, not ale
viate. the Southern race problem
AS to the first of these PROPOSE
lions: The great bedrock on which
our scheme of public education is
based is that (the rank and power OF
peoples being in proportion TO their
intelligence) ignorance, wherever
found. without regard to sex or race
or condition, is inimical to the peace,
progress. and prosperity of the COM
monwealth; Uhat il is, like crime, the
common enemy of all the people, and
that all must work together for its
suppression: that as the state can
leave no one class the punishment
of the criminals of that class, but
must itself assume the task or war
ring against crime whose presence
Injuries all. so the state must war
against illiteracy, allowing the indif-
ference or Incompetence OF no class
to foster this enemy of the general
welfare.
Suppose we should allow the rich
to say to the poor, or the whites TO
the blacks, Build your own jails, pay
your own judges, punish your own
criminals; what have We to do with
crime in your ranks?" By that act
we should abandon the principle that
crime is the common enemy OF all the
people, to be controlled and punished
by the state as the representative
of all the people. and pave the way
for virtual anarchy. So, when We al
low ore race to say to another, Build
your own school-houses, pay your own
teachers, educate your own children;
what have we to do with ignorance
| in your ranks? we uproot the founda-
ton of our public-school system and
pave the way for anarchy in educa-
| tional matters. For If ignorance is
not the common enemy of white and
| black, how are we to prove that it is
| the common enemy of rich and poor
or of Catholic or Protestant, or OF
Baptist and Methodist, townsman and
| countryman? To illustrate: Sup
| pose we let the weather. race now
| say to the poorer race, I'VE are tired
of having, to pay taxes to educate
your children. Take what is your
own and educate your children; we
will use our money on our children.
| What then should We answer-as
| Gov. Aycock suggested to the writer
| a few days ago-if ten years later
the old aristocratic idea should show
itself by the rich white man saying
to the poor white man, IF it is moi
| right to compel a rich race to aid the
education of a poor race, neither IL
it right to compel rich class to aiC
the education of a poor class. | an
tired of paying taxes to educate you
children: educate your own and
will educate mine"
|
clusion that the adoption of the pro
posed policy would mean the break
ing up of the foundation principle
of our educational system. Who cal
say what the end would be
In the second place, as | have said
the proposed change is ineXpedien
because lit would aggravate, not al
leviate, the Southern race problem.
To put it more plainly, it would pre-
duce a result exactly contrary to tina
predlcted by the extremists who ad
vocate it-just as shortsighted eX
tremists in the North have seen thei
policy of wholesale negro enfran
chisement make the South solidl
democratic, instead of solidly reput
lican as they expected.
For nearly four decades the South
ern white man has borne the burde
of Negro education. When he cam
home from the war with little lei
save hope and nonor. he assumed /
The carpetbagger came. and the M
gro was instrumental in forcing o
the South the most vicious and co
rupt government that this countr
has seen: vet | believe that the whit
,, people of no Southern state, comm
, to their own again, attempted to will
, draw aid from negro schools. I
abandon now, in our day of create
strength and prosperity, the polio
that We have maintained through a
these years of trial and tempes
/, would widen the breach between tn
!, races. would break the most patel
!. tie by which We may properly guiC
!, ! and influence the negro, and wou
, endanger the Southern policy of su
|. frage restriction which We regard
. best for both races.
q The negroes are a child race" |
4 DIR. Felix Adler says, and both rae,
4 would suffer If the guiding hand
+ the white man were removed fro
v the educational work of this chi
# race. The negro would suffer becau
n of his inability to choose wise lea
II ers; the white man would suffer /
T. cause of the improper training
# this people whose destiny is to
p somehow interviewer with that of d
w South. whether or not we shut o
Ic eyes to this fact. AS it is now, 4
If white people pay the taxes; they CO
Is troll the government. Supportil
Is and managing the negro schools,
te is in our power to adapt the negro
education to mis- needs. and select Z
lg worthiest and safest black men