The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-10-16

IN ANSWER to the article in THE
MIRROR of October End, entitled
"The Other Side of State Educa-
tion," 1 respectfully submit the
following:
Education is not a panacea for all
the ills that flesh is heir to; but it is a
check upon some of the ills. Because
Shakespeare. Jonson, and other cele-
brated persons of their time drank to
excess it does not follow that their
excessive drinking was due to- the fact
that they were educated persons. In
their day almost everybody drank to
excess, and we have reason to believe
their contemporaries considered them
as but moderate drinkers. And al
1owance should be made for what the
late A. Ward SO aptly. termed the "ec-
eentricity of genius"
Furthermore, when Shakespeare,
or johnson, or Burns goes wrong,
not only in the way of intemperance,
but in any manner whatsoever, all the
world will hear about it, and comment
on it; but when an uneducated laborer,
or a denizen Of tho lower stratum of
society befogs what little understand
ing he is master of, it arouses but little
attention, because the people are so
used to such excuses in men Of his
stamp. Witness the misfortune that
lately befeA Rev. S. Small: hundreds of
papers not only chronicled the fact,
but commented thereon; while the
thousand and more ignoramuses who
were in state of beastly intoxication
st the same hour and minute were
passed over in silent contempt-unless,
indeed, the police justice had a few
words to say to them the next morn
ing.
Again, whether the best educated
and cultured rich keep their cellars
we'll supplied with wine, 1 have no
means of finding out; but it appears
to one who desires to be just toward
all men, that the best educated and
cultured rich, as a class, are by no
means given to drunkenness. As a
mere matter of speculation let us sup
pose two hundred rich men, with "nion-
ey to burn;" let US further suppose one
hundred of these to be we'll educated,
and the remaining hundred to be COM
paratively ignorant; now if, except this
difference in education, their condi-
ti0ns are otherwise equal, which Of
these two groups will produce the
greatest number addicted to intem-
perate habits?
So many arguments might be pro-
duced which tend to prove that "the
decrease of drunkenness is in a great
measure attributable to the spread of
education" that we have neither the
time nor the space to recspitulate
them; but having given thought to the
rich let us not slight or overlook the
poor, who, by the way, are far. more
interesting. Let us take as an illustra-
tion the case of two laboring men who
have an hours time at their disposal.
One has been educated sup to the level
of newspaper reading" and he takes
from his pocket paper-let us say
The MIRRoR;-and in THE MIRROR
he finds the article written by Mr.. S.
which he reads with much interest,
and from which he derives great profit,
for it causes him to think. Laborer
No. 2 unfortunately has not been edu-
Gated sup to the level of newspaper
reading" and tho his companion reads
aloud, he mo. q soon grows weary,
and goes to near by saloon, where he
INDUCES in the highly intellectual re-
creation Of playing euchre, and occa-
sionally, just to vary the monotony,
tries his hand at the great physical
feat colloquialiy called driving nails
in ones coffin" ~
Now, Mr.. S., this is not theory. /
am q common laborer, and for years
have studied the conditions, the emo
tions, the aspirations Of my fellow
~lsborers, and when 1 say that the news