The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-01-14
EDUCACIov7

| EDUCATI0r..
| Inc strength and stability of any
community are largely in proportion to
the intelligence OF that community.
Ihe intelligence Of the communitv ia
Always IN proportion to the education
OF the masses. The power and strength
oa a STATE are not In its material ad-
able these may be, but In an educated
citizenship-an education which trains
| It's cltizenship intellectually. phvsicalIv
and morally. If our State is to keen
pace WIN the other States OF the union
our people must be educated-not n few
mere and there. but there mu.t be n
general education OF the masses. The
weaieH producing power of q country is
IN proportion to the education of tts
citi1ens. ana as we increase the eff
cheney OF every citizen by education. so
we increase the wealth PRODUCING power
or the state. IF we should double the
wages OF every man in the State, wo
should not thereby increase its wealth
ooilar. nut II we could double the
e!hciency Ct every man in the State and
then double the wages we should quad
r.S.e the wealth of the State" Said MIR.
Ruskin: "A piece of land which will
only support ten idle. ignorant. and inn
provident persons will support thirty or
LOFTY intelligent and Industrious ones"
Inc value or country depends rather
upon the Virtue a:'d intelligence OF the
people who inhabit 1t than upon the
richness Of the soil. All wealth has its
basis In intelligence.
We should permit no child to grow up
70 n,set the nigh and responsible duties
OF "iuzenshfp without at least the rud-
iments OF good education. ..In the
south 10 per cent. Of the criminals are
oencient In education. while 60 per cent.
are totally illiterate' statistics show
that 22 per cent. of all the inhabitants
IN the south over 10 years Of age nre
1lliterates, while in New York II is oniv
1-2 per cent.
In my last annual messape on.
oeavored to show the Importance of
compulsory education law, THIRTY
three states and Territories, including
ene District OF Columbia, now have
compulsory education laws. The high
est per cent. Of illiteracy among the
native white population over ten years
IN those States having compulsory
attendance laws is Wyoming with rs
! per cent. and the law has been in force
only a few years. In Connecticut the
, per cent. is ! and in Massachusetts,
and Nevada only s. In States net
) having compulsory attendance the
, lowest rate Of illiteracy Of native
Wn',es nar over over ten years Is Texas with
, per cent. OF illiteracy OF native whites
over ten years Of age Is 1871 per cent,
, and IN North Carolina it is % per
. cent. In ne face Of these facts I do
Z pulsory attendance at school. It is not
, necessary to worry about the negro.
he Is getting all the education which
is provided now and could get no more
under compulsory attendance. What
. we should be concerned about ia the
education and the moral uplifting Of
our white boys and girls. Ignorance
Is q menace and burden to civil lib
erty ana the good morals of the coun-
try; IN addition to this. every boy
Sr1fr -
to the opportunity to do something
and to be something. Such q law cam
not interfere with the rights OF pa
rents, because no parent has right
70 make a slave out Of his offspring
or to rob his child Of the right to
make useful citizen or to have the
opportunity to live a useful and n
happy life. No one in this this, day wv win Il
question the right of the State to en-
i force compulsory attendance. we levy
tax and enforce the collection OF
!. public education; then why not en-
force attendance so that ali the chill
dren may receive the benefits and have
the money put to the best possible
to the greatest number. "Individual
welfare depends on the general well
fare. Having taken the money of one
man man to EDUCATE the children Of an
o.ner. the state must protect that
man and his children from oppression
and dangers Of illierate neighbors and
fellow citizens" The history and ex-
perience OF those countries In which
compulsory attendance has been tried
prove Its good results and refute the
idea that it works any hardship. It is
true that In the States which have
compulsory attendance laws, only
two are southern. but that Is no reason
why we should longer lag behind.
THE COMMON SCHOOLS.
There is a marked increase in the
IN, vt11 1fr
are many encouraging evidences of
Improvement Yet the bare facts of
the condition Of the average school
IN some counties are shocking. Refer
ence TO the statistics in the report
OF the State superintendent of educa-
tion discloses that there are numerous
schools with less than three months'
term, and still more with teachers SO
padly paid that they cannot he sup
yosed IN any uegree competent. If the
sibility to the cause OF education i'm its
entirety in the State, there must be
state aid to the public schools. An
APPROXIMATION to be apportioned accord
ing TO the money raised in the counties
is nothing more than county tax
an increase of the constitutional three
mill tax. Efforts heretofore made to
pass such law have met with the
response from some delegations: I'VE
have money enough already The
school terms and their teachers sala-
ries as evidence that they need little
or no money. The truth is, that
Legislative appropriation should be
made along the lines prescribed by
the constitution to bring up the de-
ficient schools to n minimum stand
ard. The dispensary money has been
| apportioned under n law ixfng three
months Of $500 salary as the mini
mum standard, but the educa t!ona!
sentiment Of the State has passed the
point where 1t can be longer satisfied
with this minimum. 1t would be little
enough for the legislature to contrib
ute to the efficiency of the public |
| schools a aum equal to the amount |
| 1t appropriates to the State colleges |
| A much smaller sum. as estimated by !
the State superintendent In his an |