Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1904-01-20

disciplined militia properly NAN
talned-Hour bes1 reliance IN peace
and for the hrst moments OF war 70
curtan the appoindve power Of the
governor and enlarge the elective priv
ilsge Of the pe0ple-the surest means
Of preserving democratic Institutions
and promoting honest government ]
believe there Is less danger IN the pos
sible mistakes OF the people than IN
the assumed inerrancy OF superior
wisdom Of the chief executive; the
present primary election Law perfected
By eliminating the electoral and plu-
rality features, prescribing the ever
est punishment for the improper use
Of money and other fraudulent meth
DDS to control the elections; the main
tenanee Of q system Of free public
schools, which viii af0rd equal oppOr-
tunities TO all Of the children Of the
State to receive instruction necessary
90 equip them for the duties OF life
and the performance Of the functions
Of citizenship. One Of the most RAJ
donal and profitable duties OF a free
government. It sens to me. is to edu-
cate its children. Education means
only the development Of the good there
IL IN mantle vitalizing of those dor
mant forces which build and complete
that potential moral entity called char
acter. Il is a wise economy In this,
that If a man or q citizen be made bet
ter By education, the government will
share his improvement, and the en-
hghtened moral sentiment will write
the laws OF the land. But when l
speak OF the government educating its
children, I wish it understood that /
do not mean that it is the duty OF the
hope Of the State to give every boy
and girl a technical education or q
course at college. That is practically
impossible. We have colleges and uni
Versities which the State must main
tain and maintain properly, but the
FIRST, the paramount, duty Of the State
is to provide means for giving in
structiOn, at least, in the rudimentary
branches. to those children whose pc
culiar environment and impecuni0us
condition render II impossible for
them to get any other way. If the
State will place at the door Of all her
children an opportunity to obtain even
q common school education, such as Is
given In the best graded public
schools. she will have done we'll. l
want to impress this truth as ! see It,
that 1t is of much more Importance to
start the child on the road to an edu-
cation-to lay the foundation in a well
directed common school-than 1t is to
finish it in a ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
university or college. If the founda-
ton be properly laid, and there is any
merit in the child, it will complete the
su-perstructure without governmental
aid. It should be the policy Of the
State to do for the citizen only that
which the citizen cannot do for him
self. The best type Of man Is the self
developed man. / am deeply interest
ed in the beginning. Like the acorn
shaken from the twig by the passing
breeze, it falls into the dust below, and
while. 1t contains within its little shell
the germ Of the great oar, 1t remains
an acorn still, until the rain falls and
mOistens the earth, the hfe-giving rays
of the sun pierce its mould, and, burst
ing open the door Of its prison cell,
the stimulating air fans its folded
leaves to life, it rears its infant head
to the light and sends forth its rami
flying roots to gather material with
which to build the giant Of the forest
A few years OF cultivation and direc-
ton and it will care for itself. So It
Il with the sturdy boys and girls Of
the rural districts Of Mississippi. They
need only the sunlight Of an oppOrtu-
nifty to awaken sleeping genius-0ne
draught from the Pierian spring will
create a thirst for knowledge that will
remove mountains Of obstacles to graf
ify 1t. But without that opportunity
without the Whetted thirst for
knowledge-the glorious possibilities
OF that mind would never be devil
Oped.
How many a rustic Milton has passed
by
Sliding the speechless longings Of his
heart
In unrsmitting drudgery and care?
How many a vulgar Cato has com
PEELED
His energies, no longer tameless then,
To mould a pin or tabricate a nail?
How many a Newton whose passive
ken
Those mighty spheres that gem in
hnity
Were only specks Of tinsel fixed in
heaven
To light the midnight Of his native
town
all because OF the want Of opportu-
nity-the necessary climate to germi-
nate the seed OF genius which had
fallen in the sterile dust Of adversityf
Yes, By fellow citizens, the FIRST duty
OF the State Is to provide schools
improved facilities for the instruction
Of the masses In the rudiments Of an
oducation-especially those OF her citi-
ssns who live In the country districts.
The city schools are good enough. Un-
I'll that can be done, until the children
hVtng away from the towns and cities
in the backw0Ods are given che same
opportunity to acquire a common
school education that is enjoyed By the
resident in the city, let us not
establish any more institutions for
education than those We al
ready have.
Thus far what I have said en- the
Of education has been with ref
srenCe solely 70 the white children.
What shall We DO with the negrof
Ceroainly the education suited 70 the
white child does not suit the negro.
This has been demonstrated by forty
roara Of experience. and the expendf.