The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-30
MUST TEACH
OUR D YOUTH J
Tie State Should Secure Com
mon School Training Of All &
Nc. Her Boys aid Girls.
so DECLARES DR.. SMITH.
Chancellor Of Randolph Macon
System Makes Earnest Plea
for Interest in Education.
BY Dr.. WIN. w. Smith,

by Dr. VIM. w. sSf1lt1,
Chancellor OF the Randolph.Macon System.
I believe 1t was our friend, q. II. Flac-
Gus, Of Rome. who, in filling Il rush
order from tho managing editor Of the
| Acba Dlurra, for copy for the poets
| corner, npologlzed for the unpruned style
| OF his story by saying that he wrote
with trimming reed" Your present scribe
must write. if-he write at all, In obed-
ence to your request, with fountain pen,
on rushing train--verily current
calnmo. 2 3, AZ
"lIducational progress In Virginia may
be viewed retrospectively or prospective
ly. 1t would doubtless be pleasant to
note and rejoice over tho advances made
since the day when, amid the utter pros
tration Of all material resources, our
great Lee turned from arms to lead the
way through letters to the recovery Of
our fallen fortunes. But while much
has been accomplished for education in
Virginia In these two-scDre years SO
muclo more remains to be done that 1t
seems to me more profitable to COLI
slider the things needfu to future educa-
tionnl progress IN the Old Dominion.
First OF these, i would place alleroac
determination on the part OF our lcgis-
4lators to secure at whatever ex pense and
effort the common school training OF all
the youth Of the state.
NO fanciful foundation for this action,
no far-fetched argument for culture, not
even the very true, but to the taxpayer,
more remote argument of broader and
safer foundation for citizenship in cdu-
cation for the masses need be resorted
to. Nothing is more clearly proven by
statistics than that the productive capacl-
{, t,,iv ,rSr ~ n
the education of Its youth. DR., Dab
ney's widely circulated demonstration of
this cannot be controversial, Hence our
leaders have firm foundations for the
proposed platform.
For Universal Education.
And. yet. real conviction and real po-
litioal courage will be necessary to bring
the people up to the point of voting suf-
fIcient taxation to make the common
schools adequate to- this work. There
be many, 1t is true, to talk gljbly, and.
upon occasion loudly for universal COM
mon school education, butEthere are many
doubling ThOmases and some Of these
,heart-doubters are among the political
apostles aforesaid, When the people muir
muir because OF taxation. these will, !
fear, fail But there Is great future
In Virginia for a real dema gogue, In the
original and worthy sense-a man who
will lead the common people to demand
adequate common schools for all the
children Of the State. who W;ll set this
first and foremost, and will not be de-
MED in behalf of any other grade of
education nor of any other enterprise of
the Commonwealth whatsoever
4 To make this provision fully effective
other legislation will OF necessity fol-
low, but that will come in It's time. Let
q ra1l, -rtr r,nyu hA
must place n good common school within
reach OF all the youth of the State.
Our higher educational Institutions have
SO much to gain from this general foun-
dalton work that they can afford to min
imiZe their demands upon tie public
treasury, or even. as with the colleges OF
Massachusetts, depend wholly upon vols
untary gifts Of the philanthropic When
a general interest has been aroused and
a real faith in education has-been estab-
!Ished, it will overflow in benefactlons to
all institutions of learning. When the
tide comes In, 1t fills all the creeks.
MUST ROOT OUT INDIFFERENCE.
And then there is need for hard. per-
sistcnt and united work on the part Ut
all interested In higher education to de-
veIop among even well to do people aD-
probation OF school training beyond that
of the common school. II Ia frequently
argued that the country common school
is disesteemed because 1t is SO poorly
conducted as not to command respect or
TO appreclably better It's pupils. But what
shall we say to the appalling indifference
in our cities TO their generally excellent
and we'll conducted high schools and to
the college education toward which they
lead7 Appalling IS not too strong a
word, The United States Bureau of Edu-
cation reports that there are only about
1870 boys Il quote from memory coming
annually from our Virginia high schools