The Irish standard., 1904-11-12
Sinking A RESPONSIBILITY

Sinking A RESPONSIBILITY.
Archbishop Glennon, of St. Louis,
has come out strongly against the pro-
posed free textbook amendment to
the constitution Of the state of Mis-
souri,. The reasons given by the en-
inent prelate for his opposition are
not based upon the narrow basis of
economy. That, Of course, is reason,
but it is not the principal objection
to the proposed measure. The arch
bishop says:
"Such an act, if put into operation,
is extravagant, because all unneces-
sary taxation is extravagant. Neither
is it based on equity, because it will
not apply to all the children that are
being educated, but only to those who
attend certain schools. 1t lis dangerous,
because it is another step toward so
cialism, implying as logical sequence
the giving, later on, Of free clothes
and free food.
''Now, I submit that such an order
Of things might be proper for peni-
Tertiary, but not for a free people,
especially for one, all of whose anteced-
ents have made for the building up of
a healthy individualism, and who
deemed taxation without necessity and
yvitbO11t roproconto tior or ,,piuotif
able and criminal. 1t will, further
more, react on the very cause it is
supposed to serve, for it is found that
the thing which costs nothing is in
yariably regarded as worth nothing,
and, as in the commercial, social and
political life, emulation and ambition
are proper, so should it be in the field
of education"
What costs nothing is regarded as
worth nothing is truth that is uni
versally admitted. Hence the tenden-
cy to undervalue the benefits of an
education. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a
secular paper, in an editorial on this
subject, says:
''There is large class who insist
that every child should be taken soon
after it is born, placed in kinder
garten. and carried on through the
graded schools into the high school,
and that free state universities should
provide them all with professional
training if they want it. This theory
appears to us to be wide and unwise
departure from the original purpose
of the common school, and it has al
ready produced undesirable effects.
can elementary education by the
state under a democratic form Of gov
eminent is justifiable on the ground
that, as every citizen must participate
in carrying on the affairs of the state,
the state is charged with the duty
of seeing that he is fitted to do SO.
Such fitness the old curriculum Of the
common schools impaired, the acquisi-
ton of the three RS, giving every
boy the requisite knowledge to enable
him to become an intelligent voter.
Further than that it was not con-
ceived at that time the state had any
right to go, and no one can deny that
the system worked well with that
limitation.
"After finishing with the common
school any boy worthy Of higher
education, who had the right stuff in
him, was sure to get it by his own
exertions If his parents were unable
to give it to him. A very large num-
Der of our best and strongest men
have come from the ranks Of such
boys, who fought their own way. The
common school gave the start and the
stimulus, and carried them far enough
to test their capacity to 60 further.
They were prepared to be good citi-
zens. and then the state was done
with them so far as education was
concerned.
little by little, almost impercept-
IDLY, this sound basis was abandoned.
If the state should educate at all. it
was said, why not more, and finally
now, why should it not offer us free
gift to every child all the education
which any one is capable Of receiving.
And so we have boys and girls who
would much hettor stav m tho farm
or in the shop, with no special ability
for any other avocation. encouraged
to think they must follow literary