The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-21
.yM12' Z. 4
EDUCATION. AN AID 7 Il
TO- CIVIC DUTY,

q In the suns rays there are light, heal,
and electric force, the energies neces-3
@snry to physical lfe. IL education there
are skill. diligence and virtuf, the
energies necessary TO social well being.
True. some rays are not solar; ana some
forms of education are not vital. But
genuine education means light for the
intellect, heat fora the heart, and the
electric Incentive for the conscience aud
will.
Socrates held that knowledge Is vir-
tue" principle that has been much
criticised on tho score OF It's inadcauacy.
Does Il not. however. its funcIed made
ouacy lie rather In the limited meaning
we choose to gvo to .'knowledge?" Sup;
poso you put 1t thus tsdOm Is virtue. 4
IL rot that true Such L have long
suspected, 5is tho sense OF the saying Of
Socrates Similarly, we have attached
too narrow, a meaning to education,
limiting It Iii the main 10 informal on,
why should We not make wisdom, or
fitness for life the objective of educa-
ton. instead OF mere knowledge :! Is not
training better than education! Is not
discipline OF more value than erudition?
Must We not put character above the
classics? If you thus bound your cdtl-
5catlonal policy by common sense, is it
the negro a better man. since It will givel
him skill as q workman IN producing
wealth, intelligerce Az q rational being
in subjectlng the lover to the higher
| motive, and virtue as a citizen In respect
Ing law and rendering service to society!
Let us doyetail the education Of the
NEGRO into life. teaching the dignity Of
work. the necessity OF providence. and
the love Of order. ~
For several reasons the experiment
| Of negro education has hlls far been
and fragmentary. 40 final
lfconclusion can az yet be drawn from ~.
iaIr the first place. education has meaEt
lftitherto chiefly a book, whereas real
training Is largely bookle IS. Secondly,
1.-the Southern people have given their
money to negro schools, while. mayhap.
withholding their sympathy and energetic
cooperation. Thirdly, the higher educa-
ton of the negro has been largely carried
! or under the auspices OF the North, q
| fact In which some chose to find q sug-
| gestion Of arraying the negro against
Ills white neighbors. Fourthly, sufficient
| time has not elapsed to Judge OF the fun
! force OF education III the upllft Of q race
4 so recently released from slavery. " hen
| r remember that little more than three
! centuries ago an English queen. IN the
| brief space Of four years, put to death.
| mostly by burning alive. Two hundred
ard sevcnty-scvenS persons, some Of them
4 women and even children. for slight@dif-
ferences of opinion upon speculative
! points In theology, have great conf
dence in the potential progress Of any
i race whatsoever MY enterprise SO &c
1 Napoleon lis one of those Of whlchthe
solution is to be found IN patience a.
All these four disturbing factors are
j being eliminated. The results yielded IN
der prospective conditions may be en-
pected to be far more gratifying. rms
4 spirit In education Is moro than pcad.
gogcal method or monetary outlay ans
1 IL right spirit. sympathetic ard insplra'
4 tlonal, is asserting itself. Tho North Y
beginning to see that the negro pro plen
i is, iii d sense. sectional, and the Soutl
i is realizing that the problem Is, In
4 sense, rational.
N Is as certanthat the negro IS goint
\ 10 be gven@n chance as It IS that ne y
here to stay. SHY what you Will TN
A Golden Rule Is going to get In vs. worf
d in this matter. Lord Eldon, the fayorll'
chancellor of George lIr8 never pro
4 posed anything himself, and oppose,
everything that anybody else PROPOSED
"A carplng spirit has no place ~ deal'nl
with 50. ex,gent d problem as the pres
!. blaze path along which progress cal
make Its way. / cannot repress the de
( sire 10 SEQ every man living " MS owl
home, well painted and neat inside am
out. Il nail In every paling, the chlldrel
y smiling and the mothers eye bright an
her heart happy. 7 dislike q dilapldate g
house, as DO slatternly woman
. What Will brig wealth and prestige :
{ tho southland2 Education. thrilling VIII
moral force and the spirit Of social ser
vice. As Jefferson wrote IN 1878 to JON
Adams: Laws and Institutions must g
hand in hand with the progress q IN
human mind,' III Opening letter ~
other day from Superintendent Y. {.
IIeutwoc Of Morristown, Tennessee ou
! fell a card, upon which were these rlhs
\ ing sentences' !, /.
Schools for all the children an ~
Children irathe schools,
Nine months school or taxation 70 N N
limit.
{, "Good teachers, well prepared ana we