The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-09-01

of the few and it remains because OF that popular
ignorance and apathy which make 1t possible to
control large numbers of voters by appealing to
their prejudices when they should be guided only
by their own intelligence.
When we remember that in democratic form
OF government the only directing, governing
power the only law-making agent the only final
court of appeal consists of the people, the col.
lective will and intellect of private citizenship
we must realize ofwhat supreme and vital import
ance the subject of popular education is. The
American citizen is too apt to fall into the
of thinking that the government of our country
is made up of town councils, boards of commits
sioners, congress and president, and thus make ex-
cuse for his own indifference with regard to pub
lie affairs, but no man can thus avoid RESPONSE
blity for the real governors of this nation the
private citizens who elect their representatives
and merely delegate to them certain limited
powers. We have popular government in which
each individual voter is part of the ultimate gov
erning power and upon him the final safety OF
our republican institution rests. To whatever ex.
tent the individual voter is guided by prejudice
rather than sound and impartial judgement, to
whatever extent he is influenced by the dictates
of another, to whatever extent the representative
of the people in the legislature forgets that he is
merely the servant of the people who are the
government, and that he is not the government
himself acting in bis interests, to that extent
are our free institutions endangered and invaded
by the dreaded spirit OF despotic oppression which
since the beginning of society has crushed out
the peoples rights. that foul viper from whose
poisonous breath we fancied our own freedom
safe.
Education is the one absolute necessity in ward.
ing off the evils which threaten and tits most
fitting that we should constantly aim to secure the
kind of education that will produce the men who
will be equipped to preserve our national ideals.
In describing some oil the features of such an
education would say that first of all it must be a
democratic as distinguished from an aristocratic
system of education. Horace Mann, the great
American educator and statesman, declared many
years ago that a republican form of government.
being compact between individuals, depended
for its existence upon a bond of sympathy and
mutual understanding esta blished between its cit
liens, and it is true that there is no adequate ex
traneous force which could hold our republic to-
gether without that common interest in a COM
mon cause, and If 1t were not for that mutual
bearing and iorbearing which is necessary where
many men with many. clashing interests are
brought together. our national disintegration
would be speedily accomplished. Now it must be
in great democratic public school system that
the boy will learn those lessons by which he will
develop into good American citizen. If such a
system could be made an ideal one no boy would
leave it without having mastered the rudiments
at least OF some practical branch of knowledge,
and at the same time he would have developed a
broad sympathy for all his fellows which would
make unknown for him any thought Of social
caste. He would know how to honor skill and
integrity no matter in what trade under what
style of coat it might be found, and above all he
would have developed the highest ideals OF the
duties and responsibilities of citizenship. When
boys from all ranks and conditions of life are
brought together in those impressionable years OF
youth, then are found those close ties of friendship
between them which flourish without any
thought on their part as to who Is the rich mans
son and who is the poor mans, and wien the man
who will be the employer and the man who will
be the employed, when office man and mechanic
both come out from one great thoroughly Ameri-
can scnoOi SYSTEM where each has become familiar
in bOyhood with the same high ideals and has
come to know something OF the others problems,
tastes and skill, great step will have been taken
toward the solution of one of our greatest prob
lens, that of capital and labor, Under such sys-
tenn of education there would soon die out the
distinctions of classes and masses which enron,
eously seeks to raise the rich idler into caste
above the intelligent laborer and skilled me-
chanic and tends to give more honor to the pro-
fessional man than to the man who is an expert
In agriculture or other technical or commercial
occupations
believe that the private school, of which there
are so many, is in its tendencies a very un.Amer.
lean Institution for too often it gives to the rich
mans son a white handed, kid gloved. silk
hated education which Grams him with Latin
and Greek, abstract mathematics and smatter.
ing of polite literature and while not fitting him
for doing his share in carrying on the work OF the
world, develops in him the habit of looking down
with an air of fancied superiority upon those
clean, clear-headed, skilful-handed men who are
able to do things of practical value. One of the
hopeful signs in American education Is the gen.
orally decreasing popularity of those s0called
| aristocratic schools where rich mems sons are
educated apart from and out Of sympathy with
their more fortunate because less opulent brother
Americans who go to the public school.
Besides being democratic In the sense that the
children of all classes should be educated together
! in order to develop mutual sympathy between
them the public school system should recognize
that the majority Of its pupils must go into agri-
cultural technical and commercial pursuits and
that they should be trained with this in view. 1t
is impossible to make orderly law abiding citizens
by merely giving courses in civil government and
civic duty. for the chief sources OF political vic.
iousness and corruption spring from that inefti-
cheney, idleness and poverty which are always the
| result of a poor and inadequate educational sys-
tenn. Ifa man who is well equipped with good
| technical. agricultural or commercial training
becomes idle or vicious 1t will be because of some
extraordinary circumstance, for you may put it
down as a safe rule that if q man Is really good
farmer. business man, carpenter or lawyer he will
also be good citizen. 1t is the second and third
class man in every occupation who is the greatest
menace to society,"
Many men have been failures in life because
there has been too much OF the old aristocratic,
literary impractical education In our school sys-
TENS. We obtained our curriculum from the old
world where until recent years only the aristoc-
racy. scFibes. priests, lawyers and physicians
were considered worth educating and these re.