The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-04-18
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TUESDAY, APRIL ls, 1906.
School Taxes as an Investment.

z .,In 81 Ma ssn chusetts," says Professor q.
q Hart. Of Harvard University, 1--WE think
Y that school taxes are not money spent y
FIT money saved: but We get BACK
Irvery can't Of our sl4.c0o,ooo several times
over IN the Increased efficiency OF Of our o.
NJ ncoplc. in tho diminution of crime, IN the
a addition to the happiness Of lifc.es scilool-
Ting Is Insurance, schooling IS savings
Il hanks that can't break, schooling Is poor
relief by preventing poverty. The last last
thing which any nj massachusetts, committee
links ofreducng is school expenrditpllr re y
/ THAT is splendid campaign matter for
the educational crusade which 1t Is pro-
posed 10 inaugurate in Virginia In g III little
y While. The impression is too prevalent
HAT Is educat ton is an expensive luxury.
IL is not a luxury, and it is not expen:-
4 sive; At Is 20 necessity. In this age ag',t Oh
progress and competition II we Of VII
ginia expect to keep pace with the most
progressive States Of the Union. we must
thoroughly educate our people, for the
wealth Of every State is dependent upon
tie productive capacity Of It's people and
itgdocs not need to be argued that ed til
ton increases that capacity. The igno-5
/ rant man cannot compete With the train
] Cd man. That being true Of individuals
Is true also OF u collection Of ind viduals.i
* state whose inhabitants are ignorant
p cannot compete In trade and industry with
4 d state whose inhabitants are educated.
Sn much for the question Of luxury AS
,5r tic expense Of it, as well say that
s .its Is expensive for O. manufacturer TO-
invest III a machine which will do the
y work of ten men. 1t requires money to
4 make the outlay, hut when the machine
for itself It is never expensive to make
IN investment which yields handsome
return.
Thirty years ago thera lived in a town
not far from the city OF Richmond four
4 boys who were playmutcs and friends.
They were all of good birth and Of tho
Same station in life. Each had the adj
vantage OF good home training and there
was not much difference in their mental
capacity Withathe same training and
with the same. energy aid push one would
have done about as we'll as the othcr
III life's struggle. But one Of them took
an education while tho other three did
not. About month ago these four boys.
now grown to be middlc-agcd men,
CHANGED to meet in neighboring city
and took an inventory. SO to speak, Of
their stock in trade, 1t turned out that
the educated man was earning almost,
II not quite, as much as the other three
were earning Jointly.
This is no fictlon It is a true story,
Tho man who took an education had
thereby more than doubled his earning
capacity. He can now earn in one year
more than the entire cost of his education
at college. WIN tho most penurlous per-
son in Virginia say that this mans edu-
caticn was "cxpenslye?' Will tho most
penurlous persons in Virginia say that 1t
is expensive" to educate tho boys when
IN so doing their capacity to produce is
doubled and sometimes quadruplcd? We
q commend these thoughts to tho speakers
who will soon go out among the people
and preach taxation and schools