St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-06-12

environments 70 which be has had to
come through the want Of proper op-
portunitY for mental and moral
development. The child IS not
taught to-day as he was forty q
fifty years ago. It was then claimed
that the education of the masses was
both impossible and unnecessary,
that the mechanic, Che farmer and
others who belonged to non-profes-
sional classes, needed to know only
the bare rudiments of reading, writ
ing and arithmetic, but such is not
the case to-day. The subjects OF
pedagogy and modern psychology
have made great advances III the last.
Twenty-Five years. and have demon
strated thar It is possible and profit
able to educate tie general masses
far beyond what was formerly con
sidered to be sufficient. They have
laid down, almost along the lines Of
the exact sciences, the means by#
which the minds of very ordinary
people can Be reused to the point off
interest Iii The acquisition Ct know
ledge, and have stimulated mental
activity TO that degree that It IS now
admitted that very few minds, except
those of idiots, cannot Be educated
and developed to an extent hitherto
deemed impossible.
I ask If the people of this com
munity for mere pittanee of a tax, |
are going to turn down d proposition
which means 50 much to them and
theirs? II they are less imbued
with the spirit and less appreeiative
Of the necessity Of education than
some Of their neighbors Tf they are
going TO let the people. who have
not had good educational opportuni- |
ties, but who now realize the neees-
sity Of providing them, outstrip them I
in making ready responses To the /
demands made on them for the bet
terment Of their schools. Read to-
days Clarion and see what the peo-
Pile Of L'anse BIeu, Manou, and 9th
or sections are doing, read its back
and see what other sections
have already done. They are voting
special taxes right along, and ii ad-
dition TO this, have already gone
down in their pockets and provided
The means for the construction ana
equipment Of good ard eommodious
school houses. There seems 70 be
some opposition I'd this tax here inl
certain quarters, some claim that it
IS piece of unnecessary extraVa-
yance, some that the school will not
be located at The proper place To
suit them, and some say that they
10 not want this kind of Il school,
.hat they want d Normal school.
70 the first class of object0rs I will
lrge the argument that there can be-
from no other quarter M
Ter the sun, education as cheap and
md as good as is now being dispeBs-
ID by the public schools of this coun-
.rY A three mill tax means that
7ou pay $500 per year on an assess
nent of $1,000, and when the tax IS
Toted, it means that tuition for your !
.hildreB, comfortable quarters, good
eaehers and Wel equipped. modern
chooi rooms viii come to You at
hat rate. whether y0u have one or
Iozen children ID The public school.
10 the second class Of 0bieet0rs I
VIII answer that il is best 70 get the
noney first with which to procure d
5sse than il Is ID quarrel ever Che dis
Iosal Of something which Y0u haven't
t0t. ard the getting 0f which Is still
Besides, the law has
aid who shall mare Tie selection 81
eho0t sites end has invested these
it tas dirty.