The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-04

the nation. as a unit, concern itself SO little about the vital educational in- terests of the people as a whole.
 And yet of all modern nations the United States is more dependent for it's prosperity in the long run upon universal education than any other.
 Tn a republic, of all forms of gov ernment, the welfare of each section and of the whole is bound up with the educational condition of each sec- tion, district and locality. In a free government where every man counts in certain matters as much as any other man ignorance in any locality or in any individual is a menace to all To- calities and education in any district are an asset for all districts and for the whole nation.
 A Vital system
 Of all republics the United States is most interested in maintaining a vital and efficient educational system. No other state Is receiving many ignorant peo- pie from so many different nations with such vary standards of religion, nor as and conduct No other state is find Ing the fundamental basis of national unity so consistently undermined by for eign currents of thought and feeling.
 'The fate of the nation is consequently tiitSC clements as soon as possible with their complete incorporation into our body pol itic and social and above all with their continuous uplift toward an ever higher standard of economic and moral efficien- cy. And yet toward accomplishing all this the nation as unit Is doing abso- lutely nothing.
 ''We are spending enormous sums of money upon the army and upon the navy We pride ourselves upon being peace full nation and yet we are spending more, and always have spent more, upon mill tsry defense and offense as nation than all other objects and for all other pur- poses whatsoever We have spent money like water upon the improvement of our rivers and harbors. We are planning to spend still more, and If 1t were wisely spent 1t would be well. We are upon the verge of adopting a policy of internal im- provements which will cast far into the background all that we have thus far done.
 Development of Resources
 Side by side with the conversation of our national resources on an even larger even large plans for the development of our national resources on an exen larger scale.
 And vet we are doing little as nation to conserve the greatest of our national resources-the intellect and health of our people. And We are doing still less to de- velop what is, after all, the greatest asset of any nation-the brains of It's people. We have doubtless wasted much of our heritage. Such waste IS sin. ana pit terIy we shall pay for it. But the saving which we may effect after all by more reasonable policy in these matters repre- sents but small increment to our na- tional wealth compared with what may be added by the intelligent development of national talent such as is brought about by reasonable. comprehensive well sup ported educational system.
 Sources of Revenue
 ..When the constitution was adopted the nation handed over to the federal government some of the most fruitful sources of revenue. It left with the states some of the heaviest burdens of expenditure. The time has come when a readiustment in this respect should be brought about. Education should be made in form, what it is in reality, a national function. It should be placed bv the side of the army and navy, and internal Improvements and federal jus flee as one of the great and fundamen- tal functions of the American people finding it's expression In every depart ment of our national life; from the rural districts of our remotest states to the federal government at Washington
 Such a policy means federal appropria- tion on A large scale for the develop ment of national education. It would naturally end in a secretary of educa- tion who, as a member or the caplnet' should represent in concrete form the beginning of a new and larger policy calculated to bring about new and larger results in the educational field.
 "We have done much as nation to beln develop our material resources. We have done little to help develop our in- teI1ectual resources which, after all, un- derl,e and determine the possible devel- onmnt of our material resources.
 Elementary Teaching
 Our school system should reach every child in the nation with effective ele- mentary teaching. It should offer ele- mentary technical training for vocation to every child. It should offer the ad- vantages of high school, i e., secondary education to all children who may pc able intellectually to profit by It. Il should bring to all the youth Of coun' try who desire it chance to train tnem- selves scientifically for their future voca' ttons. The return for such expenditure would exceed by far all returns thus far made upon investments In internal improvement of a material sort If the nation would give its attention earnestly to the matter of establishing sucn school system, as should in every section of the country find out the natural apili' ties of it's children and then assist II developing them to the highest Possipit degree of trained efficiency, an era o' afional expansion, national development kt.1 frar nf no.