The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-09-27
HatfeId for Schools.

Hatfield for Schools
The Republican party was the
father OF the free school system in
west virginia The Democratic
party dfd.not think well of the idea
atsthe time the system was created
and It has never given It any great
encouragement since.
The Democratic state. convention
this year treated education in the
state in a very vague manner as
shown by the educational or school
plank in the Democratic state plat
form. The platform contains only
three lines as follows on the sub
ject of education in the state:
Public education, nOn-political
and non-sectarian. is an absolute ne
cessity in self-governing state :"
Those few lines are more in the
nature of an admission than a decla-
ration OF intention and approval
The plank holds out no special
friendly spirit for education but is
rather conspicuous for its frigidity.
The school plank in the RepuDli-
can state platform refers to what
that party has accomplished along
school lines, and by its record fhe
Republican party is willing for the
voting public to judge its future in
respect to the school system of the
state. The Republican plank reads
as follows:
The school term has been length
ened fifty per cent, the number and
eficiency of the schools very large
ly Increased and high. schools are
dotting every part of the state"
Under Republican rule the schools
of west Virginia have been brought
up to a high state OF efficiency and
thai. fact is being widely commented
on. Other states as Democratic
newspapers we'll know have turned
their attention to WestA Virginia and
are patterniag after the West Vir-
ginia public school system.
Denominational schools have been
recognized and their graduates. are
treated In the same manner as grad
yates from the states normals-
White the state does not recognize
secEaE1anism so far as the schools
20, yet the educational work OF sec
tartan institutions is given merit
marks. and thus the state-goes be-
.yond the public school system in en-
couraging education SeetaTian
school aRork pertaining to courses
OF, study and not feBgiosl. are thus
encouraged and sfostered At no.gex-
pense to the and If the Dem
ocratic plank IS meant to be in op-'
position TO this plan, it IS merely
CHARACTERISTIC OF the party sfrst att
titude toward public education. such
an attitude is not sound and WIFI
fall before \ vote OF the people.
Something is said in the Demo
cratic plank about non-political ed
ucation Just what that means even
Democratic editors have not been
able to state. 1t it means the nom
introduction of politics into the pub
lie school system, then it is praise
for the Republican party. a nota-
Bile instance of the Republican
party's treating the schools in a
non-poIitical way is that of the ap-
pointment OF a Democrat as the head
of the state university.
1t is readily seen that the Repub-
iican party has done more and Of
fers to do more for the schools than
the Democratic party has done or
offers to do.
Besides. DR.. II. D. Hatfield, stand
ara bearer of the Republican party
in this state this campaign, is an
avowed advocate OF more and better
schools as all the thousands who
read the platform he issued last
spring and heard him in the primary