The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-09-18

liston 20 the rantings OF capitalist
apologists one would imagine, II he
know no setter that the public
schools of this nation was some
thing that bad boon kindly handed
down 10 us by "a benevolent ruling
class through love and a desire That
We might rise TO their level One
would imagine that i'm the schools
themselves would be taught at least
thetruth regarding the establishment
of the schools But it is not taught
How many of the people really know
that the public school system OF this
country is here as result of the
working class organizing and forcing
it's adoption in the face of the op-
position of every Statesman" every
patriot and every churchman Of the
1S20's and '30's? Every paper in
those days denounced the idea of free
public schools as dangerous to the
principles of the new republic, and
they all, from George Washington to
Alexander Hamilton-preacher editor
and politician-everyone, argued that
the education of the children of the
working classes would be dangerous
because it would make them discon-
tented with their lot" AS the lot of
the children of the working class in
those days consisted in working from
70 to IA hours for a few cents a day
in the new factories just coming into
existence, it can be easily seen why
the rising mel camille and manufacture
ing class of those days did not want
them to become Disseminated" with
what was offered them.
Masters Fought Against the Public
Schools.
But the working class insisted, they
organized, they fought, and the
schools were established. But they
were no more established than the
ruling class saw the great opportunity
at hand to strengthen their power and
lengthen their days by poisoning the
minds of the children of the nation by
teaching perverted facts of history and
befogging their minds with economic
Eagerly they have grasped
the opportunity and we'll they have
used it to their own ACKNOWLEDGMENT
and protection. No wonder there is
no lie to which they will hesitate to
stoop to prevent the wrenching of
that weapon from their grasp. To
them the wrecking of the life-earned
reputation of individuals through
taking of false affidavits and the bear
ing of false witness is nothing as long
as the robber system that brings them
their blood-stained treasure may be
No wonder they do not
hesitate to break their own laws and
trample their own ethics and morals
in the dust The capture of the
schools by TIE Socialists and the
teaching of TRUTH means their I'M
doing, their fall, their overthrow.
For we will teach the truth, and
we shall teach it in the schools. We
shall use the figures furnished by the
government itself to show the growth
of manufacture, the wealth of this
country and how it is distributed. We
will show by these figures the vast
amount of surplus values that are
gathered by the small class of private
owners of the nations industries, and
we shall show by these figures how
ENJOYABLE life could be made for every
human being if the wealth produced
was produced for use and not for
profit. We will make every child
feel secure that when he or she
reaches the age of manhood and
womanhood the door of fullest OPP
portunity will always stand open to
them from tie mere right of birth,
and the knowledge for absolute secur-
ity for their future can but give ire
mendous impetus to all incentives and
ambitions.
What Children Have Right to Know.
Our children have a right to know
why it is that out of the millions that
enter the primary grades fully one
half have to withdraw before they
reach the high school in order to be-
come bread winners. They have the
right to know why all children cannot
receive the educational advantages of
the advanced grades and schools.
They have, a right to be taught that
useful labor in the production of all
those things necessary to human
existence and enjoyment should be
more greatly rewarded than should
the plans and schemes of useless and
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