The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1915-04-09
POLITICS
AND PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
tBY SAUNDERS q. NOON

"stcu iptc-hauoNS, We ts,-
lieve. the passing of extensive cheating
In elections in this country. The public
conscience has become 80 refined that i,
can no longer brooS party succe-s at any
price Of honor. Such state of the pub
lic mind could not and would not exis,
had not public education prepared the
soil and made the way straight. The
pubic school has been the champion of
all agencies in the diffusion of general
knowledge. Perhaps il may he said that
In the golden sge- OF literature. art and
science in the history of the grrats-t ma
tions of the past, political cabals. in
trigues and corrupt practi ts in politics
have existed, and that therefore, the.
spread OF knowledge must not he the
cause OF the awakening of the public con
science. such a conclusion would. how
ever, he a patent errOr-a ridiculous A.
sumption. When We think m1ment
however, We will recall that in the era.
oi great progress IN learning i'm the pa.t.
all culture was confined to very small
percentage Of the total populAtion-to
that class which il i'm our time and conn
try referred 10 sometimes ~ "the fonr
hundred. IL Is apparent then, that
never before in the history Of the world
has there been a discrimination of knowl
edge that had no limitations of class
rare. religion or sex.
Ilar IN.
cy toward political purity stronger than
IN the South. The Democratic party in
the South cheated the Republican party
until the adoption Of constitutions re-
strlcting the prSS,sve % voting made
such cheating no longer necessary; but
the Democrats had no sooner put the Re
publican party out Of the reckoning than
they began cheating one another i'm pri-
maries, conventions and the like They
found that il is hard indeed TO teach an
old dog new tricks" They perceived
with horror that a thiefs mantle il A.
hard 20 shake of A. the old man Of the
island, and they are even uow strng-
Cling painfully u save themselves from
the very schemes Improved and elab-
oratedl that were used u make the Dem
"cratlc party a perpetual institution OF
tile South. For many years il bas bs.en
much regretted in other part that the
South should remain solidly Democratic.
We have no such rsgrets, ies.alls- We H.
lieve that the South will soon h. enlight-
ened sufficiently TO lose the Democratic
habit. and that the public school will br
the source whence ''the light" will spring.
We often hear Of tile baneful ehect of
politics upon the public schools, but w.
are persuaded that instead Of politi-. hav-
ing deleterious eiiect upon the schools.
the schools exert All influence upon pol
itics that il most wholesome and de-ir-
able; and that thO-e who are complain
INK belong 70 that by no means incon-
siderable portion Of our population, whose
views, aims and spheres Of activity are
a. petty. narrow and cramped ~ those
Of an irreconcilsble West Virginia Iegi.-
lator. And In passing, We shall find no
better point than right here u stand ut
W '' H'''' 'thT n"' fchiafhs tIlat the
public schools have done their work -
thoroughly in this stat, that there j. lit
tie doubt that the next legislature Of West
Virginia will ~ made up almost entirely
Of new lace, and that. TOO, without re-
gard y party Tor Democrats and Repub-
lica7s alike IN the last legislature shovel
Tia; ;'ssJ were not horn n perform aught
but the very simplest duties Of private
life. The constitution II West Virginia
dos not reqni,e q two third. najority in
tie legi-lsture n override tlie GOVERNOR
veto, a. DO the constitutions 81 most of
the other stats-. but bare majority Of
the legislature may, in this state. pa-s
law over the executive's veto. The leg
islature could have pa--el any revenue
measure that suited that body. irrt~t,ec-
tive of the governor wishes and recon-
mendatiOn-. The legi-l stnrc tailed. but
the sovereign electors that the puflie
srhOols have been turning ont in the-e
latter years will not fail y 49, sbat IN
the future the forensic abilities 81 tho-e
gentlemen democrats and Kepublican-D
~ho compo-ed the lat Legislature. shall
not again be allowed b. stray beyond To-
cal pastnrage.