The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-01-23
l. I TER A C. Y

migration Bill, Representative CALI
van Of Massachusetts, defined literac,
thereon. The Congressmans address,
follows:
Mr.. Speaker, literacy. which Il
merely an ability TO read and write
mas been made an idol and a buga
boo by number Of people In this
country, who | am willing to believe
are sincere, but who am convinced
are neither profound thinkers nor
passable logicians, for, as a matter Of
fact, based on the experience and his.
tory of this and every other country,
literacy is not measure OF charac.
ter nor test of fitness for citizen.
ship.
Literacy, which is merely a syno
nym for that rudimentary education
which gives men the ability to read
or write, is largely a matter of acct
dent and environment. 1t Is con.
venience, not a necessity, In the life
of a people. 1t neither adds to nor
d,minishes the native ability and vir.
tue OF any people. and It Is the sim
plest commonplace to say that no ma.
ton was ever saved, no people ever
freed, no government ever establish.
ed by the pen of the writer and the
book Of the scholar; the vigor, cour.
age, intelligence, and strong arms of
men that accomplish these great ends |
were the endowment OF those who
were able to make history, II they
could neither write nor read 1t.
II there is one thing that stands
out more imposingly In our national
life, yes, far more than any other.
1t Is that literacy has not been the
source OF American liberty or the
cause of American greatness, and our
lack Of a commanding literature has
been a cause Of national
reproach. A 60
or the Pilgrims who landed from
he Mayflower at Plymouth Rock in
1920 only few could write their
lanes. The majority Of the pre- Rev
immigrants, like many OF
he post.Ilevolutionary, were illiterate
or the simple reason that public
In the American sense was
Unknown In the lands they came from
md public schools were few and far
between. John Fiske the historian
avs that body Of immigrants that s
nnded in New England from Ireland {
n 1894 contained over so per cent I
'ho could read and write, and he Il
dds that this was as rare as remark
BILE in the peoples who flocked to n
merica In that succeeding century. o
hen, as now, the men who faced the ~
azards Of the tempestuous ocean and .
le perils of a savage continent were ,
sually the bravest and most enter q
rising of their class; they had cour
&c, strength, common sense, native q
,ility, and a willingness to work out a
eir own salvation In a new country; -
icy founded settlements and built n
, Commonwealth by their own tall -,
Its and labors and with scant aid =,
ON kings and governments and as In
ey laid broad and deep the foundai q,
ms OF law and liberty they added -,
hools out OF their meager means to o.
We their children what they lack .,
. As Emerson has so wisely said, o.
0 farmer, laborer. artisan, fisher =.
IN, and chopper are the common 81,
'alth, not the lawyer, the scholar, u,
d the penman; these latter are In a.
t the parasites Of our civilization no
| its creators and producers. Too 49,,
my OF US, Mr.. Speaker, make the 49,,
stake OF confounding and confus- 80
''"' vs. -, So
, the terms of illiteracy and ignor- -,
,e; and this body hardly needs to a,
told that lack OF letters and lack -
knowledge are two entirely dit'
ent things. IN,
With the peace, progress, and pros n
ity OF America came the desire for vii
lcation, the passion and reverence tha
letters that seem so purely and eri
American, and the means ist,
build schools and colleges, but we kin
81 not confuse the cause OF condi- lite
IS with the result OF them. We the
ned our bread and built our homes the
he days OF illiteracy. We secured cor
butter for our bread and the books RI,
our homes when We earned the and
q OF them with our sweat and hire
sole. lite
n. Speaker, II is important to re- ed
nber that this alleged stream OF y
n illiterates has been flowing into opr
erica since the early days OF the wa
enteenth century; its fanciful dan, will,
have begun to dawn On lis in scr,