The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-06-01
i've and the vine, the habitation o

i've and the vine, the habitation OF
man, the arts and industries of life
the Ravens of the sea and ships riding
at anchor. But the busy toilers which
laid the beams of a continent in a
dreary waste are entombed in their
work and forgotten in their tombs.
when was a monument ever erect
ed to a school teacher? But the mar
velous progress of our times are large
ly the result of his patient labors. He
should live and deserves to live and
will live in the achievements of his
pupils.
But the most glorious thing con.
nected with our times is, that the
march of mind has kept pace with
the march of matter There is on
our shores no persecution for opin-
ions sake, and the intellect is no
longer clouded and misguided by SUI
perstition.
do you grasp the full meaning of
this? Just a little while before Wash.
ingtOn's time gIileless girls and harm
less old men and defenseless women
were drowned and burned as witches.
Think of it. A terrible nightmare
had possession of the human mind In
the seventeenth century perfect
witch panic prevailed. The imperial
library of Berlin contains over 10000
works on witchcraft and the titles of
nearly 10000 more Wealth afforded
no security nor poverty no shield for
this madness; if the accused were
wicked her guilt was undoubted; if
her life was spent in good works so
much the worse, she was wearing the
garb of hypocricy. which was more to
be detested than open wickedness. In
Bumburg six hundred were burned in
less than four years; in Wurzburg,
over nine hundred in the same time;
in Genoa, the home of Christopher Co.
lumbus, five hundred were burned in
less than three months; in Coma one
thousand were burned in one year: in
France two hundred thousand perish
ed at the stake during the century
ending 1910. In Spain the number
was greater. In Germany three hun
dred thousand persisted. The panic
spread to England, Ireland and Scot
land, and the colonies. The persecu-
ton of witches began in Massachu-
sets in 164S, and continued until 1892.
In the same year twenty persons were
put to death in Salem and fifty-five
tortured into confessions.
Prosecutions for religious opinions
were as rife, and those who fed to
this country so as to be able to wor-
ship God according to the dictates Of
their own consciences' were ferocious
in their prosecutions of those who did
not think as they did.
THE toll through an intellectual
night to the perfect day was long and
monOtonous, and we cannot appreci-
ate too highly the freedom we today
enjoy. America was the first to break
the bands and declare for mans full
emancipation in all that the word inn
plies-for intellectual as we'll as per-
sonal liberty.
Il want to see this flag floating from
the tower of every school house in
this land, and / want to see a school
house on every hill top and in every
valley, because school houses and ig-
norance cannot exist together l want
to see the last remnant of ignorance
dispelled.
The nations of the world have been
struggling since the dawn of history
to enslave the masses and keep them
in the bondage of ignorance. But
am glad to say that very few now, at
least in this country, believe in the
blessings of ignorance. There are
some who still say-not to the poor
themselves-they are not brave
enough for that-but in the circle Of
their own acquaintance, that going
to school tends to make the poor dis
contented with their lot 1t does make
them discontinued with their lot, and
for one rejoice that it does. This
discontentment has made the world
what it is. Our progress, the achieve
ment in art, science, invention and
literature is all owing to this glorious
discomfort. What man believes that
illiteracy would be a more blissful
state for himself and the members Of
his own household? What man be-
lieves that ignorance is good enough
for his own children? Notwithstand-
ing the facts on every hand, some
who have nothing to brag about but