Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-06-25
COATES TELLS NEED
OF EDUCATION TODAY
Address By E. K. Normal Presi-
dent Feature At Teachers
Convention In Louisville

Convention In Louisville
The feature OF the meeting of
the Kentucky Educational Asso-
ciation at Louisville today will be
the address of President T.. j..
Coates, of the Eastern Normal
School.
The fight over the State Text
book Commission promises to de-.
velop into an interesting feature
of the annual meeting of Kentuc-
XIV teachers. State Superinten-
dent v. o. Gilbert, who is himself
a member of the commission, in
his speech before the assembly of
teachers yesterday morning, con-
demned the action of the Text
book Commission. He recon-
'mended that a new commission be
appointed, composed Of the State
Board of Education, member OF
the University of Kentucky, a
member from each of the State
Normal Schools, one city superin-
tendent, one county superinten-
dent and one principal of a county
high school. Supt. Gilbert recon-
nended that this commission Sc
lect three experienced educators
actually engaged in teaching, to
study and try out textbooks on
each subject selected by the
Board of Education for use in the
public schools.
He complimented the press OF
Kentucky for its fight to awaken
sentiment favorable to the estab-
lishment of new State Textbook
Commission. He urged the press
to continue its work.
President Coates address to
the K. E. A. today, was as fol-
lows:
President Coates Address
The abiding consciousness in life is
bondage of some sort, bondage to cold
to hunger, to space, to superstition,
to fellowman; the conscious end and
aim of life is freedom from such
bondage. aye shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free,
said the Master. Truth frees; error
enslaves. No individual, no nation
ever has been free or, ever can be
free while in bondage to ignorance.
Much has been said about making
the world safe for democracy. with
this battle cry on our lips we have
fought and won a great war; we have
bridged the seas and sent forth oul
sons by the million to crusade fol
freedom in the old world. But the
problem still remains how shall we
make democracy safe for the world
Aristocracies, monarchles, and auto
cracies have been condemned and DIS
charged as unsafe for a world II
which each individual has certain
inalienable rights among which arr
the rights to selife, liberty and thu
pursuit Of happiness. Shall we as
sumo that democracy will succeed
where these others have failed! u
there some intrinsic virtue in De
mocracy that will make it safe for ths
world? Is democracy the terminus
of the road of political progress o.
which the other forms of government
are but way stations? Let us no
deceive ourselves at this point.
democracy does not prove itself equa
to the task of giving to an outrage<
and suffering world that social and IN
dustrial justice which it is determines
to have at whatever cost and at al
= hazards, it too will be cast aside 10
: socialism, bolshevism or some otnel
= Yn that holds out some create
"a pmise of better things.
p Let us face the truth. There is n
3magic in mere numbers. An lgnor
fant democracy connot succeed Wner,
an educated autocracy has falieo
Many years ago, recognizing tni !
truth, the Rev. Lyman Beecher SAID
eve must educate, we must educat
or we must perish by our own pros
perity. If we do not, short viii D
our race from the cradle to tn
grave" In one Of his oratlons
this glorious liberty, these institu
tions, the dear purchase Of our father
are ours, ours to enjoy, ours to pre-
serve, ours to transmit. Generation
past, generations to come hold u
Responsible for this sacred trust.
This priceless inheritance, "the dea
purchase of our fathers" to preserv
which for generations to come, W
have challenged and crushed tn
legions of autocracy, can be preserves
only through the education Of Nall tn
children of all people" Not the edu
cation of few of the SO called hes
will preserve our heritage for tha
would create ipso facto an aristocrae.
of education; and aristocl:acies eve
have and ever will exploit the man.
for the few.
What the wisest and the bes
parent desires for his own children
democracy must desire demand an