Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-08-08
RY BISHOP WARREN A. GAMBLER

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/ The education of any people most
/ vitality affects every other interest
| which concerns them. 1t ranks next
to religion in effect upon national
life, and it may be so directed as to
hinder religion itself.
For example the type of education
| which prevailed in Germany during
| the last century changed the rell-
gion of the nation, and produced So
cial and political conditions out of
which the most dreadful and costly
war known to history arose. German
| education was reorganized in 1910 in
| so far as Prussia could control the
matter, and after that date it tended
constantly towards Naturalization,
| and eliminated in the dedication or
| the state, the reinforcement of God,
| and the elevation of might over right
! for the material advancement of the
| state. In one century the people
were trained to serve the will of the
| German government, with the kaiser
| at it's head, so serVilely that they
| were ready to do any wrong to which
they were ordered, without hesita-
| ton and without questioning the
righteousness of the conduct enjoined
| by thei rrulers. German education
| thereby became at first the strength
and then the ruin of the German en-
pire.
Education is such a sacred and
such a potential force that when the
| state undertakes to deal with it, the
| matter should be handled with the ut
most wisdom and with the most care
| full regard for teh limitations Of the
| just powers of the state and with the
| most ScrupulouS concern for the
sanctity of the work to be done.
In our country the state may not,
without violating the fundamental
principles of our system of govern
ment, establish religion or disestab-
| fish religion; the duty of the state is
70 protect the freedom of religion
and leave the rest of the matter to
| the conscience of the citizen. But it
is OBVIOUS that, by going too far in
| the matter of education, the state
| may hinder, if it does not destroy,
| religion. 1t may also easily promote
a dangerous paternalism and a peril
| Gus socialism.
This istrue even when the work of
educati ton is undertaken by one of the
states of the union, and it is far
more true when the federal govern
ment adventures into the field of
education. The great interest of ed
ucation is far too personal and far
too precious for the federal govern
ment to handle it to any very great
degree, and it is quite possible that it
has already gone too far. Certainly it
has gone much further than the
trainers and founders of our federal
system of government ever intended
the national government should go.
The proposal now put forward to
IRENE that it ought to be resisted
most promptly and vigorously.
What the advocates of the nation
al1zing of education intend may be
gathered from what one of them was
reported to have said recently. This
gntleman has been engaged for
some months with the army overseas,
and the press dispatches report him
as follows:
VIRTUALLY one-fourth Of the
soldiers in the army of occupa-
ton that come under my obSer-
walton, are illiterate to the ex-
tent they can neither read nor
interpret.
Our educational system must
be nationalized. We must not
permit a local community to
America: Every child of America
is a citizen of all America, and
should have equal educational
opportunity with every other
child. Education must be more
practical and have a closer con-
nect1on with actual life.
IT was proud of the bearing
of the American soldiers in Ger
man territory" declared Alder
man. There was no lording,
strutting or domineering, but
every soldier seemed to feel he
people, and that the orders of
the military must be obeyed.
They impressed the Germans
who came in contact with them
with the democratic idea and
that If we had to use force we
could.
"Tho American soldier is the
finest soldier the world has ever
SEEN"
1t is worthy of notice that the
first part of what this gentleman
says Scarcely chimes well with the
we learn that our educational meth
DDS in America have produced the
finest soldier the world has ever
seen," and in the first part he cnar-
acterizes fourth of them as uncom-
monty illiterate. It appears also tnat
our American soldiers, reared with
out the naturalization of education,
were superior to the German SOL
diers. who were brought up under
nationalized system. Something more
than a knowledge of readlng ana
a good soldier, and those more nee
essary qualities of faith and free
dom may not, with safety, be ex-
changed for mere book-knoWledge.
Alvin York seems not to be highly
edrcated but he is profoundly re-
ligious, and he claims thak falth
IS ne Foundation of his heroism.
Probably he knows what made him
brave and strong. He is one OF Inuso
pious southern whites OF the noun
tains," upon whom some less Wollny
neonie waste a good deal of unneces
sarv nity Stonewall Jackson wa
another" Ill,
OF course, no intelligent man will
DENY the value of education as one
of the qualifications of useful service
in both civil and military, life; put
no Informed man will rank Il with
moral character and religious con-
Moreover, if education were fal
more indispensable than 1t is, the
fact would not prove, that the Ied-
eral government should prov1de
schools for the people. Religion is
more important than education tc
the welfare of the nation; but ii
does not belong to the federal gov
eminent to take charge OIL relIslo
and "nationalize it."
For many years there have been
tendencies towards the Capitalization
of all government at washington
and the war has increased these ten
denotes most dangerously. Many
neople wish the federal government
to do everything, and seem not to
care if the states are Frustrated into
nowerless provinces to be retained
for administrative convenience alone
It is the nature of war to leac
people to suspend eSSent!dl plAlIo
in order to meet exigencies, and then
from the suspension of such prdn-
cipies to abrogate them entirely for
ali time Seldom does a nation, &c
to war that it is not demoralized II
life and revolutionized in govern
ment Such is our danger now. Man.
are disposed to plead acts done b.
the government during the war
precedents for other and worse acts
| in a time of peace which in effect
amount to the subversion of civil
| liberty. If their pleas are allowed
| then in process of time a bad pre-
| cedent will be invoked to justify
worse one, and thus the nation viii
| be carried into courses CT actor
which N>aVen the most reunIutinna nv