Montana labor news., 1947-10-16

cannot be definitely stated. Roughly
speaking it began about 1925 and was
accomplished by 1850 in the northern
states. 1t was a gradual change rath-
err than a sudden one, though rapid
advances were at times made. The
movement everywhere was greatly
stimulated by the educational revival
inaugurated by Horace Mann in Mas
sachusetts in 1887. In the Southern
states with one or two exceptions. lit
tie was accomplished until after the
Civil war and the Reconstruction per-
iod were over. Almost everywhere 1t
took place only after a prolonged agi-
%tation. and oftimes only after a bitter
struggle"
Even the victory OF free public
schools up until quite recent times did
not mean the years Of public school
ing now available. 1T has been esti-
mated by the US Commissioner Of
Education that taking all public and
private forms OF education and adding
them together, each individual In the
population on an average received
only 50 days OF education during his
lifetime in 1900, only 20S days in 1870,
and only 434 days In 1860. BY 1880,
the number had reached 1872 days and
by 1900 1t had reached 99S days"
That means that even after the major
labor victories in the 30's establishing
public schools, it gave the ordinary
person the equivalent throughout his
lifetime OF about one years schooling,
and by 1900 less than five years full
schooling.
And education was a long time be-
coming free. The rate bill cOntin-
ued. which one could escape by plead
ing restitution, but as before. many
preferred Ignorance to ignomy'-and
though the rate bill was abolished
in Philadelphia in 1884 1t lasted in
Illinois until 1855 and in New Jersey
to 1871. Then came the battles to
have the school books free.
Fought For BY Labor
The labor movement took up the
fight for free schools at the same time
it was a~gitating against Imprisonment
for debt, abolition OF compulsory mill
tary service, abolition Of lotteries, and
trying to establish the mechanics
lien. The school system labor sought,
as indicated in a labor report on edu-
cation brought in by a Philadelphia
committee in 1929, was one in which
Education, instead OF being limited
as in our public schools to a simple
acquaintance with words and ciphers,
should tend, as far as possible, to the
production Of a just disposition, Writ
uous habits, and a rational self-oov'
erning character" Commons History
Of Labor Vol / pg. 226 credits the lab
r movement through this report with
foreshadowing mot only our public
school system, but our manual train
ing schools, our Junior Republics, and
probably our kindergartens."
The fight OF labor then, as often now
was not only to convince the upper
crust that labor insisted upon having
schools, but to convince their own
class they should have them. The poll
~ticians mindful Of how 1t might remove
"a desirable social barrier" as the up
per class called their limited educa
ton, and increase taxes, and make
labor more uppity, played on the work
ers prejudices OF those days with such
tunes as this: do you want your
boy to know how to read and write anC
spout off Latin and French, and make
on that he's better than his W faith
er" Many a worker fell for this line
and much Of labor's agitation had t.
be to get the working class to wan
education for their children that they
had lacked for themselves.
AS Cubberly summarized the situa
ton: strangely enough the most via
orous opposition often came from tn.
ignorant, improvident, hand.to-moutt
laborers, who most needed public
schools and free schools at that"
Then as now, 1t was the Ignorance
OF the mass Of labor, that held bach
the alert in the ranks OF labor from
making life over into the much better
life nOssihle