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“THE TIMES,”
Raleigh, N. C.
VOL. I.
IMES.
RALEIGH, N. C., MAY 10,1882.
NO. 1.
The Times.
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John Nichols, Postmaster.
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Our Governments.
OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
THE EXECUTIVE.
Chester A. Arthur, of New York,
President of the United States.
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, of
New York, Secretary of State.
Charles J. Folger, of New York,
Secretary of the Treasury.
H. M. Teller, of Colorado, Secre
tary of the Interior.
Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois,
Secretary of War.
Wm. E. Chandler, of New Hamp
shire, Secretary of the Navy.
Timothy 0, Howe, of Wisconsin,
Postmaster General. ,
B. Harris Brewster, of Pennsyl
vania, Attorney General.
THE JUDICIARY.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Morrison R. Waite, of Ohio, Chief
Justice.
Samuel F. Miller, of Iowa,
John M. Harlan, of Kentucky,
Stephen J. Field, of California,
Wm. B. Woods, of Georgia,
Joseph P. Bradley, of New Jersey,
Stanley Matthews, of Ohio,
Horace Gray, of Massachusetts,
Samuel Blatchford, of New York,
Associate Justices.
OUR STATE GOVERNMENT.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Thomas J. Jarvis, of Pitt, Gov
ernor.
James L. Robinson, of Macon,
Lieutenant Governor.
W. L. Saunders, of New Hanover,
Secretary of State
John M. Worth, of Randolph,
Treasurer.
Donald W. Bain, of Wake, Chief
Clerk.
Hal. M. Worth, of Randolph,
Teller.
W. P. Roberts, of Gates, Auditor.
Thomas S. Kenan, of Wilson, At
torney Genoral.
John C. Scarborough, of Johnston,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Johnstone Jones, of Burke, Adju
tant General.
J. McLeod Turner, Keeper of the
Capitol.
Sherwood Haywood, of Wake,
State Librarian, j
JUDICIARY.
SUPREME COURT.
W. N. H. Smith, of Hertford,
Chief Justice.
Thomas Ruffin, Thomas -S. Ashe,
Associates.
W. H. Bagley, of Wake, Clerk.
R. H. Bradley, of Wake, Marshal.
SPEECH OF
HON. JOHN A. LOGAN,
OF ILLINOIS,
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
ON THE BILL “TO APPROPRIATE AND
EXPEND THE ENTIRE INCOME DE
RIVED FROM THE INTERNAL REVE
NUE TAXES ON THE MANUFACTURE
AND SALE OF DISTILLED SPIRITS FOR
THE EDUCATION OF ALL THE CHIL
DREN LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.”
The bill coming up in the Senate
on its second reading, Mr. Logan
said:
Mr. President: Fully aware that
this bill contemplates the diversion
of a large amount of the government
revenues into a new channel, and is,
on this account at least, an important
one, deserving the careful considera
tion of Congress, it is my intention
to discuss it thoroughly, and, if pos.
sible, to present to the Senate valid
reasons why it should become a law.
Let us, therefore, first examine the
bill carefully in order that we may
understand clearly its provisions.
These are simple , and, so far as the
wording is concerned, easily under
stood. The first section provides
that from and after the passage of
the act the entire income derived
from the internal revenue taxes on
the manufacture and sale of distilled
spirits shall be appropriated and ex-
l pended for the education of all the
children living in the United States.
The second section provides for the
method of distributing the revenue,
as follows: That the money so re
ceived shall be distributed to the
several States and Territories accord
ing to the population as shown by
the census of 1880, and each suc
ceeding census, for the purpose of
being duly applied by such States
and Territories solely to the purposes
of education, as in this bill provided
for.
The third section defines and ex
plains what is to be understood by
the term education as used in the
first section, thus: That the educa
tion hereby contemplated shall in
clude such instiuction as is provided*
in the curriculum of the public
schools of the country, that is in the
several States and Territories, and
also the establishment and mainte
nance of normal schools, teachers 7
institutes, and instruction in the in
dustrial and mechanical arts.
Section four provides for the ne
cessaiy steps to be taken by the sev
eral States and Territories in order
that they may be entitled to the
benefit of this act, as follows: That
any State or Territory before receive
ing the benefits of this act, shall be
required by local enactment, to maxe
obligatory upon all children (of such
State or Territory) between the ages
of seven and twelve years, school at
tendance for at least six months in
each year.
Section five designates the depart
ment and officers charged with the
administration of the law and the
establishing of the rules and regula
tions necessary, Ac., thus: That the
Secretary of the Interior is charged
with the proper administration of
this law, through the Commissioner
of Education, and these two officers
are authorized and directed, the
President of the United States ap
proving, to make all proper rules and
regulations necessary to carrying this,
law into effect.
The sixth and last section is simply
a prohibitoiy provision to prevent
any part of this fund from being used
for the purpose of erecting school
houses or other buildings of any
kind for school purposes.
The bill, therefore, is a very simple
one, and although the object contem
plated is one of great importance on
account not only of the amount in
volved, but also of what is expected
to be accomplished thereby and the
great vital subject it touches—the
intellectual advancement of our peo
ple—yet so far as the latter is con
cerned it is easily understood ana
readily comprehended ; in a word, it
simply proposes to turn over to the
several States and Territories, to be
used only and exclusively for the
education of all the children thereof,
th6 revenue derived from the tax on
The Young Widow.
She is modest, but not bashful,
Free and easy, but not bold;
Like an apple, ripe and mellow,
Not too young and not too old;
Half inviting, half repulsing,
Now advancing, and now shy—
There is mischief in her dimple,
There is danger in her eye.
She has studied human nature;
She is schooled in all her arts;
She has taken her diploma
As the mistress of all hearts.
She can tell the very moment
When to sign and when to smile;
Oh, a maid is sometimes.charming,
But a widow all the while.
Are you sad ? How very serious
Will her handsome face become!
Are you angry ? She is wretched.
( Lonelj^'ojl‘^ to^A^L aumh.
Are you mirthful? How her laughter,
Silver sounding, will ring out!
She can lure and catch and play you
As the angler does the trout.
You old bachelors of forty
Who have grown so bold and wise,
Young Americans of twenty,
With the love looks in their eyes,
You may practice all the lessons
Taught by Cupid, since the fall,
But I know a little widow
Who could win and fool you all.
the manufacture and sale of distilled
spirits, amounting in the aggregate,
under the present rate of taxation, to
about sixty millions of dollars an-
The proposition thus to divert from
its usual course such a large portion
of our revenue when first presented,
I admit, is somewhat startling; and
it is for this very reason I desire
that in the opening of my remarks
it may be brought in its full force to
the consideration of every Senator
present, for I am fully aware that in
this fact will.be found the chief ob
jection in the minds of those who,
without a thorough examination of
the question in all its bearings, may
be inclined to oppose the bill. I am
.QTy cx^cioty? of the fact th/t tbG
G.iii be a kind'of prima facie objec
tion in the minds of many that must
be ovt rcome with strong and cogent
reasons.
Having briefly stated the provi
sions of the bill as they appear on its
face, let us examine them more care-
fully by tracing out in detail their
operations and probable effect, after
which we will be better able to dis-
cusss their expediency.
The amount of revenue received
from the taxes on the manufacture
and sale of distilled spirits for each
fiscal year from 1875 to the end of
1880, during which time the rate has
remained unchanged, is shown in this
table, taken from the report of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
for the year 1881.
/Receipts from Distilled Attrite, 1881.
Year. Receipts,
1875, $52,081,991.12
1876* 56 426,365.13
187 7, 56,469,429.72
1878, 50,420,815.80
1879, 52,570,284.69
1880, 61,185,408 70
1881, 67,153,974.88
This gives a total for the year 1881
of $67,153,974, and a yearly average
for the seven years of $56,758,338.59.
If the bill now before the Senate
becomes a law it will have the effect,
as heretofore remarked, of distribu
ting to the States and Territories, ac
cording to the population as shown
by the census returns, about $60,000,-
000 annually of the national revenue,
to be expended by them in educating
the children of the country, provided
the tax on and production of dis
tilled spirits remain substantially the
came as at present.
The reason- for distributing this
fund to the States and Territories,
and having them expend it in edu
cating the children, are doubtless ap
parent to every one. In most, if not
all, of these there are already sys
tems of free schools and organized
plans of education, aided and fostered
by the State, and also the appliances
and corps of officers necessary to do
the work. For the general govern
ment to attempt to inaugurate and
operate a national system of educa
tion would, as a matter of course, not
only entail upon the people an unne
cessary expense, but would bring the
national and State authorities into
constant conflict. In other words, it
is impossible to carry on in the same
territory two distinct and different
systems of public schools u for the
same children.
The bill presented therefore seeks
to avoid this very serious objection
by distributing the fund to the States
and Territories, and allowing them
to apply it to the purpose intended,
the distribution to be pro rata ac
cording to population.
The principal reason for selecting
the total population as given by the
census returns as the guide in making
the distribution, instead of the num
ber of children of a prescribed age,
was on account of the greater accu
racy of this enumeration. Another
reason is that it is the only reliable
enumeration that is made under Fed
oral authority.
If an exact or thoroughly reliable
enumeration of the children between
the ages fixed in the bill could be
obtained year by year, this would be
a preferable guide in the distribu
tion, as it would give a slightly larger
proportion to the rural districts and
the sections most needing such assist
ance.
For example, it has been found in
enumerating the children in France
between the ages of six and thirteen,
that the proportion in the rural dis
tricts (communes of less than two
thousand inhabitants.) In the former
the average number out of every
hundred inhabitants was found to be
12.67,. and in some cases even as
high as 15.72, while in the latter it
was only 11.53. I presume this
would also be found true to a cer
tain extent in this country if we had
the data necessary for the compari
son.
The bill further requires that a
State or Territory, in order to be
entitled to the benefus^of its provis
ions, must inaugurate and keep in
existence an organized public school
system, open to all children thereof
of the prescribed age, and must also
provide for the enforced attendance
at least six months in the year. As
it will be necessary for some compe
tent authority of the general gov
ernment to decide whether or not a
State or Territory is entitled to the
benefit of the bill, this is left to the
Secretary of the Interior and Com
missioner of Education, subject to
the approval of the President.
These provisions, as will be ad
mitted, I presume, by all, are neces
sary, in order that the funds so dis
tributed shall be properly applied to
the purposes for which they are
granted. Another object in view in
introducing them is tp bring about
as soon as possible, a uniformity in
the school systems throughout the
entire country. In defining the term
“education’ 7 as used in the bill, it
will be seen that I have included not
only the usual cur. iculum>of instruc
tion in public school^ but also that
of normal schools and teachers’ in
stitutes. The advantages of, and I
may say necessity for, normal schools’
are now so well understood and so
generally admitted that it is hardly
necessary for me to say anything on
this point; still a few words in refer
ence-to them may - ot be amiss.
» As as e/idtuce ’^. cue felt neces
sity throughout the country for their
establishment and maintenance I
have only to mention the fact, as
shown by the last report of the Com
missioner of Education, (page 77,)
that schools of this kind have been
established in all of the States ex
cept Delaware, Florida and Nevada,
eighty of which are supported in
part or whole by the States and
thirteen by cities. How the oppo-
sition to these schools which has
manifested itself in a variety of at
tacks, open and covert, has been re
ceived by the body of the people, is
shown by the returns to the office of
the Commissioner of Education for
the year 1879, from which it appears
that the number of these institutions
and the students attending them are
about four times what they were in
1870, and that the increase in 1879
over 1880 was fitty-one schools.
A proposition was introduced in
the New York Legislature in 1878 to
abandon the State normal schools,
which resulted in appointing a com
mittee to investigate the subject.
The report of this committee, trans.-
mitted to the Legislature May 19,
1879, presents (report of Commis
sioner of Education, 1879, page 79)
t:.e following conclusions:
1. That the normal schools are
performing intelligently, efficiently,
and in good faith the work expected
of them by the State.
2. That the normal schools are an
essential part of our public school
system, and as such should be lib
erally and unwaveringly supported.
3. That without normal schools
there would be that waste in public
expenditures which must result from
the employment of un&hJed and in*
competent teachers; and hence that
true economy requires their mainte
nance.
4. That normal schools should
have a settled place in the permanent
policy of the State, and that henoe
forth the only question should be,
How can they be improved and ex
tended ?
It was well said by an experienced
Mibhigan superintendent of schools
that if he were to undertake the edu
cation of the children of the State as
as individual enterprise, with the
school fund as the fixed price, he
would use a tenth of the fund to
train a body of competent teachers,
and with the other nine-tenths as
wages would accomplish more than
the whole would do as then used in
the payment of unprepared instruct
ors. (Report Commissioner of Edu
cation, 1879, page 80.)
In order to become efficient as an
instructor in any profession or art it
is absolutely necessary that the per
son should first pass through a course
of instruction that will prepare him
or her therefor, and this is as true of
the teacher’s as of any other profes
sion.
For similar reasons the bill in
cludes also instruction in the indus
trial and mechanic arts. I confess
agricultural schools have so far failed
to meet fully the expectations of
those who have advocated and sup
ported them, but this has arisen
chiefly from three causes: first, the
want of properly prepared and ex
perienced teachers; second, the
want of adequate support; and,
third, a kind of inherent prejudice
against “scientific farming/’ That
it is possible by properly conducted
institutions of this kind to render
instruction in the various agricul
tural and industrial branches ad
vantageous to a nation is proven
by what has been accomplished in
Europe. Germany has at present
over one hundred and fifty schools of
agriculture, horticulture, arboricul
ture, viniculture, and meadow cul
ture, each of which has its farms,
gardens, &c., attached. Report of
Commissioner of Education, page 133.
Prussia alone had, in 1876, six
higher agricultural academies, forty-
six agricultural schools, twenty-nine
schools of arboriculture and vinicul
ture, and six schools of forestry.
Even in Finland, which is ever as
sociated in our minds with the lands
of the Esquimaux, they have both
higher and lower grades of agricul
tural institutions; and even schools
for instruction in the manufacture of
butter and cheese, one of the chief
industries of the country, are main
tained. (Report of Commissioner of
Education, page 132.)
[Here follows tables.]
• aking the data I have presented
and the population as shown by the
census returns, let us now try and
make an approximate of what is ne
cessary in order to give to all the
children of the United States an ade
quate common school education.
Taking my own State, (Illinois,)
where the school age is from six to
twenty-one, I find the number of
children between the ages to be 32.8
per cent, of the whole population.
Using this percentage as a basis, it
gives us 16,451,064, or, in round
numbers, sixteen and a half millions
as the school population of the entire
country. Allowing an expenditure
of $10 for each scholar, we find that
it will require $165,000,000 per an
num to give all the children of the
country a suitable common school
education. Of this sum, as we have
already seen, about eighty-one mils
lions are expended by the States and
Territories under the present system.
Add the sixty millions proposed to
be devoted to this purpose by this
bill, and we have a total of one hun
dred and forty one millions, which
stilt fails short of the sum estimated
some twenty-four millions. But as
the enrollment will never equal (he
total school population, and as a
large portion will have accomplished
their course before reaching twenty-
one years of age, the joint amount of
these two funds will about meet the
real want for some years to come.
Or, suppose, we form an estimate
in another way, thus. The entire
school population as given by the
Commissioner in the table presented
(including that of the Territories as
reported in 1879) is 15,307,109.
Allowing thirty scholars to a teacher,
this gives 510,236 teachers. Averag
ing the salary at $40 per month,
(which is three dollars less than the
average in Maryland, and two dollars
less than in New York,) and allowing
six months’ school in the year, we
obtain $122,256,619 as the amount
required for teachers’ wages. A^d
to this twenty per cent., about the
average ratio of miscellaneous ex
penses as shown by the Commis
sioner’s report, and we have a total
in round numbers of $147,000,000.
Theoretically the two funds would be
added together, making the whole
amount to be expended one hundred
and forty one million dollars, but. in
practice the result would in all proba
bility be somewhat different.
The States which are already
taxing themselves heavily for school
purposes would be very likely to
lessen somewhat the burdens already
imposed upon their citizens,-and yet,
at the same time, with the amount
received augment their school fund
and increase the amount and efficien
cy of the instruction. In these
{States the tendency would be to
elevate their educational standard.
The States which have hitherto been
too weak and feeble to furnish funds
sufficient to establish a thorough
system of public schools, rather than
lose the large fund thus granted,
would at once enter upon this too
long delayed work in good earnest.
Take for example Alabama, the
first on the alphabetic list, where
less than one-half of the children are
enrolled in the public schools, and
the amount expended on each scholar
in 1880 was but $2.09; her share of
the proposed distribution would be a
little over $1,110,000, or about three
times the amout she now expends on
public instruction. Georgia’s pro
portion would be $1,800,000, or
about four times the amount she
expended in 1880.
Can we doubt for a moment that
such a large addition as this would
encourage these States, which are
now struggling to recover from their
crippled condition, to enter with
increased vigor upon the work of
educating their children by means of
a well organized common school sys
tem ?
Much more might be added in
reference to the operation and effect
of this bill if it should become a law,
but this will suffice as an explana
tion. I will therefore turn to the
discussion of the propriety and ex
pediency of its passage at this time.
But before doing so allow me to
remark that I am not so wedded to
the particular form in which it is
now presented that I am unwilling
to accept any amendment thought
advisable that does not defeat the
object intended
Although I have, in the previous
part of ^y argument, given an esti
mate of what would be the theoretical
amount of funds"with the addition
gianted by this bill, if it should
become a law, which would be de
voted to .school purposes, yet, as 1
have intimated, we could not expect
that this would be the practical re
sult. In the States where the people
already taxing themselves somewhat
heavily for the purpose of educating
their children, and where they al-
ready have in operation well organ
ized and thorough school systems,
the funds received from the General
Government would be accepted as a
means of relieving them somewhat
from their heavy burden in this
respect. The result would probably
be that such States would lessen
their taxes for school purposes, not
to the full amount of what would be
received, but to a large per cent,
thereof. In Illinois, for example,
where the school income for 1880
was $7,836,952, and whose propor-.
tion of the funds granted by this,
bill would be about $3,700,000, it is
more than probable that the $1 000,-
000 State taxes for this purpose
would, for some years at least, be
omitted, and that a large number of
the district finding their funds con
siderably increased, especially where
the law for building school bouses is
bearing somewhat heavily, would
avail themselves of this fund as a
means of lessening their taxes to
support their schools. In other
words, instead of the States and
Territories adding the entire fund to
.the eighty-one millions already ex
pended, and thus increasing tlx
amount to one hundred and forte -
one millions the great probability
in fact wo may say the certain result,
would bo that the larger portion, fl i
a number of years to come, would be
used as a means of relieving them
selves of their present burden.
That there would be some increase,
probably to the amount of twelve or
fifteen millions, is certain from this
fact : All the States receiving from
this fund more than is now expended
by them for this purpose, would of
necessity increase their expenditure
to the amount of this excess, even
should they do away entirely with
taxes for school purposes.
* * * * * *
Assuming, in order to place this
question in its most unfavorable
light, that the revenue now derived
by the United States from all sources
does not exceed that which is neces
sary to meet the expenses of the
Government, the withdrawal of this
sixty millions of its funds would
necessitate the raising of this amount
by imports or otherwise. But would
this increase the taxes on the people
of the United States to this amount?
By no means ; the only addition
would be the amount of increase in
the school expenditure of which 1
have just been speaking. But this
is not all that can be said in lavor of
it, even under the most unfavorable
view that can possibly be presented.
The tax paid by the people under
the operation of a revenue tariff is
felt as little as any other imposed
upon them, while ou the other hand,
that for school purposes, where they
are adequate for the education of the
children, bears heavier on the rural
districts than any oth^r, amounting
in some cases to 3 and 4 per cent, on
the assessed value of their taxable
property.
The effect of this bill, even on the.
supposition with which I am now
proceeding, would be to distribute
this amount of tax in such a manner
that it would be felt in a far less de
gree than at present. Nor could
those who are engaged in the manu.-
ficture and sale of distilled spirits
find in this arrangement any just
cause for complaint, as it would not
add one cent to the tax already im-
. posed,upon them.
It would require too much time
for me to enter into details to prove
the correctness of these assertions,
but I feel assured this will be con.
ceded by every Senator.
But the chief advantage that will
be derived from this bill is that it
will meet, in a more complete manner
than by any other method that could
be devised, the very want that gave
rise to the common school system.
The inability of some parents, the
neglect of others, and the unwilling
ness of others to educate their chil
dren, was felt, at a very early day in
the history of our country, to be
detrimental to its best interests, and
a waste of mental force that should
not be allowed by society. The at
tempt to remedy this began at first
in small communities.
In 1635, Boston, being then but
five years old, and yet in her swad
dling clothes, resolved that “our
brother Philemon Permont should be
appointed schoolmaster, for the in
struction and education of - our chil
dren;” and thirty acres of land were
appropriated at the same time for his
support. (Westminstei Review,1853,
p. 499.) Thus was the first seed
sown that has developed- into the
magnificent system of education in
our country that is the admiration
of the civilized world.
But this primary plan only em
braced communities, so that while
some were advancing others were
making but little progress; it was
not lifting up the whole mass.
It was not until about 1835 that a
new era dawned in this respect. At
this time, the public mind becoming
aware of the alarming amount of
illiterarcy in the States, a movement
was begun, in which I believe. Horace
Mann was the leading spirit to
remedy the evil. This resulted in
the adoption of the present common
school system, which has wrought
such marvelous changes in many of
our States. But the rapid advance
in the means of intercourse and in
tercommunication has effected such
vast changes in our social relations
that the people of the several States
and Territories are brought into
more intimate relation with each
other than the different sections of
the larger States were half a century
ago.
What, therefore, was true of the
effect of illiteracy in parts of a State
upon the general welfare of the
Commonwealth is now true in regard
to the nation as a whole. As it was
thus found necessary to provide a
system of education applying alike to
the whole population of a State, so
now we have reached a period when
it becomes necessary if we would
meet the demands of the age to pro
vide means for extending this system
in its most advanced form over the
whole country.
That this can only be done by some
action of the General Government
must be conceded by all who study
the subject with any care. Laws
without means of carrying them into
efiect will undoubtedly remain as
dead letters upon our statute books.
The bill presented is intended to
meet this want, and if it becomes a
law will, as 1 believe, do so. While
it may have but little effect in in -
creasing activity in this direction in
those States already in the front
rank in educational progress, it will
undoubtedly have the effect of bring
ing rapidly forward those which are
lagging behind in this great work.
Who can estimate the beneficial
change that will be made in the edu
cational status in Alabama in the
course of fifteen or twenty years by
devoting a million and a halt of dol
lars to this purpose where now but
$375,000 are expended; or that of
North Carolina with one and three-
quarter millions where now but
$352,000 are expended? The folly
of waiting with th^ hope that time
will induce or enable these States to
put forth the energy necessary to
give a proper education to their
children is illustrated by the one last
mentioned. One of the original
thirteen, yet in 1880, with property
of an assessed value of $143,000,000,
its expenditure for school purposes
was but $352,882; while Nebraska,
with an assessed value of but little
over ninety millions, expended for
the same year $1,137,995 ; and West
Virginia, with an assessed value of
one hundred ami twenty-eight and a
half millions, expended $716,864.
On the other hand, again, we see
Georgia, another of the original
thirteen, with an assess* d value in
1880 oi $229,000,000, expended but ?
$471,029 for the purpose of educat
ing her children. I mention these
as illustrations only and with no de
sire of casting any leproach, for 1
am fully await: of the reasons why
flnse Slates show such a backward
condition in regard to educational
work. Stiil the facts stare us in the
face and call loudly upon-the nation
to come to their aid and, if' possible,
remedy the detect.
But why, it may be asked, select
especially the revenue raised by the
tax on spirituous liquors for this
purpose? A careful study of this
subject of national aid in educating
our children will, I am satisfied, soon
convince any one that it is of such
immense importance that this ques
tion a% to which particular part of
our income suall be used is but a
secondary matter. Still 11 ire, as
I think can be readily shown, good
and valid reasons why this particular
fund should be used for this purpose.
To ergue that, aa intemperance Is a,
curse, the money arising from the
manufacture and sale of intoxicating
drinks would be more effecutual in
counteracting this evil than .other
money, would be an insult, not only
to the Senate but to any person of
ordinary intelligence.
* * * * * *
Let Congress pass a law giving to
the States and Territories all of but
no more than the funds received
from this tax, and at once every
State and Territory and every school
district therein, every normal, in
dustrial, and agricultural institution
and every teacher in the entire nation
becomes interested in keeping this
unchanged. Any member of Con-
g.ess who would then yield to the
clamor of the whisky manufacturers
to lower the tax ou their products
would meet with such a storm of in
dignation from the people of his dis
trict who support the schools and
educate the children as would be
likely to forever retire him to private
life. The educated people are those
who are heard through the press and
other public channels, and they are
the ones who would protest against
Such a change. It would be a con«
test between money on the one hand
and enlightenment and principle on
the other, a battle waged for illit
eracy and ignorance on the one part
and education on the other
But it may be argued thac by ap
propriating this particular fund to
this object we make it the interest of
the free schools of the whole country,
and all its advocates and supporters,
not only to continue the manufacture
of spirits to the present extent, but
to increase it. Such an argument
has, I admit, some apparent truth ou
its face, but when we look a little
below the surface, or rather to the
practical effect, we shall find it to be
a specious one that will not bear the
test of critical examination. In
what class and in what sections do
we find the great body of the workers
in the temperance cause? In the
educated, and in those sections where
schools are most encouraged and
fostered. Give me the money neces
sary, and the power to enforce school
attendance, and assign me the section
where the greatest amount of intox
icating liquor is consumed, and in
time 1 will raise up of their children
a corps of temperance advocates
who will gladly forego this income
and educate their descendants at
their own expense if thereby the
manufacture and sale of this curse
would cease. Let no one who is op
posed to this bill base his opposition
on this argument, for- it is fallacious.
Those who would most, gladly see it
become a law and go into operation
will be most rejoiced if the effect
shall be to diminish the manufacture
and sale of this evil agent.
******
Nations are counted great and re
membered chiefly for two things,
wisdom and power. The former the
property of the few; the latter the
property of the many though wielded
by the few. The ancients aimed to
confine knowledge to a select class,
and to make it, so far as possible, an
{Continued on 4th page,)