MISSOURI. 



465 



structed of such capacity as to afford indepen- 

 dent passage to railway-cars, vehicles of all de- 

 scriptions, and foot-passengers at the same time. 

 Public instruction is well favored by the 

 government and citizens of Missouri. The 

 State constitution provides for it as follows: 

 "A general diffusion of knowledge and intelli- 

 gence being essential to the preservation of 

 the rights and liberties of the people, the 

 General Assembly shall establish and maintain 

 free schools for the gratuitous instruction of 

 all persons in this State between the ages of 

 five and twenty-one years." 



The Governor avers that "there is a most 

 healthful school sentiment in the State," al- 

 though there may have been injudicious and 

 indiscreet taxation in some cases, and perhaps 

 " too much power placed in the hands of school 

 directors; with some other irregularities or 

 defects that might call for a remedy." The peo- 

 ple seem to be rather heavily taxed "on account 

 of schools. But the free-school system itself 

 is spoken of with disapprobation, on principle, 

 by many citizens, who regard it as inefficient, 

 but only onerous to tax-payers, without their 

 reaping from it the beneficial results which it 

 was intended to produce. A public paper in 

 Jefferson City, in its issue of December 8, 

 1869, makes some noteworthy statements in 

 regard to the State Free School established in 

 the capital, and the use, or rather no use, 

 made of it by many residents, who, rather than 

 send their children to the Free Public School 

 in the city, prefer to send them to other paid 

 schools. It says : 



The Public School, with tuition free, has only 400 

 scholars. The two other schools, charging from 75 

 cents to $3 per month, have 237 scholars. The Cath- 

 olic school 164, the Episcopal 73. Ninety-eight resi- 

 dent heads of families prefer the Catholic school to 

 the Free School twenty-nine heads of families pre- 

 fer the Episcopal. Total 127. 



We now come to the proof that the present mode 

 of applying school-tax is sheer robbery. Nineteen 



children to the Catholic school, pay a similar tax of 

 $1,204. In short, seventy persons pay $1,928 to a 

 school which they derive no benefit from, and which 

 they will not use. What is a school worth when a 

 man will pay a premium to be exempt from sending 

 to it ? It will not do to say that there are denomina- 

 tional causes for this. Among the patrons of the 

 Episcopal and Catholic schools are Unitarians, Lu- 

 therans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and 

 free-thinkers. Neither will it do to say that their 

 patrons are enemies of the free-school system, for 

 among them we count two of the school directors. 

 The truth is, that all municipal laws, dictating a par- 

 ticular system of education, have no more foundation 

 in good sense than the old sumptuary laws that regu- 

 lated the length of a boot or the dimensions of a 

 skirt. Parents are more interested in their own chil- 

 dren than anybody else, and know more about their 

 wants and necessities. The education of children 

 should be adapted to their future vocations, needs, 

 and capacities. It is for this reason that we say : 

 "Let every parent select the teacher of his own child, 

 and let the school-tax that he pays go to the school 

 that he may select." 



With regard to " Normal Schools," the ne- 

 VOL. ix. 30. A 



cessity of providing for an efficient corps of 

 teachers by legislative action has become evi- 

 dent. 



The permanent Common-school Fund con- 

 sists of 



Six per cent. United States bonds (gold) 



held by the State Treasurer 1,507,850 00 



Six per cent. Missouri bonds, held by 



the State Auditor 20,000 00 



Money in the Treasury, to be invested, 29,512 67 



Total $1,617,362 67 



The sum of $100,000 in six per cent. United 

 States bonds (gold), held by the State Auditor, 

 constitute a permanent " State Seminary Fund." 

 The am'ount of $218,740.64 was transferred 

 last year to the School Fund, and $11,483.38 

 to the Seminary Fund. 



To the School Fund belong also the swamp- 

 lands, granted by the Federal Government for 

 school purposes, though it has sold a portion 

 of them to the amount of some 400,000 acres. 

 Proof relating to 215,000 of these acres has 

 been already given to the Federal Government 

 in behalf of the State, and that for the rest 

 will follow ; the General Government agree- 

 ing to indemnify the State on account of the 

 said lands, about one-fourth in scrip, and three- 

 fourths in money. The Registrar of Lands has 

 patented 1,033,000 acres of swamp-lands to 

 the several counties of the State, and some 

 counties have sold them. The Legislature 

 is urged to cause the legality of these sales to 

 be inquired into, as they are subject to strong 

 suspicion of unfairness and malpractice. The 

 sale of 10,000 acres was effected in Vernon 

 County at the rate of one cent per acre. 



By an act of Congress dated July, 1862, the 

 Federal Government made a general donation 

 of lands, for the purpose of encouraging and 

 promoting agriculture and the mechanic arts 

 throughout the Union ; the leading object of 

 the donation being to aid the States and Ter- 

 ritories in the establishment of colleges, in 

 which, "without excluding other scientific 

 and classical studies, and including military 

 tactics," such branches of learning should be 

 taught " as are related to agriculture and the 

 mechanic arts." This grant was made on the 

 condition that "the previous assent of the sev- 

 eral States shall be signified by legislative acts ;" 

 and further that "any State, which may take 

 and claim the benefit of the provisions of this 

 act, shall provide, within five years, at least 

 not less than one college, as described in the 

 fourth section of this act, or the grant to such 

 State shall cease." By a joint resolution 

 adopted by both Houses of the General As- 

 sembly, approved March 17, 1863, the State of 

 Missouri accepted the grant " with all the con- 

 ditions, restrictions, and limitations," but has 

 not fulfilled the other condition of providing 

 for such a college within the fixed period of 

 five years, which expired March 17, 1868. 

 With a view to replace the State in a condition 

 to partake of the benefits of such a grant, the 



