804 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vor,.XXXn. No. 831 



ican negro is such. The establishment of 

 slavery was brought about by the cooperation 

 of north and south alike. The continuance 

 of slavery was recognized and supported by 

 the constitution and the law, and upon the 

 abolition of slavery the American negro was 

 in reality, and should have been in fact, a na- 

 tional ward. 



Further, in no other great civilized nation 

 are there so many worthy members of the 

 community in such a state of ignorance and 

 provided with such meager educational ad- 

 vantages as the so-called " poor whites " of 

 the mountainous districts of the south, and 

 as the population of other districts occupied 

 by people resembling the Georgia " crackers," 

 and the inhabitants of other similar regions 

 in which they may be found in the north as 

 well as in the south. 



Nay, further, in no other civilized country 

 are the teachers in the rural districts of the 

 nation, as a whole, and for that matter, in 

 many villages and towns, so untrained and un- 

 skilled, with so little experience or fitness for 

 the work, as is the case in the United States 

 of America. 



In no other civilized country does the na- 

 tion, as a unit, concern itself so little about 

 the vital educational interests of the people 

 as a whole. 



And yet of all modern nations the United 

 States is more dependent for its prosperity 

 in the long run upon universal education 

 than any other. 



In a republic, of all forms of government, 

 the welfare of each section, and of the whole, 

 is bound up with the educational condition 

 of each section, district and locality. In a 

 free government where every man counts in 

 certain matters as much as any other man 

 ignorance in any locality, or in any individ- 

 ual, is a menace to all localities and all in- 

 dividuals. Intelligence and education in any 

 district are an asset for all districts and for 

 the whole nation. 



Of all republics the United States is most 

 interested in maintaining a vital and efficient 

 educational system. No other state is re- 

 ceiving so many ignorant people from so 



many different nations with such varying 

 standards of religion, morals and conduct. 

 No other state is finding the fundamental 

 basis of national unity so persistently under- 

 mined by foreign currents of thought and 

 feeling. 



The fate of the nation is consequently 

 bound up with the assimilation of these ele- 

 ments as soon as possible with their complete 

 incorporation into our body politic and so- 

 cial, and above all with their continuous up- 

 lift toward an ever higher standard of eco- 

 nomic and moral efficiency. And yet toward 

 accomplishing all this the nation, as a unit, 

 is doing almost absolutely nothing. 



We are spending enormous sums of money 

 upon the army and upon the navy. We pride 

 ourselves upon being a peaceful nation and 

 yet we are spending more, and always have 

 spent more, upon military defense and offense, 

 as a nation, than upon all other objects and 

 for all other purposes whatsoever. We have 

 spent money like water upon the improvement 

 of our rivers and harbors. We are planning 

 to spend still more and if it were wisely spent 

 it would be well. We are upon the verge of 

 adopting a policy of internal improvements 

 which will cast far into the background all 

 that we have thus far done. 



Side by side with the Conservation of our 

 national resources we are considering even 

 larger plans for the development of our na- 

 tional resources on an even larger scale. 



And yet we are doing little as a nation to 

 conserve the greatest of our national resources 

 — the intellect and health of our people. And 

 we are doing still less to develop what is, 

 after all, the greatest asset of any nation — 

 the brains of its people. We have doubtless 

 wasted much of our heritage. Such a waste 

 is a sin and bitterly we shall pay for it. But 

 the saving which we may affect, after all, by a 

 more reasonable policy in these matters rep- 

 resents but a small increment to our national 

 wealth compared with what may be added by 

 the intelligent development of national talent, 

 such as brought about by a reasonable, com- 

 prehensive, well-supported educational system. 



When the constitution was adopted, the 



