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for her service, whether that shall be on the farm, in the fac- 

 tory, in the counting room or in the field of arms. It was really 

 the better education of the North that saved the Union during 

 the late civil war, as it was the ignorance of the "poor white 

 trash" making them the dupes of demagogues that rendered the 

 rebellion possible in the South. 



In 1868 Grovernor English exerted his influence strongly in 

 favor of free schools. In his annual message to the Legisla- 

 lature he said : " The rate-bill should be abolished and the 

 schools sustained at the common expense." In his parting 

 address to the General Assembly of that year he said : " The 

 measures which you have adopted to promote the interests of 

 the people will meet with a generous approval at their hands. 

 Especially will they thank you for the interest you have 

 taken in the common schools. In adopting the free school 

 system recommended in my annual message, I am confident 

 you have taken an important step forward in the cause of edur 

 cation, and that your action in this regard will prove as bene- 

 ficial in results as the motives which prompted it were free 

 from political influence or bias." 



As Governor English intimates, this new law was not in any 

 wise a party measure. That a measure so radical should pass 

 unanimously in the Senate and with only four nays in the 

 House was more than its most sanguine friends expected. The 

 press of the State was a unit in its favor. The leading men of 

 both parties were its advocates. It is fortunate that on educa- 

 tional questions, men of all parties and all religious denomina- 

 tions meet on common ground and cordially cooperate for the 

 common good. The platforms and creeds, which divide men 

 outside, should never enter the common school — common be- 

 cause open to all, free to all ; where no class distinctions are 

 recognized and no favoritism is shown. 



The law has received an emphatic ratification from the peo- 

 ple. Two years later, when its influence in increasing taxa- 

 tion had been fully felt, an earnest effort was made in the 

 Legislature for its repeal, which signally failed. Opposition 

 and discussion helped this measure, as they always do any 

 other which can bear close scrutiny and stand the test of ex- 

 perience. When the proof was placed before the people that 



B 



