THE CASE IN A NUT-SHELL.
Judge Tourgee, if he is the author of that remarkable book, “A Fool’s Errand,” which every citizen of the Union should not only read, but profoundly study, puts the case in a nut-shell when, in answer to his old teacher’s question, “But what can be done for their (the Negroes’) elevation and relief, or to prevent the establishment of a mediæval barbarism in our midst?” he says:
“The remedy is one that must be applied from the outside. The remedy for darkness is light; for ignorance, knowledge; for wrong, righteousness. The nation nourished and protected slavery. The fruitage of slavery has been the ignorant freedman, the ignorant poor white man, and the arrogant master. Now, let the nation undo the evil it has permitted and encouraged; let it educate those whom it made ignorant, and protect those whom it made weak. It is not a matter of favor to the black, but of safety to the nation. Make the spelling-book the sceptre of national power. Let the nation educate the colored man and the poor white man, because the nation held them in bondage, and is responsible for their education; educate the voter, because the nation cannot afford that he should be ignorant. Honest ignorance in the masses is more to be dreaded than malevolent intelligence in the few.”
We express no opinion as to his method for applying this remedy, as it would lead to a discussion of political questions with which, as such, we have nothing to do. But that the remedy for, and the provision against, these threatening evils, is the education of these people, of this there can be no doubt.
We are happy to say, also, that the work already accomplished by our schools is dissipating the fears, conciliating the prejudices, and disarming the hostility of the Southern people, who are coming more and more to appreciate and sympathize with the effort to educate the Negro, and in helpful ways to co-operate with us in this work. The remedy, indeed, must come from without; but it is beginning to operate, and the most hopeful symptom of healthful action is that the patient begins to appreciate and demand it.
