Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, some 4, weeks or more ago this bill was re rted from the select committee on 11nations Bureau of Education, and printed and laid upon our tables.; I regret to say tiiat, so far as I can understand, it has not been examined by the members of | the House. It is of great national importance at this time. Iam satisfied that if the Gentfrom NewJersey, [Mr. Roosns] who spoke against this bill, had examined its scope and what it proposes to accomplish, he would not have made the observations that he did; for, so far as I have observed his course here, he has been kindly disposed toward all measures for the general interests of the country. Now, sir, what is the scope and effect of this bill? What does it prepose to do? it is simply a measure for the benelit of universal education. It proposes to establish a Bureau of Edu cation here that shallhave a general supervisory power for the purpose of collecting statistics, of showin the advantage of each system, of collecting nets, and collating and bringing them together as'we find them in the different States and foreign countries. There is no complication about the bill. It is exceedingly simple. It simply provides that there shall be appointed a hen of this dept, with the necessary number of clerks, and that the sufferintendent of Public Buildings shall provide him perhaps 2 rooms. An here let me answer the question of the distinguished GentfromilQewJersey, [Mr.'RocsRs] that the entire cost of this proposed dept will not exceed ten or 15,000 dollars peryear. Now, how is this bureau to be established and organized? 1n the 1st place, it is to be create by the passage of this bill; in the 2nd place, the appointment of the head of this bureau is to be by the POTUS, who represents the entire people, by and with the advice and consent of Senators, who represent the respective States. The head of this bureau should be a man of national character; of the most enlarged capa city; a man ofcultiire, science, and experience. And I assume that the President, in the discharge of the delicate duty that will be devolved on him by the passage of this bill, will appoint the man best hited to carry out the object and purpose of this bill. how, let me call your attention to another important fact in this connection. If this bill has been thrust upon this House without an body asking for its passage, without anybo y desiring its passage; if there is no necessity and no want in the country that requires it, of course it should not be passed. how, how has this subject been brought to the attention of this Congress? By the leading educational men all over the U.S., from Maine to Georgia, for the South has been heard in this matter. In last January or February the leading edu cational men of this great Republic met here in this city of Washington, and after a long and careful conference, and a full discussion and bearing upon all sides, they came to the conclusion that a dept of this kind was absolutely necessary for the benefit of the whole country and the promotion of the educational interests of the country. That convention was composed of such men as Hon. Newton Bate man of Illinois, White of Ohio, and Adams of Vermont, and other representative men, who stand at the head of the educational interests of their own States men who have devoted more than 30 years of their lives to the discussion and consideration of e ucational subjects. These men were entirely disinterested, remarkably so, if the Gentfrom NewJersey [Mr. Rooms] is correct in his objection to this measure, that it will do away with the State systems ofeducation. The very men who recommend this measure are the men who inaugurated the existing systems of education in their own States, and are at the head of those systems at the rpresent time. As they readily icrccive, one o the great objects of the establishment of this bureau is that whatever advan tages there are in a particular system may be pointed out by it, and the mischievous errors, whatever they may be, may be corrected. This might change particular systems, and improve them and this is the very object of the bill. Alfow me to make another statement in reference to the character of the men who are demanding the passage of thislaw at this time. This national convention of educational men appointed 3 of their most eminent members to memorialize Congress in regard to this inntter. And I will say that the men thus selected were eminentlyqualified for that purpose. One was Hon. Newton Bateman, of the State of Illinois, who has been identified with the system of education there for years, and has given it complexion and consistency, and has by his energy and ability established one of the finest school systems in the world. Another was Professdr White, of Ohio, a man of the most enlarged capacity, who is at the head of the common school sys tem of that great.State. Another was Professor Adams. of Vermont, a man who from his eminent ability and services in that direction is entitled to have his opinions upon questions of this kind regarded as of great weight. Now, those, are the eminent men who came up here and presenter] their memorial to Congress with this simple bill for the purpoe of inau gurating this machinery for the purpose of supplying a want that has been felt in this country for more than 30 years. Now, one of the objections which was urged against this bill by the Gentfrom ewJersey [Mr. Roesas] was that it was a new thing; that this is an innovation. Permit me to say to members of this House that this is no new thought. This great question has been discussed by the educational men of this country and its necessity has been felt for man years. anyone who has been familiar with the educational journals and educational conventions of our Country knows that this very question has been one of the most prominent topics of discussion the want of an authoritative head here at the seat of Government. Be sides, we have the example of nearly all Euro pean Governments in this regard. [will simply allude to France, Prussia, and GreatBritain, who have set us anexamplein this regard. Therefore the charge that this is a new ting, and has its origin in the chimeras of today, is in fact not true. Now, Mr. Speaker, what is the true, genuine spirit of our institutions? Upon what are they founded? The 2 great pillars of our Amer ican Republic, upon which it rests, are i versal liberty and universal education. We have established universal liberty through a bloody conflict. through 4 years of carnage and war, and Congress by the passage of the civil rights bill has provided the machinery b which universal liberty can be enforced an guarantied, and the citizen everywhere protected. One of these pillars, then, rests upon a solid and firm foundation. The other pillar is universal education. In this republican Government it is admitted upon al hands, even by the Gentfrom NewJersey, that the perpetuity of our institutions depends upon the intelligence of the people, and without that intelligence we can have no guarantee of the continuance of our RFG. Now, sir, in order to make education universal, what do we want? What is the crying necessity of this nation today? Why, sir, we want it end. We want a pure fountain, from which a pure stream can be poured upon all the States. We want a controlling head b which the various conflicting systems in the different States can be harmonized, by which there can be uniformity, by which all mischiev ous errors that have crept in may be pointed out and eradicated. We want a head to this great system for the purpose of giving direction and vitalizing the whole educational interest of the country. Now, sir, let us look at the practical results which we may reasonably expect from the adoption of this measure, for the remarks which we shall make will be directed entirely to the practical Operation of this bill. If the measure is oing to do no good, if it is to produce no beneficial results to the country, of course it ought not to pass. But if it will accomplish the objects we expect, then we think there is aucces city for it and that it ought to pass. have said that a part of the duties of the head of this bureau will be to compare the different educational systems, to collect the facts and statistics connected with them, and to point out the merits and advantages of each, and in a philosophical and popular way present these to the people genera ly. Let me illustrate the importance of this national system bya simple reference to the manner in which a simi ar system on a smaller scale has operated in the different States; and I think this consideration should be conclusive as to the importance of this measure. Take, for instance, my own State, of which I have a right to speak here. Her educational system up to 1853 was substantially, I may say, in chaos. We had really no educational system at all. There was no such thing as a common school system there. The people had schools when they pleased; and when they did not, there were.no schools. Everything was in confusion. Hence the im mense amount of land which had been 'ven by this Government to the State of Illinms for ednecgtional purposes was substantially dissi at. p That was the condition of the school sys tem, if it may be called a school system, in the State of Illinois up to 1853. This resulted from the fact that there was no head to the system. There was no common center; no one to advise, direct, and suggest. In other words, there was no one to vitalize the system, to bring it directly before the people, and show them the proper path. In 1853, however, a free school system was inaugurated in the State of Illinois. Under that system a superintendent of publicinstruction was appointed. Som e of the lnOst eminent men in the state of Illinois havetilled that position. WhileI do not desire to discrave others, I may be permitted to mention that die free school system of thg State of Illinois has been for many years under the charge and control of Hon. Newton Bateman, whose name is appended to this memorial; and he has given that system vi or and vitality till today we present a free school system of as high a character as can be found in the world. It has had a good practical effect by having a common hea and center to control and direct the system. Now, b the result of that, in 9 or 10 years in the State of Illinois, we have 12,000 school districts established, with may nificent school houses dotted all over the rat ries, and every Monday morning when the c ock strikes 9 o’clock half a.million of bright eyed girls and boys are within the walls of the common schools ofIllinois. That is the result of a pointing a competent head to that system. ow, that is only one State, a State of 100 counties. Whatis the reason the result would not be similar if a competent head to discharge the duties be a pointed at the seat of Government, one who will take general control in regard to the 36 States of this Union. I know of no reason why the results would not be the same. Naturally they would be the same. Here are 36 States, all with different school systems. The people of the western States do not know what you are doing in the middle States. They do not know what is being done in the NewEngland States. They have no means of knowing what are your school systems. The ver of Education is that these different. systems may be brought to ether. We want all these school systems al over the land brought under one head, so that they may be nation alized, vitalized, and made uniform and bar monious as far as possible. But we are met on the threshold of this or ument by the Gentfrom NewJersey, 1:.Root mm] who I object of establishing a Bureau am sure has not examined the subject, that we have no constitutional power to do this thing. Let us look at this for a moment. Let us see whether we have constitutional power. The Constitution provides that it shall be the duty of Congress to pass all laws which shall be necessary for the common good and welfare. Let us look at an examp e in this government which my friend admits has existed ever since its foundation. Take an analogous instance. Take the Dept of Agriculture. He says we cannot put our hands upon the specific provision of the Constitution for this bureau we proposeto establish. You cannot put your ban a on the specific‘constitutional provision which gives you the power to approriate 1000s, at least half a million, of dol ars a year for the purpose of keeping up the Dept of Agriculture? Where is the ppwer to do it? On what authority is it done? e say that it promotes the general welfare and the common good. It is part of the necessary machinery of this Government; and we say the same thing in reference to this Bureau of National Education. The bureau here proposed is not so limited in its operations as the Dept of Agriculture. I desire now to consider another proposition in this same connection, that it invades the the system of the States. The same argument can be made in regard to the Dept of Agriculture. No one ever dreamed that the dept of Agriculture was invading the rights of the States. Why? Every State in the Union has its own agricultural societies incor porated by the several Legislatures. Every county has its own agricultural society. The Dept of Agriculture at the seat of government here does not invade any rights of property in the States. What does itdo? What we propose in this bill. It gives the result of experiments, it collects facts from California, from Maine, from all of the States, and all parts of the world, prepares those facts in popular form and presents them to the people. ere are 250 Representatives of the people. What has beenthe greatest demand made on you? Has not the greatest demand from your constituents been for the Agricultural Report. The demand has been for agricultural information, seeds and plants, the results of experiments, &c. the Dept of Agriculture applies only to one class of men. The bureau we proposehere applies to every man, woman, and chi d in the country. Talk about this not having foundation in the Constitution! Upon what constitutional ro vision have you established the Interior dept? [here is no specific power given. at it is a great and necessary art of the machinery of the Government. t remotes the general welfare. Our bureau oes the same. If we decide that it is necessary to pro mote the general welfare, no other dept of this Government can question our power. It is said that this matter should e left to the States, or to individuals. Permit me to say in answer to this that the advantage of this bureau is this: we do not propose toin vade State rights, to go into lii assachusetts, and say, you shall change your system and: conform it to our views. We do not propose to go into Ohio or any other State, but we propose to correct whatever is wrong or mischievous in any of these State systems by pointing out and showing to them that their systems are wrong and what the better plan would be; just the same as the Bureau of Agriculture, by disseminatin information all over the land, giving the resn ts of experience, corrects errors in the method of the cultivation of lands, and promotes the interests of agriculture in the different States. But now, Mr. Speaker, I want to call attention to another act. I want to say to the members of this House that this Government has a direct interest in the establishment of a Bureau of Education. I have already stated that the perpetuity of our institutions rests upon the inte igence of the people. Let me il us, for school purposes. trate that by an example afforded by the remarks of the Gentfrom NewJerse” [Mr. Rooms] In rely to the statement of the Gentfrom hinnesota, [Mr. DoNNELLY] that the ignorance of the southern people had been one of the causes that led to the late rebellion, the Gentfrom NewJersey [Mr. Rocnas] asserted that the rebellion had been inaugu rated, not by the poorer classes, not by the ignorant people, but by the intelligent men, such as Davis, Slidell, and others. T‘Iow, that fact is true; but it does not disprove the truth of the statement of the Gentfrom minnesota, [Mix Dormer“. Let us see how the matter stands. Grant that the rebellion was inau rated by the in telligent classes of the Sout. Suppose that the poorer and more ignorant classes, the great mass of the people of the South, had been edu cated to the extent that the people of Ohio, NewEngland, and the middle States are edu cated, do you imagine that the scoundrels, traitors, and demago ues of the South could have led such a peep e into rebellion? Why, sir, the same thing was actually attempted in some of the northern States, but the intelli genes of the people repudiated all such appliances madeby traitors in the North. Now, one of the objects of this proposed Bureau of Education is to diffuse in ormation and give vitalit to dead systems wherever its operation is made necessary by the condition of things. And I repeat again, if the people in the southern States had been fairly educated, had had the means of obtainin information to the extent that the loyal peop e of the North had, 1,000 Slidells, Davises, and Toombses could never have led them astray into rebellion. In that view, then, I take the high ground that eve child of this land is, by natural right, entitled to an education at the hands of somebody, and that this ought not to be left to the caprice of individuals or of States so far as we have any power to regulate it. At least. every child in teland should receive a sufficient education to qualify him to discharge all the duties that may devolve upon him as an American citizen. This is as much a natural right as the right to breathe the air and to be provided with food and clothing. The Government, therefore, has an interest in establishin this bureau, because its tendenc will be to s ed lightin the dark places by isseminating facts and statistics, vitalizing and influencing by persuasion rather than by authority. There is another point of view in which this Government is interested in this measure. By the laws of Congress, as they now stand, sta tistics in regard to education have been collected from all over the country every ten years. Now there is a great mass of facts of various descriptions, statements of the number of children at school, how many can read and write, number of school houses, and other important facts collected by the census takers under the law of Congress. But what good does it do? None whatever; because there is no one here to take charge of those pregnant facts, those figures, when they are brought here by the census takers. There is no bureau to collate and compare, to make deductions and suggestions, and propagate and disseminate the information in a proper form for the benefit of the people. Therefore it is an expenditure of money for the collection of these facts without any prac tical benefit, and in amount ten times more than it would take to pay the full expenses of this bureau. Let this bureau be established and take possession of all the facts and figures that come up and send forth the information in some popular form. There is another fact which gives the governmenta directinterest in this bill. Already the Governmenthas given to the different States more than 50 million acres of the public lands All the new States have had their 16th section for their school, college, and seminary fund, and who of you here knows how it is disposed of? Where do to get any official information as to how this great and munificeut gift to the people has been disposed of? Who can go to any dept here and find out one single fact other than that so much land has been given to Illinois, so much to Ohio, and so much to Indiana, and so on? Well, now, 50 million acres of public lands have been given to the States for these purposes. It is made a part of the business of this bdreau to collect all the facts connected with the subject, so that we may know what every State has done, whether the lands have been 5 quandered and what rules have been adopte for the disposition of the same. If there has been avicious system in any State in regard to the disposition of those lands, is it not important that that information should be iven to the States in order that they may avoi the rocks upon which other States have dissipated and lost their lands? And here let me say that my State had such a donation, every 16th section, with which it parted mostly for the pitiful sum of $1 25 peracre, thus receiving but $800 persection for that land in each which today, or even many years agtoow, nwsohuipd have been sold for $8,000 persection instead of $800, thereby affording a perpetual fund to educate the children of the respective townships for all time to come; and upon these con. siderations I believe the Government has a direct interest in the establishment of a Bureau whereby this kind of information may be obtained and disseminated, in order that the whole country, and particularly the State to be admitted, may profit by the good or bad example of the diarent States in regard to this matter. Now, Mr. Speaker, I will say but a word or 2 more. I think I have gone through the various features of this bill. It seems to me that there is nothing objectionable in it. So faras the question of finance is concerned the bill provides for 4 clerks. If the number were limited to two, perhaps that number would be sufficient to start the bureau. Now with a head of the bureau and 2 clerks, and with 2 rooms that may be assigned to the bureau in anyone of the public buildings the cost to the Government will not excee $15,000; and it seems to me that the adyliu tages to be derived from the establishment of a bureau of this character here at the seat of Government would more than compensate for the appropriation for a purpose of this character. Ftrust, therefore, Mr. Speaker, that the members of this House will vote for this bill. I believe that it is required by the people. I believe that the necessities of the ‘overument require it. Its passage has been urged by gentlemen who are better able to judge of its necessity than we are here. I am willin to take their judgment. Let this bill pass. et us have a common center. Let us have anni form and harmonious system of education if possible, and then let us popularize and vitaf in that system, and all these desert places, all these dark places that now exist in the central and southern portion of the country, will have light shed upon them, and a good free school system of education will shortly be established orghe education of every child in this great an.