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Show Uplift in Public Opinion Splendid Progress Being Made in the United States, Where the Experiment of Universal Education Educa-tion Had Its Inception. When Will Durant ventured to put out a thick volume entitled "The Story of Philosophy" nobody In the business would have ventured to forecast a sale of 300,000 copies, but that was what happened. Some of the philosophers were annoyed oy the study, but they should have made their lectures more interesting if they wanted a monopoly. Many of the historians were aghast when debunking volumes glutted glut-ted the market. It is undeniable that some of the worss which caught the fancy of readers were both thin and misleading, hut the new style of presenting pre-senting history as an exciting and vital subject did much to broaden the market for what the booksellers speak of as "nonaction. " In the typical typi-cal bookstore two exhibits greet the eye of the visitor. One is a case containing con-taining inexpensive reprints of masterpieces mas-terpieces of the past, the standard books. And then there is a counter known in the business as "active nonfiction. " These volumes on many subjects, which would have been called "heavy" in a less Inquisitive age, move rapidly to ready purchasers. pur-chasers. Of course the making of books remains a gamble as formerly, but it is not nearly as much a short road to bankruptcy as it used to be. People are decidedly ready to be informed. in-formed. Unfortunately there is no reason to believe that the great bulk of the population is prepared and willing to wrestle effectively with the great problems of the day. There is still Illiteracy, which is not being decreased de-creased while thousands of schools are closed or on short time. The clouds of prejudice continue to interfere inter-fere with the working of the human Intellect, and there is a prevalence of the disposition to avoid problems that appear difficult. Yet there has been progress. The intellectual base of millions of Americans has been broadened with the result that they are willing to be shown and are able to employ something more than a combination of "horse sense" and "the rule of thumb" when they consider con-sider the present and the future. Is it too presuming to cherish the belief that American public opinion has a more solid foundation than is to be found in other large countries of the world? There should be a difference after eur century and a half. In the first place the stock from which our population pop-ulation sprang was automatically selected. se-lected. A spirit of adventure and initiative was required to start the various waves of immigration across the ocean, seeking footing in the New world. The stay-at-homes remained re-mained where their ancestors hnd been, going through the same routine. rou-tine. Here, first of all, in modern times, was attempted the unheard-of experiment exper-iment of universal education. Much of it has been nonproductive. Thousands Thou-sands of degree holders have brought little besides diplomas from their alma maters. But there has always been a percentage of men. and latterly lat-terly of women, who had a right to a place in the "society of the educated." edu-cated." And the percentage here has been far higher than In Europe. No class has a monopoly of edu cation. The prize scholars at tht older universities are seldom the progeny of graduates. There is no class which has monopoly on reading read-ing and thinking on the tremendous problems of this nation and of the world. The base of knowledge is very broad and continually extending This people are more in possession : of the facts of history and of science' than is elsewhere to be found on any comparable scale. Knowledge does not Insure political polit-ical and economic salvation, but it should help toward that desired goal. In an ancient book of wisdom it was admitted that ten men of the right sort would save a city. In this great country there are millions who are becoming well equipped for such a task. Stability is never due to the quality of the apex of the pyramid, but to the broadness of Its base. That has become the hope of Amer- 1 lea and the broadening continues. , This people "inquires to know." Uncle Dudley, in the Boston Globe. |