EN12
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-12-
their education that far is concerned, the state will not and shall
not do it; the federal government will. I am not one who believes
in taking that course now. I think it would cost too much in terms
of the greater things for which we stand. But if it be that
education has become a national problem, we need tell the people
so and we'll need to accept every one of the implications for
administrative action which will accompany the position we take.
I'm trying to say this: there is much reason why many could
argue that education should become a national function. Many
benefits could accrue. But a great loss would come. When
education, even better education, would become national, something
will have gone out of the American life, the seriousness of which
only years can tell. Personally, I am not ready to pay the price
for this course which is already endangering the sense of civic
responsibility of the American people. And to think in terms of
more money for education, much as we want it, rather than in
terms of alert citizenship lies the road to decay of democracy,
the road to triumph of the authoritarian state, -- the very thing
which we all would fight.
The cause of American education seems to have two alternatives
before it now. The one is, surely but slowly to interpret to the
American people in their various communities the basic significance
of that which education does. Never was there a better time to
do this than today. On every hand men and women recognize that
education is at the root of every activity we carry on to fight
this war. With people at large conscious of this basic fact it
should be the more easy to make it clear that the forces of
education will make for welfare and prosperity when war days are
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