Although education is primarily a responsibility of the States and
local communities, and rightly so, yet the Nation as a whole is vitally
concerned in its development everywhere to the highest standards and
to complete universality. Self-government can succeed only through
an instructed electorate. Our objective is not simply to overcome
illiteracy. The Nation has marched far beyond that. The more complex the
problems of the Nation become, the greater is the need for more and more
advanced instruction. Moreover, as our numbers increase and as our
life expands with science and invention, we must discover more and more
leaders for every walk of life. We can not hope to succeed in directing
this increasingly complex civilization unless we can draw all the talent
of leadership from the whole people. One civilization after another has
been wrecked upon the attempt to secure sufficient leadership from
a single group or class. If we would prevent the growth of class
distinctions and would constantly refresh our leadership with the ideals
of our people, we must draw constantly from the general mass. The
full opportunity for every boy and girl to rise through the selective
processes of education can alone secure to us this leadership.