From the Evening Star, September 15, 1912. By Philander Johnson. By hard experience we learn, Whatever our position, And pay, whichever way we turn, Right dearly for tuition. Before we walk we have to creep; We rise with many a tumble; Before we learn life’s road to keep How often must we stumble! Ere we can learn to think we grope Through much fantastic folly. Our smiles of friendship and of hope Are earned through melancholy. And so it is with every man, And so with many a nation; It is a part of nature’s plan— Compulsory education.