Newspaper Page Text
SATURDAY, AU8U3T 7. 1909.
The 8umter Watchman was found
ejA In 1110 and the True Southron In
IM?. The Watchman and Southron
*a>w haa the combined c I reu la t on and
influence of both of the old papers,
assd Is manifestly ths best advertising
SBSXtlum in Sumter.
Y. M. C. IL Mass Meeting*.
Notwithstanding the Inclement
weither last evening, a large and en
tha<4a*tlc crowd of men was present
at ?che Y. M. C. A. mass meeting In
the Opera Mouse. The Interest was In?
tones.
The object of the meeting was
stated forcefully with a few well se?
lected words by Mr. C. Capers Smith.
Oa motion of Mr. H. L. Tlmmons, Mr.
Ssnltlrswas made temporary chairman
la order that the meeting be on a
basis to trsnaact business. The chair?
man culled for expressions from the
nndlence and a number of business
men young and older, responded
with enthusiastic speeches for tho As?
sociation
K committee consorting of live
members was appointed by the chair?
man t<< nominate twelve directors
from the different denominations and
report to a meeting to be called next
Friday night at 8:30 o'clock, at quar?
ters to be decided upon by the com?
mittee.
In reviewing the work done by the
committee which has been working
for members it was found that the
membership now Is between one hun- i
dred and forty and one hundred and
fifty Not all of the men who want
to Join have given In their names
Quite a number of mothers have been
asking for a place for their boys In ,
ths list of Juveniles. The young men
?xpect to get more than 200 members
besides thA Juveniles.
The organisation haa begun right, i
,and success la assured. The young
Sheti are at work. The older men <
wars surprised to learn the progress
'that has been made?the reason Is
that the promo tors have been work
Ins; among young men exclusively. The i
fact trot the young men have done so
much by ? themselves Is causing a
deeper interest to arise among the
older men. The young men are de
tartnlzod t > have a % M. C. A.
Watch the columns of this paper
for the announcement of the place
for the neat meeting. At this meet?
ing the nominating committee will
present the names of twelve men
from the different churohea In the
city as directors of the Y. M. C. A.
These names will be voted on by the
members who have signed the char?
ter list. it Is Important that all
members be present, because the di?
rectors see very Important officers.
Fence Again In Spain.
V, Madrid. Aug. i.?Spain Is now
tranquil from the bay of Biscay to the
Mediterranean and the crisis In the
country Is past, sccordlng to an offi?
cial announcement today. The re?
lease of Henor Igleslae. editor of El
Progr?a*o, and a certala relaxation of
the censorship are considered the beet
evidences that the danger Is past.
TW? ttpa/ilsh Trans-Atlantic Steam?
ship Company Ma offered three of Its
heat veaisls to be used as hospital
ahlpe foe, the troops In Morocco.
Henor Hnlortega. a republican sena?
tor, who ha* arrived here from Bar?
celona, denle* that the recent move
msnt in that city was separatist and
says also that the revolutionists dur?
las; the tw? days they were masters
of the idly did not commit a single
flgggflalnutIon or ad of cruelty.
A new civil governor of Barcelona
has In n appointed.
jffce *vjb!kat!on of a letter from
Don Jalm \ the pretonder to Ciu
Spanish throne, has removed the ap
I?~?hensioiiH of a Carlist movement.
Several gunboats have been dis?
patched to Morocco to be used espe?
cially in stopping the landing of con?
traband.
Jno. t. Ijopez. a negro who at one
time was rated as a man of means, Is
serving; a sentence on the chalngang
of Rl< h.'and County, and Oov. Ansel
has declined to <ravit him a pardon
or a commutation. Lopez's crime was
obtalntnr money under false preten?
ses. He had left at Lynch A Letton's
stable a home which had a board bill
cf $37 60 In r?0 days, a I?pei then
claimed It was not his horse and tie
owners of the stable had him prose
cuted Hi sentence was six months
ob the < haui'-jang and $300 fine. He
la over 10 years old and that Is the
principal ground on which Hd sects
pardon LeSSS was at one time
wealthy, ao fa/ as negroes are rated
la wealth. He had a big bar with
billiard room* md loaned money to
negroes Finally his money began to
slip away from him and today he Is
too poor to raise the fine.
Itevlval Service*.
A series of meetings will begin at
Wedae field seit Monday night at 8 .3 )
o'olocK Kev. 8. K. Rose will do the
preaching. All are Invited to attend.
Morning service* at 11 o'clock; eve?
ning services at 8:U0 o'clock.
T. O. WHITLOCK, P. C.
Farmers' Union News
?AND
Practical Thoughts for Practical Farmers
(Conducted by E. W. Dabbs, President Farmers' Union of Sumter
# County.)
The Watchman and Southron having decided to double its service by
semi- veekly publication, would improve that service by special features.
The frst to be inaugurated is this Department for the Farmers' Union and
Pract cal Farmers which I have been requested to conduct. It will be my
aim to give the Union news and offlcial calls of the Union. To that end
officers, and members of the Union are requested to use these columns.
Also :o 'publish such clippings from the agricultural papers and Govern?
ment Bulletins as I think will be of practical benefit to our readers. Ori?
ginal articles by any of our readers telling of their successes or failures
will be appreciated and published.
Trusting this Department will be of mutual benefit to all concerned,
THE EDITOR.
All :ommunicatlons for tl is Department should be sent to E. W. Dabbs.
Mayesvllle, S. C.
Some Random Thoughts.
Let i s press home this week the
importance of better schools in the
country districts. This month while
the trained educators of the State,
our Governor and other officials and
prominent citizens' are conducting a
campaign for progress and develop?
ment in the schools, let our farmers'
unions join in the discussions nnd
irive to :hls important feature of our
declaration of purposes real solid
support.
We need never hope to be an effec?
tive business organization so long as
Ignoranea and prejudice prevail.
When wo have shown to our fellow
citizens that we can take hold of the
things abound our door steps and
work effectively for the uplift of our
communities, then we will command
[be respect and sympathy, and gain
the hearty co-operation of all good
citizens.
I would not for a moment discount
the great good that can be accom?
plished toy State-wide, and Interstate
co-operation, n >r the big plans some
r>f our leaders have for financing the
cotton ctop, but neighborhood co?
operation will have to precede, this
arider amalgamation?for how can
you amalgamate or unite what does
not exist?
Therefore, we the rank and file,
and minor officers of the union must
stress edjcatlon and community of
interestr in season and out of season,
"line upor. line, precept upon precept;
here a Hi tie and there a little." and
by example prove to the doubting
ones that In "unity there Is strength"
and that ! armers will stick.
This shall be the burden of the
messages I will try to impress upon
the farmers of another county where
I have tx en Invited to speak this week
and from these little seed grains of
truth we trust to see the Farmers'
Union grow into a great tree that will
refresh man and beast and birds, by
Its covering shade and beautiful pro?
portions. E. D.
$500 MO I IK A YEAR FARMING;
? HOW TO MAKE IT.
By Working for Good Schools, Good
Roads and Telephones.
The subject announced for this 1s
sue of The Progressive Farmer in our
"$500 a. Year" series was "By Saving
the Wh?le Corn Crop" with the sub
Ject of this article anounced for
next week; but as this Is our "Edu?
cational Edition,' we have thought it
hest to let "Good Schools, Good
.toads, and Telephones" come first,
leaving the consideration of the corn
crop until jur Issue of August 5th.
At first * lance this topic may seem
less appropriate than some that have
been considered in this series, but
there is really no topic on our entire
category that has a more; vital bear?
ing upon farm profits, In the com?
munity at large good schools is like
ly to get or keep the best class of
citizens. Whenever or wherever land
is offered for sale, one of the first
questions Is. "How are the schoob
and the roads?" And If the prospec
tlve buyer is told that both are good,
his ?deas of land values at once ad?
vance, and If In addition he learns
the most farmers In the community
have telephones, he is willing to pay
even more.
School Tax Pays for Itself In Incrcus
t <l Land Values.
Probably In every community
which votes local tax for schools
land values In a verf few > ears ad?
vance to double the amount of school
tax money vote'd. And this is but one
of a hundred ways In which better
schools pay for themselves many
times over. The whole life of the
community Is richer and finer wher?
ever there Is a good school at Its
center, the citizens fell Ii prtde in It
?uch as tht y never felt before, and
everything In the neighborhood be?
gins to catch step with the new stan?
dard of progress thus set up. It Is
not the fertility of the land that
makes It valuable; It is the Intelli?
gence of the community in which It
is situated. Land In Africa today is
more fertile than the average reader
or The Progressh Farmer ever saw,
but it is practically worthless because
of an ignorant population, while land
in Belgium, originally little more
than a sand-waste, has become in?
tensely valuable by reason of the
presence of an intelligent population,
and intensely fertile by reason of the
wise methods of cultivation prac?
ticed by these Intelligent farmers.
Even if a man has no boy or girl to
send, the school tax investment is a
good one for any property-holder be?
cause of the increase in value that al?
ways results from the presence of an
Intelligent citizenship.
Education ami the Individual
As to how much education means
to the individual, the time has long
since passed when it was necessary to
arguo that point. The boy or girl
who starts out in life without the
fundamentals of a good education Is
tragically, almost hopelessly, handi?
capped. The parents o^such a child,
if it is ignorant by theii neglect, have
committed a crime against it almost
as serious as if they had ? iffered its
right arm to be cut off, for an educat?
ed mind is in a very real sense one's
right arm in the struggle for exis?
tence?and nowhere is this truer
than on the farrm If the South had
had for fifty years schools even as
good as we have today, there Is little
doubt but that our average farmer
would be making very nearly his ex?
tra $500 a year more without agita?
tion on our part.
Work for Better Schools Right New.
Wherever the public school is in?
sufficiently supported, the school
term not long enough, or the school
fund too small for the employment of
the best teachers, we earnestly urge
our Progressive Farmer readers to
band together, get their neighbors to
help them, and set about the im?
provement of their educational facil?
ities. Right now while the crops are
"laid by" Is the very best time for the
work. Consolidate your districts if it
Is necessary; It is better that your
child spend two hours getting to a
good school where he can do six or
eight hours of good work, than spend
half an hour going to a school where
wo s of only half as much efficiency
can be done.
Resolve now that you will get bet?
ter schools. Discuss the matter of
consolidation of districts with your
neighbors, and the matter of local
taxation as well. Bring it up at your
church meeting, at the store or post
oilice, at your Farmers' Union or
Alliance meeting. Get the advice of
your County Superintendent if you
wish it. Arrange with them to get
some good speaker to address your
people on the subject and push the
matter ?> a conclusion. There is no
finer service you can render your
community.
Then see to it that there is a good
building?not merely one large
enough and light enough and airy
enough, but a building of some arch?
itectural beauty, no matter how sim?
ple. Your State Superintendent will
doubtless be able to help you in this
respect. See to it also that a good
library is installed; there is hardly
any way by which money invested
will bring bigger returns to the com?
munity.
Work for Better Roads.
The subject of schools in all Its
phases, however, is so fully treated
elsewhere in this issue, that we leave
it now and turn to the matter of
better highways. This is another
matter there is no better time for
agitating than right now during the
leisure season on the farm. Write
the United States Department of Ag?
riculture, Washington, D. C, for Its
bulletins on good roads, especially
No. 311, "Sand Clay and Burnt Clay
Roads"; No, 321, "The Use of the
Split-Log Drag on Earth Roads," and
No. Ill, "Macadam Roads." A postal
will get all three for you without cost.
Then if you wish any further infor?
mation, write the Office of Public
Road Inquiries, United States Depart
men! Of Agriculture, Washington, D.
C, and also your State good roads au ?
thorities.
In Virginia an especially aggressive
campaign for better highways Is now
on, State Senator Charles T. Las
siter being a leader in the movement.
Our Old Dominion readers should
line up with the Virginia Good Roads
Association and they should also
write State Highway Commissioner
P. St. J. Wilson, Richmond, Va., for
expert advice before mapping out a
campaign. In North Carolina the
good roads movement is under the
direction of Dr. Joseph Hyde Pratt,
our aggressive and efficient State
Geologist, Chapel Hill, N. C. Few
men are doing more for North Caro?
lina than he, and the last Legislature
placed such funds at his disposal that
he Is now able to give more assistance
j than ever before to communities wish?
ing better highways and also wishing
to get them in the most economical
j way.
Get Expert Advice.
One or two bits of counsel in re?
gard to good roads building cannot
be too often emphasized. In the first
place, never proceed without expert
advice. In some of the sections of
the South the movement for better
highways has been set back a full
generation because of ignorance and
consequent wastefulness in the use of
road funds. Get your State Highway
Commissioner, your State Geo?
logist, or some official of
your State Department of
Agriculture, to advise you as to what
sort of road improvement policy you
should advocate. Manjr counties are
too poor to build macadam roads as
yet, espeoially where stone for ma
cadamizfru? must be brought a great
distance. In such places the merits
and aplicability of the ?and-clay sys?
tem should be considered. It is much
less expensive than macadam, and
in hunxireds of count' ?g in the State
it is the best system than can be
adopted. And on all clay roads, the
split-log drag should be regularly
used. ?
Get Good Roads and Keep Them.
Getting back to the matter of ex?
pert advice, let us urge our readers not
only get expert advice about the ma?
terial to use, but also get expert ad?
vice about the rearrangement of the
roads themselves. Straighten them;
lessen the grades; run them entirely
anew If necessary in order to make
I them of the greatest service to the
j people. It is folly to spend thou
I sand of dollars in roads laid out by
I calves and pigs.
And then, having good roads, keep
them. An expert of the United
States Department of Agriculture said
to us last week: "The people of the
United States spend more than any
other country to make good roads,
and less to keep them up." This has
been indeed one of our most con?
spicuous pieces of public folly. We
know a county which voted several
hundred thousand dollars in bonds
rot many months ago in which the
roads are now going to waste because
nothing whatever was voted to main
tie roads after getting them?much
as If you should spend $500 to buy a
horse and then spend nothing to feed
him.
A Word About the Telephones.
So much can be said, and needs to
be said, about better schools and bet?
ter roads that we have left ourselves
little space to consider the manifold
advantages of the rural telephone. We
have too often written of the social
and business advantages of the tele?
phone, however, for us to need to en?
large upon this phase of the ques?
tion, and we expect soon to publish
tome piactical experiences from ou:
readers in managing rural lines. Per?
haps the best thing we can now do Is
to give this estimate as to cost as
viven out by the general manager of
'he Western Electric Company. He
says:
'A number of farmers decide to
. uild, for their mutual benefit, a tele
'-.one 'inc. Bach man agrees to cut
? . el and Van? a given number or polo
?thirty poles about 22 feet or 2'
feet long, are required tor each mile
f line. Before the pott:-?which arc
^: in the ground thref and a hah
eet?are ercted. two brackets, on
the end of each of which Is fastened
a glass insulator, are nailed to the
pole, one 18 Inches above the other.
Having set the poles, wires are strung
the entire length of the line, and farV
mers living off the main route can
connect with the main line at any
point. f
"It is possible for as many as 35 or
4 0 telephones to be installed on such
a line, which may be 40 or 45 miles
In length. The total cost of all the
material (less poles) required to
build a mile of 'full metallic' line is
but $13.74. and the very best tele?
phone on the market, with all ma?
terial for installing it ready for use,
can be had for $13. Assuming that
there will be one telephone for every
mile of line, the grand total Initial
cost for each farmer, for the very best
system, is but $26.74.
"The maintenance expense on such
a line, including wear and tear on
the equlpmet, should be less than
three dollars a year. Just think of it
?for 25 cents a month the farmer
can have telephone service with his
neighbor, doctor, broker and mer?
chant! For 75 cents a month, he
can have access to the Bell exchange
and toll lines, and through these he
can reach all of their local subscrib?
ers and long distance points."
Good schools, good roads, tele?
phones?your community needs all
of them, and there is no better time
than right now to start the agitation
to get them. Wake up your neigh?
bors, get them interested, and if you
don't know where to get any inform?
ation you need, write The Progressive
Farmer. We'll either get it for you
or tell you how to get it.
1
TWO BIG QUESTIONS AND AN IL?
LUMINATING STATEMENT.
Tliree Notable Extracts From a Not?
able Address Which Country Teach?
ers, Pupils and Patrons All Should
Study?Here They Are.
In a recent address before the
American Association of Farmers'
Institute Workers, Dr. F. L. Stevens
delivered a notable message on agri?
cultural education, two or three ex?
tracts from which are so effectively
stated and comprise so much truth
in so little space that they ought to
he memorized by all country teach?
ers and by their patrons and pupils
as well. One treats briefly but thor
high school, agricultural or not,
should fit its pupils for the life that
they will lead. The duty of fitting
the few, 1, 2, or 10 per cent, by spe
cial training for college entrance^
must fall upon the few who are to
enjoy the advanced education, or the
colleges must adjust their entrance
requirements to the existing status.
"The training of ninety boys who
are to go no farther than the high
school, must not be dwarfed or mis?
shapen because of the ten or less who
may perhaps enter college.
"In particular is this true of the
agricultural high school. It cannot
aim in both directions. What it of?
fers it must give well and thorough?
ly, but the choice of subject matter
for the curriculum must not be domi?
nated by the entrance requirement of\(
any college, but must be made entire?
ly subservient, to the needs of the
farmer's life.
"Hamilton Wright Mabie has de?
fined culture as 'the process by which
a man comes into possession of his
own nature and into real and fruit-|
lul relations with the world about
him.' It should give as much knowl?
edge and training as is implied in the
definition of Dr. Mabie just quoted.
oughly of the evolution of our edu
cational system, another points out | Therefore, we must retain as many as
the folly o; pre aring ten pupils for | PO?etble of the most pert! dent of the
college instead of preparing ninety
for life, and the third points out the
absurdity of a teacher arguing that
she cannot teacn agriculture \vn? n
(if she las studied the text-book
properly * she probably knows a great
deal more of the "knowable, teacha?
ble things'* about agriculture than
of the * knowable, teachable things"
about history, geography, or physiol?
ogy?subjects which she regards her?
self as thoroughly competent to han?
dle. Here are the three paragraphs
from Dr. Stevens' address and we re?
peat that; we cannot commend them
too earnestly to our country teach?
ers, and their patrons and pupils as
well:
A Question About Your
School Teacher.
Public
Does She Think She Cannot Teach
Agriculture, But Can each His?
tory, Geography and Physio?
logy??Why?
One of the greatest obstacles to
agricultural teaching in our country
schools is the diffidence of the teach?
er, who because she has not herself
been taught agriculture, thinks that
she cannot teach it to others. She
can teach agriculture successfully, as
I have seen demonstrated in many
instances; and I believe that I have
frequently led them to go on in my
teachers' institute and summer school
work, by calling their attention to the
fact that to teach some agriculture,
they need not know all agriculture,
I and that if they can teach to their
pupils a few facts or principles, that
they do not already know, that it
matters not if the pupil knows a few
kinks and turns about handling a
plow or a mule that the teacher does
not know.
"I wonder, as a matter of fact, if
our teachers who have conscientious?
ly and think'ngly studied a good text?
book, do not know as large a per
cent of the knowledge, teachable, ag
subjects of the high school of today .
whose function is not filled by the
newly-Introduced subjects, and there?
by avoid reducing the agricultural
high school to a mere trade school,
it is impossible to be specific in this
regard because conditions vary in
different sections as to the training
previously received by the pupils in
the lower schools. In no case, how?
ever, la there time or need for Greek
or Latin, mathematics higher than
geometry, and rarely for modern lan?
guage except the mother tongue.
While there is unquestionably great J
value in these disciplinary subjects, \
there ere many other subjects which
furnish useful, practical knowledge
as well as mere discipline, which not
only dt>velop power to reason but
power to reason about things con?
cerning which the pupil will in life
reason, and which dra^v him toward I
life raiher than separate him from
it."
III.?AN ILLUMINATING STATE?
MENT ABOUT EDUCATION.
Some Patent Truths About How Ouri
Educational System Developed and
Why the Old Ideas Are Not Adapt?
ed to Our Modern Needs and Ideas.
"Our present public school system,
common, high, college, and university,
is an outgrowth, an evolution, from
preceding systems.
"(1) It came to us from an age
during which education was for the
aristocrttt, hence was largely of or?
nate, esthetic, fashionable content
"(2) It passed through a phase
when education was for the priest,
during which epoch It became heavi?
ly tinctured with subjects appertain?
ing to the priesthood.
"(3) It developed into a system
fitted for the 'learned professions' of
law and medicine, and was corres
spondingly modified. And since the
chief an:ient source of knowledge
A Question About Your High Schools.
was the ancient languages, and, more
riculture as that same reader knows j over, since both law and theology?
which she thinks herself amply able i and in the eariier periods, medicine,
to teach?" ? | too?required constant return to
i tne^e originai sources, Latin and
Greek became fixed components of
the educational system.
"Thus was the system of education
slowly evolved through the centuries
and adapted to those who were to
follow the learned professions or the
From this condition.
Is It Preparing for College or Pre?
paring for Life??Is It Trying to
Help the 90 Per Cent, of the
10 Per Cent.
"The criticism has often been made life of ease,
that our system of public schools is with the advent of the public school
an Inverted pyramid, resting on the and education for all, were derived *
apex. The high schools are made to ? cur prest nt system. The change of
Qt to the colleges, and the lower needs, historically considered, was
schools to the high schools, and many , sudden. It was an educational cata
people. have come to regard the high clysm. Evolution could not keep
school as a preparatory school, mean- pace, and we find the system mat is
ing thereby that >ts aim it to prepare struggling to survive today full of
its pupils for college entrance. This vestigial characters, useless except for
a pernicious and costly
has been
thought.
"The high school Is for the pupil.
Its course should be so shaped as to
do the most good to the largest num?
ber of Its pupils. The large majority
toxenamic
Farmer.
purpose."? Progressive
A movement has been started in
Columbia to make that city the per?
manent camping place for all the
enter life, not the college, and the State troops.
Lime, Cement,
Shingles, Laths, Acme Plaster, Fire Brick,
Drain and Sewer Pipe, Building Material of
all Kinds, Cow, Hog and Chicken Feed,
Hay a Grainy Horses ^Mviles,
Buggies, Wagons and Harness. Wholesale
and Retail. :: :: :: :: ::
BEST LIVERY IN SUM I ER.
SUMTER, S C.
