Newspapers / The Concord Daily Tribune … / Oct. 10, 1923, edition 1 / Page 37
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$ FAIR AND « • INDUSTRIAL ® $ EDITION ® @@@@ VOLUME XXIII Practical Work for Humanity at Training School Mistofy of the Foundation and Early Struggle of the School A Revelation of Faith and Sacrifice It Is a Proposition Dealing Cause That Conceri Call to a Christ (By J. P. COOK, Concord.) Chairman of flip Board of Trustees of Stonewall Jackson Manual .Training and Industrial School. My connection with the beginning, i r: tablishment and growth of the Htone wnll Jackson Manual Training and In dustrial School has been to me one "of the greatest pleasures, coming to man in ' this life. I have been asked many ques tions. by interested parties and others, bearing on the genesis of the institution, how it was accomplished, what now con stitutes the plant, is accomplishments, and what of the future. What was on paper in 1007 is now a reality; and what was just an idea, a theory, in 1000, when the institution was opened for the reception of boys, is no longer an experiment, but an accomp lishment, a certainty, a tangible result. If these things were not true, the many questions asked would be useless; and those who stood for that* theory and wrought that development would be try ing to conceal their identity, instead of publicly confessing nil intimate, connec tion with the establishment of the insti tution. I regard a candid answering of these questions an act of politeness: and, to secure for the institution a deeper sympa thy and a stronger support or> the part of the public and the state that it may the better serve its purpose. I regard u frank statement u necessity. WHERE A LIFE BEGAN AND WHAT HAPPENED A two-room log <-übin, squatting on a lull ovorloottfhg a small creek, served the ]hirposes of a home for a fnmily of three. One chimney, one fire-place, no stove for cookifig; and what light entered that home hud to come through a shuttered window without glass. The logs were chinked, and the floor of rough unjointed plank. The only slilule for this home was furnished by several old-field pines. No sign of a porch, for the elevation of the story was just enough to accommo date an undersized door. This was a home in the Piedmont sec tion of North Carolina—it was the home of a man and wife and one child, a boy. Neither the father nor the mother could read or write. There are people in this condition that possess sometimes an unusual amount of intelligence, na tive ability. These parents did not — they were ignorant. With it was just sintnly breathing, living. In some unaccountable way, which na ture at times practices, the boy was an improvement of the parents. Things better thaa lie isissessed or enjoyed at tracted his attention; he manifested a desire to see. (o hear, to learn of things beyond his sphere, yet the advantages of school were denied him. Wading up and down the stream near his home with small fellows accompanying their fath ers to the old corn mill near by. serviug them and guiding them, seemed to him an hour and a great pleasure. The people composing this family were white —pure Anglo-Saxon. Without pride, without ambition, without educa tion, without even a reasonable amouut of mother-wit, and without an average native or developed sense of the value of virtue. And these people brought into the world another being; and the fore going was Ilia environment, his opportun ity. This is not a typical family of this section, nor of any other section in North Carolina; but in every section there are to be found examples like upto this one of real flesh and blood. Disease overtook the pareuts. They ] died during the same season. The sou. the boy. just passing thirteen years of; age, was undersized. He had no means of sup|Kirt, no one to care for him just an orphan. He Finds a Home. By neighborhood, common consent, this thirteen year-old boy was giveu a home with a family (distant relatives) that had enjoyed for generations educational and religious advantages. Entering that ( home was an event in the boy's life. , Though practically becoming a slave to j the family, his environment made Ins physical welfare more agreeable than that which surrounded his previous years. | No attempt was made to teach him the ■ lessons of right or wrong: to teach him to read or write; to inspire him with a t hope for a better life; to give him to, understand the sacred things that he . should observe. Enough was done for. him when his nakedness was covered, I and his hunger was checked. He was just an aniiDnl that was permitted shel ter and feed for the work the rlave could strong Arm of the Law Grapple* Him. One Sunday afternoon, when the tarn ilv wbh away attending Sunday School, the boy, having been left home to guard the eowa from the wheat tteldx, withi a childinh curioaHy could not reaiat the temptation to inveatiggte the house, to hint a marvel of bigness and wonder. The young fellow found In a bureau drawer a small sum of money, 'the lor* of money seems to come wl® "Wt breath, and to an untutored child it has even 0 greater charm. The boy took the money (we have not the heart to call It The Concord Daily Tribune Vith Human Lives.—lt Is a is Eternity.—lt Is a an Civilization. stealing I and returned to liis assignee duty. Toon the family's return from church, till* man of the house went di reot to that bureau drawer. Was it ! trap? He discovered the loss. Wlmt would you have done, gentle reader, tin der the circumstances? The following morning this man, faith ful to bis idea of his Sunday duties, for , himself and bis family, sought a local magistrate, swore out a warrant for the thirteen year old boy's arrest. In the county jail the high sheriff placed hint. Fifteen prisoners were in there —all col ored, and, as it so happened, all were | confirmed criminals, serving various sen tences for various crimes. Not a liv ing man volunteered aiil—not a soul gave the boy a passing thought. • The Judge and Solicitor Arrive. There was none to speak for the boy. The court devoured him. The solicitor's prayer for sentence upon this white boy. who made no defense —no appeal for mercy, or even humane justice—was the meanest, coldest utterance ever spoken in the state. In the language of another, ' 4 srA - .a. a- Happy Scene on the Campus qf the Jackson Training School reviewing the course of a certain judge, that solicitor’s act and enthusiasm in putting away that particular yvhite boy, where his could could be properly damn ed, "was as cruel as the grave.” Then the. Judge took a pass at the boy, finished iiis eaSc, in the name of the state and justice and civilization. That particular Judge, if he bad any compas sion, adroitly concealed it. He appeared not to sec the child before him—just it criminal. He asked no questions. The birth, the home, the environment, the op portunity, the cowardly conduct of the great, big stalwart man, who swore out the warrant against hint—none of these the judge ever heard. He coldly, easily and quickly sentenced that small thir teen year old boy to a county “chain gang for three years and six months at hard labor.” And this was the treat ment meted out to a child in a North mb. ■l* jf; -|ft ‘J -§p ~ sT* "" ~ " w ■» V J|% This Chapel Was Given to the Jackson Training School by the King’s Daughters of North Carolina Carolina Superior Court of 18!(0. I A Midnight Warning ! The disposition of that case by the l court was severely criticised by a certain ' paper at the time. The criticism was ! (light a legal friend awakened, the editor | more eloquent titan judicious. in the j to warn him of the committed “contempt lof court." Tlte friendly advice was ap ! predated, but the way out of the diffi culty was too hard and thus declined. The legal friend finally* agreed that the judge might not take cognizance of the I act, since the opportunity was at hand j to use certain conditions, for which the | judge was responsible, in making him | more uncomfortable Hn the eyes of the whole state. But the boy— Why, He Was Chained to a Negro. That .was his condition. The only white person in the group, and chains j and lock around his ankles, keeping step I with a hardened criminal without hope, lor the hope of a hope, building roads for civilization—that was a queer way ,of punishing a boy—a miscarriage of refor mation. J A SYMPOSIUM STARTS TALK IN THE STATE. Unable to put this court tragedy be- j hind, and other boys, with or without*! chance to be what they should, getting j mixed up witli the law, this particular | paper suggested the establishment of a i WATER MELON TIME Reformatory along the lines of a school to handle boys of certain ages. A sym posium by a number of ministers and others deeply interested in the- welfare of children was published in one issue. , Throughout the state it received no lit j tie attention, being favorably eomment :ed upon by the majority. The only big editor of a strong influential paper that did not fully endorse the movement was the late J. P. Caldwell, then of the SJatesville Landmark. Privately this wonderful power in state journalism | wrote: "Your position is correct: the j treatment of certain youthful offenders! is a crime against civilization; there is I a need for just such an institution you suggest; but the old state is so eonservu- j time that she will not listen to you now. I and, being -your friend, I wish to wive I you from a sore disappointment.” When | the state was ready, in the course of time, to do its duty by wayward boys, one of the strongest agencies in shapin the woi-k and getting it started off <> correct lines, was Mr. Caldwell, ofte j consult*d and who never tiled of lent i iug a helping hand, r The First Gubernatorial Recognition. ■ By far as this writer is aware, the firs I governor of Xgrth Carolina to pronouns - | for a Reformatory, as then thought o ■ was Governor Daniel G. Fowle, who, i .lone of his messages to the General As • ' sembiy. recommended the establishmen ■ of such an institution in the state. Hi I | attention was called to the matter dm ■ |ing an. outing at Moreheitd City. Bit j the General Assembly did not act. Nov and then, after that time and up to 1 DOT the subject was agitated, discussed pri and con. In the fall of 1900, the tint! for a vigorous campaign, looking to tin chartering of a Reform School in tin j state by the legislature, seamed propi I tious. Strong Advocates. The aid of the Women’s Clubs and tin King's Daughters was invoked. The sub I’jecti was ably discussed editorially bv Hon. W. C. Dowd Mr. J. I>. Caldwell j the Raleigh News and Observer, the Monroe Journal, the Asheville Citizen, land many other editors and newspapers 1 in North Carolina. I In presenting the matter before the legislative committees, wisdom suggest ed the superior qua fi tics tjoins of tthe j women for that work—and most of it was done by the good women of the* State. So many ideas of the right way of authorizing the establishment of tin* institution developed among legislators and even among the advocates, that it appeared for a time that the cause was hopeless even in the General Assembly of 1907. Among'the most earnest advocates m the General Assembly were Hon. 12. K. t Preston, Hon. J. S. .Manning. Hon. 11. it’.-Red wine. Hon. M. It. Stiekle.v and j others. When a final decision was made Ito eliminate cither in name or op -ration |any prison feature, and to name the in '■ slitulion properly : The Stonewall Jack (Son Manual Training and Industrial School, the prospects for a charter bright . ened. The honor of introducing tile hill that led to the charter of the institution. Jof which we write, belongs to Cel. W. I Penn Wood, the ellivall'ouf member from | the county of Randolph, j CHARTER GRANTED—STARTS HANDICAPPED No movement of any kind in the state was ever started with a smaller finan cial appropriation. Undertaking what was an innovation in the educational life of the state, with so few friends among the politicians anil representative men and women, on a meager ten thou sand dollar appropriation, looked at the time to those who stood for this service as a severe test. There was no looking back. Going out into a barren and an uncultivated field, following up a senti | ment, backed only by a theory, with no available site, scarcely any funds, no wealthy patrons, and the leaders en- I grossed with the public affairs closest to them, the tausr promised slow prog* j ress, calling for cautious acts, no little I wisdom and unconquerable faith. The First Bt ard of Trustees. | In conjunction with certain ladies, who had thrown their earnestness and en thusiasm into the struggle for the char THE BEAUTIFUL CHAPEL THE LATHAM PAVILION Contributed to the Jackson Training School by J, E. Latham, of * Greensboro, N. C. ter, 'Governor Glenn, particularly friendly to the project, cause?! the fol lowing to become the first board of trus lets: Mrs. Stopewafl Jackson, Mrs. W I H- S. Burgwyn, Mrs. G. P. Erwin Mrs | I. tV. Faison. Mrs. A. L. Coble. Mrs. W i.\. Reynolds. Mrs. D. Y. Cooper, Mis> Easdale Shaw: Dr. H. A. Royster. Geo, IU. Watts, E. U. Preston. J. H. Tucker. | I. J. Blair. Caesar Cone, and Jas. P. Cook. They were called together, bv tin Governor, to meet in the Senate Cham ber. in Raleigh, on September 3rd. IDO7. for organization. Governor Glenn im pressed on the board that it was under taking an important task, with difficult obstacles, but the work wits so necessary and important that lie urged all to meet the task with, earnestness and hope. The organization was perfected by the following selection of officers: Jas, P. Cook, chairman ; Dr, H. A. Royster, see rotary; Caesar Cone, treasurer; and the several officers were constituted an ex ecutive committee. At that meeting, be sides other details of perfecting the or ganization. an advertisement calling for propositions for the location of the in stitution was authorized. At this meeting letters of regret were received from Messrs. G. W. Watts anil E. It. Preston, stating that on account of business engagements tlnfy could not serve on the board. Some months after ward, these two vacancies were filled by the appointment of Messrs. I). B. Coi trane and R. O. Everett, who accepted the trust. The Matter of Location. Soon after the publication calling for propositions for the location of the school, offers of sites came from a num ber of points and sources. The discour aging feature of them all was the price asked for said sites, requiring for the most generous proposition all the appro priation except $750.00 and the least favorable one left just $25.00. This for Hie time being seemed.to spell the doom of the cause, a site, ao buildings, no man agement, appropriation exhausted, meant disaster and ridicule. Haxing reached this point iu the long waiting since 1800. the friends of the cause were right up against the wall. Concord Won a Place on the Map. After a conference With several of the | leading citizens., an informal meeting was held in the city hall, presided over i by the late I)r. Robert Simonton Young, j in October, 11)07. At that meeting it was decided to put on aeampaign to raise by! popular subscription ten thousand dol- j lars, In a few days success was attain-1 ed. When the Board of Trustees of the 1 institution met in the Guilford Hotel, in I Greensboro, a full attendance of the I trustees being noted, the question of lo- j cation was taken Up. It is recalled that! Mr. Caesar Cone, who took a deep in-! terest in the entire matter, remarked: "I could raise a much larger amount than j the best offer before us, but for good and j sufficient reasons and for tin* especial ] sake of the school, 1 think it should be! located near Concord; therefore. I move! that we accept the proposition made ns i by the citizens 1 oft Concord." Mr. Cone s ! motion was unanimously adopted. While no subscription was large, it is ; SCHOOL BUILDING g! School Building at the Jackson Training School Showing Auditor ium in the Rear a pleasing fact that it is rare to find a subscription fist more numerously sign ed than was the one circulated in the in terest of securing a site for the location lof the school. It is but right to say. in jtliis connection, that those in charge of ■ the institution have never wanted for a ! friendly interest and co-operation on the 1 part of the good and substantial people ! of the community. An Ideal Isu it ion ( I Visitors from every section of the ! state and from without, stopping over, , have remarked upon the splendid loca tion. One woman, who lias visited a i number of institutions, and Who Ims had to do with the management of one. re- I marked: "It seems that this spot was specially made for the Stonewall Jack son Training School." It is three miles southwest of the statiou in Concord, and the property includes within its bounds a little less titan three hundred acres— this. then, is the gift of Concord. , THORUOGH INVESTIGATION—DEF- I IN’ITE PLANS. Before a single item of building ma- I teriql had been considered, or any move ' made lo put into existence what had I been developed on paper, a member of I t lie Board spent near a month, praetical | l.v as nn inmate, in a most splendid in- I stitution in the state of Pennsylvania. | merely for the purpose of information. I This particular institution at that time | hud been the most successful of its kind in all the country, and represented an j expenditure of more than a million dol lars. The superintendent, a scholarly and very practical Baptist minister, took a lively interest in (he work before his North Carolina brethren, and warned us against errors and mistakes. So before a brick was ever laid, the character of the buildings to make up the plant of the Jackson Training School was decided up on ; and the location* agreed uiton. Selection of Superintendent. In November 1907. the Executive Com mittee having been instructed by the * FAIR AND * » INDUSTRIAL ® * EDITION « Board to select a superintendent of the institution, and having considered the fitness of various parties for the posi tion. offered t lie superintendency to Prof. Walter Thompson,; then in charge of the city schools of Concord. Mr. Thompson accepted, and with the first of the year, 1908. 'lie began service. Taking every precaution to avoid errors, he, too, spent a while in the institution heretofore mentioned. Active building of two cot tages (called cottages to designate a sys tem other than the dormitory idea) was commenced in early spring. The Struggle of 1908. The cost complete of a cottage today is $24,000. How t lit* Board could erect two cottages! and meet the superintend ent's salary with a capital in hand of only ten thoussand dollars was a prob lem. lt\was necessary and imperative lo erect two cottages, for that was the smallest plant with which operation could he begun : ami the instifwtirtn lhiist be ready for service by the first of 1900, or else a long drawn-out campaign might have to be gone over again. It is a fact that the generosity of the King's Daughters of the state, assisted by the X. C. Federation of Women's Clubs, who unitedly contributed five thousand ' dollars at the time, prevented an abso lute failure. It is, also, a fact to keep body and soul together Bupt. Thompson parted with his old (family) gray horse; and modesty prevents relating what the other party in that struggle parted with. One cottage was complete by Christ mas; the second nearing completion; but not a range, nor a bed. nor table, nor chair nor any one thing that goes into the furnishing of a home for thirty boys was in evidence, and not a cent, avails able or due with which to purchase same. A Chrisimas Visit. Between Christmas of 1908 and New Year's Day. Mrs. J. I’. Cook visited fur niture factories at Thomasville and High I’oiut. securing the donation of sufficient furniture for one cottage; in Salisbury she secured from merchants table linens and other necessities; and in Charlotte, from Darker & Gardner, enough knives, forks and s|*k>im to supply the needs of thirty-six individuals and later a piano from the same firm. By an entertain ment given in Concord, Mrs. Cook rais ed the funds to pay for all the crockery and tableware needed, also for the pur chase of a two-horse wagon.(These are the outstanding articles scoured- in a campaign of less than four (jl.'iW Other Good Samaritans. What's the use of dining tables, cups and saucers, dishes and spoons, beds and chairs in a house-keeping game, even with food, when no range and pots are at hand. The day of the bake-oven out in the yard had passed; and, no chimney was large enough to hang enough pots to supply the food for thirty or more people. There came walking out from among (Continued on Page Thirty-eight.)
The Concord Daily Tribune (Concord, N.C.)
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Oct. 10, 1923, edition 1
37
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