VOLUME XI.
LENOIR, N. C, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1885i
NUMBER 13.
"Wallace
Bros.,
STATESVILLE, N. C.
WhoIesalE Dealers
i "it'-
Geneial Mercnanoise.
-Xol-
Eargest Warehouse
and best facili
ties for han
dling Dried Fruit. Ber
ries, etc.. in
..'
the State.
RESPECTFULLY
"Wallace
Bros
-August 27th, 1884.
A QUESTION ABOUT
Browns Iron
Bitters
ANSWERED. t
Ths Qiuwtkm ha probably been asked thousands
of time. "How can Brown'. Iron Bitten eon every
thine?" Well, it doesn't. Bat it doe cure maj dueasa
for which re pa table physician would preaeribe 1HQM
Physicians reoogniize Iron a. the beet reetormtiT
agent known to the profession, and inquiry of any
loading chemical firm will substantiate the assertion
that there are more preparations of iron than of any
other eabstanee used in medicine This shows con
eluaively that iron is acknowledged to be the most
important factor in socceesf ul medical practice. It is,
however, a remarkable f-wrt, that prior to the disoor
ery of BROWN'S IllOi BITERSno perfect,
ly satisfactory iron combination had ever been fonna.
BROWN'S IRON BinERS
heatliffhe, or prodnos constipation UI wtber Iron
rnedicinea da. KUOWN'M IRON BITTERS
emres iBdlsjeetlsm, Biliensneen, Weakness,
Dyspepsia, MsJairia, Chills ud Ferers,
Tired FeeUnsj.GeaersU DebUity.Pala to the
Bide Back or LlmlM,neadaehesadNewrU
Tin for all these ailments Iron is prescribed daily.
BROWN'S IRON BinERS.Srsztr:
minnte. JUke aB other thoroorh medicines, it acts
slowly. When taken by wvmibm first symptom of
benefit is renewed energy. The muscles then become
firmer, the djjrestkm improves, the bowels are active.
Inwna the effect is usually more rapid and marked.
The eye begin at once to brighten; the skin clears '
np; healthy color comes to the cheeks: nervousness
aiatppears; functional derangements become regu
lar, and if anundng mother, abundant sustenance
supplied for the child. Bemember Brown's Iron
Bitters is the ONLY iron medicine that is not tn
Jnrious. rkyician and DruggUU rteommtmi it.
The Genuine has Trade Mark and crossed red IlnM
on wrapper. TAKB NO OTHER
CLINTON A. CELLEY,
Attorney-At-La7,J
PraotUe ia AH Tlxe Courts.
THE COINAGE OF SILVER.
A Plain and Comprehensive Statement of
the Case from the Standpoint of
an Unrestricted Silver Currency.
To the Editor of the Lenoir .Topic :
When the United States began to
coin gold and silver dollar3,they were,
of course, made equal in valiie. But
silver arid gold, like all other com
modities that are sold and exchang
ed, have fluctuated in value! as the
supply of, and demand for each have
fluctuated. It has followed that
sometimes the silver dollar has been
worth more than the gold dollar and
sometimes less. At present it is
worth less. . j - . ?
To remedy this perhaps temporary
evil, some persons advocate the sus
pension of the coinage of silver dol
lars till the limit thus put to the
supply of them makes them worth
us much as gold dollars. This may
seem plausible to a careless reasoner,
as it seems to be founded on the unu
versal law that the value of things
is regulated by the proportion be
tween the supply and demand. But
the reasoning in favor of this. plan
for increasing the value of the silver
dollar is founded on a 'fallacy easily
understood and exposed, i
By coining silver into dollars the
government gives assurance that
every dollar of silver stamped at its
mints contains the same weight of
silver, reduced to the same degree
of fineness ; just as it gives assur
ance that the bushels of grain meas
ured in its stamped bushel J measure
are all of equal size, and that the
yards of cloth measured with
stamped yardstick arc all of
same length. ! '
i But the government does not
its
the
de-
t'ermine, and cannot fix the value,
the purchasing power, of the silver
which is in the dollar, just as it can
not fix the value of the wheat that
is in the full bushel, nor of the cloth
that is of even length with the yard
stick. The value of silver, and, in
consequence, of ' the dollars into
which part of it is coined, like thie
value of wheat and cloth, and of all
things that are sold or exchanged,
is determined by that same great
law of supply and demand and can
, not be fixed by any law of congress.
But congress may indirectly di
minish the value of silverj as well
as of any other product of human
labor and skill, :by passing laws
which limit or tax its manufacture,
use, sale or exchange ; and by such
legislation as to silver may , in conse
quence diminish the value of the sil
ver dollnr. lias it not already com
mitted this great error ? !
Most of the silver produced from
the mines is either manufac tured by
silver smiths into the various pro
ducts of their skill, or by govern
ments into money. ; To suspend the
coinage of silver into money would
be, to cut off the principal demand
for it. Under the operation of the
law of supply and demand, this
wonld lessen, instead of increasing
the demand for, and in consequence
the value of silver. "! And as the value
of tb silver dollar depends on the
; value of the silver contained in it,
it follows that to suspend :the coin
age of the silver dollar would make
the value of the silver dollar less
instead of greater. f
At the same time the free coinage
of gold would not only keep up; the
price of gold, but as it would be the
only metal that could be coined into
dollars, the scarcity of money which
would follow the suspension of the
coinage of silver would increase the
demand for gold, and under this
same universal law of supply and
demand, would increase its value,
and thus increase the value of the
gold dollar. " M
The limitation of the. coinage of
the silver dollar already enacted has
the-same tendency, though in a less
degree. '
This reasoning, founded on a well
known law, is so simple and clear
that any unlearned person of ordi
nary intelligence can easily under
stand it, and it is difficult to com-
Erehend how an unbiased mind can
elieve it to be false. It is not with
out confirmation by the practical
test of experiment. The demoneti
zation of silver, or limitation of its
coinage and legal tender quality, by
several European nations, followed
by the limitation of its coinage by
our government, has been followed
by a distiessing scarcity of money,
and by an increased disparity in
value between the gold and silver
dollars. I
The remedy for these great
the cause of which is thus so
nroved bv reasoning, and! has
evils,
easily
been
so brought into ugnt ana connrmea
by experience, is not to limit or sus
pend the coinage of silver, which
would only aggravate them both ;
but to remove all restrictions from
the coinage of silver, and by its free
coinage increase the demand for it.
This would increase its - value, and
in consequence the value of the dol
lar made of it. At the" same time
by making money more abundant it
would diminish the value of the gold
dollar. And thus the disparity in
value between the silver 3 and gold
dollars, would be greatly diminished,
if not entirely removed. Our dollars
would be cheaper, because there
"would be more of them ; and yet at
the same time better, because they
would be more nearly equal in value.
The platform of the old darkey
on the liquor question had at least
bf
being short. He was
iquor and better liquor'
and cheaper liquor. In words that
are short and sweet, the free coinage
of silver would give us more money,
and better money, and cheaper mo
ney. .' ..' '"'.-- - '.'' v"
Others,
who are willing thatsilver
dollars should be coined
freely say
in Ku ill.
that theiri weight
creased till the silver in the silver
dollar is worth as much as the gold
in the gold dollar. They argue in
support of this measure that the sil
ver in the silver dollar is now worth
only eighty cents in gold coin, and
that for thi3 reason the silver dollar
has become a dishonest doll.irj' a:;d
to call it it dollar is to call eighty
cents a dollar, j There is a fallacy in
this reasoning as easily : exposed ms
that whicji we have just disposed of.
Tq state the value of the golJ dol
lar in silver coin, is to state only how
the silver land gold dollars compare
in value with each other. It does
not state the actual value, the pur
chasing power, the amount of other
valuable articles besides gold or sil
ver, which either of them will pur
chase. They may have changed in
their comparative value, so its t
make one
comparatively -more valu-
able than
tho other, while at thb
same time both may have increased
in actual jvalue, or both may have
diminished in actual value.
To learh whether both, or either
of them has changed in actual value,
we must do more than examiue their,
relative value. e must ascertain
their purchasing power in buying
things besides each other, at the pe
riods of comparison. Examining by
this test, we find that the silver dol
lar will buy more corn, wheat, hay,
cotton, wool, beef, pork, iron, lead,
copper, more of every thing, except
gold, that is produced from all the
fields and forests and mines and
manufactures, and by all the hosts
of productive laborers of our ceuu
try, than; it would ten or twenty
years since. j
The silver dollar has then increas
ed, instead of diminished, in actual
value. The creditor who lent gold
dollars tpn or twenty years ago, and
is repaid j now, principal and interest,
with silver dollars, gets dollars for
which his debtor would have to pay
more of liis other property now, and
which will buy; more for the creditor
than it would have done when the
creditor made the loan. The only
dishonesty, if any, connected with
the transaction, is in the blundering
legislation which, by restricting the
coinage of silver, while the coinage-'
of gold is left free, has made money
so muchjscarcer, and at the same
time has; increased so much the dis
parity in the value of the gold and
silver dollars, j
We will illustrate in another way
the absurdity of 'the charge that the
silver dollar is not an honest dollar.
Suppose that a creditor lends one
hundred dollars, and rating rye for
future delivery at fifty cents a bush
el, and porn at fifty cents a bushel,
takes a note from his debtor payable
in two Hundred bushels of rye, or
two hundred bushels of corn, at the
choice 'of the debtor. And that
when the note ifidls due corn, in open
market lis worth sixty cents a bushel
and rye; seventy-five cents a bushel. .
If the debtor should then tender
to the creditor two hundred bushels
of cornj in payment of the note, the
credito would be laughed at, and
considered rapacious, who would de
mand two hundred and fifty bushels
of corn in payment of the note, be-;
cause tpe corn! which he was offered
in payment for his one hundred dol
lars, was worth only one hundred
and twenty dollars ; whereas if the
debtor Ihad brought him two hundred
bushels of rye in payment, the rye
would have been worth one hundred
and fifty dollars ; and would say
that the bushels of corn tendered
to him were not honest bushels, un
less his debtor would add a peck to
each bushel, so as to, make it worth
as much as the bushel of rye.
When he made the contract he
put a price on the grain at which he
chose to take it rather than the mo
ney ; and he would be doing much
better to get the corn than the mo
ney. If corn had been worth only
forty cents a bushel, and he had lost
by the contract, it would have been
his own contract, honestly fulfilled
by the debtor.
If the note had been payable, in
money, then by our law it would
have been payable in either silver or
gold, Jat the choice of the debtor
Suppose that it had been given ten
years jago, and the interest kept paid
till now, and that the debtor now
offers one hundred dollars in silver
in discharge of the note. If the
creditor demands gold, or one hun
dred jind twenty-five dollars in silver,
and says that the silver dollars are
dishonest dollars, because they are
worth less than the gold dollars, the
debtor, with sounder reasoning and
more; honesty than the creditor, in
the case first supposed, displayed in
his argument about the corn, may
replyas follows :
"When yon lent me the money I
spent! it for corn, and it would only
buy me two hundred bushels. I re
turn the money to you now, when,
owing to the scarcity of money,
caused in great part by the law lim
iting the coinage of silver, I have
had tb sell two hundred and A fifty
bushels of corn to get it. And you
can buy two hundred and fifty bush
els of corn with it, and 'more, in
like proportion, of other goods. I
the merit
for more
do not say that it jis dishonest in you
to require it all of me. Yon only
make me fulfill nry contract. But I
do say that there is no dishonesty on
mjy part, in paying yju so fully, and
in a sense over paying you ; and that
it would certainlyj be dishonest in
ye n to exact in addition, the differ
ence in value between the silver and
tlie gold, merely beciuse it would
make yon that much richer and me
tliiat much poorer!"-
-When we consider the vast amount
of the debts due to the holders of
thie bonds of the federal government
arid of the States, cities, counties,
towns, villages and townships, the
principal and interest of all of which
mtist be paid by taxing the people ;
and to the holders of jrailroad bonds,
which must be paid br the people in
increased freights and fares ; and of
the private debts whiih must be paid
hf the debtors frdim ihe proceeds of
the productive labor jof the country;
and that even thej silver dollar has
a much greater purchasing power
than it had when
most of this vast
load of debt was
contracted : who,
seeking only to know how equal jus
tice may be done jbet iveen a people
so debt-ridden, aud ;heir creditors,
so fortunate in the increased value
of the dollars du them, can fail to
see that, if the jfatib between the
gold and silver dollars must be re
adjusted, it should be by making the
gold dollar less, jnstead of making
the silver dollar larger ?
. jBut no readjustment of the ratio
between the gold anjl silver dollars
can be prudently! made till it is
known by actuiil tjxj e.ience how
much the free co nage of silver, by
increasing the demand for silver,,
anjd supplying the demand for mo-;
ney, will increase) the value of silver-
ana lessen the value ot gold, and
th
us modify or remove the difference
in
the comparative value of the gold
and silver dollars!
t may be that
h er will restore
n value, or even
the free coiuage of s
again their equality
once more make the! silver dollar
worth more than! the gold dollar
That the purchasi
silver dollar has 1 increased, instead
of j becoming lessf after the heavy
blow given to the va
ne of silver by
that it is still
limiting its coinage
so
nearly equal in value with the
gold dollar, is strong evidence of the
wonderful stability Of the value of
silver, and of itsjsuiierior fitness to
be'a standard of lvalue.
Another, and a much bolder and
more far-reaching argument, ad
vanced by certain tlieorists in favor
of suspending the coinage of silver,
is pat the evils f having a double
standard of value by making both
gold and silver legal tenders, are so
great that no coin b it gold should
be made a legal tenc er, and silver
should be demonetised, and should
be coined only i?i, liinitd mounts,
as subsidiary coin, or token money,
tojbe used for small change.
trhe world has borne very patient
ly j for a good many thousand years,
the evils Of this cireadfdl double
standard of value. And throughout
all! its history men and nations have
worked hard, and often fought hard,
to get together as much as possible
of both gold and siljver,1 that they
both might be made into money
anid circulated together as legal ten
der coin. M j ,
But though tiro world, and the
flesh, and the detil have borne these
evils so long and so patiently, and
are still so willing to take upon their
shoulders a much greater load of
both the two causes of them ; it ' is
not denied that the 'double standard
of gold aud silver, owing to the fluc
tuations in the comparative value of
these metals, at time3 causes some
inconvenience in thie transaction of
some kinds of business. :
jBut it may bel very easily shown
that the measure by which these
theorists propose to get rid of this
inconyenienoe, would be productive
of far greater evils,! some of which
would be terribly injurious and un
just to all but a comparatively small
portion of the people of (the United
' States. : -. j i . - j
I Our country js producing more
siher than any jother country. Its
demonetization would so depress its
value, and diminish ; its production,
as in a great measure tq close one of
the most prolific sources of our na
tional wealth, besides inflicting a
great wrong and injury upon the
owners and workers of our silver
mines. - , j j
jBut evils to our; 'country much
greater than this would follow the
demonetization j of silver, through
the great scarcity of money which it
would cause, j j j
j We have already, spoken of the
vast load of debt, public, corporate,1
partnership and individual, which
the people of the United States are
carrying. It is estimated by some
writers that even in the present con
dition of the currency it would take
all the property in the United States
to pay all this debt. ; It is believed
that the value of - the silver money
in the world is not far from equal to
the value of the : gold money. De
monetizing so immense an anfount
of money would make money so
much scarcer, that its effect upon
debtors would be as though a pro
portionate amount; were added to
their debts. , j
J The nineteen-twentietb.8, or more,
of the people of the United States,
who owe nearly all of the debts and
taxes with. which the country is al
ready so overloaded, would find that
it would take nearly all of their
substance aud surplus; proceeds of
their labor to pay them, and would
reduce them to a condition of bare
subsistence, while the one-twentieth.
; or: less, to whom the gret:t
ibulk of these debts are to be paid,
and by whom nearly all the gold in
the. country is owned, would find
themselves able to purchase with"
their money and income probably
more than twice as much of the sub
stance and labor of the rest of the
people, as they could before.
The additional burden thus heap
ed upon the debtors and tax payer
would be so disastrous to them and
would bring about such a stagnation
in business, that, though the credi
tors, if they could still collect their
debts, would reap an iimmense har
vest of: gold, of lands, of houses, of
railroads, of wealth of every kind ;
they might; well fear that the debt
ors would be sunk into general in
solvency and bankruptcy, and the
tax payers goaded into the shameful
alternative of repudiation.
Other very evil consequences, per
haps more lasting than these, would
follow the demonetization of silver.
The gold dollar is too small for daily
general birculation. But most of
the daily wages and daily purchases
pf the laborers and small producers
must be paid in sums; less than a
dollar. A large part of these pay
ments are in sums so small that, if
paid in gold, the laborers and retail
dealers would need magnifying glas
ses to 6ee their money and tweezers
to handle it. j i
Then in a country as great, and as
busy as ours, a vast amount of mo
ney, other than gold, jis required for
currency, to conduct the business of
the country. If silver is demonet
ized, then what kind of money will
the great mass of the! people have to
be supplied with to constitute the
bulk of the currency! of the coun
try ? There can be but one answer.
It must be paper money, rag money.
The only very large amount of
j money which the great mass of the
people could then have in common
use, would be the promises of the
government to pay money, the evi
dences of their country's indebted
ness, a heavy load on! the poverty of
the nation, instead of a solid addi
tion to its wealth. In case of great
' national disaster, the! great patriotic
mass of the people would find that
, the only money theyj had to offer
the government in its distress would
be its own promises to pay money,
the production of which would only
add to its embarrassment.
But if the great body of the mo-,
I ney in circulation were silver ; (we
have shown that it cannot be gold ;)
the-people's silver money, instead of
being a burden on the government,
and on them, would be the bright
evidence and solid substance of a
large portion of the nation's wealth
and power, a vast fund in store
ready to honor the nation's drafts
on it.
If silver is demonetized, as gold
cannot become the common curren
cy, nearly all of the gold will be in
the hands of the few who are the
fortunate possessors of great wealth,
while nearly all of the paper money
will be in the hands; of the great
mass of the people, jwho are com
paratively poor. We will have in
effect two kinds of money ; one,
solid and enduring wealth, the other
only promises to pay, which are a
burden on the nation, and to some
extent on the holders, one for the
capitalist and the other for the la
borer and small producer ; gold for
the rich and rag money for the poor.
This will bo in effect class legisla
tion. But class legislation, though
in aristocratic governments it may
be necessary, to maintain the aris
tocracy, is justly odious to us, who
are a free and 8elf governing people,
because contrary to the principle of
civil equality on which our govern
ment is founded. k
If all these gigantic evils, would
follow the demonetization of silver,
surely it would be better tq ! avoid
them, even if in doing so we have
to suffer the occasional and compar
atively slight inconveniences caused
by the fluctuations in the compara
tive values of the gold and silver
dollars. ' . - fj -;
Those who advocate making gold
the sole standard of value have at
least this poor apology for their
course. There is no tenable middle
ground between that measure and
the free coinage of silver!
Newspaper articles, to be read
must be brief. The importance of
the subject discussed in this one has
tempted 'ithe writer to sin against
that first commandment in the law
that should govern! one in writing
for a newspaper. He has - tried to
form his opinions j on it, without
party bias; and in strict conformity
to the truth. He has tried in this
article to express some of them,
which he thinks important, in plain
language, which he thinks can be
easfly understood by plain people,
hoping that it will find some read
ers among them, j ; :
The subject is one on which the
people are not divided by strict par
ty lines. But as ihe writer is a Dem
ocrat, he hopes that he will be ex
cused for observing in conclusion,
that a large majority of those who
favor the free coinage of silver are
Democrats. .
Gold is, more, suitable than silver
for accumulation" i in - large sums. .
Silver is more suitable than gold for
currency, retail business and accu
mulation in small amounts. Gold
is, therefore, principally the money
of the rich; wnile silver is the money
of the great mass of people, of the
toiling hosts whose labor and skill
have produced and developed all the
we'd th of the nation ; and have laid
the solid foundations, and builded
the glorious superstructure of its
greatness and power.
The Democratic party is the party
of the people. It has been, always
and everywhere, the mission i)f tfie
Democratic party to protect and
'encourage labor, to elevate "the la
borers, to improve their condition,
to lighten their burdens, to promote
their education and to proteci jthem
from class legislation; and tbps in
crease the wealth and prosperity
of the nation by guarding jealously
the rights and w.Jl-being of those
whoso labor and skill produce them.
The Democratic party is but ful
filling its missioU and doing its duty,
when it advocates the free coinage of
silver, the people's money.
W. W. Lenoir.
Sh nil's Mills, N. C, Dec. 2.
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, Dec. 4.
To the Editor of TJie Lenoir Topic:
When this letter reaches you the
Forty Ninth Congress will be in ses
sion. Probably the much discussed
question of a successor to vice-Pres-ident
Hendricks will also have been
settled ; though this is not certain.
Indications are that in the caucus of
Republican Senators, to be held to
night there will be a sharpfight be
tween the friends of Senators Ed
munds, Logan and Sherman.
The possibility of either of the
latter Senators being elected to pre
side over the Senate is extremely
distasteful to Democratic Congress
men. ; Logan and Sherman are the
representatives of the bloody shirt
wing of their party. They are both
bitter sectionalists and prospective
f Partisans. It is thought the Hepub
ican Senators ought J at least to
choose a more conservative member
of their body for presiding officer.
Since a Republican has to be taken,
Democratic Senators would prefer
Senator Edmunds, There is consid
erable opposition to him, ; however,
among those who will decide jthe
question. A Republican Senator
said, 1 would bolt Edmunds for
two reasons; first, his attitude in the
last campaign ; and secondly, be
cause of his uncalled for decision
during the last Presidential count."
Senator Edmunds held that the
President of the Senate could exer
cise no judicial function during the
count. "Whether right or wrong,"'
continued the disaffected Senator,
"it was merely an expression of o
pinion, which any Senator might
have made, -but being made at that
particular time and in that particu
lar way, it will always quoted as a
precedent' r
The revision of the rules will be
the first subject brought to the at
tention of the House, and then some
bill providing for the succession of
the Cabinet officers to the Presiden
cy will h:.ve early attention. But
thV great features of the winter's
session will be the silver question,
the tariff and civil service reform.
There is a marked contrast be
tween the situation now and that of.
the week preceeding the opening of
the Forty Eighth Congress. At that
time Representatives Carlisle, Ran
dall, Spriugerand Cox weie actively
engaged in a contest for the Speak
ership. Rival candidates for the'
Eositionsof Clerk,Sergeant-at-Arms,
doorkeeper, House Postmaster, etc,
were busy with their canvasses.
Each arriving Congressman was but
tonholed. Now Mr. Carlisle is con
ceded a re-election without question
or opposition. Mr. Cox is on duty
iu far away Turkey. Mr. Springer
is enthusiastic over his plan for re
vising the Bouse rules, and the dis
tinguished head of the Appropria
tions Committee is devoting his time
to financial literature, atnis quiet
home on Capitol hill.
The last important appointment
made by the President gives great
Pleasure to the Democrats of the
Hstrict of Columbia. It was the
Marshalship of the District, and
Col. Albert Wilson, j a well known
Democratic citizen of Washington,
is the man. He was born within a
few squares of the White House
forty five years ago, and has always
lived in tfiis city. Last evening he
stood in his cozy parlor and received
a stream of friends who called to
congratulate him. !
If is office ia considered the most
valuable Federal office in the Dis
trict. Its compensation is restricted
by Congress to $6,000 a year, any
excess over that amount from the
fees of the office being turned into
the Treasury. ; The patronage of the
office consists of a deputy at 13,000,
a chief bailiff at $1,400, another at
$1,300 and several at $1,100 each.
The office had come in recent years
to be so closely associated with the
President personally, and with the
social ceremonies at the White House
that it was expected to be filled by a
friend of the President. The selec
tion of a Marshal who is identified
with the locality could not but be ac
ceptable to the Democracy of the
.District, i o.;; f -;! ; v - - - ';
! There is a gradual removal of the
Republican clerks, in the Depart
ments here. Men and women, have
drawn salaries month after month
.in Washington under past Adminis
trations without working for them.
Old Department records will show
this. If the people knew how many
worthless clerksthey have supported
! here, without receiving any work in'
return for their; money, they would
be astonished.
The cleaning out is
. Almost every day
slow, but sure.
some of them go from , each depart
ment. ' . -
'The Modern Codes of Teaching.
! ... .., .
To the Editor of, Tlie Lenoir Topic X
It is quite amusing to men of ex
perience and thought to hear some
of the young Americas, among the
class of half fledged teachers in N.
Carolina," speak so flippantly of the
."improved modes of modern educa
tion." Somef these are young per-,
sons who absolutely could not define
the word education; arid yet, because
they have per chance attended a
Normal or two,' so called, or an in
stitute, the exercises of which j were
made upof a mixture of twaddle,,
nonsense aud youthful flirtation, for
a few days at the public expense.
They suppose that all old teachers,
such as Dr. Mitchell, President
Caldwell,, the old man Bingham and
aged teachers of the present day, are
''old fogies" and far in the rear of
tucsc U1UUCIU llgUlSI HUH,
believe in modern improvements;
but the systems, of education that
attempt to substitute any thing in
the- room of profound, persistent,
patient thought in education, misses
the work too far to be entertained
by people of brains.
It may be possible that these mod
ern, improved systems may do all
they propose in their artificial way
without much thinking; for, indeed,
a strict examination of these systems
show that there is very little thought
in them. They draw mechanical
lines upon the olackboard, just as
the old mill-wrights formerly drew
lines for the apprenticed numbskulls,
showing where to saw and where to
mortice, in the construction of a
1 1 11 ll i J.J .
wueei, was au iuai was iieeueu to
make the apprentice a mill-wright ;
and yet, what did he know about
it . ; I ; a 1 . - j o it.
tuu uiiuuijKa virtue niuc; 11c
could go to work mechanically and
make a mill of a certain form ancL
power, with about as much knowl
edge of , the principles of his trade as
a beaver.has .of architecture in the
formation of his dam.
Just so it is in the3e new modes
of acquiring an education. It is an
attempt to become educated without
study; and the effects are being seen
in the great loss of mental power in
universal mind.
In the days; when students were
required todigjupthe rootsof Greek
verbs, decline the old Attic nouns,
and analyzo the complex sentences
of Butler, putting them into clauses
and sentences of good English, we
had scholars of renown in N. Caro
lina. Now, the highest education
aimed at is. to know how most suc
cessfully! to make the everlasting
slsvlt..... nnl ,1 ;- tk L,.rt-
uviiai ) auu bisiiis ii null luc giuaiuaii
rl i c rl ti 7 nf tiAnnnnaa artrl Tlmittali rf
trumpets. K
The writer knows he is conflicting
with nnhlie sentiment ; and that ho
is subjecting himself to the criticism
of some people in N. Carolina, who
think they are very smart.. But, as
he has kept pace with all the ad
vancements of these "modern im
provements," so called, he speaks
his sentiments independently of all
111 al. !
aruoDings mat may iau upon ins
head. I More Axon.
Our Baksrsvilla Letter.
. BakersvIlle, N. C, Dec. f.
To the Editor of TJie Lenoir Topic:
It has been snowing all day and
tne wind Diowmg, so we are eeruju
ly having some cold wcathor in
Mitchell. It appears now t'ut v.e
will have a more severe winter i!i.m
last winter. We have about .seven
months winter and two or three bad
weather. 1
I believe the farmers are uhout
done shucking corn and it is certain
ly a good crop.
Mitchell is a good apple coin try
and there is a super abundance here
but no demand for them yet.
Mrs. S. E. Irby, who has btnu se
riously afflicted for 6ome mouths,
uieu zvin mst. ane was an estima
ble lady and well thought of by all
who knew her. She leaves a hus
band and several children to mourn
their loss. !
Mr. Wesley English was killed by
a saw log rolling over him, " some
days since, on Little Rock creek.
t)ied j instantly, on Bear creek,
abqnt two weeks ago, Mrs. Betsey
Mace. o .
Mr. James McXinney's little girl ,
has been very ill for some time and
no improvement yet.
Mr. J. M. Thomas will immigrate
to Swain county in a few weeks. He
is so well pleased with vThe Tone
that ho proposes continuing his sub-
Mr. Philmore Tolley shot a negro
some days since. The ball went
through the chin and into the swal
low. I don t know all the particu
lars yet, but I think jealousy was
cause of the quarrel. Doctors think
he will recover. This reminds me
you will hardly ever see any negroes
on Big Rock creek. Sometimes a
driver will . go that way with soma
other wagoners to Johnson City, but
Concluded on fourth page.)