Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Feb. 17, 1927, edition 1 / Page 1
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AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TR1 CHARLOTTE, N. C. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION (A paper read at the Twelfth Annual Presbyterian Workers’ Con ference, held at Johnson C. Smith University, Jan. 25-28.) By Prof* A. H. Reasoner “So built wje the wall for the people had a mind to work.”— Neh. 4: 6. This is a “Workers’ Confer ence,” and I wish to hold before you the idea of work,—W-O-R-K —as a very pleasant part of our very existence, since my subject, “Industrial Education,” deals with training the student for systematic work. Industrial Education brings t^ our minds the undeniable fact that we are living in an indus trial age and the demands of this industrial age bring to the Church, especially' the Presbyte rian Church, a problem that should not be side-tracked and turned away, but which should be fearlessly and frankly met by the Presbyterian Church and by all the Churches of Jesus Christ, because this problem has with it an invitation and an opportunity for the Church to use industrial ism for the glory of God and for the welfare and blessing of mankind. The influence of modern indus try is touching all the avenues of our daily life; so much so that we are positive in saying that modern industry is now changing the character and the influence of what we consider the most vital and fundamental institutions of human society, such as the home, the school, the church and the state. We start, first, with the stu dent. We give him a course in applied industries along with his literary work and thus change the whole trend and spirit of hi* —education. In the phst a stu dent would start in school, learn to read, write and figure, learn a little Latin grammar, a little French and German, and then, oh my! he would stick his thumbs in his vest pocket and strut around and feel as though he were too well educated to soil his hands with manual labor. An industrial education helps to take these foolish ideas out of the student’s mind and so trains his head, his heart and his hands that work becomes to him a privilege and a blessing. Illustration A student had been to school and had returned home after school closing for his summer vacation. Everything went along all right until the father asked his son about helping with the summer hoeing. The boy thought that now was a good time to show off some of his school learning- This boy had studied a little Latin, mind you, so when the father said, ‘ Can you plow today?” the boy an swered the father by saying, “Amabam.” The father said, “Son, I don’t understand what you are saying, but it is time to go to work.” The boy an swered again by saying, “Ama-, bas.” And when the father tried to reason further with this son about his work, the boy said, “Amabit.” The father finally became vexed with his son and said, “Now, look here, son, I don’t know about this high-fa luting stuff they are teaching you at school, but I know this much,—“If you don’t take this hoe-abas and go in the field-abas and chop-abas that cotton-abas then I am going to break-abas your back-abas with this stick abas.” Of course, this boy got busy at once and went to hoeing. This student is typical of a few that we may find in any school in any part of our nation. However, we cannot put the blame for this attitude entirely upon the student; dbcsubc vcij often the teacher and even sometimes the preacher re gards work as an affliction from which we must run away. I wish to declare before this Workers’ Conference that work is not an affliction. We are not to be pitied because we have to work and we are not to pity ourselves. Work is not an affliction- The trouble is that we are cursed with the inheritance of a lot of false ideas which have been handed down to us along with our civilization. Although we are workers here in America, yet we are badly bitten with these false ideas. Our whole at titude today toward work seems to be that it is something which we must escape if we possibly can and'do just as little as we can. The idea of education that still lingers is the idea which was the basis of the old universities and private schools of Europe of which our institutions of learn ing are lineal descendants. This idea is that education is for the “gentleman,” that the “gentle man” is the man who does not have to work, but has others to work for him. ' This idea is that education is for the gentleman and for tHose who need to be trained to look after his interests: the lawyer, to care for his property; the doc tor, to attenu to his health; the priest to see to his soul’s salva titon and the teacher to in struct his children. Do you notice that most reg ular college courses today are aimed to fit a man for one of these callings? The inference from this would seem to be that the hard work of the world is to be done by those who fail in their attempt to get a soft job. ’ ' It is- this septic action that causes the element of bitterness and turmoil in the labor world. It rankles in the bosom of the I. W. W- It blazes forth in the hot protest of the soap box ora tor,—this notion that somehow work is a misfortune, a calami ty, hard luck, and that one who has to labor for wages is an un fortunate one. Members of the Conference, in some way or oth er, we will have to educate our people out of these false convic tions. This false spirit perme ates even our literature. me novelist is sure of our tears when he describes the farm hand who has to pitch hay in the hot sun; or the woman who is compelled to mend her chil dren’s clothes, to wash the dish es and to make the beds; or the wretched clerk who has to wait on customers all day and then come home to his boarding house at evening with nothing to eat but plain food and he has to sharpen the wrong end of a match in order to pick his teeth, and he never has the price of a manicure and he cannot go to cabarets, cannot buy flowers, nor own an automobile, nor go to the dance halls and do the Charleston. Sometimes a mother gets this false idea in regard to work for her children. She is furious when the new teacher suggests that her boy be taught manual training. Indeed she does not send her boy to school to learn to set type, nor to carve wood, nor to be an^ engineer. She wants him to get out of his class and be a doctor, a lawyer or a bank er. In the plan to teach him how to work she thinks she scents a deep laid scheme to keep her boy from rising. These are false ideas of edu cation and work. But when we turn to facts, to real facts, they are different. For the tact is this, that tne happiest people in the whole country are those who get up and go to work. The people | who eat breakfast in bed and work when they feel like it, or not at all, are mostly seekers of trouble and very often find ers thereof. The laws of work are fundar mental and unchangeable. All i T*| the economic systems and so cialistic schemes and tricks and organizations and theories are not going to change the rock-bot tomed and copper-riveted fact, that the hustler will get along better than the loafer. No power on earth can pre vent the man who is trained for his job and loves his work from rising and leaving beneath and behind him all those whose eyes are on the wage and who do as little as they can to get it For every one house of the idle where there is peace and contentment and love, where things go along smoothly and the members of the family are sitting around-hating each oth er, or devising new forms of de vilment, you can find one hun dred houses where papa works at his job every day, mamma is as busy as a tyee, looking after the children and keeping every body fed, clothed and decent, and the children work in school with their lessons by day and study their arithmetic by night. All of these busy folks are hap py; for happiness is a by-pro duct of work. Contentment is a plant which grows along the ground. It does not bloom far up in the delectable mountains, but right down at our feet. Those who are surely having a good time are the motor-men, engineers, bricklayers, the long shoremen, dry-goods clerks, gro cery boys, house-wives, bankers, lawyers. ministers, teachers, store-keepers, manufacturers, editors and all those who are busy about the world’s work. These folks who carry on the world’s work get a lot more out of life,4han stage Johnnies and lounge lizards. Work is better than play, but most folks hate to admit it. Now, right here I must gh back and say a word about my text- Nehemiah was not a so cialist, nor a bolshevist, nor an I. W. W., nor a communist. No such system animated him, but he was a man of God who had the interest of his people in his heart. He believed in the indus trial education of his people and in the industrial activity of' his people for God. Nehemiah took a lot of He brews whose parents had got ten their industrial training in the universities of Egypt where their teachers were hard task masters who had made them take the very highest degrees in the knowledge of hard work —Nehemiah took this lot of He brews and used their science and work for the glory of God, build ing the walls of the city and the Temple and re-instating divine worship in Jerusalem. The Problem Industrialism Brings to the Presbyterian Church. Since there are hundreds and thousands of Negro boys and girls in the Southern States who would not get any kind of edu cation at all if it were not for the interest and devotion of the Presbyterian Church, U. S- A., there comes before us part of the problem in the form of stu dents asking for industrial train ing on one hand and the mod ern industrial world on the oth er hand calling for trained men. Many positions are open for the trained man in whatever line he is proficient. Some one has said that “One well trained man is worth more than ten untrained men.” So, with the hundreds ana thousands of students looking to the Presbyterian Church for an education and the demand of this industrial age for trained men, the Presbyterian Church is brought face to face with the opportunity to meet the issue. At Harbison College, which is a Presbyterian institution, locat ed at Irmo, S. C., we have the foundations of a system, which, when fully developed, will put us in line to meet this issue in our community. The first thing necessary to give students an industrial edu cation on a large scale is land for a ‘location. This we have. lias blessed us at Harbison over four thousand acres d which is rich with all the biasings of nature. We have tixpber, we have birds, bees, floorers, rabbits, squirrels* ’pos suAis; we have between three an| four miles of the Broad riv erpolling its way past our land; we> have fish and snakes and ducks and everything else that gofs along with four thousand aeries of woodland and farm land. <4§t our agricultural depart ment, which is under the super vision of a competent agricultur ist, we raise vegetables, cotton, cor* i, cane, sweet potatoes, peg rs and manufacture molasses from sugar cane. In our literary department the students are- taught by a corps of competent teachers who instruct the students In dif ferent educational branches, rub bing off the rough corners and taking them through a complete normal course. For Future Development. We are planning the erection of a trades’ building where a number of the principal modern building trades will be taught. There will be separate depart ments for bricklaying, carpen try,/; plumbing and modern ma chine shop practice, plastering, shoemaking and electricity. Thefte departments will be equipped with modern, uprto dat<J machinery. The machine sho$ will deal principally in au tomobile repair work. In view of these developments the I Board’s architect, Mr. La mont, from New York, has been to Harbison College and looked over; the location for such a building. We are also making some pre limjjjary preparations by in crewing the units in our Power house. At present we are in stalling a new 100 horse-power high-pressure steam boiler to in crease our power output. Also a nei well has been bored 100 feet deep. These new units will take care of the increasing de mands for water and power at the college and will also take care of the new building. Our present electric light' and power plant is capable of send ing electricity in any direction for four or five miles around, because we generate our current at twenty-three hundred volts and stop it down at the buildings to the domestic 110 volts. This plant will take care of our new building. The trades’ building will be built just as soon as our great Presbyterian Church gets over its present financial difficulties and we get enough money ahead. Adding modern industrial features to our schools may pos sibly change some of our reli gious ideas, especially over in in South Carolina. Over in South Carolina we believe that Heaven is a place to rest. One brother got up in a meeting and said, “Brothers and sisters, when I get to Heaven I just want to spend one whole year sitting around the throne of God.” This brother over in South Carolina may be correct about sitting around the throne for one whole year, but I cannot get into my head the idea that God will have a bunch of loafers hanging around His throne. The Bible and nature and all of creation give us the evidence of a Creator who works. Since He works, those about Hiim His children, will work. Therefore, Heaven is not going to be one everlasting meeting house, nor an eternal rest, nor any sort of glorified idleness, but a world of souls happy and blessed because they work/all busy and produc ing something for the common good, every man in his place un der the Master who said, “My Father worketh hitherto and I work.” God created the universe and gave the Ten Commondments many centuries ago; neverthe less, He works all the time, rais (Continued on page 4) A WONDERFUL MEETING AT MART POTTER SCHOOL. ,x. By L- Smith, Reporter Timothy Darling church has just closed one of the most won derful revival meetings that has ever been held in Oxford. Rev, Benjamin F. Glasco, of Pitts burgh, Pa., conducted the meet ings. He is a man of rare evan gelistic gifts and possesses marked intellectual and spiritu al power. There is where his success lies—in his strong spir itual life. The meeting began January 26th. In fact it began January 23rd- Dr. Shaw and Rev. Davis preached strong evangelistic sermons on that date. The la dies of the church held cottage prayer meetings in several part$ af the town Monday and Tues day afternoons. On Wednesday afternoon they all came togeth er at the church and held a most interesting prayer meeting. Dr. 3haw and Rev. Davis preached to large audiences on Monday and Tuesday nights and the people were spiritually aroused. 3o when Rev.' Glasco arrived Wednesday the minds and hearts of the people to a large extent were ready for the strong and inspiring spiritual messages he had for them. After the first night our church, which will accommodate about 500, became overcrowded. The closing services were held in our chapel and more than 1000 were present, many peo ple coming from the country and neighboring towns- The men’s meeting Sunday afternoon was one of the most impressive ser vices I have witnessed. More than 150 men were present. One or two outstanding sinners were converted at this meeting and several others came forward and asked the prayers of the people. The entire body of men were moved to tears. Many who were members of the church asked for prayers, pledging themselves to live in the future out and out for Christ and to be active in the church. During tne meeting tne en tire student body reconsecrated themselves to Christ or accepted Him for the first time. So the school is now 100 per cent for Christ. There were many con verts among the people of the town. And almost the entire crowds of people who attended reconsecrated themselves to the Master’s service A noticeable and impressive fetaure ot the meeting was the hearty cooperation of all the ministers of the town. Every one of them attended and took an active part in the meetings. The one or two who did not at tend were out of town and sent their regrets that they could not be present. The meeting, I am sure, will be long remembered and its in fluence felt. As a result of the meetings there will be several] accessions to the church next Sunday, February 13. Most all the other churches if not all of them, will receive accessions. EMERSON’S WOMAN’S MIS SIONARY SOCIETY, BLACK VILLE, S- C We ought to try for the sal vation of all, but we find that our best prospects of success lie in our young folk. For this cause the Woman’s Missionary Society of Emerson has thrown its arms open to the young folk. Our last meeting was held Thursday, February 10, with Mrs. J. M. Miller. At this meet ing the young folk prepared a surprise for the society and ren dered a splendid program with out asking assistance of any one. All present enjoyed their program and were spiritually uplifted. Business of importance was then transacted, the silver offer ing being good. Delicious refreshments were served by Mrs. J- M. Miller. A MEMBER. 1 ■' II II .J. [ ■ I J USE OP TERRA COTTA IN CHURCH CONSTRUCTION To show how beauty in build ing can be made to promote the influence of the church today, the National Terra Cotta Socie ty, New York, has issued a booklet pointing to the close connection through ages past between the church and the de velopment of architecture. “The problem of the churches of all denominations,” the book let sets forth, “is whether their influence is to prevail in larger measure in the affairs of man kind or is to sink gradually to a secondary place among the act uating forces of modern life.” The church in the past it is recalled, expressed itself often in architecture, and was responsi ble for some of the highest de velopments of that art. Photo graphic examples are shown of how architecture can be em ployed to appeal to the human heart, through beauty and sym bolism. Illustrations include terra cot ta ornamentation on the fa mous church of Santa Maria del Carmine, . at Pavia, Italy; Church of the Holy Trinity, New York City; Church of St. Thom as the Apostle, Chicago; Euclid Avenue Baptist church, Cleve land; Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Newark; St. Dominic’s Priory, San Francisco; Church of the Sacred Heart, New Or leans ; Carmelite Monastery, Santa Clara, Cal.; Temple B’nai Jeshurun, Newark; Divine Sci ence church, Denver; Holy Ghost church, Denver; and tire former Madison Square Preby terian church, New York City* The Italian church pictured, was constructed in 1390 and its decorated terra cotta is still in perfect condition. Permanence of this material, it is explained, is obtained in the firing which consumes all the perishable substances of the natural clay from which it is formed, leaving only the per ishable to go into the building. The manner of terra cotta’s production, moreover, is said to impart to it especially the great est possible resistance to inju ry by flames. Owing to this fact that in the process of pro duction, terra cotta is passed through heat greater than gen erated in most conflagrations, it thus affords the most secure protection against fire risks. The decorative possibilities of the material are enhanced by the fact that in its original form, as clay, it can be modeled into a wide variety of beautiful forms without laborious chisel ing or carving. The process of moulding makes duplication of these forms possible with the minimum of effort and expense. NEWS FROM JOHN’S ISLAND. On the first day of the year, 1927, several of the churches united and celebrated the Eman cipation Proclamation with the Rev. T. A- Robinson as principal speaker. Dr- J. M. Miller ac companied the speaker here. We were indeed delighted to have him, J. M., Jr., and the other gentleman that was in the party. Rev. Robinson gave us an address that will linger in our minds for a long time. Two of John’s Island’s best men whc witnessed this occa sion have passed into the great beyond whence travelers never return. Mr- J. C. Simmons, of the Baptist church, died Jan. the 15th. He leaves a wife, three brothers, two sisters and a host of relatives and friends to mourn. Mr. Simmons was a very useful man in the community. For many years he conducted one of the best passenger and freight boats running between John’s Island and Charleston. In the meantime he kept a store and worked a small farm., He held some of the highest offices in the Odd Fellows’ Lodge and (Continued on page 8)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Feb. 17, 1927, edition 1
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