THE GBEEHIiaJEINI7
-AN DBS W CTO YOSTS H I
ijcitor Proprietor.
GREEN VrLliE, N. C. MAY 4.1894.'.'
Published :Ev$rv Friday
AT 50 CKNT? A YEAR,
Entered in th PostOflice t?t Green
ville, N. C, as Sond-Olass Matter- t
i
Hurrah Per Ths School.
On March 16 th, less than two
months ago, the Index began to ag
itiite the public school needs in
Greenville, ,At that time the pros
pect was for the children of t hi dis
trict being deprived the bench"; of
public education, -altho' six hundred
dollars were lying'idle in the treasu
ry. Tlie only recourse left the school
committee was to wait for several
years until funds sufficient accumu-
lated to buy a lot aud erct a build
ing. They had done all ihey'coul I.
A wealthy mail who had a building,
charged them $25 per month for one
loom-and there was no other build
ins in town. The Index hated for
the outside world to know the facts.
I ut duty to the public demanded
tome nlain talk. It did 2o t, We
- i
lad almost despaired. The very
week we had determined to oner tne
use of the Delane.v building free of
charge to teach school in this fall.
Col. Skinner came forward and do
nate'! a s dendid lot for a building
and to day we publish a notice to
contractors for bids oiru building
The committee now think, that the
building will b completed ad
school ready to begin by September
first.
The; lesson to be learned from this
is valuable. You "must first have
your heart in your work. Yo ' must
have brain in it, that makes courage
and determination. Criticism can
not thwart or selfishness del eat a
worthy oojeet when properly and
conscientiously and persistently pre
sented to the public. The Index
must say that the Superintendent of
Public Instruction has shown a
strange indifference to the fight for a
free school. Even our enterprising
contemporary, the Reflector, who is
generally alert for news, from the
catching of a shad to the building
of a plank bridge across a town gut
ter, has been as silent as the grave
in this fight and does not even take
interest enough in it to announce the
procuremeat of a lot for a free school
and the probability of a school. It
is thissupi'ieness and indifference to
public matters of material impor
tance -that has caused such a dry rot
among our people, in matters of the
utmost importance to us as a county
in all that tends to practical advance
menrs: Our whole public school sys
tem needs revivifyiug and overhaul
ing. Our roads need more attention and
a better system or plan of working.
But snace forbids further illustration
Wearetiuly thankful for present
progress and promise after the Green
ville school is a finality to pay some
attention to the needs of public
schools all over Pitt county, aud - it
ill be mighty inteiesting reading.
Town Improvement-
In every town there are three ele
ments. Men who are all progress
from an inherent desire to outshine
other , town, regardless of expeiise
debt or the practical utility of their
scheufes. Ainoug this clusi "you most
often find the source of a town's bank
ruptcy or depreciated credit. Many
times they are honest enthusiasts and
are generally led to extremes by an
admiring public, all eventually be
ing brought up standing by somt
slippery financial shark, who has
feasted on spoils while the innocent
and vainglorious were prating over
rhe public spirit of the people.
Then comes another element who
oppose every thing thar- is proposed
by any one but themselves, or vho"
attribute mercenary motives to all
wno favor any progress at all. Among
this. class will be found-old money
bags, who has made his money out
of the people and started out with
money for a God, but it must be his
money before he worships it. This
man seldom pays for a paper, but
borrows it, he loafs, but is not a va
grant, he criticises everything and
everybody else and thinks he is the
universe, when he is simply-a uni
versal nuisance and so regarded bv
all who do no: worship money. But
when any public improvement does
start he is apt to be tile first bird of
prey to light on the carcass and pick
i he official bones, or rob the confid
ing enthusiast. In this class too be
.oi.gs the holiest kicker. He is not
i.ecessarily an old fogy. He really
likes everything after it is all done,
provided it is well done and has not
discommoded him mentally or phy
sical 1 v. He often contributes liber--ally
on the sly, but he kicks and can't
oeipit. God made him so and like
a mule he is a splendid animal and
the world is better off for him, even
w:.th is balks and kicks.
Lastly comes the main body of the
people, composed of men with and
vvitout money, prudent, liberal busi
ness men who do not growl at taxes
and everything eise, industrious, but
poor men, who often cannot pay their
taxes, yet are of more value to the
trade and well being of a communi
ty than a skin-flintor acroesus. This
element has made North Carolina
glorious, it will yet make an embryo
empire 'out of Pitt county and a no
ble town of Greenville. Conserva
tives they are lnjudgment of others,
and in general conduct. Why one
asks, if this is so, does the kicker or
the selfish money bags generally
come but on top in every contest?"
Because there is often not a contest.
Right there is the trouble. This con
servative ciass is apt to be modesL
and non-assertive. They endure the
humiliation of martyrs rather than
seem to be officious or pushing, for
getting that it is on this very ele
ment of their moral strength and
personal charm that the blatant dem
agbgue or schemer or shyster impos
es. Let this conservative element
once get on tire with the true spirit
of patriotism, and tyrants tiemble, or
the desire for reform, and corruption
slinks away, or aroused to the ned
o'f public improvements sufficient to
1
j assert themselves and face a contest
skin-flints, eroakt
ers, old logy, and j
kicke: are always worsted. But it
takes the sord of the bpirit to cOu
qner. There are, i hank God, but
few in Greeu ville who do not wish
to see her improve and advance, the
few are self assertive, active, some
times vicious, even lo 6laader. But
the many wno make the town can
save it from the croakers, from exl
travagance or parsinaouy, if they wiL,
only show that ; courage which is
born of conviction and zeal and love.
P. 23. People are so ."curious now
days we think it proper to say, that
we have no candidate for mayor or
town qouncdman, no ax to grind, ex
cept for the puolic good, and uo offi
cial bee buzzes in the Indisx office.
Joe Blow swears he does not want
any office, .lames Joy tier fills all he
c-n hold m church and sunday
school. W. F. Morrill is so inpdest
he would run if such a thing was
suggested, and the editor has sense
enough to know he is not fit for eith
er plaee and his judgmeut fjor pnee is
approved by a discriminating and
Confiding public.
Thanks-
If tup compliments the iNDLX has
received frowi readers at lioine and
by letters in the past few weeks are
indications of merit, this paper, must
be a good on. In one mail we re
ceived letters of approval and 'sub
scription from one of the highest
State officials at "Raleigh, from a mosj
disti.jguis ed lawyer and ex-editor
.it Tarboro.- from a colored minister
ut Gritton, from a commission mer
chant in Norfolk, two friends in
N"w York, one ach at Chapel Hill.
Whihikers, Wilmington, Washington
and New her ne.
We have fhree lonsr letters from
prominent, men indifferent sections
.commendinir onr Stand. We have
. wanted io publish parts of them
with crmiment for ?everai weeks, our
it has been crowded on thy other mat
ter each weeK Wliile the Index: is
distinctly a Pitt, county paper, it i
gratifying to know that, strangers ap
preciate it, and that home people,
white and colored, and of all politi
cal parties are sustaining it. as no
other paper ever pnMiFed in Pitt
county has been before.
For all of which vv are profound
ly grateful
Fire at Grifton The. lrpe
and handsome Academy at Grif
ton was bnrned Tuesday rnght
by some miserable wretch, who
ought to have bepri bnrned up
with it. The building post seve
ral thousand ck liars arid was the
rtest equipped one in the. county
There had been no fire for seve-
f ral days and the incendiary is
suspected.
Explanation.
It was impossible for ns to get the
MiMrnnirhinliln nrint a full ..od'i-
Mnn Jut week. We mail the imnor -
tant matter of that issue in a supple
ment to those who failed to get the
paper.
Our paper was ordered ten days
before issue, but failed to come in
time. We could g;et none from the
Beflector and the Free Press at Kin
ston kin Uy let us have all it could
spare.
LittlHomM
'
Jack Gay, Ana His Foxes. ' y
" M- ' '
i iiinim inert! nvrs h lUj -1
si art little, boy, named Johnnie Guv"
H is grand-pa-and nuele Howell call,
h i m J ack, for short. J ack ha d tC v ice -
little tQ2T. name FPidn uirh -u lii-r!,
curly taiL One day Fido howled."
thej thought he was mad, bat when !
n 1 " jvm.. . Jji. vi
dou't you see what's the matter, er-er
his tail's curled so tight its drawn? 5
er-er, his insides out, er er see hert ;
Jack ge me a hatchet," and grand- .;
pa cut his tail off, and Fido quifcj,
howliug, but Jack couldn't under- -
stand Ihe trouble like grahdpa and?'
uncle Howell did. so he set up a hou-1 :
because his doggie's curt was gone, "
airu uinMe noweji toiu mm u lie -would
not cry he would get him some; '
babv foxes. '
TIo 1,0,1 Q rrt.lf" mtlTITT lnun
eared hound dogs, to catch deeivand
hear, and fGxes with. For the deer .
would jump in the held and eat the -corn
atid peas up, and the bears ,
would go to the hog pen and carry a
pig off-in his long black hairy arms "
or climb ufa tree and jump m a
cow and gnaw a hole right through
her back, and the foxes would come
and carry away the chickens and
little pigs, and ducks, and gniueas
that Jack -and -his sister had. 'One da
uncle Howell put the saddle on his'
horse and blew his horn, aud all the
logs ran up to him, and hOwlednd
whined, and lard down and rolled
over, and jumped and frolicked, and
sniffed the air, and grinned, and- bi&j
one another's ears, such a fuss von
never heard and all because they
were proud to go and rnn afox.
Jack had hunting blood in him too
and he begged uncle Howell to let
him go. TJ.ncle Howell let him w t
behind him on the horse and Jack
was glad. Too't, too'oot, too' wool t
went the horn, hipplety-hop, ploppy
plop, biekity-blick off went the horse
to the woods, with the dogs scuriy
ing and running, and sniffing and
wheezing along over the road, over
the grass, over the leaves, iii the bush
es, smelling and nosing for Mr, Fox.
It would be hard to say who was the
happiest, uncle Howell, the. horse,
the dogs oi Jack.
But Mr. Fox wasn't happy. He
was a long way off, down in the woods
under an obi uprooted tree, eating
chicken. He heard the horn away
in tie distauce and he dug a little
hole in the ground, covered up the
chicken andLsatdown and Studied.
kk 1..f' I I vi.tn I'i -1 I 1...
"iuai o iTxi. uuwcii a iiuiii aira nis.
dogs are the smartest in the county.
1 Tliey like to got me the other day,
Mrs. Fox and the babies too. If I
thought they would let them alone I
would let them catch me, but when
they get me, it will just make them
want another worse. Anyhow it is
1 ll"lc Vr t . ' Vu
"J s"""g "P
1 03 that bed,nS tree ad dropping
on to another tree, and from that one
Haying on top of a fodder stack; right
n sight of Mr Howell's hounds, I
beard Ir. Howell say, 'Never mind
old fellow, I am bound to have vour
! I1TI . i T-r m .
niae, see 11 x uoa t.- jie s a bad man
after a fox." So Mr. Fox -crept
through the bushes' listening if he
could hear the dog cor.iing his way.
CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. J