North Carolina Newspapers

price one dollar per tear. "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD." single copies three cents VOL. 20. SMITHFIELD, N. C., FRIDAY, .MAY 24, 1901. NO. 11. A Defect in Our Educational Sys tem and a Possible Remedy. The following extract in taken from an address of Mr. John W'ilber Jenkins before the Raleigh Monday Evening Club: " We have been hearing a great deal about our "poor public schools," and some of them de serve the uame. Rut they are better than they ever were before, and the district school of to-day is a gem compared to the "old field ' school in which our fathers learned to read and write, and which they see surrounded by all the halo of time and distance. Our system of public schools is much better than that of many States that have a lower percent age of illiteracy. In all the ninety six counties of the State there are schools as good as the ma jority of the people desire. If they want better schools, they would have them. There are in the State ">,422 white school dis tricts and 2,488 colored districts, a total of 7,1)10. The receipts from taxes for public schools, and expended on them last year were $1,031,327.94, as shown by the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The school census showed 439,431 wlnteand 220,198, total 059,029 children of school age. The enrolment in the schools amounted to 270,447 white, 130,005 colored, total, 400,452. Rut the average at tendance, which accurately indi cates the number of those who are receiving the rudiments of an education, snows that only 142, 413 white and 04,505 negroes, a total of 200,918 attended the schools regularly. ?? mere is ascnooi open 111 every district in North Carolina every yearlong enough for any child, white or black, to learn to read and write. There are ample fa cilities within the reach of every person of school age in the State to save him from becoming an illiterate. But the record shows that in the year of our Lord, 1900, after an educational cam paign that extended over the State, and the passage of a Con stitutional Amendment that pre scribes an educational qualifica tion for voting only 34 7-10 per cent of the whites of school age, and 32 3-10 of the negroes at tended the schools. " Is it not apparent, then, that the most radical defect in our system is the lack of means to persuade or compel attendance on the schools? If we could com j?el every child to take advantage of the school facilities that lie within his reach, illiteracy would be wiped out with the present generation of illiterate adult '. "The people of North Carolina have always been opposed to compulsion of any kind, andalot of them scorn to pay their poll and property taxes because the State "compels" it. They are independent enough to keep four dogs, and allow tneir children to attend school or not as they please. "And the fear of the Urea* Un washed (>ne-U alius Brig t Je is so much before the eyes of the poli tician, that he will nevt ? t. > tax the ravenous hound or om pel the Sand-lliller or > ountain Boomer to send his hiM to school. "Every child has a rif it to an education. He has a ri; bt to be piven the proper implem n' iv.ith which to work out his oi n <va tion in the world. Andi be State which is theguardiau ot le :1 ild, should see that he is not epri ved of his rights. "Around every cotton ill 'an be found some man t la ias moved into town from 1 ? oun try, and put his wife n id li tie children to work in then 1 iile he lies around the dir v little groggeries or villagestoi Iks politics,chews tobacco at !?' inks mean whiskey. He is ve.mng out the lives of his little ' b en at the loom, dooming th in go through life with stunte ies and darkened minds, 'e i- ;i creature so low that ane ? * th ing hound is the only th g t hai will keep him company. vet the legislators fear tliis 1 in toe much to compel him to ? < iiif innocent little children! chnnet lor existence and deveh ? pue-rt, Is there a greater crime in the calendar than that of the parent who will deliberately withhold from his child the advantages and opportunities that w ill mean all to nun in life? Doesn't hecom mit murder on the installment plan ? "Weought to have compulsory education. But as long as that is not immediately possible, some means must be found to secure the attendance of as many children us possible on the pub lic schools. What matters it if we had the finest school system on earth, if the children could not or would not take ad vantage of it? The people of each com munity must take up the problem for themselves. It is a State problem, but it must be solved locally. There are clubs and associations of almost every kind, missionary societies, edu cational clubs, literary associa tions?clubs that range from the i Sisters of Sadness and Daughters of 1 'arkness to the Amalgamated Society of Potato Bug Destroy ers. And one hesitates to propose a new society or association. "But why should there not lie an association in every commu nity to induce attendance on the schools, public or private? There could be a State organization with its headquarters in Raleigh, and with GeneralToon, the State Superintendent of Public Instruc tion at its head, with branches in every school district. There is no necessity for a meeting of the clubs, for each will have its own problems to solve, and can solve them best in its own way. But once a year the leaders in the work could meet here, and inter i change ideas and plans, and ..fwmil.it,. + in ?lin (vowlr ciiuiuiuiic niwri col in tuc "ui iv. "There should be no dues of any kind connected with the clubs, but all must give their time for love of the cause. The local club would first have to get a copy of the school census, and then a j copy of the roll of the public school. Those who do not attend school can thus be easily ascer j tained. This is the working material Some member of the club should visit each family that does not 6end its children to I school, and ascertain the reason. If there is a real reason, such as ; lack of money to buy books, or lack of proper clothing, it can be easily remembered, for no man would refuse to give a few cents to buy a new book or a decent coat for a boy who wanted an education. If it is indifference of the parents, their attention should be called to the great im portance of giving their children an education and the changed conditions thatdeinand educated men and women in every walk of life. If the children are at work in a mill and the father is idle and shiftless, he ought to be ar rested as a vagrant, or compelled to put his children in school, and go to work himself. The princi pal difficulty will be found in the indifference of parents to educa tion. To overcome this educa tion must be made so fashionable that no one who thinks an vthing of himself or his family will suffer his children to grow up in ignor ance. And ignorance must be made disreputable in a commun ity. These people must be mack. ? A n.l 4-k.rv ..l>,1,1 ciMiclint*'! ui it. .iiiiu 1'iit; cuuuirn themselves must be interested in the schools, and in study. This would be t he work of the clubs, and it is no easy task. "Hut it is an important one, and one that must be accom plished before we educate the children of the State. Compul sory education is best. Hut as we cannot get that, wernusthave some substitute, aud 1 propose that we form a State Education al Association, with Attendance Clubs in every community." The least in quantity and most in mialitv describes DeWitt's Lit tle Karly Risers, the famous pills for constipation, and liver com plaints. flood Hros., Hare&Son, ;J. R. Is*dbettcr. The Ocean View Hotel at Wrightsville Beach was burned Saturday night, with bath house, ? pavilion and several cottages, i The loss is about three-fourths, j covered by insurance, and the . pro{>erty will be rebuilt at once, NEW PENSION LAW. An Act to Amend Chapter One Hun dred and Ninety-Eight ot the Laws ot Eighteen Hundred and Eighty Nine for the Keliet ot Certain Con federate Soldiers and Widows. The General Assemby of North Carolina do enact: Section 1. There shall be paid : out of the treasury of the State1 of North Carolina, on the war rant of the Auditor, to every per son who has been for twelve months immediately preceding his or her application forpension a bona fide resident of this State, and who is incapacitated for manual labor and was a soldier or a sailor in the service of the State of North Carolina or of the Confederate States of America during the war between the States and to the widow remaining un married of any deceased officer, soldier or sailor who was in the service of the State of North Carolina or of the Confederate States of America during the war between the States (provided said widow was married to said soldier or sailor before the first day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-five), thefollowingsum, annually, according to the degree of disability ascertained by the following grade, viz.: First, to such as have received a wound which renders them totally in competent to perform manual! labor in the ordinary avocations of life, sventy-t wo dollars; second, to such as have lost a leg above J the knee nr an arm svhnve tile I elbow, sixty dollars; third, to such as have lost a foot or leg below the knee, or hand or arm below the elbow, or have a leg or arm rendered utterly useless by reason of a wound or permanent injury, forty-eight dollars; fourth, to such as have lost one eye, and to widows remaining unmarried, and all other soldiers who are now disabled from any cause to perform manual labor, thirty dollars. If the fund collected from the special pension tax in j any year should be insufficient to pay in full the aforesaid pensions, t hen and in that event the State Treasurer shall pay said pensions out of the general fund in the j State Treasury: Provided, how j ever, that in no year shall the j total amount paid for pensions exceed two hundred thousand j dollars. Sec. 2. That section three of chapter one hundred and ninety eight of the laws of eighteen hun dred and eighty-nine be amended by striking out all of said section I after the word "grades" in line j four. And section one of said chapter one hundred and ninety eight of the laws of eighteen hun dred and eighty-nine is hereby re pealed and section one of this act substituted in place thereof. That all persons entitled to pensions under this act, whether hereto fore drawing pensions or not, | shall appear before the County Hoard of Pensions on or before J the first Monday in July, nine-j teen hundred and one, for exam- j ination and classification in com pliance with the provisions of tins act: rroviaea, tnat an mien an arc unable to attend in person shall present a certificate from a creditable physician living and practicing medicine in the com munity in which said applicant resides, that the applicant is un | able to attend. bee. 3. That all laws and clauses of laws enacted since the first crny of January, eighteen hundred and ninety, granting jiensions to any particular indi vidual named therein, ere hereby repealed. Sec. 4. That no inmate of the Soldiers' Home at Kaleigh, nor any person who was adeserteror who receives a pension from any' other State or tne United States, shall be entitled to a pension under this act. Sec. 5. That all ex-Confeder ate soldiers and sailors who have become totally blind since the war, or who lost their sight or both hands or both feet in the Confederate service, shall "cceive from the public treasui one ? hundred and twenty i oDars | (fl 20) a year, to be paid mi athly by the ('lei kof the Superior Court of their respective counties, as provided in the Public Laws of eighteen hundred and seventy nine, chapter one hundred and ninety-three,and the amendment thereto in chapter three hundred and forty-one of the laws of eighteen hundred and eighty three and chapter six hundred and nineteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety nine. Sec. 6. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratifi cation. In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 2<1 day of March A. D. 1901. W. I). Turner, President of the Senate. Walter E. Mooke, Speaker House Representatives. Mr. urnesrie and the Scotch Univer sities. America's greatest philanthrop ist, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, has re cently given to four Universities in Scotland the sum of ten mil lion dollars. The Baltimore Sun gives the following brief history of these great schools: The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1582. During the year 1899 the total number of matriculated students in at tendance was 2,348. Of these 83(5 were enrolled in the faculty of arts, 1,499 in the faculty of medicine, 368 in law, 47 in divin ity, 476 in science, and 22 in music. Among the matriculated students were 239 women. Sit A nrlronr'a ITnivoraifv iuovpn KV V* Ik I1V<1 v <1 U u Hi 1 V- ? Wi V J IO V t v?? more ancient than Edinburgh, having been founded in 1411. It originally included three seperate colleges and corporation: St. Salvator's, dating from 1450; St. Leonard's, 1512, and St. Mary's, 1587. In 1747 the two first named were united and took the faculties of arts and medi cine, St. Mary's being devoted to theology. University College, founded at Dundee in 1880, was made a part of the University of St. Andrew's in 1897. The aver age number of students in attend ance is about 200. The University of Glasgow was founded by a bull of Pope Nicho las V in 1450, receiving a new charter from .lames VI of Scot land in 1577. Its organization was remodeled by the Universi ties of Scotland acts of 1858 and 1880, by which each of the Scot tish universities given a similar organization. During the ses sion of 1899 there were 1,958 students in attendance, of whom 30G were women. Of the total 834 were studentsin art and 001 in medicine. Aberdeen University was foun ded in 1494 by Bishop Elphin stone as a Stadium Generale, in which he constituted a college in 1505 known as King's College. In 1593 George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal College, which came to tie also a university distinct from the former foundation. These two universities were united in one institution in 1860 and now form the University of Aber deen. There are 23 professors and mo*o than 800 students. The Universitv of Aberdeen has been making great progress of late years, and during the last 10 years has expended over #500,000 in sites and buildings lake the other Scottish universi ties, it confers the whole range of academic and professional degrees. Mrs. Lyman J.Gage, wife of the Secretary of the Treasury, died Friday night. Reidsville voted #15,000 of bonds Tuesday for a new white graded school building. Near Hunting Creek, Wilkes County, the body of P. C. John son was found hanging to the rafters of an old tenement house. He had been for years one of the most prominent and upright cit izens of the community and no cause for the rash deed is known. In the same neighborhood a min ister, Rev. J. C. Moore, commit ted suicide a year ago, and James Marlowe was murdered a few months ago. In February William Sparks was found dead in his wagon near the same place Hazing at West Point. Washington, May 22.?The names of the cadets who have been dismissed from the West Point military academy as the result of the recent disturbances there are as follows: Henry L. Bowlby, Nebraska; John A. Cleveland, Alabama; Traugett F.' Keller, New York; Raymond A. Linton, Michigan; Birchie (). Mahaffey, Texas. All these ca dets are of the second class. The following cadets have been suspended: (nan C. Aleshire, Illinois; Ben jamin F. McClellan, Mississippi; James A. Shamlon, Minnesota; Charles Teleford, Utah; all of the second class. Also Thomas N. (iimperling, Ohio, and Harrv Hawlev, New Y ork, of the third class. These cadets are suspend ed without pay until April 1, 11)02. The order of dismissal is signed by Secretary Boot, and states that it is issued by direction of the President upon recommend lo tion of the miUitary academy. The same language is used re garding the suspensions. Let His Daughter Die. White Plains, X. Y., May 21.? J. Luther Pierson, of Valhalla, five miles from here, was found guilty to-day of allowig his two year old daughter to die while he prayed for her recovery instead of calling in a doctor. He was indicted for violating the pro .. e 1 1 ? ? ? -* f . ? visions 01 suoaivision i 01 section 288 o! the Penal Code, by omit mg without lawful excuse to per forin a duty imposed upon nim by that law, that of calling a doctor to attend his two-year old daughter, who was suffering from catarrhal pneumonia. Pierson testified that he was a member of the Christian Catholic ! Church of Chicago, that he did not believe in doctors or medicine, but that his game forall diseases was faith. Coroner Schaffinerster testified that he made an investi gation on Feb. 4th last, when he was told the child was dead. He found that the victim of faith j cure was a two-year old girl. "Pierson told me." said the Coroner, "that he had uniple means to hire a doctor, but that he did not believe in them. He said he believed in diseases, but 1 that it could be healed only j through prayer." Flood in East Tennessee. Elizabethtown, Tenn., May 22. ?A flood from the Dee and Wa tauga rivers swept through the low lying section of Elizabeth i town during the night, drowned three persons, carried away six tv-two dwellings and caused damage in the rich farming dis I trict of Carter county estimated j at f1,000,000. Nearly every farm house for some distance along both rivers was destroyed or washed from its foundations and it is possible the loss of life will be greatly increased when fullreoorts are received. v\ ltn a rusn unprecedented in the history of this section, the waters tore down through the Dee and Watauga channels last night, carrying away dor-ens of bridges and small buildings. When the flood reached Kliza bethtowu it made quick work of sixty-two small dwellings along the river banks, where were shel- j tered 250 persons. Three were drowned in their efforts to es cape. Several others are report ed missing All means of communication was destroyed and news of the disaster did not reach outside points until late in the morning. New Berne Journal: There is now living at long l'oint planta tion, Jones county, a colored man who claims, and can prove his claim, that he was born in 11780. The name of this very aged colored man is Israel Jones, | and when seen last week by a Journal representative was well and contented, thanking the i Lord for the blessings given him. > Israel's only affliction seems to ' be blindness. He talks with a 1 good deal of intelligence in what . he says. CLAYTON NEWS. Our town hus not been repre sented in The Hkkai,i> for some time, but nevertheless, we are still pros|>ering. .Mr. Jno. 8. Barnes sjieut last week in Asheville us representa tive to the Grand Lodge of I. O. O. F. He reports an excellent trip. The Clayton Cotton Mil) is progressing nicely. They expect to make varus by middle of July. Neurlv all ol the machinery Li^is been fnstalled. Mr. J. B. Hudson, of Smith field, was in town Tuesday. Miss Juanita Lllis is home again. We are delighted to have her among us once more. I)r. Nat T. Holland, who has been attending the Virginian Medical College, has returned home. Dr. Holland is a tallent ed young man and deserves cred it for the progress he has made in the study of dentistry. Miss Lizzie Debnam, while vis iting in Selma last week was taken away from her native land to the matrimonial state una wares to her people in Clayton. Some of our young men look ter ribly downcast. Clayton is get ting quite romantic. Mr. A. It. Duncan, the post master here has been very sick. We are glad to know he is now convalescing. The rainy weather is trimming our crops in green. Mr. W. A. Karnes, who has been at Durham, N. 0., for the past few months superintending the 5 and 10 Cent Store of which he is president, is home now slightly sick. We hope he may soon recover, that he may return to his post. The Clayton School closed last Thursday. May 16th. The school has progressed nicely under the management of Prof. W. J. New bold, its present principal. Dr. J. .T. Young is having a nice dwelling erreeted on Rail road street. Mr. W. G. Parrish is superintending the work. Mrs. Charles W. Horne has just returned from an extended trip to Northern cities. She is furnishing her new residence which is just completed. This is a handsom; structure and adds to the beat ty of our town. Quite a number of our town people anticipate attending the T. I. Commencement. We al ways enjoy the exercises, as fit fully rendered by the students of this grand institution. Some of the children here have whooping cough. It is hoped the dread malady will not be spread. We heard a newspaoer man say in regard to The Herald: "It is the best newspaper in the State, and the cheapest I ever knew." We will try to give you more Clayton news next week. Kay. SELMA NEWS. I)r. J. H. Person returned from New York Tuesday night. Dr. ft. J. Noble went to Durham Tuesday to attend the meeting of the N. C. Medical Society. The graded school election is all the talk now. It looks like it will almost be unanimous. Mr. H. F. Peedingave Dr. Noble a hen egg Monday that weighed 3% ounces. He has a line stock of chickens. The trams from Norfolk i Danville came through here this a. in. on account of a washout on the Atlantic & Danville road. The progressive pea nut party given by the Misses Hooas on ( Wednesday evening was \ tiy much enjoved by all who were Vresent. .Vlusic furnished by .VIgs .ula Tisdale was highly appi't - ciated by all. Alter several songs watch cards were presented i ccroing to the cards Miss Ma Preston will be the first young lady to get married and Dr. J. V\\ Hatcher was doomed to be an old bachelor. After ice cream was served we all left declaring we had spent a most pleasant evening.