Newbern weekly progress., 1860-10-02
WEEKLY PROGRESS
Will our People Have 1t.

to us the propriety of establishing Public
Reading Room or Merchants Exchange, or
something of that kind, in connection with the
Progress O6ice, and after deliberating on the
matter we have thought it prudent to call pub
lie attention to it.
In the first place there are but few CONNER
cal towns in the country with the business
and population of ours that have not established
something of this kind, and if our merchants.
professional men, gentlemen Of wealth and 9th
ers willrefiect fora moment on the pleasure and
benefit which they derive from reading rooms
when they visit other places they will at once
realize our deficiency in this respect; for when
strangers visit us they have no place to spend
their evenings or other leisure hours but in
tramping around our streets and loungng
around our hotels, and if they are so lucky Is
to pick up a newspaper at all it will most like
ly be some Of our home publications in which
they feel no sort Of interest. Hence a well con-
Quoted Public Reading Room would not only
be an ornament to the town-would not only
elevate us as a community in the eyes of stran-
gers, but would be of incalculable benefit to a
large number of our people
In the second place it would furnish reading
for that class of our people whose condition in
life prevents them from having access to the
well stored libraries which are so indispensable
with those who can afford them; and too it
would keep our boys and young men, many of
them, from lounging around the bar-rooms
lOafing in the streets and visiting other places
fatal both to body and soul. We cannot make
old men utOf young ones, nor need we attempt
to shut young America up in the closet-he
will g knock around and in the majority of
cases if you do not afford him some rational
intellectual, healthful employment he will run
into all manner Of temptations and dissipation
What one thing will do so much to elevate and
save from dissipation and debauchery our young
men and boys as good Reading Room, kept
open day and night and well filled with papers,
periodicals, books, maps, and other works that
tend to enlightcn and refine the mind
Now it is with our business men and the citi-
Zens to say whether they will have this much
needed improvement or not. Owing to the
fact that we have d large exchange list we can
tit up a Reading Room in which we can have
filed, the arrival of each days mail the
in the Union, together with the leading literary
weeklies, mOnthlies, &c. These with the addi-
ton of few choice works would afford an at
tractve place for citizens and strangers, and
would be the means Of giving a partial cduca-
ton to many who will never get it from schools.
The labor necessary to keep such place we
would be willing to perform without compensa-
ton, for as citizen we feel that it would be
duty to contribute our proportion towards
an object so desirable, and hence the only cost
would be rent, fuel and lights, which items
would not amount to more than $3.50 year
We have the rooms in the new building ad-
joining our office and if those of our citizens
who ought to take an interest in such matters
will have meeting, form an association and
establish rules and regulations, and guarantee
the amount necessary to from loss we
will at once have it fitted up and opened.
We would suggest that association be
formed, officers elected and rules and regula-
tons established for the government Of the
rooms and thata nominal tax be levied on ev-
cry citizen who desires to avail himself of the
privileges of the Reading Room. Merchants
and professional men could be taxed three or
four dollars year, mechanics and clerks one,
laborcrs fifty cents, &c, and let those who are
not able to pay anything have the benefit of it
gratuitously; and Of course let it be kept open
free to all strangers.
Actuated by nothing but our pride a citi-
zen we throw out these suggestions, and leave
the matter with our citizens who have more
interest in it than we have.