The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1871-02-16
For the Journal.
Reading Room


Mr.. EDITOR 1T was far from my
intention when I wrote short article
suggesting "Reading Room" for our
town, to engage in discussion nor
do I intend to do so now, but [ would,
however, at your suggestion, respect
fully correct a misapprehension under
which you seemed to have labored in
your critique upon my article.
In the first place, if you will pardon
me, your notions are rather too high
Gin this time of ruin ard poverty" to
which you referred. l cannot see how
"we would be necessarily compelled to
rent at least two rooms costing $780,"
One room would be all that would be
necessary, periodicals could be deposit
ed, and CONSULTED when any desire to
do SO before the time for lying on the
table expires. Even large room
handsomely furnished is not necessary;
we do not propose an Alexandria LII.
brary but an unassuming country Read
ing Room. In one town, that | know
of, the Reading Room occupies apart
of the back room of a book store which
the proprietor gladly offered for the
pleasure it gave him, aud for the bene-
fit that he derived from it 10 his line of
business. In another town where there
is no book store, a large hall, forty feet
by fifty feet, was offered for fifty dol
lars. If the room is not rendered to
the club as a gratuity, it ought not to
be an item of considerable expense
Twenty dollars ought to procure all the
furniture necessary. There is room
for the expenditure of thousands of dol
lars, but am only estimating what is
accessory.
For one hundred dollars you can get
from twenty to twenty-five of our best
Reviews and Magazines, Instead of ten
as you supposed. So that with from
one hundred and fifty to one hundred
and seventy-fve dollars, you can get a
Reading Room sufficiently comfortable
for your purposes, rich in reading mat
ter. The expenses of on, of the best
Reading Rooms in our State, outside of
our cities, do not exceed annually our
highest figures. There the aged, the
young, the learned and the unlcarnrd
repair, either to read or to carry away
food for home digestion.
It was not proposed to confne the
organization to our young men alone,
out rather to put it under the guardian
ship of our older and more experienced
citizens, and let our young men CO.
operate with them.
1t speaks we'll for the move that you
can muster twenty young men on the
first count before the plan has been
generally and fully understood When
it is understood aud appreciated, fifteen
or twenty more may be added to that
number. Then when you add to that
the noble men of ripper years, who are
always ready for every good work, your
Reading Room will be decided sue
cess with but a trifing expense to each
member.
The patrons of the Reading Room
need not spend their evenings away
from home in order to secure the benc-
fits of the Room. An hour or two there
would be sufficient for general survey
of the literature, and articles may be
taken home for close reading.
Your "fourth and most wcighty con.
sideration" is physically utilitarian'-
awe would say that a man of a family
could ill afford to d, it, since twenty
two dollars Eve have shown however,
that it will not take anything like that to
carry on the enterprise) would keep
him in shoes for year, or buy a suit