The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-06-16

: In conclusion, long visits, long stories
long essays, long celebrations and Ions
prayers, seldom profit those who have to dc
with them. Time is short Moments are
precious. Learn to condense, abridge and
intensity. Learn to lop off branches and
stick to the main fact. If YOU pray, ask
for what you would receive and get
through; if you speak, tell your message
and hold your peace; boil down two words
into one, and three into two. If you write
bear this in mind Le1r7l 10 be short Be
| heylng this to be good in cases of literary
affection, | viii take dose of my own med
lclne and call my task concluded.
General S. D. Lees Address of Wei
| come to the Mississ1p pi Press Assoc
citation, at the A. and NJ College,
/ Friday, June Sd, 1881.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the
| Press Associations
| As the Executive of the Faculty, | rise
| TO give you cordial welcome. We are de-
/ lighted to have you in our midst to-day we
not only wanted to see you ourselves. but
We desired our boys to see YOU We do not
know you all personally, but there is not
member of your body with whom we are
not acquainted by reputation We want
you to see our college that you may better
understand it, for yet an Agricultural
College is novelty in our State; but when
| say it is novelty do not mean it is an
experiment, for older States have proved it
to be a success and it has been made a sue
cess in the North and in Europe, where
Agricultural Colleges originated. We en-
JOY the privilege to-day of seeing Won as a
representative body. A body who have the
destinies of the State more completely in
their hands than any other. You mould
and control public opinions, guide and di-
rect public sentiment. II is your peculiar
privilege first to give your views Of every
passing event-your presentation Of fact and
coioring Is expected and looked for. You
are necessarily the leaders of every public
movement; what do the newspapers say
about it ? is the first question after every
occurrence of public or private interest. The |
power of the press is now recognized by /
every one, 1T is felt at every freside in the |
land its silent influence is incalcuable |
Our newspapers are as much a necessity |
almost as our dinners. We can do without |
many things but what man pass a week /
of his life without his paper. He would /
feel as fororn as Robinson Crusoe on his |
island in the sea. In the whirl and excite
ment of modern progress when events are
happening almost with Lightning speed, in
this age of railroads and telegraphs, the
newspapers of to-day have almost superseded |
books; we have not time to make scholarly
men, the book worm belongs to the past |
generation events crowd so fast and thick,
that men live in the present. They have
no time for reading past generations or for
the clustered retirement which isolated
them from their fellow-men. Education is
now thing of the masses; the surging liv
ing, shutting masses who are making history
as they go along, have no time to read of the
the deeds of dead men, but want a fresh,
live newspaper to show what living men are
doing. They want daily or weekly to see
who has made a new invention how has
such a railroad progressed in its building? f,
How is England getting along without Dis
ralli? Have the NihiIists assassinated
another Gear? They do not merely wish to
know of these events, but demand and ex-
pect more; they expect the benefit of your
brains What does Barksdale, Cooper,
Stands or Jonas say? Before forming their
own opinions they want the benefit of yours.
lis wonderful, the power of the press
the newspapers have changed the tide of
public affairs and public thought. People {
axe not tme fb to gd Rad 5npk theT %
pers The newspaper that Is most valued by !
each man individually. is his own local I
paper it. may be an affair that does not l
circulate outside Of his own Congressional {
District, still it gives him information of I
what most interests him. Mr.. President, /
your relations and responsibilities to the t
people of our State are varied. They look
to you for information touching everything
that is near to them. They regard you in | {
a measure as the custodiaus of their nearest {
and dearest interests They feel secure
knowing that the close relations you bear to {
them will cause you to inform them Ofevery I
thing of interest so that they will have am
pie time for action. '
Your visit here to-day is an evidence Of i
your sympathy with the people of our State /; |
L ii
ucation; your visit will be a sour e of en- S
to every institution in Missis- I
sippi; it especially encourages US, as you | '
know, gentlemen the cause of education II |
near the heart of our people all our cOlleg-
es and schools are full our University at /
Oxford, under its able management is
doing a glorious work. All of our denomi !
national colleges and schools are prospecting. t
Many thought that our capacity for cole c
gate education was ample before this college l
was established such is not the case, Mr.. i
President. Our progress since the opening
of this college is almost an anomaly ; three {
hundred and fifty-four students have ma S
over two hundred have been {
refused admission for want of accOmmada
ton; we have been embarrassed and crowd ,
ed beyond our capacity, ana this too in the I
face of a new organization, unfinished
building, incomplete equipment. The {
people have shown their great interest in 5
the cause of industrial education" in re-
spending with such alacrity and prompt Z
ness in spite of such unfavorable surround |
ings.
1t shows that this College supplies want t
long felt in our State. \ new hope has been
inspired in the Agricultural interests OF the /
State; the people want College to benefit Z
Agriculture, the only in Mississippi which
can by improved culture, add MOST wealth
and benefit the greater number. four=ifths
Of our people live by agriculture four-ffths :
of our children must do likewise for a long
time to come Agriculture is the overpow- :
ering industry of our State.
The spirit of the law establishing this
College contemplates a practical English :
education, complete with a knowledge of
the art and science which underlies agricul- q
ture and the mechanical arts. This knoWl l
edge is TO be brought to bear, to Introduce |
and encourage improved and diversified |
culture; economics labor, and give our t
youth that Technical training" in the in t
terest of agriculture, which every other call 5
ing and profession in lite deems absolutely a
necessary. and which i made evident by J
The establishment of special colleges to edu- 1
cate our youth for special pursuits in life. [
We have colleges to educate scholars we T
have our law, medical, divinity, engineer Y
ing, naval, military, mining, commercial,
dental, and other institutions to educate
BUR youth for the irterestg they represent.
If all this is necessary to educate for other
colleges; if all this education adds money '
and value in these professions, Is not the
principle equally correct in the education OF q
he Earn.er2 Ought not he, too, TO have /
special education and training 2
But, Mr. President, it would not be IN Z
good taste for me to-day. to discuss the OBJ .
ects of this College; your relations 70 the J
people of Mississippi are so varied that l "
in your presence new duty,
regard you as messengers from them to see 81
this College: YOU can bear back the mess a
age. that the Trustees and Faculty of this n
Institution, have determined to carry out Il
he spirit of the law that this is TO 6e an n
industrial College not merely in name, q
bit Id fact that labor is made honorable :
II. ord uriII he hrnH1O n