Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-09-14

pie. We want school systonl that is GOOD
enough Tor tho rich and okeap enough for
the poor. Nothing less than this will sat.
J isfy tho demands of the times and meet tho
necessities Of tho State. Col. Thompson
then referred to the influence Of education
10 the repression of crime, the prevention
OF pauperism and the mnintena AM co of free.
dom An ignorant people cannot loug be
tree people. In proportion as the structure
OF government gives force to public
opinion it is essential that public opinion
should be enlightened Ifa people expects
to be iguorant and free, in u state of civil
ization, it expects whit can never DO. The
learning of the few is despotism. The
learning of tho many is liberty. An in.
telligent and principlcd liborty is fame and
wisdom and power. We want the famo,
wisdom and power which will come from
the education Of the masses. The church
and tho schoolhcuse must rule this country
and the teachers in our common schools
must be raised to that plano where they
VIII be useful to society. The speaker
dwelt with much foroe on the power Of
education upon the home life OF the people
and of the relations which the educatcd
men should bear to the family, to society
and to God. lle referred to the power
OF education in Scotland, which has con-
vcrted that bleak land into ono of tho finest
intellectual! countries in the world; to its
effect upon the German civilization and
thought, and to its growing influence upon
tho growth, refinement aud civilization of
New England. For the past twenty five
years New England has controlled the
destiny aud shaped the policy of this
country. Wo shall have to be taxed either
for ignorance or education. Every dollar
taken from tho schools will 20 to the sup
port of the jails, pcnitentiaries aud poor.
houses. Col. Thompson concluded his fine
oration by aliuding to tho call of the
Democratic State Convention, which had
imposed upon him great res csponsibiitics,
and assured the people that, when elected,
he would administer tho olIico of Governor
without regard to race, color or party, but
for the good of the whole people and the
prosperity of tho State in all its interests
IL is impossible to give anything like
fair synopsis of speech which bris,Icd
from the opening to the closing sentence
with sound logic, strong comparisons aud
telling points The speaker never appeared
to better advantage, and was greeted with
great enthusiasm and rounds of applause
at Walhalla, Col Thompson said theyo
could DC only two political parties in South
carolina, the Democratic and the Rppubli-
can, and their strength was too ncarly equal
to permit any considerable votes on either
side to vote for third party without de-
feating tho patty which they had left. A
gain for the Greenbackc was gain for
the old Radical Early and loss to the
Democracy. lie was sure that the people
of Oconee would never by detection from
the Democratic party to the Grecnback
asgltators aid in placing tie State into the
hands of the old Republican thieves. He
would not further refer to RcpubIcausm
South Carolina should not look back to the
past, but forward to prosperity, enlighten-
ment and progress.
referring TO the record of tho Democracy
OF the State in regard to schools, Col.
Thompson expressed tho belief that the
office of Superintendent Of Eduoutiou was
not second 10 Importance to that of Gov.
ernor. lie spoke Gas business man to
business men on business matters in dis
cusslng tho public school system Private
benevolence had done much for education,
but private effort had never fully succeeded
in educating tho people. No people had ever
been cduoated except by the power of their
government. AS to the cheapneas to the
State of education by tho State, he cited
the fact that Switzerland, country devoted
to pu6llc education, spends seven times as
much upon her sc!,ool houses as upon her
JaiIs and poor houses; while England,
where State education had not prevailed
generally, paid five times as much for the lat
latter as for,th former. lie instanccd to his
farmer audience the practical good of edu.
cation IN its indictments to progress and
invention by relating assurance of an agri-
cultural friend tho other day that by the |
use of machinery he had made and worked |
his hay crop without it being touched by
hand implement. 1t had boeo seeded, cut,
dried, housed aud shipped BY )abor-saving
maohinary. lie had looked out from his
window that morning upon tho mountains
which tho hand of the Almighty had
heaped up for the wonder of ages. Great |
as were those mountains the mind of man |
was greater. The greatness of South |
Carolina was not 10 her material resources,
great as they were, but in the brains of |
her sons and daughters. What would tho
great mon Of South Carolina have been but |
for education. Education Lad made j oseph |
d. Brown. an Ooonee boy, Governor and !
Senator Of Georgia. Some mountain |
boy in this audience might by the torch.
light of education, DO led to greatness and
his peoples honor. The platform of tho
party was for education and tho good of |
the State, and ho asked the people of |
Oconee to stand together for South Caro-