Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1885-12-03


icS Feine or divinity are easier thing
,lis master; or, at least, I believe the
ID Sc, judsfins by the .peaafa1 isf1 oS 1aa u, H.
<shoss professions with whom I am ac
: |auainted!s
III THE PROPOSED REMEDY.
Now for the remedy, for we have
) had argument enough to convince
any save those who are both blinc
and deaf.
Gen. Lee tells US that farmer car
/, be trained and equipped for that pur'
8 suit just ,as easily and as certainly as
soldiers are trained at West Point Il
= has been done and ia being done
every day in Michigan, Kansas and
Mississippi. All Of these institutions
are alikein that they give thorough
English education. have college farms
& upon which practical agriculture and
paying agriculture is carried on, and
j the students made to work enough
! MOTTO get out of the habit, if they
i had 4earnedit at home, and the science.
1 which underlie agriculture are de
monstrated, illustrated and practiced
tby the students. who thus learn their
4 -ipractical value. Agriculture is the
.lgoddsss whom they worship there,
and boys are taught that it is a noble
Epursuit and worthy of theirambition.
There is experimental work carried
on, too, to solve new theories and es
ltsbiish new principles, but it must
,Enever be lost sight OF that the boy
Lives during his collegiate course on
ia we'll. equipped model farm. conduct
ed mainly to show the application Ct
1lmethods which have been recognized
/ as essential to successful and profta
BILE farming, SO as to let the student
leave the college thoroughly satisfied
THAT "f farming does pay" when ra
tionally pursued. The wild scramble
| now going on to get away from the
farm would cease and the farmers Of
the State could feel assured that they
would have their boys benefited BY
;sasaaending this school, whether they
graduated or not. Such result can
never be attained at the South Caro-.
lima College. Let our Legislature dig
up the corpse Of agricultural educa
tion which has been buried at Colum
his, carry it to some healthy up coun
try county which will subscribe the
most money towards establishing such
an institution as I have described,
locate it near some accessible town on
large farm such as they have in
Mississippi and put it in loyal hands,
and it will soon return to it's life and
grow strong and robust. In a few
years it's farm would become a Mecca
to which the farmers of the State
would go as on a pilgrimage, and it's
commencements be only second to our
State fairs, indeed more instructive.
One word more and I am done. The
Act Of Congress of July 2, 1868 gave
to each State land script to the
amount Of 10000 acres for each rep.
resentative in both Houses OF Con.
gress, the proceeds Of which were to
be invested and the interest used as
a fund "to establish at least one in.
stitution of learning the leading OBJ.
iect of which should be the encour.
ageuhent of agriculture and the me
chanic arts. Will any one pretend
that the South Carolina College is
such an institution ? Gen. Lee calls
this fund, which in this State is $l92,-
900, "the farmers money" The
interest is $l1.520. Half of it goes
to the Clsfflin University at Orange
burg to educate negroes, and the
other half to the South Carolina Col
lege. Let our lawmakers do Justice
and carry out the agreement made by
tha Gtrsscs--wtth strscs the 'Jaited States in
good faith. Keep the South Carolina
College open and give it all necsuu.s.,
assistance, but do not rob the farmers
to do it, and for every dollar thus
spent to educate the men who are
most likely to enter the professions
give the agricultural college a like
amount. Farmers are ever slow to
perceive their true interests, more 30
than any other class of men. Their
thouqhts move in a sluggish current
and they are not easily atirred, bnt
efforts are being made to aronse their
resentment against the South Caro-
lima College, and | think it would be
wise in the friends Of that institution
to give up the farmers money
gracefully and help establish farm
ers' college. They had better COM
promise the matter ere the storm,
which is brewing. shakes the lounda-
tions of their beloved college, and,
perhaps, topples it to the ground. |
appeal to the lawyers oi the State
who govern ua, and who, by reason OF
their culture, are able to gee the utlli.
ty and value OF technical education
as applied to farming, to help estsb-
l;sh such a colleg and | appeal to
the Neaus: and Courier to throw its
powerful influence in the scale and
give that aqs:sfa ance the farmers have a
right to expect. l express it as the
humble opinion Of backwoodsman
who is simply a farmer, that free
trade is a barren ideality, which ls
dwarfed into insigniGcance alongside
this grand question Of technical and
industrial education. | have not been
able in the space allotted me to pre-.
sent the subject in all its aspects, and |
there are many arguments that |
must leave out, but l trust that /
have 30 successfully set the question
afoat that it will not be allowed to
sink out Of sight any more.
B. R. TILLMAN.
Hamburg. S. c., Nov. l6, 1885.