The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-04-07
The State Normal School at Holly
Springs.

Z
ever, that it Is in prosperous condi-
tion and ably fulfilling its mission.
/ recommend theeustomary appropriation
for its support"
/ Ia his message of January, 1886, he
says: The STATE Normal School at
/ Holly Springs Is reported By the Board
| OF Trustees 10 be in satisfactory con
ditioB. The average attendance during
/ the last two years has been about l40.
The attendance appears TO be broken
and trreguJGr, aud only a small per cent.
of the pupils complete the course. Since
the organization Of the school, sixteen
years ago, onfy thirty.fce pupils have
graduated"
All was lovely IN 1884, but in 1886 not
50 rosy, II seems, although il has been
under the same management the last
two wears that il has been for the past
eleven years. In the Governors mes
sage OF January, 1884, when he speaks
Of Alcorn College. he says:
Zone great difficulty the institution
encounters is the broken and irregu.
lar attendance of the pupils, but few
going the entire session. There has
been but three graduates since the Col
lege was founded. The
College il practically Normal SchooI" ("
In the report Of the President of Al
corn, he says.
-Four young men were graduated
from one course in June, 1884. and one
in June, 1885
Making eight graduates from Alcorn
since its organization fifteen or sixteen
years ago. The Governor in his mess
age Of January, 1886, says the attend
ance at Alcorn this term, is 145 He
also says the appropriation of $4,000
Tor repairs (the last two years, we pre-
sume), has been judiciously expended.
The appropriation of 81 900 for a libra
ry, has been expended, etc. With a
small annual expenditure the College
Will soon have library sufficient for all
its purposes, and winds up by recon
mending an appropriation of Sl1 900
per annum.
We have made this resume to show
that great men are very inconsistent
sometimes. One Of the troubles with
the Governor seems to be that the Nor
NAL School has turned out but thirty
five graduates. That is nearly FIVE
times as many as AlcOrn has graduated.
We presume the thirty-fve were all who
were prepared to graduate Must a
school send out great number of grad
uates, prepared or unprepared, in order
to get the favor of the Governor? The
general complaint is that too many
graduates are turned loose on the world,
but here the unpardonable sin is that
there are not enough. Our Governor
believes in quantity more than quality.
He wants heap of graduates? There
Is reason for broken and irreqttiar at
tendance and for so few graduates. We
know, If the Governor does not. that
these colored pupils are poor 1t is
strange that the Governor is not aware
that this is the condition of this portion
of his subjects. We can tell him it is
an actual fact-they are poorl They
have no bank account to keep them at
school, but they go out through the coun
try and teach a public school through
the months of January, February aud
March, and two months in the summer
to get money 70 pay expenses the bal
ance OF the time. This makes them
slow in getting diplomas. As the num-
! Der Of graduates seems to be the meas
urc of usefulness when applied to the
Normal, the Governor should have re.
commended a larger appropriation, as,
according 20 his own showing and that
of the President of Alcorn, il has done
much more work than any other colored
school in the State. There are some
cardinal principles which should always
govern chief magistrate. One of these
Is that he should do strict justice 10 all
his people.
The Governor suggested Committee.
20 81
came up to investigate. One of the
gentlemen came day before the other
two. The President of the Board who
is mayor of this city offered him the
use of his office for next day. Next
morning the office was ready, also a
carriage to carry the Committee to the
school, but the Committee met at
another place and gave the Trustees no
notice of the change. They found it
out the best way they could and four of
them attended. Their report sets out
with this information:
The schoOlhouse is an old brick
building, constructed for a residence,
but now sadly out of repair, situated on
a bald hill, surrounded by deep gullies.
The fences are in a dilapidated condi-
tion, and every thing connected with the
property presents the appearance of ruin
and decay"
We say, the building is not very old,
| having been built some eighteen years
| ago. 1t Is tolerably genteel in appearance
not so fine as the Governors house
which is no great thing, considing the
money that has been spent on it. Whose
| fault is it that this house is not in
"apple- pie" order? There has been but
| little, if any, appropriations for repairs
of this house. Had the Trustees had a
fifth of $4,000 for repairs within the
last two years, we guarantee this place
would not have been so offensive to
these aesthetic gentlemen.
These gentlemen do not seem to be
aware that the winds do blow and the
rains do beat and will destroy the bright
ness OF this house, even if il does belong
to the great State of Mississippi. They
seem to be aware that these elements
have that effect on buildings about
jackson. This house is on the same
hill it was when the State bought it
The Trustees have not transported it tC
any other hill. The measurements oi
that hill will come up "all right" and
it is not very bald. The yard has clover
on it, and has had number of tree:
put out in il. The fence is not fine, bu
the most of it substantial. There are
some gullies, but none in the front OF
side yards. We would like to know
where there is place about which there
are not some gullies?
This report says they examined fifteer
witnesses, and persons will infer tha
all of these fifteen said the Principal
Highgate-and his pupils are a terribl,
set, rendering our town perfect negr'
pandemonium while the facts are,
number of that fifteen said just to tn,
contrary; that Highgate and his pupils
as far as they had seen, or their familie
Ia number of them lived on the stree
the students principally traveled-wer'
well behaved and polite; neither they o
their families had ever had the leas
trouble with them; they lived on thes
streets many years; their wives, children
aud lady friends walked these street
any time they wished, and never ha,
complained of any impoliteness. Thes
gentlemen were just as reputable as an,
|, of the fifteen. In fact, those VIII
testified against Highgate, or the mos
of them, said as lar as they had seel
hirl on the streets, or his students, the,
had behaved themselves, but they ha'
heard Others say ugly things of them
We wonder they did not produce tn,
Identical ones-l If fifteen persons wer
to tell these astute gentlemen frou
jackson that they had heard fifteel
other gentlemen say the moon was mad
out of green cheese, we wonder if thi
Committee would be convinced that tn
moon acas made out of that material
We believe those VINO testified agains
Highgate said they did not like his stylt
. hut they al bore witness that he wa