The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-11-24
THE PRESS rs 4 TEACHER.
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WHICH FesTERS
AND PROMOTES IGNORANCE MtsT
BE sUPPLANTEp.

AND PROMOTES IGNORANCE MUST
BE sUPPLANTEp.
The Schoolmaster Has Been Abroad
1.-The Preacher Has Gone into
Remote PIaces---But the Newspa.
per Must Follow and be Shining
Light for All.
The public school system of South Carolina Is yet
in It's infancy. 1t promises prodigious deyelopmens
not only be demand for many uore teachers put.
there ought to be constant striving after higher
standards Of excellence In tho art Of teachlng-Co
tunbia Record = .r.
And more Injurious system, we pfes1mess
could not have been invented by the most
clever Radical that ever sought TO make his
The The Record, or like ali the advocates Of the
present school system, carefully shuts us
eyes TO all recorded facts in reference to the
Ue'tas Upen tie witt WI!e " Children Of South Caro-
lima. That paper. like all of Its associates 10
expressions OF admiration for this colossal.
nightmare which rests upon OUT very -yhalsi
deals only in glltterlng generalit'es, without
being able to produce single fact to support
its theory. or TO prove the correctness OF ita
assertions. The facts are all against its poT;,
ton. ::
In 1850 there were only 1851 adult white
people in all OF South Carolina who could not
read and write. That was under the old sys.
advanced idea of confscating our property for
the education Of the children OF Idle anu
thriftless people.
the schools were kept open under the greatest
Il conceivable difficulties, together with the
furtner injury inflicted by the present public
school system the i,eraEy am among saai
Between 1870 and 1880, when the school sys-..
was in full force, the .initefacy among ths
whites had increased to 3,YI.
In 1850 the illiteracy IN South Carolina WAS
about seven per In @ Smae5 ss
Inoralization, the llliteracy Is over eighteen,
per cent.
The Press and Banner is satisfied that any
mngnifying OF the benefitst TO be derived from
the public schools, has most demoraltzing
effect upon the parents Of South Carolina.
and does much TO mislead apd injure the
pie cannot follow literary pursuits, aDd 1t Is
little less than crime TO fill the minds OF our
youths with the idea that ether occupations
at the Same time inspiring in them the uniI'
persal belief that every boy can become O
Tsa Hes and hs hn Gny Maay nnnys how White
man, like many negro. has been
RUNE ed by smattering knowledge OF the
Classics. 49,.
Hundreds Of our young men quit the
/ farms, the mechanics. or other useful oc-
cupations where they could succeed and be:
useful citizens, to become drones and dead 1ail'
ures ut the law, at the medical profession, In
the pulpit, or in some other literary sphere TO
which they are unsuited. Are there not to-
day thousands of young men in South Carof
lima who are actually throwing away their
time Mt these professions, at which they sue
ceed only In becoming objects OF ridlcu1s ZOE
men who have gone TO manly work ana are
chanic is a thousand times more honored
than failure at any Of the professions. The
u young man with high talent and deter
minatlon to succeed, can always find an open-
ing on the railroads or elsewhere. The rail-
reads now employ the best talent In the c0un. :
try and they pay the best prices for competent
service. A competent engineer on one OF the
roads with money in his pocket, is in a better
condition than the collegc-bred boy who has
spent all his life at school and knows nothing
Of the practical duties OF life, and Is therefore
untitled for success In the struggles which
Our neighbor, like great many other peot'
people. would gorlfy the public schools, as
the chief and only means OF getting an edu.
j an education which Is obtained much easer
and much cheaper. It is from reading th4s
newspapers. Ten dollars year VIII brinS
enough newspapers to the household to edu-
cate every indiv dual member of the family.
and no man or woman ever read ten dollars
worth of newspapers for ten years without be-
coming an educated man or woman The.
family that takes q number of the periodicals
of the day, cannot help from being educated:
II only one member Of that family reads care: !:
fully, the rest will partake OF his educatlonF
by attrition, If from no other reason. Any
man who reads ten dollars worth OF newspa-
pcrs sear is Obliged to be educated and those
around him will learn from him. even n they
do not care to read. A years subscription ~,
the Columbia Record woul ID do more good 10 q =
family than the public school teacher Will do
for the whole neighborhood during the short
term OF the public schools.
There is more solid humbuggery to the
square inch in the public schools. incud=
the free COLLEGES than Sdan tmss G %fm b
people were educated by orators. The people
knew little of letters Then came the day OF
the school master. He has been abroad nnc;,
done good work, but he must, In measure.
give place to the newspaper, at least 80 for as
the poorer people are concerned; me Gewss
paper Is the poor mans teacher, ana tne'
poor mans preacher. He Is no longer entire +.
iy dependent either upon the public schools
i for his education, or the pulpit for his theo-
ogy. The most illiterate citizen may become
poorest man in the country may read at 'hfs
tireSide In winter, or under the shade OF the
trees IN summer, the best pulpit orations that
/. are delivered In America. These sermons
make only O small part of the newspaper.
which he can buy for two dollars year.. The
same paper will instruct him In agriculture,
assist him in thousand ways, and afford
him pleasure while keeping him abreast with
the current history oil the times.
The newspaper is bound to relieve the coun.,
try from the burde n of listening to poor SER,
mons. VIII q nun SpSllu luc ueSI pui VI WV,
day driving his plow an NAL through the
heat and cold, and over bad reads, to listen to-
a poor sermon, when he has good one In his :
newspaper which he can read while he Is
resting and while his tired animal Is grazing
in the pasture? The activity and enterprise
Of the newspapers will put an end TO the ca
reer of such preachers us do not Mt least make ,
an effort to entertain their congregations.
The man who reads the~able sermons which
he finds in the pers must necessarily
realiZe 4 sense of fatigue III listening to .
harangue which has IN 1t neither common
sense nor the result. Of intellectual labor or &,
4 profound theological reaSoping.' H.<
Let the Columbia Record cast its eye ABROAD
throughout the State, and lei II say h'it does
see many an educated man, who Is bui-- :
+ fetted from pillar TO post, and who is keeping
up a constant fight with the wolf at the
door, or who is spending all his earnings 10
keep up Appearances. More men have beet :
ruined by education, and n consequent over.
estimate OF their ability, than have failed or
success and distinction because OF any lack os
education. A majority Of those who are bS
nature fitted for the learned professions, VIII
find some way TO obtain an education. one OF
the ablest, most learned, and most dlstin-
guiShcd lawyers, who was hut recently ot Inc
Abbeyille Bar, had no collegiate educatidf.,
Il At the time Of his death few men III South
Carolina were better educated.
THE ATLANTIC, GREENvILLE AND WEST =
ERS-The directors Of the Atlantic, Green :
vi\e and Western Railroad have decided TO :;
caH meeting of stock holders at Greenwood,