The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-05-16

for my approaching birthday. Most
heartily do | wish l could be with you
at Rock Hill personally on that occa-
sion. but age and ip6rmities compel
me to deny myself aud can only as
sure you Of my heartfelt gratitude.
The Normal aud Industrial College
with which South Carolina has bonored
my name had already fulfilled the ex-
pectations aud hopes of its friends
under the devoted care Of President
johnson. May it continue to be for
centuries to come an ornament and
support to the State which has SO wise
ly and literally founded it.
Believe me, gentlemen, respectfully
and faithfully your obliged %fellow-citi-
zen. ROBERT G.. WINTHROP.
l will say here, by way of parenthe-
sis. that it was through his fostering
care as trustee of the Peabody fund,
that the training school for teachers
started in Column ia in 1886, began the
work which laid the foundations Of the
institution which we are now erecting.
know | voice the sentiment of every
mao, woman and child in this audience
and in South Carolina, that it is alto
getber fit and right that we have hon
ored Calhoun's friend ano eulogist by
giving his name to Clemson's twin Sis
ter And known you will all unite
with me in the prayer that this grand.
good old man may be spared at least to
see the %frrition of our hopes in the
assembling within these walls Of the
900 South Carolina girls for whom we
are preparing. Neither Of these men
can receive any honor from the associ-
alton of their anne with the two col
leges. Let US hope that the youths of
our State from association will emulate
their illustrious example.
This school is to be known as the
Winthrop Normal and Industrial
College. These two words, nor
maI'' and industrial" are the two
load stars which must guide
our people out Of the wilderness
of poverty. ignorance and stagnation
which surrounds US. Within their
meaning lies our only hope-the
one saws educate, the other means
work. | would not be understood as
claiming or intending that the women
of our State do not now work, or that
they are all ignorant. In fact, some
years ago, in discussing the causes of
our depressed financial condition, |
made the.assertion and l stick to it yet
that only two classes of our population
did their share of work. No observaut
or fair minded person will deny that
our wives and daughters have met the
changed conditions wrought by the
emancipation of the slaves with much
greater success and fortitude than the
men, and hat they do a much larger
portion of work than we do. On the
other hand. it is equally patent that the
bulk Of the labor among the colored
people is performed by men.
But to return to the scope aud pur.
pose of the two lines Of teaching which
we expect to pursue here. We desire
to say that we fully realize and under
stand the great need Of better teachers
teachers trained specifically for that
vocation. There are hundreds and
thousands of fairly we'll educated NO.
men in our State, many of whom are
following the noble avocation Of teach
ing. But the mere possession of knowl-
edge does not carry with it the power
of impartiug it. of exciting emulation.
of making study interesting. of training
children how to think and exercise their
reasoning powers. l have often thought
that teachers are boru, not made and
we occasionally meet with those who
have a geoius-f for impartiDg knowledge.
But the improved systems which have
been adopted in the Winthrop School
and facility with which all the graduates
of that school obtain positions at more
remuueralive wages than others of equal
education. who have not had its advaR-
tages. is proof that normal training is
an absolute necessity aud invaluable.
Without rejecting in the slightest apon
the work which has hitherto been done
10 this line. it is our purpose to enlarge
aud improve on that work, and it will
be our ambition to have such profess
sors and ipaugurate such a curriculum
as will not only furnish facilities for
persons already educated to get this
normal training, but to take the young
girl fresh from home and carry her
through all the classes up to the high
est proficiency in the normal depart
ment, conferriug degrees for the vary
ing degrees of proficiency. There will
never be any restrictions as to the
number Of normal students, but we will
take all who apply for this specific train