The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-09-24
SOUTHERN COLLEGES.
Their Sound and Steady Growth In
dictate Permanent Prosperity.
Baltimore SUM-

Baltimore Sum-
There are many indications that the
South, despite the lamentations of polit-
zeal Jeremiahs, is in solid and fairly
prosperous financial condition, and
among the facts that prove this is the
improved and improving position OF Its
colleges. At the close of the civil war.
and for five years after, there were few
institutions worthy of the name OF col
lege in existence in the South. Endow-
ments had been swept away, buildings
had been burned, libraries had been de-
stroyed and the patrons who had sup
ported the colleges in ante-bellum times
were now impoverished. The acade-
mics and preparatory schools that fitted
boys for college were gone, and the in
stitution of the public school system i'm
peded their revival. In Virginia the
university and several colleges were
able in the fall of 1866 to resume their
work. They prospered greatly for a
time. the lack of like institutions in other
parts of the South giving them an ex-
ceptionally large attendance. There
were minor institutions in operation in
other Southern States in 1870 and ear
lier, but they were few in number, ILL
equipped and embarrassed by want of
patronage and income. They languished
by reason of the poverty of the people.
The policy Of reconstruction imposed
vast burdens of taxation, and the col
leges suffered along with other inter-
ests.
But wealth, which consists chiefly in
the possession Of the comforts of life.
was being slowly accumulated. The
vigor that sustained the South in arms
for years against the unlimited resources
of the North manifested itself in steady
work, and by 1880 great progress had
been made in replacing what had been
destroyed. Since that date marvellous
results have been achieved in diversity
ing industries. The Atlanta Exposition
signified to the world that the South
was fast becoming mining and manu-
featuring country. 1t was shown there
that, with its own savings and with the
help of imported capital, the South had
developed its dormant mineral and lum.
bering resources. and had at the same
time diversified its crops. The older
towns and cities have grown in size arc
wealth, and hundreds of new towns have
sprung into existence. The vast devel
opment of railways in the South is il
itself a convincing evidence of an enor
nous growth of material wealth.
But the Southern people have Away!
valued education, and their achieve
ments in this line have exceeded al
others. They have founded many new
institutions some Of them Of the high
est standing. Johns Hopkins Universe
ty, Vanderbilt University, Tulane Uni
versity and the University of Texas ar
new creations, but they rest on the firm
foundation Of large endowments. The!
are well attended, and, along with tn,
University of Virginia, are doing grea
work.
The increased wealth of the South |
more adequately indicated, however, Il
the multiplication and prosperity of tn
lesser ADMINISTRATION Of sue
merit as to be classed by the Commits
sioner of Education in his report TO
1892 among the colleges of the Unite,
States. OF these Alabama has 8; Ar
kansas, s; Florida, A; Georgia. s.; Ken
lucky, 10; Louisiana, 8; Mississippi,
Missouri, q; North Carolina, II; Sout1
Carolina, 8; Tennessee, %; Texas, II
Virginia, 8; West Virginia, 8. Eacl
has besides one or more colleges o
agriculture and the mechanical arts
endowed by act of Congress, most o
which include classical course in thei
curriculum. No doubt many Of tn
so-called colleges are of low grade, bu
Virginia has institutions of indisputa
BILE value and standing; West Virginia
: Q; North Carolina, 4; South Carolina,
: Georgia, 4; Alabama, 8; Mississippi,
Tennessee, 4; Kentucky, 4; Missouri,
Arkansas 1; Louisiana, 8; Texas, 2. Mos
of them have good endowments, all ar
we'll equipped and all have a large at
tendance What is specially significan
the students at these institutions "hav
money to burn" That Is to say, the
have plenty of money to spend on tn
: sports and luxuries of college life, an
exhibit in their habits no sign of har
times in the thousands Of homes fror
: which they come. Year by year tn
colleges are more and more prosperou.
} and the last three years they hav
shown increased prosperity. The Sout
is accordingly to be congratulated. bot
on its improved educational facilttie
, and on the general well-being of whic
I they are an index.