The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-20

elsewhere, the most highly favored WON
en- are very like other highly fayoree
women Those do give a community eer
tain sort of distinction. but they do no.
give it it's characteristics 1t is all the res
of the people that make it what it is, tina
determine the condition OF its health, thu
soundness Of it's social structure, it's eco
nomic value and it's Level OF life. The Sc
curity and soundness OF the whole bod,
are measured at last by the condition Of
its weakest part.
So much, if you please, to get the prop
Ter point Of view. II you have been in the
habit, in your social studies, consciously
or uncOnscously, OF dividing men int
classes and Of considering some more i'm
portant in possibilities to the common
veal than others, your studies are not II
keeping with the dominant democracy OF
our country, and Of our race. In any
scheme of man-culture one man must be
regarded of as great Importance as an
other. The doctrine Of equality OF oppor'
tunity is at the bottom OF social progress
for YOU can never judge a mans capacity
except as he has opportunity to develop
it. When we make social study, we
must break through, to use Burke's fine
| phrase, frank and title and all the sol
, emn Probabilities of the world" and
come face to face with all the men who
make up the social body, seeing them az
they are, and not through the medium Of
| our traditions or Of their estimates Of
| themselves. From this point of view let
me make very rapid and general survey
of the culture Of men in North Carolina
Of the social structure and the social
forces that have shapened us.
In the days OF our fathers to a slight
extent the social structure was aristocrat-
ic, but it was much less aristocratic than
the social structure was, for example, in
Virginia or in South Carolina. The mass
of the people were common people; they
lived directly out of the soil and they had
the manners and the virtues and the Emi-
tations Of the simple agricultural popula-
ton, which is much the same two genera
tons ago in all the countries where a
livelihood is easily obtained. They were
nearly all Of English and Scotch-Irish
stock. Most Of them were sprung from
peasants Of sturdy qualities; very few
from gentlemen, some were descended
from forced and hired immigrants. Taken
all together they were a common people.
capable Of as rapid and sound develop
ment as the population of any other
States. They were ignorant as the COM
mon people in most lands were a hundred
years ago.
The dominant idea Of educa ton was
that it was a luxury for the rich, or for
the benefit Of the well-born-in a sense
the privilege of the ruling class. This
class feeling in education was perceptible
even Within my recollection. When |
was a pupil at the most famous school
for boys in the State, lad whose father
had not had military or a political rec
ord, was at a certain disadvantage. / re-
call scene more ludicrous than any in
Dickens when a thirteen-year-old COM
panion OF mine came to my room one day,
shut the door and fell on the bed and
wept-wept because his father was not a
Colonel. l tried to comfort him by tell
ing him that my father was not a Colonel
either. So far from consoling him this
information only gave him the
less respect for me. L had not
seen this weeping lad for more
than twenty-five years, when | met
him on the train two years ago at Raj
eigh He was telling me of his children
and / asked if he ever thought that
his own children's father was not Col
onel. He recalled the incident as clearly
as l recall it. There could be no true
education in an atmosphere where such
an incident could happen.
These things / mention not in blame of
our ancestors. If we could have chosen
l doubt if we could have chosen better
ones. 1t is out of just such stock that the
men came who to-day rule the world.
But l mention these things because we
ourselves in times past have written and
spoken such nonsense about ourselves
and about our ancestors-haye made
ourselves believe that we were in some
way different from other sturdy folk and
that we were in some way better than
most common people. Thus we put
false value on our social structure, and
we have never until now quite looked at
ourselves in the face and seen ourselves
as others see us. This false view has
done more incalculable hurt All social
progress must begin with clear
understanding of men as they
are. We are all common folk,
then, who Were once dominat
ed by little aristocracy, which in its
social and economic character made a
failure and left a reasonable crop of
wrong social notions behind livery
wrong notions, especially about educa
ton.
There fingers one very striking relic /,
of the aristocratic structure of opinion |
in North Carolina-a certain timidity
in dealing with public opinion, which men |
falsely call rvatism-hesitation to |
trust the peoples judgment. 1t cropped |
out humorously on this platform yester-
day. Mr.. Scarborough declared that our |
people were conservative-very conserva-
tive. You must consider what they are |
ready for and what they are not ready |
for, they are very conservative. A half |
hour later, while narrating the career of |
Miss Dix, Mr.. Carr showed how one wo-
man of enthusiasm came here from Mas
sachusetts and induced the State to spend |
for single istitution, and at one time,
a larger sum than the whole annual re-