The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-01-20

school When the college was first
organized we had no fitting school,
but admitted all who came the
freshmen class, but were requir By
circumstances to organize the pre-
paratory school, whic'l was taught
by the entire faculty In other
words, the students OF arithmetic
would 60 to the professor of mathe
matics, bnt when they were out Of
his room they were left to their own
devises, and never having been
schooled to study, they did not know
how to study and did not know real
ly how to prepare their lessons and
after having tried that system for a
year, we decided to organize pre-
paratory ol and put them in it
for six no - day at least, so that
the professor could overlook and as
sist them
"But tho point which | wish to
make in regard to the governors
criticism is this: Winthrop. with
whose Management. | am familiar,
and of which have nothing to say
except that it it has been as we'll
managed as any new college that has
ever been organized, has as large
preparatory department as Clemson
and the girls of South Carolina have
shown that they are no better pre-
pared to do college work than the
boys who havo gone to Clemson If
there were schools IN every county,
within the reach of the poor boys,
who have had no opportunity to pre-
pare to enter the freshman class and
of these poor girls, too. l. woul1 be
she las; man to encourage them to
60 20 Clemson and Winthrop unified
Bp: the State has expended large
sums on equipping these colleges !;
they have faculties on the ground and
the Question is whether they mnst
condne themselves to teaching only
those who are fitted to enter and do
college work I, for one, would be
glad to zee an Improvement in the
common schools and high schools
that would enable the colleges to
take only these, who were fitted and
l have lent every effort in the Con
stitutional convention, in increasing
the two mill tax to three mill tax,
and | see no reason Why in the near
future we may not have system of
free SCHOOLS that will ruu at least six
months when we will not offer an op-
portunisy to any future governor to
demand that we shali not have fitting
schools run at the States expense
"Furthermore, the South Carolina
college has ever since its organiza-
tion had boys enter who were not
fitted to do the work of the freshman
class, and l do not see why Clemson
should be singled out and demand
made that it shall not receive these
lily prepared boys. who have not had
an opportunity to get the necessary
training. Object lessons afforded a
farmers son at Clemson is in itself
almost an education
When asked what he had to say
about the dispensary part of Gov
ernor Evans's message he said that
he was not discussing the dispensary
"What do you think Clemson can
be run this year for ?''
81 am glad you mentioned that"
he replied, "for it enables me to state
that all the money spent has not been
spent forrunning expenses | have
not the figures. but | know that
large part Of it was appropriated by
the trustees last year for equipment,
and ] would like to say in that con-
nection right here to the members of
the general assembly that they can
not spend money more wisely than
by going in body to those two in
stitutions and seeing where the
money has gone and what has been
done with it, and then decide what
they want done with them. and what
ever they do l will be satisfied with
it, for ! am sure they will act wise
ly.'
"How much will it take to run
Clemson this year ~
Eve are told that we have spend
$4,000; $4,000 Of that comes from
the national government for expert
mental work, by a special appropria
tion. and we have at Clemson a let
ter from the authorities at Washing
ton to deprive rs of the benefit of
that appropriation if we use it for
any other than purely experimental
purposes So we have to use that
appropriation for experimental pur
poses solely, while the enemies of
the college contend that the national