The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-19

COOHoHly anu ShlCiShSJ' AACiC 10 ~
headship, no leadership, no intelli-
gent policy, no common purpose.
Necessarily, the result is duplica-
tion of work, lack Of connection, an
uneconomical, because unsystematic,
expenditure of funds, an inexcusable
waste of energy, and, above all. an
unsatisfactory effort to forward the
cause Of popular education. An ideal
plan would be the combination Of all
higher State institutions into single
co-educational university, but at pres
cnt this is not practicable, and the
next best measure is the organization
of these now diverse elements into one
system, properly directed by compe-
tent officials, who should be, as far as
possible, separated from political en-
tanglements and whose duties and
responsibilities should be carefully
defined by statute. The common
country schools, the more Aourishing
town schools and the various State
colleges should be so related that no
gap should occur in the succession of
grades through which the pupil pass
es, from rudimentary to postgraduate
studies. Every step should imply
the preceding step" every advance in
classes should be natural sequence of
antecedent preparation 80 that the
pupil who enters the lowest grade, in
the lowest rural school, might move
forward, and without break, to an
A. M. degree in the highest college
in the State. Especially should the
higher institutions supported by the
State be brought into cooperative re-
lations with each other. There
should be no duplication Of plants and
courses and chairs and appliances that
could possibly be avoided.
If there are to be various State Col
leges they should fill as various fields
Of education work, and in answer to
rational demand for such variety Of
advantages; moreover, each should be
be kept strictly.to its own line Of in
struction. Furthermore, there must
be no sentimental hesitation in reduc-
ing the States higher educational
system to the basis indicated BY the
peoples actual needs, present and
prospective. Lower education should
press ahead Of popular demand and
seek to draw the people on to a full
realization Of their necessities in this
line Of education and culture. But
the higher education may, for the
present at least, be content to meet
effectively the immediate demand.
From what has been said above you
may easily infer that the prime neces-
sity for che higher education in South
Carolina is that all the State colleges
be brought under the control Of sin
gle board of trustees, who shall see
that each is supported and expanded
according as the needs Of the people
shall indicate. No one Of these
should be allowed to trench upon the
province of the others, or to take from
che necessary financial support of the
others. At present each State college
has its own Independent board who con-
slider themselves responsible only for
its support and for its success; and
who are naturally not concerned, save
in sentimental way, with the pros
perity or interests of the other State
institutions. The control Of the
States educational institutions is
now in the charge of separate boards
Of trustees for each college, divided
az follows: South Carolina College,
II: Clemson College, 13; South Caro-
lima Military Academy, IL; Winthrop
College, II: South Carolina State
Colorcd Normal and Industrial Col
legc, Z.
The work of the several boards
could be better done and at considera-
bly, less expense to the State by a
board of seven competent members.
The trustees of the various institu-
tions are, at present, placed in an atti-
tude Of partisanship to their own in
terests and of indifference amounting
almost to hostility to the other State
colleges. Thus, each struggling to
take care Of itself alone, is by that eff
fort brought into competition with
the others instead of working with
them and dividing with them. This
breeds selfishness, distrust and antag-
onism among institutions that can
flourish only by working in harmony.
Ny belief in the necessity of State
higher education is my warrant for
caudidly pointing out what seems to