The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-04-21

A STARTLING REVELATION FOR
NORTH CAROLlNEANS

Ol1n1anS that the conuIIioAS III SoHle
sections of western Carolina We're not
good. and that education was greatly
neglected, and ignorance of a very deep
kind prevailed. 1t was known also that
in some counties lawlessness abounded,
and murders were frequent. But the
impression received was not equal TO
the facts. Loving North Carolina as
we do, and proud as we are of its de-
yotion to liberty, independence and the
rights of freemen, and it's splendid rec
ord in the great war for second inde-
pendence, We confess to profound hu
miIiation and regret when we G on
Sunday last a communication IN the
Presbyterian Standard of Charlotte, of
18th inst, from Rev. DIR. Robert r.
Campbell, of Asheville, upon Mission
Work Among the Mountain Whites in
the Asheville P~resbytery. DR.. Camp
bell Is an able man and zone Of the"
men himself. He is not seek
ing to wound or ruthlessly expose the
nakedness of an embarrassed section,
but he seeks to turn on the light Of
truth that the people of our state who
are enlightened and advanced may be-
come more deeply interested in the
question of popular education and of
the advancement of the cause of Christ.
DIR. Campbell writes hat he himself is
a Mountain White and resents the
sweeping and indiscriminate statements
that have been made bout the inhab-
itants of the southern Appalachians.
1t must be remembered that he is de-
scribing conditions that exist only in
the mountain coves and on the poorer
highlands lying far back from the rail-
roads and larger valleys. He is giving
the testimony of eye witnesses, who
made their Investigations in a spirit of
love and sympathy and with a desire
to arouse the thousands of our intelli-
gent Christian people to do something
for their less fortunate brethren"
So the probing of the ugly sores and
the unwilling of depravity are not done
with any other feeling than hat of
love and sympathy, and with a sincere
desire to bring healing and relief from
those who are able to bear and to help.
But the revelation is really startling,
and the picture one of unrelieved
gloom. A family of seven was found
by an evangelist not one of whom had
ever been to school a day or had ever
heard of Jesus Christ and knew moth
ing of the resurrection of the body or
the immortality of the soul. They live
An a fairly good cabin on their own lit
Ale farm of fifty acres" We confess
that the people of that grade are not
fit to be entrusted with the ballot.
Let us lay before the readers of the
Messenger a long extract. 1t will sur
prise and mortify but it will be good
physic we hope. The section included
in what follows is "a thickly settled
district of $50 square miles with 400
children of school age, but no school
IN for them to attend. Few of the adul
population Of this district can read.
Ignorance, misery, and vice abound.
What wonder?" Yea! what wonder!
Can such a condition be any thing else
than deplorable, even degrading and
unhappy? DR.. Campbell says:
s'There are large sections of country
DIN which hundreds of people live with
out the care of a physician. Old women
administer their herbs, and quacks
prdcLlCe THEIR SupeTSClLlOuS arts. LIE
physical suffering in these regions,
much of which might be relieved by
simple remedies and surgical operations
is distressing.
Profanity is common among men,
women and children. Mothers are some
times heard calling on God to damn their
own children's souls, bringing to mind
the text, Can a woman forget her
sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget; yet will not l
forget thee"
The women and children do nearly
all of the work. A majority of the men
are idle most of the time. Their most
serious employment is hunting or fish
ing or running Illicit distillerieS and i'm
bibing the blood of John B~arleycorn.
In some regions a young man has
reached the summit of his ambition
when he has learned to pick the ban
10, owns a dog, and carries a pistol and
a bottle of whiskey.
In many homes there were seen no
evidences of affection between different
members of the family. Children are
governed by brute force, until they be-
come strong enough to fight their own
way. The aged are neglected and de-
spised.
Many children learn to use tobacco
before they can talk, and are stunted
IN their growth.
~ 40 I'LL Gin 10 dCCooIlCo
no disgrace. Laxity in such matters
discounts a mans character no more
than in some of the fashionable city
circles!"
If the Messenger was not persuaded
that such statements may do good by
publishing them they would never nave
appeared in its columns. The Bible
alone contains the seed of all truth and
tt r~egenerating, uplifting forces for
fallen mankind. The gospel must be
carried to the heather at our door. Let
the people who name the name of Christ
De alive to their duty here. Let domestic
missions in all the churches be most
liberally sustained. Let the ignorant.
n besotted, the lost heal the preach
ing OF the Word Of Life. Let the ban
ner of popular education by the power