The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1899-11-23
THE EDITORS LEISURE HOURS

THE EDITORS LEISURE HOURS
Points and Paragraphs Of Things
Present, Past and Future.
The Sou th is taking greater interest
in schools for training nurses than
would haye been thought score of
years ago. The interest is not con-
6ned to the white race. Mr.. R. J.
Reynolds, of Winston, proposes to do
nate 5000 to the establishment of a
hospital and nurse-training school for
the colored race in connection with the
Slater Industrial and State Normal
School there. The donation is made
on condition that the same amount be
raised by the management of the
school, which will doubtless be done.
A correspondent to Word and Works,
published by Irl r. Hicks, of St. Louis,
Mo-, asks where and when was the Irish
potato first discovered. Mr.. Hicks gives
the following answer which is doubt
less interesting to the readers of THE
COMMONWEALTH because of the histori-
cal reference to North Carolina:
"The name Irish potato, like the
names of some other vegetables, is a
misnomer. The potato was not known
in ireland until the latter part of the
last century. It is now an important
vegetable in that country and the chief
food of the inhabitants. We presume
that is why tits called the Irish potato.
The potato was first discovered on the
American continent and seems to have
been known to the Indians. When Sir
Waiter Raleigh's expedition made a
trip to the coast of North Carolina in
1856 the explorers carried back with
them some specimens of the potato.
The early explorers confounded the
sweet potato with the white potato and
az the Spanish had called the sweet po-
tato sbatata," similar name was given
to the white potato. The two plants,
however, are very different and belong
to entirely different botanical families.
The potato belongs to the botanical
family known as 'solanaceas.' The to-
mato, g-plant and ground cherry be.
long to tho same family. The sweet
potato belongs to the convolvulus fam
ilv and is first cousin to the morning
glory"
.A-...
| Trusts touch the interests OF every
class of citizens in the land, but they
operate with stronger emphasis agains
the poor than any others. Those wit
are forced to live by their daily toll, OF
scant wages at that, suffer more thar
those whose station and circumstance
I'm life are better. One trust that oper
ates with tremendous force against tn
poor, is the paper trust. If there
ANY class of persons in the world TO
whom reading and literature ought t
ibecome cheap, 1t Is the poor, be the
lin the cities and towns or in the rura
districts. Among the poor OF tn
lcountry are many farmers, and the trus
lon paper has the tendency to- max
leven the country weekly come higher
and thus raise 1t little out OF reac
of the farmer. And the only reaso
the country papers are not higher tha
they are is because their editors n
sufferipg the loss which comes fror
the operation of the trust. 1t Is notr
ing uncommon for newspaper men an
printers to get from paper dealers al
nouncement that call quotations 0
,anar are Withdrawn" and that papt
ia subject to change in price any day.
All this works a hardship to In
newspaper man and printer; ana "
ara clear in our conviction that new
n.ner work and general printing are dor
. at lese profit now:than eyer before In Il
historv of the country. There lsstron
,nducement for good and patriotic me
everywhere to use all possible emo
against every trust formed.