The times., 1901-04-19
THE GROWTH OF LIBRARIES
Social Scientists Discuss Their
Present land Future.

Melville Dewey on the Eject of Car
ncgie's notwithstanding Discus
sion of the Edueation of the Negro
| Views of Prof. Kelly Miller.
THE future of the library movement in
the United States in the light of Andrew
Carnegie's recent gift was the subject
discussed by the American Social Science
Association al its meeting last night. The
first paper was by Melville Dewey, State
Librarian at Albany. N. Y. The paper de-
elared that the gift made by Mr.. Carnegie
had, in addition to it's materially bene
fetal effect on New York, a secondary
effect, namely, one of stimulus to all
library movements. The gift came oppor-
tunely just at the elimination of the
library age" an age which began about
the middle of this century. The paper
then briefly traced the development OF
the library from its beginning as a closed
monastery collection. then a collection
open to the public, then the lending of
books and finally, it's present state where
it is on the verge of being asked to dis
tribute its books through the mails.
AT present, the heads of libraries are
no longer merely boolzish men, he de-
clared. 1T needs men of affairs, to earn
moral dividends on the money invested
| Il
business ability to earn dividends on
money invested in business"
Mr.. Dewey outlined the special tech
nical developments in the administration
of libraries which were to be expected in
the years to come. He predicted a cen
tralizaticn of libraries, resulting from the
increased cost of supporting such insti-
tutions and a consequent crowding out
of the smaller ones. Books would be put
in central library and be sent out to the
smaller distributing centres Libraries
would become local book stores in which
books could be examined and bought at
wholesale prices. Libraries would also be
publishing centres.
The time has come" Mr.. Dewey de-
clared, for the endowment of a great Ii
brary press. 1t would aim to publish the
best literature at a low cost and would
bring out such special publications as
catalogues or bibliographies. In the com
ing century the use of pictures as an aid
to books will increase, and the libraries
! Will recognize this in their work
! i. b. Samborn, of Concord, stated that
the first free library in the world was
established at Peterboro, Mass, in 1893,
and that in Massachusetts the movement
| had SO grown that at present every town
and city in the State possessed at least
one free library Mr.. Wayland suggested
that restraint should be put upon the
use of fiction in libraries.
Mr.. Wood, of North Carolina, made
some remarks concerning the library IA
cilities for people living An rural districts.
He thought that the library system ought
to be so extended as to take in the poorly
settled districts, which need even more
than the cities to be supplied with books
The general topic for discussion at the
morning meeting oGothel association was
| The outlook for the education and pro-
gress of the colored race in the light of
the present reactionary tendencies in the
| South. The work was under the De-
partment of Education and Art. of which
the Rev. Joseph Anderson, d. D., is
chairman.
The first paper was bysGeorge K. Stet-
son. of Washington He began by saying
| that racial antagonism is inherent in the
| human race, and appears in all classes.
under all conditions of civilization. The
| problem of the negro. of all those pre-
sented, because of this racial antagonism
he considered the most important in the
| United States, though less so in the
North than in the South. The domination
| of the negro in the South was recognized
| as having been very disastrous just after
the war, shown by the great increase
| in Indebtedness of the States in which
| they had power, well as by the cond1-
| tion of society
There are gradations in the negro
race, as there are in other races" con-
tinued the speaker. ''and a failure to rec
ognize this is the cause of much of the
difficulty presented by the race problem
a segregation of the negro has proved
futile. He has not the stable qualities
hat oI-e
he cannot be disposed of by being col
onized
Taking up the question of negro educa-
tion, the speaker said that the race as a
whole was suffering from intellectual in
digestion, the result of cramming its rep
resentatives with knowledge not fitted to
them.
The education of the negro along lines
now followed in the South, he said, lis
an impossibility. He has been taught
astronomy when he ought to have been
trained in scientific agriculture.
This would release the negro from a
condition of practical serfdom, enable him
to have a family life and would increase
the richness of the States in which he
lives. He should be taught the economy
of agriculture. and should be taught these
things in industrial schools making IL pos
sible to dispense with the costly second
airy schools now supported by the whites.
The cost of this Industrial education
should be borne by the State. The ne
gros permanent field Is agriculture. Sta
tistics prove that in negro educational in
stitutions very small per cent of the
students are preparing to take up farm
ing. Yet is can be said that the percent
age is increasing"
The paper summarized the conditions of
racial prejudice in the North and South, |
in the negro republics and islands of the
Gulf and concluded with discussion of
the political status of the colored man, |
closing with the statement that negro, |
or any ignorant suffrage, is menace to |
the Commonwealth. The negro citizen, |
except in theory, has not yet been in |
vented.
Prof Kelly Miller, Of Howard Univer- !
sity, was the next speaker. He said the |
education of the negro was not a sep |
arate difficulty, but a part of the general !
pedagogical problem of the country. In /
no way, he insisted, had it been proved |
that the darker race was in all respects |
the inferior. The waves of racial deVel- |
opment overlap" he said. There are |
plenty of whites on a lower plane than !
many negroes. The negro has poSSibih- |
ties and aspirations, and in the light of |
humanity has right to the development !
Of the one and satisfaction OF the other: |
yet the negro, it is true, is in back |
ward state of development but has inns |
menSe physical ability and persistence. |
The test of the capabilities of the race is |
the emergence of the Individual. Had /
the Indian produced one man of the abil- |
ity of Booker T. washington he might |
have saved the race from destruction. |
The negro in every country has shown |
his head in the front rank of every art |
and science and industry 1t is short
sighted therefore. to declare one stated |
kind of educational system for the race.
THE industrial school, however, is the !
only means whereby the negro can come
in touch with the current Of industry and
reach toward the coefficisnt OF taciilty
- i l l