Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1902-12-05
A PLEA FOR
BETTER SCHOOLS
Ur. Robert Frazer Makes
an Excellent Address.

DR.. Robert Frazer, former President
OF the State Female Normal School. at
Farmville, and now field agent OF the
Southern Education Board, made an
address here on Tuesday, in the High
School Chapel. For lack OF sufficient
notice or for some other reason. there
were but few of the citizens of the
community present Tho Chapel
wa well filed with pupils and teachers
fIom the schools of the town. The Ed
ucation Board had its origin, it will be
recalled, at Capon Springs, where n
number of wealthy and distinguished
educators and public men OF the North
and South met, and organized the
southern Education Board, whose OBJ
iect is, better education for all the
children of the South. This move
ment, known as "The Ogden Move
nent," we believe, has assumed great
proportions, and promises great things
for the South.
Prof Frazer and Hon II. St.George
Tucker, are the field agents OF the
Board, for Virginia, and in this capacity
Mr. Frazer is visiting different sections
of the state, presenting the objects Of
the Board, and doing much 60 awaken
the people on the general subject of
education.
1t is regretted that his great speech
delivered here cannot be reproduced in
full for the benefit Of our readers. We
can only give an imperfect synopsis:
In the beginning nc said that the
conditions prevailing in Tazewell were
not equallcd 10y any town OF like size in
the state, both as TO the number and
character of schools and number of
children in attendance. Prof Byron
and his school were highly compliment
ed, and our people congratulated. The
speaker said TINT there are over 100
600 children of school age in the state,
but only about one third of these were
i'm school one hundred days la the year.
This low average attendacc Is due.
largely TO indifferent schools. There Is
never any trouble about attendance In
n good school. 1t makes little differ
ence with many schools whether the
children are there or not Our schoc
system is wholly inadequate TO meet
the demands.
" want schools that will be abreast
of the times, and this Is Virginin's SUI
preme concern. The stability, virtue
and happiness of our people depends
upon the extent and character Of our
educational system. The army of
idlers aid ignorant people threaten our
institutions, can be neglected only at
imminent peril. A great man said; "ed-
ucation in "A democracy is not matter
Of philanthrophy but of life and death. -
If Thomas Jefferons plans ofa century
ago had been put into execution Vir-
ginia would be to-day thegrcatcst com
monwealth on the globe. There never
was IA day in our history when broad
culture was more needed than now,
and never n day when we had a system
that was so far from being commen-
surate with our needs.
The world is no longer divided into
separate, independent communities, but
united into one great whole, in which
there is no place for an ignorant, in
competent man. In Virginia many of
our young men are doing menial work
because they don't know how 10 do the
higher. They are delving out the raw
materil for skillful hands and machines
TO manufacture for them into the finish
ed product. A bale of cotton is worth
$4,000. Manufactured abroad. into
the finest fabrics is worth 100000. We
want Virginians to get out and up, and
learn to make the 100000. Massa-
chusetts is the richest State in the
Union, not in natural resources but i'm
men and women. Rich soil and natu-
raj resources never yet made rich
people Tazeweli and Southwest Vir-
ginia are rich in natural resources, but,
for the most part, other and foreign
people all reaping the harvest, because
they know how. Massachusetts has
had a fine school system for nearly a
century.
We must hold and attract young
men instead Of repelIing them, and TO
this end we must have good all-around,
training schools. The first step to-
wards thetbest is fewer schools, second,
better equipped schools-be;ter and
more attractive school houses. Third