The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-11-25

am very much perplexed TO know
what to do for the country boys and
girls OF course they can get a little
| schooling under the present system but
/ that will be only in textbooks of read
| ing, writing and arithmetic. What they
/ need is books of reference that will ans
Wer their many questions. Every mail
| brings me letters wanting to know
| things that they cannot learn in their
| country schools. Their teachers can
not tell them nor their neighbors OF
course not more than half of them care
about knowing anything outside of their
| school books. but the other half do and
| on that half depends the culture and pro-
| gress of our country. Why should these
! boys and girls have to ask me and Joel
| Chandler Harris and John Temple Graves
/, and others so many questions? When
they inclose q stamp | answer all | can,
but these young people need books that
| they can refer to. If Mr.. Carnegie would
place in every country school a standard
| cycyopedia, such Appletons sixteen
volumes of universal knowledge or Dodd,
| Meade & Co.'S International of sixteen
volumes, the young people would have a
library that would answer all their
| questions. Add to this Appleton's seven
volumes of American biography and
country youth can get an education with
out anything else. young farmer in
Alabama asks me what books he must
buy to improve his mind and store up
knowledge by reading and studying at
night. Well, it will take near S100 to
buy the above named books and he had
better skip over all the modern trash
that does nothing but entertain and
amuse and strain his farm and his cat
! tie and everything to get that hundred
dollars / think he could get them from
Wannamakcr for s75.
, Now of course boy girl not
, yet in their teens would prefer books
, to suit their age, and they ought to
!, have them. l still treasure with delight
my enjoyment of such books as Robin
son Crusoe arabian Nights and
Jules Verne's works. "SWiss Family
Robinson and some of Scott's novels,
like Rob Roy and "Konilworth.
Children must have entertainment. AS
they grow up they must have knowledge,
for as Lord Bacon said knowledge is
power and Lord Brougham said, L had
rather tru It the schoolmastcr to perpei
uate this government than all the armies
of England.
, Now, here is a youth who writes to
me to know who invented the alphabet
|
question that should be answered, for
the alphabet is the very beginning OF
knowledge The alphabet goes away
back a thousand years before Moses Was
born The Phoenecians made the first
one that we know of. They lived in a
narrow region that lies between Pales-
tine and Syria a country about 200 miles
long 20 miles wide, and yet they domi-
mated the civilized world for a thousand
years for they had control of commerce
and manufacturers and the gold of Op-
hir and the silver of Tarshish and the
i brass and copper of other lands were
all theirs ard it was a fact that as
Isaiah wrote 'Silyer was heaped up as
. dust in the streets and was more plentl-
e full than iron" Hiram, the king, was
T the friend of Solomon. but a thousand
! years before their time these Phoene-
I clans had made an alphabet and used il
D in writing and engraving. But that al
Il | phabet has passed away. In course O.
: time the Grecans conquered sohoeneclf
t and the Greek language prevailed. Ihell
+ ! alphabet is the origin of ours, the very
| word being compounded of the first two
Y letters alpha and beta. Just as the Phoe
t necian language was lost and went into
t disuse Just so has the Greek and LatlT
l. | language been abandoned and our Eng
G lish will no doubt be the language of tht
c civilized world before this century ends
t Nearly a hundred years ago an Eng
. lshman by the name of James Smlthsol
d bequeat athcd to the United States some
: thing over a million dollars to be useC
5 to promote the diffusion of knowledg'
S among mon That sum has been in
f creased by our government from yea
: to year until now the Smithsonian Insti
u t1lte is one of the wonders of the world
Y But you cannot see it unless you so t
h it. and the rich and members of on
gress can do that. TChe common peopl
s arc still in the woods, and that is WI,
t | wish Carnegie or some other phllan
s thropist would do some thing for oul
a country schools The spirit Of progres
is doing we'll in the towns and cities
II Riaht here in Cartersville our good wo
- men have organized a public library
+ an attachment to their club work. IN
corner stone will be laid next Saturad
and I have been hoGored With an invl
: tation to upheaye the first shovel ful
OF earth, which | shall certainly DO
| am strong enough to lift the shovel
: | feel a deep interest. in this educatlona
: work and hope to live long enough I
see it in successful operation. Not lon
: ago a lady asked me who designed th
- | Confederate flag and who first sUsgeste
our Memorial day. When our library
: we'll supplied they will not have to as
these questions, but Will go there an
find cut
But l must stop now for fear l Wi
not only overtax my bodily strength, bu
will strain my mind besides.
5 BILL ARP.
? Notes From Carolina Garden.