The leader., 1902-08-27
EDUCATIONAL.
People of All Sections of the
State Displaying Unusual
Interest.


Division of School Fund Between the
Paid Strongly Opposed.
Hon. j. G. Hardy, the able President
of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College, of Starkville, gives most in
teresting and gratifying account of ed
vocational matters and the present and
future outlook of the great institution
over which he presides. He strongly
opposes division of the school fund
between the races proportionate to the
amount of taxes paid by each race and
quoting State superintendent Whit
field, who in also opposing this scheme
says that the conservatism of Missis-
sippi will.assert itself and not allow its
hatred of an inferior race to outweigh
its love for it's own children, to say
nothing of equity and JUSTICE
rl"During the past three weeks" says
L
ly 300 miles by private conveyance, go.
ing as far as thirty-five miles from a
railroad, and over 1000 miles by rail
have made sixteen speeches and have
spoken to nearly 10000 people. have
been doing cooperative work with Su.
perintendent Whitfield in many parts
of the State, and l have never seen the
people so universally aroused upon the
subject of education in general and
upon industrial education in particular
as they are to-day all over Mississippi
They are interested in everything that
pertains to better life and higher
living. / have never known them sc
anxious for agricultural information
Notwithstanding the fact that we are
conducting more than double the mum.
Der of Institutes ever held in the State
we are unable to supply the demand
l hope the next Legislature will make
an appropriation for this work suff
Gent to put an institute in every neigh.
borhood in Mississippi. The farmers
institute movement is one of the great
est ever undertaken by the State, fol
it is an effort to carry the best agri
cultural information to every farmer
of the commonwealth. The press can
be of great service in this work by urg
ing the people to attend the meetings
which it is hoped 1t will continue to do
and otherwise lend it's powerful aid.
find the old prejudice against the col
lege is giving way everywhere, and the
people are realizing that the college is
to generate the power that must lead
in the industrial development of Mis-.
sissippi. I have introduced practical
course for working boys, and in the
future if a boy possesses grit and de-
termination he can attend the Agricul
tural and Mechanical College of Missis
work his way through. This course
will be very popular and will supply
long felt need. To make room fo1
the large number of additional boys
that this course will bring us, our board
of trustees very wisely prohibit boys
from the preparatory department, il
they are in reach of a graded or high
school at home. In other words, il
they can get preparatory education at
home they must do so, as the prepare
tory department at the A. & M. Col,
lege is intended only for those who can.
not get preparatory education at home
We were getting too many little fellows
from the towns, who should have re,
manned in the graded schools until they
we're prepared for college.
"Under the splendid leadership OF
superintendent Whitfield, in the cam
paign that he Is now waging for the
extension of the rural schools, it will
70 a NxJh h1
atory department at the A. & NJ. Col.
lege may be abolished, as every child
in the State will be in reach of such a
school as will fit him to enter our fresh.
man class. The educational future OF
Mississippi Is brighter than I have ever
known it, and the only thing that dark.
ems the horizon is the effort to divide
the school money between the races in
proportion to the amount of taxes paid
by each. Though in my humble iudg-
ment, this division ought not to be made
if it could, and could not be made if it
ought, yet even the discussion of the
question at this time is very unfortun-
ate for the great educational revival in
which the educational leaders of the
State are engaged.
"Ihe race problem is the most com
pick that has ever confronted any peo-
pie since the beginning of recorded his
tory, and how it is to be solved I know
not, nor do believe the man is vet born
who knows; but believe God is in the
problem as He has been in all the his,
tory of the past, and by the wise and
friendly cooperation of the best men
of both races, under the leadership of
God the problem will be solved to the
satisfaction of ourselves, to the salts
faction of the best people of this coun-
try, and of the whole civilized world
We have inherited this problem and in
dealing with it we must prove worthy
sons of worthy sires' by applying to il
the principles of the best civilization of
the world.
"The Constitutional Convention of
1890 had in it many of the best and
brainiest men the State has ever pro-
duced. 1t was their judgment, solemn
ly expressed, that ignorance could not
help in the solution of the problem
which the convention was called to
solve; so while placing citizenship upon
an intelligent basis they provided
schools for all alike and threw open
the doors as wide as the windows OF
heaven so that every child of the
commonwealth, be he rich or poor
high or low, might enter and be
fitted for productive and enlightened
citizenship, the glory of the State, the
strength of the nation. I have conf
dence in the conservative citizenship
of Mississippi, and that this conserva;
tism will assert itself at this time, and
as Superintendent Whitfield puts it
will not allow its hatred for an inferior
race to outweigh it's love for it's own
children, to say nothing of equity and
Justice
eve hope to have a great meeting
at the A. & M. College during the SEES
sion of our State Farmers Institute
Aug. 81, % and &c."
Enunnmr.SvNn al