Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1902-01-16
MISSISSIPPI MATTERS
NOTES or PAST AND CURRENT EVENTS
By KATE MARKHAM POWER.


Jackson was full and ovsrfowing
last week With the legislators Of 1899
and the friends and interested parties
who had gathered TO see the opening
Of the session- Promptly AZ hIgh noon
on the Tuesday after the first Meu-
day In January the szvel fell and
the two houses we're called to order.
the Senate by Lieut-Cov Harrisoa
and the House BY Speaker Russell
Gov Loagiao's excellent and COM
preheuslve message has been % widely
read ere this that eonnen: here would
be superfuogs- Il. speaks for-itself
and carries TO every reader the eonvic-
ton that Nississippi-s Governor has
Al heart the interests Of Nississippi-s
people. and that be will do his ut
most TO see that these interests are
protected The frs, bomb thrown into
the camp Of the soldns was the report
from the penitsnt;ary investigating
committee. which met and performed
arduouS l1oor last summer This re-
port uIll be published ar once. and
the people may read for themselves
the findings Of their committee The
next matter Of great interest was the
acceptance Of an Invitation from Mr..
Senter Of the yickSburg American and
the Columbus Commercial. and also
= member Of the House. 10 both
houses. to visit the l. T. & c. al Co
lumbps and the A. & u AZ StarkviIle
AZ the ead Of the week This courtesy
Is indeed an unusual one. and proves
that Brother Senter Is possessed Of
magic powers Of persuasion. as well
as Of wide influence, else the great
railroad would not have placed itself
at his disposal in so generous a fash
ion Whatever the argument he used.
NE rejoice that IT prevailed. and con
graduate him and the State Of Missi=-
sippi upon the result We believe
that the one and only thing needful
Is that each and every member OF the
Legislature 90 and see for himself the
grand work OF our great Industrial
college Then there vii be no man 5
voice raised against all needed sup
port Of the Agricultural and Mechaa-
ical College and the Industrial Insti-
tute and College
A most unusual appeal has been
made by some ladies Of Utica. Miss.
for aid in reftting and repairing their
ehurvh building Their statement.
which follows. has the merit Of being
50 far out Of the common run Of such
communications that II ought certainly
to command the attention OF and draw
the dollars from every Yankee sol-
der Who left his autograph On those
fair walls Autographs come high
these times, and these scrfhes Of
Grants army should pay we'll for their
names:
1T was in February. 1864. that Gen
Grant with his hosts Of soldiers
marched through our land from Grand
Gulf to vieksburg and nalted for a few
days in our little Iown. taking for
headquarters our magnificent church
house, which still stands on an emf
nenee. giving il q commanding view
Of the country for some distance in
every direction The Federal soldiers
eamped everywhere: the ehurehyari
was full and the benches Of the church
were taken out and made into horse
- I'D
dovs were shot to pieces by the Fed
erals shooting at skirmishers. In this
way the church was torn TO pieces in
side But this Is net all The soldiers
wrote their names all over the walls.
which we're so pure and white. We
hope that they will now aid Us in
painting and in other ways reftting
our house Of worship and get others OF
their comrades TO do the same The
church house IS perhaps the oldest
Christian church in Mississippi
Prof c. +. Boyd has been gathering
statistics upon the school library move
ment in the State. and from answers
received from seventy-three county su-
perintendents. school principals. prezt-
dents. etc. he publishes the following
results:
Number OF Libraries In rural schools.
Il; number Of libraries In separate
school districts. IL: total volumes in
rural schools. 1000; number Of vol
umes in separate school districts,
1887: total volumes read in rural
schools last year. no report: total vol
umes read in separate school districts,
tS.3s5 reported; annual allowance for
libraries in counties. nothing: allow
anee for Libraries in separate school
districts. nothing.
The smallest library reporting
claims 1e volumes. while the largest.
Greenville public school. claims 3,20o
| volumes The University Of Missisip-
pi has q. 900 volumes on IT'S shelves
and has a $500 annual appropriation.
The A. Z NJ College has SITS volumes
in its library
Another Of -our boys has been
eomplinented recently. this time in
the Philadelphia College Of Pharmacy.
Mr.. James s. Billurs Of Columbus has
been chosen by the committee On the