The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-08-08

7
tions that now live only 10 the flick
ering shadows of their departed glory.
Our own Spanish American war fur
nishes vivid and glorious illustra-
ton of the power of education VS..
ignorance, for in that war it was a
| contest between the educated mind
of the American gunner against the
trained hand of the Spanish sailor,
and the result was inevitable.
Spain's proud banner went down to
defeat in ignomy and shame, and she
now has one of her fleets lying be.
| meath the "ocean that roars'' and
another at the bottom of the "ocean
that sleeps" Our victories we're
won, not upon Manila Bay or at San
tiago Harbor, but within the recita,
ton halls at Annapolis, where young
Dewey, Sigh and Sampson were
taught the art of naval warfare, and
at our training stations, where the
''man behind the gun" was taught to
shoot with mathematical accuracy.
Thus we see by example, if we ex-
pect to keep the beacon light of civil
and political liberty burning bright
and untarnished we must turn our
eyes towards our educational institu-
tions and from them recruit the fu-
ture citizenship of this state and
nation.
There has never been time in the
history of South Carolina when edu-
cation was as free and as open as it
is today; and the young men of this
generation have opportunities and
advantages that we're denied their
parents. Forty-two years ago when
the tocsin of war was sounded, and
the rattle of the long roll and the
| winding of the bugle was heard from
the Potomac to the Rio Grande, the
college boys of 81 threw aside their
books and rallied to the defence OF
the ''stars and bars" Of the new born
Confederacy. They no longer studied
history-they began to make it; and
for four long years they fought an
| unequal struggle, adding new chap
ter to American history, and giving
bloody meaning to valor and patriot
ism. When the fash of the last gun
at Appomattox had passed into his7
tory, they turned their backs upon
the battle SCARED hills of Virginia,
furled forever that flag that had
6oated over hundred fields Of vic
torv; turned their faces towards their
homes only to find them a mass OF
smouldering ruins, their country a
political and financial wreck, and a
few blackened walls and cracked
chimneys marking the spot where
once stood their Alma Mater. Those
soldier boys of the Confederacy were
overpowered, but not conquered, and
with zeal and determination they
grasped the plow handles and
brought order out of chaos. They
had no thought of books, no time for
education, each one had mans
work to do, and he did it; and those
gallant men have restored to US a
white mans government and with it
heritage most glorious. They
abandoned their hope of education
at their country's call, and most of
them have come on down thus far
with their education incomplete, not
rs matter of choice, but as matter
Ct duty and patriotism. The young
men of this day and generation have
no such reason or excuse, for peace
is abroad in the land and plenty is in
our midst; our acres whiten with cot
ton and our fields are golden with
gram: the whistle of the locomotive
may be heard anywhere from Oconee
to Hilton Head, and higher institu-
ton of learning can be found in
almost every village. The children
of this generation have no reasonable
excuse for not accepting an educa-
tion: the state offers them one with
out money and without price; the
latch string hangs on the outside OF
the door OF every denomlnatlonaI
college, and al education is now
within reach of every young man OF
Young woman in South Carolina, and