The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1902-11-27
BILL ARP'S LETTER
He is Solicitous for Welfare of
Country Boys and Girls.
And Suggests That, When Possible,
They Should be Supplied With
Standard EncycIopedia-Ori.
gin Of Our Alphabet.

girls. Of course they can get little
schooling under the present system,
but that will be only in textbooks of
reading, writing and arithmetic. What
they need is books of reference that
will answer their many questions. Ev-
cry mail brings me letters wanting to
know things that they cannot learn in
their country schools. Their teachers
cannot 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 progress 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
a stamp | answer all can, but these
young people need books that they can
refer to. If Mr.. Carnegie would place
in every country school Il standard cy-
clopedia, such as Appleton's sixteen
volumes of universal knowledge or
Dodd, Meade & Co.'s International Of
sixteen volumes, the young people
would have library that would an
swer all their questions. Add to this
Appleton's seven volumes of American
biography, and country youth can
get an education without anything
else. A young farmer in Alabama
asks me what books he must buy to
improve his mind and store up knowl-
edge by reading and studying at night.
| Well, it will take near 500 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 cattle and
everything else to get that hundred
dollars. | think he could get them
from Wannamaker for SIS
Now, of course boy or girl not
| yet in their teens would prefer books
to suit their age, and they ought to
have them. l still treasure with de-
light my enjoyment of such books as
| Robinson Crusoe," Arabian Nights
! and Jules Verne's works, Swiss Fam
| lily Robinson and some Of SCOTS nov
els, like Rob Roy" and "Kenilworth..
Children must have entertainment AS
they grow up they must have knowl-
had rather trust the schoolmaster to
perpetuate this government than all
the armies of England"
Now, here is youth who writes to
me to know who invented the alpha
bet. Well, that is going afar back, but
it is question that should be answer
ed for the alphabet is the very begin
ming 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 narrow region that lies
between Palestine and Syria, country
about 200 miles long and 20 miles
wide, and yet they dominated the civ
ilized world for a thousand years, Tor
they had control Of commerce and
manufactures of the gold of Ophir and
the silver of Tarshish and the brass
and copper of other lands were all
theirs, and it was fact that as Isaiah
wrote, Silver was heaped up as dust
in the streets and was more plentiful
than iron" Hiram, the king, was the
friend of Solomon, but a thousand
years before their time these Phoene-
clans had made an alphabet and used
it in writing and engraving. But that
alphabet has passed away. In course
Of time the Grecians conquered Phoe-
necia and the Greek language prevail
ed. Their alphabet is the origin of
ours, the very word being compounded
of the first two letters, alpha and beta.
Just as the -Phoenecian language was
lost and went into disuse just so has
the Greek and Latin language been
abandoned and our English will no
doubt be the language of the civilized
world before this century ends.
Nearly hundred years ago an Eng
lishman by the name of James Smith
son bequeathed to the United States
something over million dollars to be
used to promote the diffusion of knowl-
edge among men. That sum has been
increased by our government from
yCcl W year uuIll HOW the SmlClSOn-
ian institute is one of the worlds won
ders. But you cannot see it unless
you go to it, and only the rich and
members of congress can do that. The
common people are still in the woods.
and that is why l wish Carnegie or
some other philanthropist would do
something for our country schools.
The spirit of progress is doing wei in
the towns and cities. Right here in
Gainesville our good women have or
ganized public library as an attach
ment to their club work. The corner
stone will be laid next Saturday. and
| have been honored with an invita-
ton to unheave the first shovel full Of
earth, which l shall certainly do if l
am strong enough to lift the shovel. I
feel deep interest in this education
al work and hope to live long enough
to see it in successful operation. Not
long ago a lady asked me who design
ed the confederate flag and who first.