The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-29
Rev. pr, c. A. stakely. pastor of the First Baptist Church.
 MT. Graham Spoke Briefly.


 Hon. Isaac w. Hill. State Superinten- dent of Education, presided and intro- duced the first speaker of the evening. Hon. Joseph B. Graham of Talladega. Field Agent of the Southern Education Board, who Tin a short address gave an account of his stewardship for the or ganization he> represents. He said that in the past year he had visited schools in seventeen different counties. and in view of the inadequate surroundings in which the mental growth of the youth of the State is being nurtured, the burden of his prayer had ever been for better school facilities for the boys and girls of Alabama. He presented statistics showing that out of a white school popu- lation of 340.000 only 127.Ooo were enrolled. and that out of 270.000 negro children of school age but 79.000 were enrolled, a picture. he said. sad enough for any thinking man of Alabama.
 Means, MT. Graham said, must be pro- vided for lifting the schools out of their
 present condition. He, urged that the sentiment of the people, must be aroused. that in se6 help lay salvationJ
 We are not too poor to educate our boys and girls" he declared, "but too poor not to educate them"
 Dr. Alderman Introduced. The principal speaker of the evening. Dr. Alderman, was then introduced by Rev. Edgar Gardner Murphy of Mont- gomery, Executive Secretary of the Southern Education Board, who. dwelt upon Dr. Alderman's long service as a Southern educator, and paid eloquent tribute to the character and abilities of tfie President of Tulane University.
 T have come to talk to you of the su- y,r af fafo of ha ,ha. .o SoLth-the education of the young" Dr. Alderman said in opening. America has fascinated the world with her claim that democracy is the finest form of govern ment yet devised. She has not yet prov ed this, but she has clearly demonstrated that the most pressing problem confront ing her is the training of the children of this lard so that they may attain to the dignity of true democrats"
 He pictured helples babe-''a mass of red and wrinkled flesh, beside which a June bug Is a philosopher, and a rabbit a master of arts,' at one end of the line and Socrates or a Newton at the other end. while between lay the great domain of education, where the evolution and the upbuilding of manhood and character take place
 The Greatest Possession.
 The greatest possession of a man is his child,' he declared. Therefore the greatest possession of the State is it's children. The child has entered into po- ntical economy as the most vital con- cern of this great age. The State was once regarded as a great, august ma chine. for the punishment of the guilty, but the Christ-idea has entered the dem ocratic structure as thing of conscience and will. in institutions and law. The so- nfs axrffx Nfk k1x.r bod hn1. changed. This was once the court house. with the jail near by and the lawyers offices not far away. The eyes of the young, once turned toward these, as the sources of all inspiration, and the goal of ambition, were now turned in another direction-toward the school house, which now is fast coming to be the real social center of gravity, and the noblest build ing in the town"
 Political Common Sense.
 Taxation to support the schools" con- tinued pr. Alderman, lis no act of be- nevolence; it is merely an act of political common sense. If taxation for this pur- pose, as some have held. is a form of rob- bery, taxation for all purposes Is robbery, and the State is a highway robber. The only people in this world who have no taxes to pay are savages, and inciden- tally. they have nothing else. Taxation rightly managed Is not a curse; it is a blessing, and there is no argument what ever In the contention that civilization has not the right ta tax property for purposes ef education. Every ignorant man is a slave to one more intelligent, and the analogy prevails with the State. Ignor- ance is only a black, bitter curse"
 Touching the process of evolution through which the South had passed in the past twenty yeaV, and the trend to- ward betterment now apparent in many parts of the secion. the speaker declared:
 Cheered With Enthusiasm.
 "We have a great country here. rich in all natural resources a climate that is perfection, soil where every product of the temperate zone Is grown, a country where everybody believes in God, reads Sir Walter Scott and votes the Demo- cratic ticket" This sentiment brought forh anenhusiastic cheer.
 Continuing he declared the Southern peo- pie were the only truly democratic people left, tribute that was appreciated
 He pointed to the progress that had been made in material things in the South since it's resurrection from the paralysis | of war, of advance in the building of rail- roads and in manufacture, and with a | feeling of pride referred also to advance ment along educational lines. Alabama | he said has in the past five years doubled | her legislative appropriation. for her | schools, fair showing, but not sufficient | for her needs. He was thankful that now | the Northern people had awakened to a | of what good and generous | people those of the South really are. and | -