The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-09-04

20 so much 10 read that is cheap. Ia.
ltrucilve and interesting. In fact.
reading Is now the best part Of q lb-
eral education. A we'll read person o.
wiser, happier and better fitted for
the duties and trials Of life than the
scholar who has graduated at tho top
In the arts and sciences or course.
/ mean good roading-such az history.
ancient and modern; biography. where
We get both example and precept;
good story books and standard novels
that teach good morals; good maya
zine literature and good newspapers,
whose editors are conscientious aud
feel their responsibility. "As a man
sows, so shall he reap and we might
as truly say what a child reads, so win
his or her moral and emotional char
acter be. The schools educate the In.
tellect only but reading affects the
heart, the emotions and passions and
establishes the character Of the young
for good or for evil Man has been lie
fined 10 be a bundle Of prejudices, and
these prejudlces most generally come
from the books, magazines or news
papers that we read
Little stories like NAndrocles and
the Lion" or Damon and Pythias"
have nodded the character OF thou
sands Of children, and Just so have
Robinson Crusoe" and Young Ma.
rooners," and the swiss Family ROB
lnson" established the characters Of
children OF larger growth. Whether
a man despises or admires Napoleon
depends on whether he has read Scott
or Abbott Whether a man was a
whig or a democrat In the old times
depended on the newspapers he took.
AS great a man as DR.. Miller, wac
was an old line whig, had a contempt
for Thomas Jefferson because he was
per.se the founder of the democratic
party. Jefferson must have been
very great man. said !, FOR he wrote
the declaration of independence"
And what Is that " said the doctor,
"but a series of ungrammatical plati-
tudes that any schoOlboy might have
written. The first sentence is ridicu.
lous, for 1t says a decent respect fer
the opinions Of mankind A decent
respect! Who ever heard Of an indie
cent respect? Why didn't he say re
spect for and leave out the decent, q"
and he scarifed the whole document
from a whig standpoint
Well, l was Eliminating about this
while reading Percy Gregg's high-ton.
ed but merciless criticism of Harriet
Beecher Stoves Uncle Toms Cab
in" Gregg had sOjourned in the
south during slavery times and knew
the book was a lie when it was writ.
ten, and that it was written to infame
the northern mind and precipitate
collision. That Beecher family was
smart, unprincipled and Malignant. 1t
was Henry Ward Bee cher who melted
old John Brown to mis- reckless deeds
and daring, and who declared from his
pulpit that Sharp's rifles were better
missionaries than Bibles, and that to
shoot at a slave holder and miss MIN
was a sin against heaven. Il was that
same Beecher who, while a preacher,
seduced the wife of one OF his mem
bers and broke up the family, and af-
ter weeks of mock trial got a white
washing verdict from packed con-
mittee.
But / was Illuminating about the far
reaching influence and effect Of that
book and how it fred the northern
heart and the English heart against
us, and how it was a lie and wholly
misrepresented our people, and how
the Lord cursed Shemaiah, one Of the
prophets, because he made the people
believe a lie, and how St John said
no one should enter heaven who low
eth or maketh lie, and so was won
dering where the Beechers are now
BILL ARP, in Atlanta Constitution.
! MEMICV ~ EhAJAHc