The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-14
GREAT NEED OF A COLL ECE,
 MONTGOMERY'S NEW CHANCE
Able Sermon by Rev. J. A. Rice, One of Series on Social Forces: AGet the College His
 Earnest ExhOtatlon.

The sermon at Court Street Methods Episcopal Church yesterday morning Wa one of a series on Social Forces, afs was a discussion of the conaon schoo.s
 The text was Rev. xxi. | ''And say haw Heaven and a new earth,
 The new Heaven. and the new eafti have been the dream of the ages. thu goal of all human aspiration and enoft Of course the reference is not primar i1y. if at all, to a material Heaven and earth, or to anything physical. but to 2 society renewed in righteousness ant true holiness. old things. old wrongs, old hardships. old expressions. old conditions in general done away; all things new; Righteousness and truth the regnant pow CTS.
 The two forces relied upon to bring us to the realization of this ideal are re- ifeion and education. In America, unfor- tunately, the drift is toward the divorc- ing of the two and salvation by educa- ton is the motto of the State. But we have been educating from the bestnnihg and yet how far along are we! The new Heaven and the new earth are scarceiy in sight
 what is the trouble? Let us glance at fhe marks of the ideal American school, with a view to determining whether our method of education is adequate TOT bringing us, as a people, into posses sion of the ends toward which we are struggling.
 And first of all we must have school has,xes properIy constructed and equip- rad' lei not the city authorities con rfrnct firetraps in the suburbs of Great er Mohtecniery, rather than plants suit abfe for the present and future alike. 1t te impossible 10 teach now without ap- paratus-maps, charts, globes. telescopes. microscopes, laboratories, chemical anu physicai, libraries, etc.
 Ts,e lime has come, also. when manual training must be introduced in our city schools. We are beginning to learn that there Is definite relation between mus cfe and mind, and we must get dominion over a large section of the universe only through the muscles.
 The foundations of character itself are strengthened by muscular development.
 The school curriculum must also be scientifically graded. reaching from the Kindergarten through the studies of the freshman class in college.
 There should be two courses from the sixth grade on. one leading to college, and the other to business life.
 There are diflicuities in the way Of combining the quick and the slow In the same classes. but it can be done by sunpivinx extra teachers to give personai atsntion to the dull child. This has been successfully tried in New York.
 The whole machinery of the school should be directed to the development or the individual soul. That community IS fortunate which has in addition to a well regulated school system at least one strong college. Montgomery missed a great opportunity in falling to get the Southern University here. and now her last chance for mems college has come. As great as Is her need of hotel, her cotton factory, or any other strong bus mess enterprise. greater far is her need of college,
 Surely the business men can see the tremendous advantage of investing $l0,OO0 Co get plant worth $100.0OO, which. when fully developed. will bring Into the com munity in tuition fees and personal ex- uenses of the students S50.000 year.
 But this is the lowest stand posnt from which to view it.
 Who can estimate the moral. cultural and spiritual power of such an institu- ton as the synodical college ought to be? Even a far-seeing business man ought to discern the part such an institution would play in making our city part of the ''new heaven and new earth
 It will be sad day for us if we have not the eye to see the opportunity thus offered. Get the college, get 1t at any est, and say this in sigh. of the large amount of money needed in Court street for repairs and Improvements. But building and equipment and curriculum cannot make schools. We must have competent teachers. They must be of sound moral character. Better turn hy- ena loose among our children then a teacher who is dishonest, unelean, or at any point immoral.
 ..They should also be religious. The religious people in any community stand for the best, and if for any reason a man or a woman does not stand with them. they are unworthy to teach in our schools. For teachers arc teachers of re- llgion whether they will or not. The very absence of religion is creed. and that creed is taught by the very fact that the teacher holds aloof from the church.
 T was pastor in town that had been biighted for generation by Llle infidelity of one man, whose life was ruined by the influence of his college president That president had uttered only one sem sentece that was remembered, and yet that sentence blighted a whole section of South Carolina.
 The teacher stands in your place and you dare not allow him to be indifferent to things you hold vital It goes with out saying that teachers should be cul- tured
 In some quarters it is customary to put high school graduates in as teachers at once. Such policy cannot possi.ly bring the best results, for who can teach more than he knows? Who can give more than he has? It should be required at least that they compass the bache- Frs course in our best colleges, and as a------------== ==-==s=-=====