The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-12

ms Dook or SpeecheS VIII pc Wrltteu Dy John Temple Graves, the Georgia gen of Alabama will write the introduc.
 ton of his autobiography.
 Council stresses the necessity for
 thoroughness in his educational work. Knowing this I was tempted to put a question to him which many people of the South believe Hes deep at the , root of the question Of negro education. The question was:
 Tn the light of your experience and
 in your knowledge of the negro, do you believe that he is superfcial?" It was explained to him that his position was recognized and that he would not be quoted on the question if ! he preferred not to be. He might an- | swer the question or not as he saw fit. The Negro superaciaiity. T will answer the question and I do
 not mind being quoted with the modi-
 ncation put upon my answer. The negro Is necessarily superficial when he
 Is compared with the white man. He could not be otherwise when his race and history Is considered. He is the youngest of races. would not expect a ten year old child to be the equal
 of fuii grown man.. Who could ex- pect the negro to be as deep or as powerful a thinker as the white man? But he has possibilities, great possi-
 oiiities. Iscould not say now how great they are"
 The school has a beautiful location
 on the hill four miles from Huntsville. It stands upon historic ground. The main dwelling house is of great his- toric interest. It was the old Green Bottom Inn which stood at Connelly's
 race track In the early years of the century it was a famous gathering
 place for the sportsmen of the South i, Here came again and again General
 Andrew Jackson with the famous string or race horses that he carried around the country.
 Growth of the school. At the time the grounds were pur. chased for the school there stood upon
 this dwelling, a large barn and sew
 eral outhouses, Since then seven large
 structures. half a dozen smaller build- ings and a new harm and dairy have
 been erected.
 The school was organized in 1875. It was first established within the city of Huntsville, but some years later the city property was sold and the present site in the country was purchased, N The State of Alabama makes an an-
 nual appropriation of 5000 a year to | N-t~ sSAOVA 1tO IL EcCtlVGS the sum
 of $11,000 annually from the public
 school land funds under the terms of
 the Morrill, Act.
 These are the principal sources of
 income for the institution. There have
 been some private donations, but they
 have not been large or frequent. At present there are some 800 stu
 dents in the school. The country dis
 tricts are but sparsely represented as
 compared with the cities.
 Professor Council calls his school
 The cheapest college in the world ''
 tic says that If a student is in what he
 calls the rich class he is charged $6 a
 month. The college expenses of many
 of the other students Is much less. In-
 dustrious students are given the oppor-
 tunity of working their way through
 school or partly doing so by their la-
 Dor upon the college grounds and in
 the college work.
 The School Tralna Servants, 1 The school trains and educates ser-
 wants.
 This statement is significant. If
 there was school like this in every
 congressional district of the State the ! servant problem would not be so acute. Now 1t is not to be understood that the
 school is devoted exclusively to the training of servants. It Is not to be considered that the school was estab-
 hshed and Is maintained for the train
 Ing of servants
 But intelligent. efficient servants are turned out of the institution. Its stu dents and some of its graduates have
 not been above accepting service. They
 are excellent servants. It is said with
 authority that Gen. Joseph Wheeler
 has not had for many years any ser- wants except those that were trained at this normal school. The Huntsville people who have employed servants from the school are loud in their praises of them. They say that these servants
 are the most intelligent and efficient to
 be had anywhere. Professor Council is in receipt of many laudatory letters.
 praising the department and the effi-
 cheney of the servants who have come
 from his school.
 Industrial ETucation. This, however. is but a small part of
 the work of the school. They have in ndustrial education in the truest mean ing of the word. Tn brief, it may be mentioned that the school teaches printing, cooking. typewriting. laundry | work. homework. blacksmithing, the
 use of machinery. foundry work, shoe
 making, blacksmithlng. farm work. hos pital nursing and In brief every class of learning are taught It Is a normal | school and is required to graduate l teachers. The teachers turned out
 from here have been highly praised
 by the educational authorities of the State. Thoroughness. always thor oughness, is insisted upon.
 The instruction here is done by forty teachers and assistants. Much of 1t is | a labor of love. The salaries paid are
 small. very small. They are the only
 sort of salaries that the school can af- l ford to pay.
 The buildings are among the very l neatest of the State. Wholesomeness | and cleanliness are insisted upon to ' the point of nicety.