The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1904-09-01
GOOD ADVICE.
Prof. Whitfield Delivered an Ex-
ceIIent Address at dalIman.

In an address delivered at Call
man, Copiah county, in April,
State Supt. Whitfield said some
things that are worth remember
ing.
"Mississippi has just built a
magnificent capitol, a building that
will be a pride to our people for
years to come. What did Mis-
sissippi contribute to this beau
tiful building, and what did our
people realize out of the immense
sum spent in its construction On
the day appointed by the COM
mission for the submission of plans,
architects from every section Of the
union were present with the best
products of their skill, and as the
result of the competition, the honor
and magnificent fee of $4,000
went TO a citizen of St. Louis.
When the contractors met to bid on
the construction, no Mississippi
bidder was present and the profit
went to Chicago. The artists that
contributed so much to the beauty
of the building by their decorations
were not of our people; the skilled
workmen were practically all i'm
ported. Mississippi carried the
brick and mortar and received the
smallest wages. Had we been re-
quired to construct the building
with our own skill, the beautiful
capitol we now have would have
been an impossibility. What is
true in regard to the building of
the capitol is only too true in re-
gard to all higher works of life. +"
Discussing the tendency to take
children from school and put them
to work on the farm, he said fur
ther:
'But you tell me that you are an
agricultural people and you need
your children on the farm. OF all
the fallacious argument / have ever
heard made this is the most delusive
and robs more of our beautiful Mis-
sissippi children of an education
than all other causes besides. This
same argument was made in Clai-
borne county when twelve years
ago, the true and intrepid Regan
began the work of organizing
system of graded schools for that
county, but after these years of
successful operation and better
average attendance no one there
now has the temerity to mention
such an objection.
"The same argument has been
made in all agricultural commun-
ties where the question of longer
school terms has been agitated and
the fallacy of it has each time been
shown by the results of better aver
age attendance and no decrease in
the amount of agricultural products
produced, and no increase in theI
number of paupers in the poor
house.
"Let us analyze this question to
see If there is any merit in this con-
tention. / trust no one in this
presence would put child under
twelve years of age to hoeing and
blowing. If you would, the only
thing l care to say is the law should
restrain you from doing it. You
as parent, have no authority to
dwarf your child at so tender an age
by requiring it to do continuous work
that calls into requisition only a
part of the muscles of his body.
A young child should do chores ar
ound the house but should never be
put to regular field work. Now
If you have to work children when
they become old enough, does it
not follow that if you want to do
anything for their education, you
must give them as much as possible
before they have to stop to work ?
IF we could have every child in the
state in school from the time they
are six years old until they are
twelve, for eight consecutive
months each year, they would get
the basis of education, they would
be revealed to themselves, they
would get a higher vision, they
would be saved from the blight of
ignoranct and would give refined
and intelligent service to their state.
All the girls and small boys could
go all the time, and the few larger
boys who had to stop to go to work,
would have better school to at
tend when they could go. Again,
I say, make the school first.