The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-02-23
HERE'S THE PLAIN TRUTH.
Raleigh the Place for a Great Metho-
dist College for Women.

dist College for Women.
The burning of Greensboro Female Cot
legc raises the question as TO the place
where tho Methodists of North Carolina |
shall erect a great womans college Tor
the education of their daughters. ltalelgh !
I is the place for the location OF such
school. This has been a conviction IN my
mind for a number Of years. Greensboro
is an ideal place as to beauty OF sltua- !
ton. and as to the culture and refinement
OF her citizenship. She has shown her de
votion to education. But Greensboro Is |
too far West to command the Methodist
constituency for q great boarding school
in North Carolina. That constituency
lies east of Raleigh The West is preoc-
cupied BY running line north ana
south thro Raleigh you have Lttleton
Female College. Louisburg Female Col,
lcge. the college at Red Springs, and the
three colleges in Raleigh, all on that Inc |
From that line to the Atlantic ocean the
whole East is unOccopied territory, save |
Wilson and Murfreesboro, and passing
one or two other weaker points. Here IS |
the territory for boarding patronage tor
the future Methodist college IN North
Carolina Now going west from Raleigh
what do we find? There is Trinity Col
lege. Elon College, The State Normal,
Salem College the college at Statesville,
Davenport College, Guilford College, two |
colleges in Charlotte, Weavervllle College,
Rutherford College, the college at Hick- |
DRY. and the college in Asheville, and sew
eral others that I have probably not
counted all doing work for women. These
colleges control the local patronage in
4 1,os, IS bo +otn 1S
but little left from these popular com
munities for Greensboro College.
What has been the result? The Metho- !
dists have been running a college of high
grade and doing superior work for a mum
Der of wears in an exceptionally commun-
ity, but it has never been adequately pa
troniZed A number of strong laymen, |
devoted to their church, got under it and
carried it for years, but it never did com
mand the patronage that it was worthy Of.
Why? Because it was too far from the
territory from which boarding pupils
We're TO come. Greensboro College never
has had the patronage that a college OF
its high grade should have received The !
State Normal has prospered because it
has been cheaper school and because it
has had large number of free scholar |
ships and has also done fine work
We all lament the loss by fire of that
noble institution that for many years en-
riched so many lives in North Carolina,
and that was making such heroic effort
for its own life in these latter days. We
were willing to stand by her and help her
in her lofty purpose to continue her min
istry of service.
But now, since that noble pile is in
ruins, the question arises, where had we
better build again? We answer, in Raj |
egh.
Let US ask that noble woman, Mrs. |
Robertson, and her strong faculty to come
down to Raleigh and take charge OF Il
great Methodist school in the capital oil
the State Think Of the territory that is |
contiguous to Raleigh. There are Pitts |
boro. Jonesboro, Carthage, Rockingham, !
Laurnburg, MaXton, Lumberton, Fay
ettevile Wilmington, Mount Olive, /
Goldsboro, Kinston. New Bern, Beaufort, |
Rocky Mount Tarboro, Greenvillc, Wash |
ington. Plymouth. Elizabeth City, Hert |
ford, Warrenton, and Henderson-not |
college in any of them--all unoccupied |
ground that will furnish the girls for a
Methodist college in the capital of the |
State And then think of the broad |
acres of rich cotton lands in the East and |
money with which to educate their daugh !
tiers. If this school should be located in |
Raleigh it would be hard to get build |
ing big enough to serve the needs OF its I
large constituency. ! believe there would |
be two or three hundred girls the first |
year Of its opening.
Raleigh is the great center of the life OF |
the State and naturally would be a pop |
ular seat for a great school The Legis /
ature meets there every two years; |
every lawyer in the State goes up once or
twice year to appear before the Supreme |
Court: the Masons meet there once a |
year; every sheriff goes up once or twice |
a year; nearly all the great political con-
ventionS meet there. Many OF these PEG
pie who go up TO Raleigh so often would /
naturally send their daughters there to I
school AS it is now | suppose there |
are nearly as many Methodist girls in
other church colleges in Raleigh as there
were in Greensboro College. Why is
this? Because Raleigh is near to the
territory from which most of the board |
ing pupils come. If we build in Raleigh |
we can command a large part of the Meth
odist constituency of the East and can get
a small patronage from territory west of |
Raleigh. It seems to me that the Meth
odists of the North Carolina Conference
should seek to occupy this strategic point
in their work in education for women. 1t |
will assure an easy success to our efforts
in this vital interest of our church If |
we are going into the business of educa-
ton, and this we should do, let us make |
it the greatest success possible.
JOHN N. COLE
Rockingham, N c., Feb. 90 1904.
Death of Mr.. David Middleton.