The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-02-20

This report is now In the hands OF
the lawmakers and IL is easy TO see
that II has made an excellent i'm
preston. The volume is a large one
but 1t is difficult TO see how il could
be reduced without great loss to the
State and needless sacrifice Of edu,
cational interests. Every n of the
two hundred and fifty pages contain
facts and figures, practically present
ed, which must rejoice all loyal Mis-.
~sissippians and which ought TO en-
courage us to re6ouble our efforts to,
ward perfection of the public school
system, which is above all other in
s%titutions, the hope and the depend.
ence of IL State.
Prof. Whitfield does not waste time
on, or give space to, ]eXtraneous mat.
tiers, nor does he weigh down his
valuable pages with a lot of useless
figures which no IA takes time to
read. He tells clearly and colCisely
what he thinks it his duty to tell about
the progress of education in the State,
and he speaks freely concerning all
matters which retard or advance the
work. A perusal Of the report is alb.
sorbingly interesting to any one who
has the future Of Mississippl's chill.
dren at heart, and 1t more than re-
pays the time given to Its study.
Withil the many pages are many
well worth quoting; and n Of these,
TO my mind, was so full of interest
the plain statement of so deplorable
a condition Of affairs among our peo.
ple-that | would like to reproduce
it, word for word. This. space for
bids, but | will give the gist of it,
Professor Whitfield contends, and
he is right, that there can be no real
property in a State unless the peo-
pie of the State are able to perform
the higher, as well as the lower. grades
of labor required in the working up
of our raw materials. In speaking
of our inability to do this he says;
we have just completed a magnih.
cent capitol-one that will be a pride
to every loyal Mississipptan for years
to come. What did Mississippi con
tribute to its construction, and what
did her people realize from it," He
recites the fact that there was no re-
Spouse from Mississippi when archi-
tects were invited to submit plans.
From almost every other section OF
this great land plans came and, ven
to st. Louis went the dis.
tinguished honor and the princely fee,
When the contract was let Mississip.
pi furnished no bidder and to Chicago
the profits were given. When skilled
workmen were needed they had to be
imported. Prof. Whitfield concludes
his lament-for such 1t is-with this
statement of the truth: mississippi
the brick and mortar, and, in
the main, received day-laborer's
wages. If she had been compelled to
construct the building with her own
skill, the beautiful capitol would not
nave been built"
All of this-and more-is true.
from the high-priced architect who
out the figures of the tympa-
lum-back of that, even-to the ar
list who designed 1t at his table in
iome distant ~city--clear on through to
he men who poised the eagle on her
pinnacle, the workmen came
rom beyond our boundaries, and it
,egiDs to look now as II we would
ave to send afar to seek a la1scape
gardner, il the spacious grounds are
'ver to develop from a muddy patch
f oats into anything worth seeing.
md this in Mississippi, where the
Dve and knowledge Of horticulture
hould be inherent!
The argument of the superintend. {
Mt of education is, of course, that '
ie will never be able to compete with !
he best in the land until we give to |
ur children the very best possible !
EDUCATIONAL advantages. Had we-say Q
twenty-five years ago-put the imple- {
in the children's hands, they Q
ould today begin to hold their own I
| the work 70 carving out or building q
p their future. As 1t is, we are just I
eginning to do the work properly. s
To return to the work on the CAPT. @
IL. | recall one visit to the great c
last spring, when hundreds s
men were working like bees toward v
s completion. | know practically a
ierybody In the capital city, but a v
circuit Of the building show. 5
| only n Mississippi man at work p
hose salary amounted to anything D
ore than laborer's wages. This was 0
e supervising architect, Mr.. Barnes. 0
he other men we're negroes whose 0
arms were useful in noIishing Il
scaglish, and a few white youths D
gagged in some minor work connect d
with wiring the place. And | could 81
1t blame any one except ourselves,
rtists were needed in every depart
ent and artists must be had. We o,
I'd not trained our boys along these "
les, so could not make complaint. So
sent abroad for artists, and lined Sc
cir purses well, while they were Il
tn us. And all the time our own B
ave boys-willing to do, and having II
Q natural, but unframed, ability te
owed and hoed and harvested their dc
which helped to pay "the th
and thus the skilled workers of
10 got as much per day as our own tn
VS. get in a week, sometimes. Five pa
d tea dollars a day looks mighty big SC
len sec through the distance, from tn
3 handles of a pillow on a hot sum- at
er day, to a boy who, deep in his tn
Ter consciousness, recognizes the eV
wer within him, but lacks knowl. Tt
ge for its expression. Sc
God speed the day when these same 10
ys-though laborers still flor SO are u
who make aught Of this life) will pc
unskilled 40 longer-but because III
the right training, commenced in bu
rural school of his childhood and %.
ltinued through college and train.
school, he will be able to have in ag
home and for his family, all com. a
Is ald luxuries. re
But We must go beyond this and az ~
nish the fine materials with which "a
trained workers may achieve sue. y,
S at home. Returning, once more, W.
the capitol. Why was it that all w
the materials used in its construc. tes
were brought over many miles Of nv
&c, when we know that our State u
rich In just such thi1gs> as were va
rnnc4o Hf ont,rgo ~ ranonn WI