The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-23

Miss Register, of Raleigh, Lending Her
Assistance i'm the West.
Especial to News and Observer

/ tracts attention or reels MS lmpof-
lance.
The session was held in the graded
school building, and was under the
management of superintendent ). A.
Anthony, who has held the posltloh Oh
county superintendent for eighteen
years.
on his staff as instructors, were MISS
Leah Jones, of New Bern MISS Edltn
Royster, of Raleigh; Prof. Joe s.
Wray of Gastonia, and Prof. 3 "A.
Chambers, of Mooresboro.
AS regard these wise women from
the East, Misses Jones and Royster,
| they seem to be on a missionary tour
to the benighted West, comforting the
! pure in heart, and calling sinners 10
repentance. The term benighted is used
iaivisedly and in the fear of God, for
the writer is familiar with conditions,
and proposes in this contribution to
prove his contention. No one can
question the bravery, hospitality and
sincerity Of our purpose, but GOD
knows we are not educated.
One reason we are not educated is
that every demagogue tells us we are
the salt of the earth, at once the
bravest, tenderest, fairest among ten
Thousand; the wisest and altogether
! lovely.
Such fellows have nothing else to
say, and lack candor and backbone
enough to tell the truth. But the day
is not far distant when some artless
child will say: But the king has moth
ing on" and then all will take up the
refrain.
As to the work of Misses Jones and
Royster they have been in Polk and
Rutherford counties, and there, as
here, they have charmed and ami
mated the teachers by their earnest
| ness of purpose, eloouenc of diction
and winning personality. Besides
! their work as instructors they repre-
sent the Woman's Society for better
houses and schools, and secured a
good membership in this ana other
counties of this region.
Prof. Joe $. Wray is a product of
this county, and mas held lucrative
and important positions in other
States. At present he is superinten l.
ent of Gastonia graded schools, and his
work on mathematics during the SEES
sion just closed, proved him a laborer
worthy of his hire.
Prof. S. E. Chambers is the original
"Hoosier SchoolMaster," and is a rare
bird While he is postmaster of
mathematics as proven in our institute
of 1903, he was this year, a RATHER
of dry bones in the valley. But he
clothed those bones in flesh ana sineWs
for he taught physiology and hygiene.
Adverting to work of Misses Jones
and Register they taught primary
number work, geography, history and
composition.
Cleveland county teachers have,
hitherto. gone to seed on arithmetic"
and their cymbling-headed patrons OF
the numerous ignorant class have
heartily abetted them in this delusion.
But we have been made by these ladies
to see the bautieS of dictiOn, the impor-
lance of neat expression both written
and oral; as we'll as given thirst for
the history, geography. and classic
prose and poetry of the past and pres
ent.
In this session of the institute we
had an enrolment of 140 teachers or
more. and many of them had been,
hitherto Icnabod Cranes from so
many sleepy hollows while the law
provides that every teacher must at
tend the session, continuously; con-
tinuously seems to mean one day out
Of the five, or not at all.
The penalty provided by statute, IS,
to not be allowed a certificate but the
former ruling has been if you go all
the time as the law directs, take a
school some where twenty miles from
no where, at q meagre salary, ana
teach some seventy pupils without an
assistant. If. on the other hand, you
don't so at all, or so one day in time
to be registered, you get a high sal
airy, an assistant if you don't have
forty pupils.
DR.. Geo. r. Winston. Hon Jas. Y.
Joyner and DR.. j. b. Carlyle were all
invited here by superintendent An
thony, and we were really anxious to
hear them, having enjoyed their elo-
quence on former occasions but only
Dr. Carlyle reported.
On Friday evening he made an able
and eloquent speech to teachers COM
mitteemen over twenty-five of the lat
ter being present out of PSI, and pat
rons. He served statistics that proved
that Cleveland county has % per cent
of the voters who can't read their
ballot For saying this / have been
rebuked and criticised as though I
We're mover of sedition. He spoke
of an illiteracy, it's cause and cure
It's cause was partly the war conditions
Of the sixties; later passion and pre-
judice. AS cure he urged the dying
message of General Toon, who died in
office. First, agitation; second, con-
solidation; third local taxation. He
showed that the State could do no
more, as the constitutional limit had
been reached. He urged teachers and
committeeman to cry aloud and spare
not, and declared the omens were
suspicious. He paid glowing tribute
to Aycock as educational Governor"
and received raptuous applause. He
even had the temerty to commend
one teacher present for his power in
the press of the State, and your scribe
would not have bee more surprised if
a paStmaSter had resigned, or some
body had invited the teacher in cues
ton home to dinner-yea. to spend
the night in Shelby. 1t is known that
an officehoider seldom dies and never
resigns, and hence you can imagine my
amanZement
We had a chance a few years since
to vote on local taxation, and / was |
an uncompromising advocate. Every
unit politician in the county either
fought it secretly or kept still and
a dwelling sky-pilot with a short |
coat and high hat, rebuked me with |
all the austerity and authority Of |
His Holiness, the Pope, who can do no
wrong. But times have changed. This
week our county paper commends the |
institute in a glowing and able edito-
rial, the preachers come around and |
hear us, and joy is unconfined.
We are getting respectable, and as
my old friend Hickory Jackson would |
cav in d. he Jad uiuo,, oDI