The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1905-05-04
MEETING 0F EDUCATORS i
Distinguished Party From the North
Greeted by Prominent Sou1hemers
SOME SPLENDID SPEECHES MADE
Meeting at Columbia Opens With q
Cordial Address of Welcome by Gov.
crnor Hayward, Followed by the An
nuaI Address of Mr.. Robert c. o.
den, President of the Conference.

Columbia, S. c.. Special.-The Con-
Terence for Education in the Soutb
opened its eighth annual session here
Wednesday, with large attendance
Of leading educators from both North
and South present
The Ogden train, containing a party
"i ladies' and gentlemen from New
loTk, Boston, Washington and other
N0Tjhern cities, arrived at $40 D. m.
and the visitors are being entertained
IN various homes in the city to which
they have been invited. The party
numbers ninety-fve, being educators.
literary men and women and business
men interested in education. They
came III on a special OF ten Pullman
cars, chartered by Mr.. Robert G.. Og-
der, of New York. The members OF
the party are his guests for a nineteen
day trip 10 different points in South
Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
During their stay in Columbia. they as
well as the many hundreds of other
visitors, mainly from the Southern
States. are guests of the city of CO.
iumbla. A party consisting of the may
or OF the city. the State Superintend-
"nt of Education, Editor Gonzales, OF
The Columbia State, two professors OF
The South Carolina College and several
other prominent citizens of Columbia,
met the party at Hamlet, n. c., and es-
C0ited it into the State. Every train
coming into the city brings from all
parts or the South visitors to the con-
ference.
The conference opened it's first ses-
sion here with an address of welcome
by Governor D. c. Hayward. The
Governor said in part:
GOVERNOR HEYWARDS SPEECH.
To-day throughout the entire South
the schoolhOuse bell is ringing. Ii
rings from the university on the hill
and it rings from the little school
house by the roadside, and to you
teachers who are present at this con-
ference from our sister States of the
South and from every portion of Ouc
own State, | wish to say that in well
coming you | must also congratulate
You upon the great work you have
done. | believe that you have ac-
cOmplished more during the past forty
years along educational lines than has
ever been accomplished by any peo-
pie in the same length of time. No
people have ever worked so well or
under the same conditions, and in
your work you have been accorded
loyal support by your people. In their
days OF poverty and in their days Of
prosperity the taxpayers of the South
have shown willingness and a de-
sire TO tax themselves to support the
n,DIX f0r o. Obi
the white children of the South
but also for the children of anotder
and dependent race. Though often
misunderstood. they have never let
their hearts fail them; they have never
looked backward, but always forward.
and today we can see in university and
in college. in graded school and in
common school, in better teachers and
longer terms. a happy and prosperous
people-aye. in smiling fields and grow
ing cities, the result of their courage
and determination.
In welcoming you to South Carolina
| welcome you to a State which has
always had a deep interest in the cause
IN which you are enlisted. With Us,
the modern schoolhouse stands beside
the college of a century. From the
earliest history OF our State our peo-
pie have priced learning and cultiva-
ton. Before the Revolution, South
Carolina sent her sons to Oxford and
to Cambridge. Shortly after the Revo-
luton we began to build colleges and
to establish public schools. The first
library in America to be supported in
any degree at the public expense was
that established in Charleston in
1889,
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION REa.
LIKED,
Il am sure. however. it needs no ar
gument to convince you that the impor-
tance cf education in its highest sense
has ever been realized by our people
The facts that | have just cited that
before we had colleges of our own we
sent our sons abroad. and the further
fact that almost within sound of our
voices stands South Carolina College
over 100 years old-these will show the
spirit that animated our ancestors.
"As to what we are doing today fo1
the sons and daughters of South Caro-
lima. have but to point you to the
number of colleges OF our State, and to
our growing system of graded and
public schools The State supports
" ituIOD COlSSS " ChN
South Carolina College, the Citadel and
Clemson for young men, and also a
State college for negroes. In addition
to this, each religious denomination
supports one or more colleges which
are doing excellent work. There are
also many private colleges, several OF
which are well endowed. Contributing
to these is our system CT graded and
common schools. Our State constitu
ton requires that the General Assem-
bly, shall provide for liberal system
OF free public schools for children be
tween the ages Of and 20 years, and
the constitution imposes an annual tax
exceeding ene-half of our entire State
tax for general purposes. With us the
hight to allow school districts to levJ
special tax has already been won
1t is incorporated in the organic Law
Of the State, and we are now extend
ing the battle lines to the various dis
tricts, 400 of which have already exer
clsed this prerogative. New victorie:
are constantly being gained along thi.
line, and within the next few years w,
confidently hope to greatly enlarge oul
army OF educational progress.
During the past year we built II!
school houses, and we improved ans
equipped many more. These building'