The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-01-10
TUESDAY, JANUARY 70, : 1900.
Mr.. Carl,legie's Gift ii: t.

MI. Carnegie's Gift.
At Inc dedication OF q pubic il9t''ts s :,
Reloit college, wisconsin,, one gay! u.s.
week, Mr.. Horace White, Of ScW : p or''
3, IL ~ a statement showing thai MI.
s.n,,rcw carnegie las either glv'e,lnl i Or x
4, rrd to sum Of $50 325 24o for tho crce
tion Of 900 ibrnres. Of these 40 ~ are y
lie United states, and the oino ui't tsiSe''
st pr ,,lcd god IS 5000 go Tie amounts
4 ,r,yen Or pledged 10 the Southern states
.,,o IL follows: Alabama, 500 Oo0; florlt'la'
w ID ooo. I; eorgia, s2s7 800; Kentucky, S533 ooo
Tnulsinnn, $4,000; 4 Maryland, S'5, co., MIS-,
so,,rl, ss1,asT, 500; North Carolina AOo,ooo'
Ssouths Carolina, $4,000; Texas, q AS, COG;
Tennessee, sos 0o0 Mr.. White$ex plai I'm
That lit is & condition OF MI Carnegieiis
gifts thut the communities supplied - shail
q, cxpend annually a sum equal 70 ~ per
cent Of the cost Of the building for for the
3S Inafntenancnsan upkeep of the libraries
Fiat is,s for: books, II library Il service nnd "a
1.cpairs. 5...As this money has TO be raised
8i,yftaxation,'' said he, ut becomes q conf
4 mon interest,". Everybody has q share
iii IL Y; everybody feels at liberty to use
:35t he library, and everybody is Interested
{%insits good Administrations 3st 3#
Il 7s AS 10 the good accomplished by the Car
~ ,,csle8 libraries and thc$interest4 taken in
hem cilries MN l,tc Eh 'l'l
S$ this TO say u i5 RI IN $i5 iI
gi;%..I tended the formal opening Zone OF
S these Observation-Disclosures q fcwS,t Ss y yo. "
" I, 49, ..,St
s,lnidstitof uaworkingf population. The day
s@sS;was cold md snow was falling, but the.
B Y new library was surrounded by u large
$.$ group of children and youths q Of both
sexes, en- ger i o get nj glimpse OF the IN
" terror, Of this commodious and VOL pro-
yided structure, Swhicllfwas to DO thrown.
3is cpentoi them oua the following day |!
5 called DR.. Billings's attention to the
lllong outside. Yes said he and IL you
come Tomorrow YOU will SEQ then, inside,
here, all holding out their hands for
ss& books s85$ i55 81
1T was an inspiring sight, and ] could
mot help contrasting it3switE tho scarcity
q books In my own boyhood days. The
poorest family iii Nov York or IN Beloit
nus, greater wealth Of Looks ut It's COM
ln.ind than the richest family IN either
place had fifty years ago. No fact8maik-
ing the progress OF the world has more
B Significance thanithls.
Continuing in this strain, Nj. White
Eli made these d Il
g 5'IIow idlv, tlrel1, how wide of tic mark
mi tits to say, as some persons do, that the
SSindiscriminate giving of money for Tree
libraries is embedding tho minds Of the
people by putting ii, their hands the
;,bounIing trash OF the day. Howlare we
RI 10 know what is trash and what Is not?
Dante did not become famous TIL some
III centuries after his death. John Bunynn
was dcridcd tby AL the critics Of his own
period, and the poet CoWper, who Hour
ished nearly a century later, said that In
polite socictyithc 'Pi!srlm's Progress was
mentioned only with a sneer.
mo committee OF experts or censors can
infallibly distinguish between tho da-
1llonds ana tho paste OF literature. Only
tho sitting of the ages can do this. There
y fore, l say that any books which arc not
obviously immoral may be safely placed
within the reach Of the multitude and that
Z, ID the Intelligence of tho con,munilic which
support public libraries BY self-imposcd
taxation may DO trusted with tho selcc-
tion OF the books to be placed OH thor
shelves"
31 Thera arc citizens of Richmond who
oontcEi a,at ! t would be nnbccomins Tor
this CIVIC accept a gift OF 1000 from.
Mir Carnegie. We have no difficulty in
understanding the spirit Of southern nrlde
ana independence. No Southern gentle
tsinan wishes to PIT himself Or his COM
y munity unucr an embarrassing obiga-
ton 10 person upon whose bounty he
has no claim But rye ask all snch OBJ
3eclois, II they would ralsn an objection
a should Air. Carnegie ofe, 10 give 10 the
TnIyeisityI Of Virginia. Or, To come nearer
home, 10 Richmond college, the sum OF
10000, on any sum, large or small, ms
" IN endowment we take 1t they would
MOI object Letapsc outsiders have en-
lowed lhese institutions, ana so far as
we have heard no objection wliutcYcr has
Drsl 3iaised on fhn contrary. there Is
Noli now an organized effort engineered
8i DN} ,,istiuguisheh Southern muli to raise
an endowment fund OF 100000 for the
81 benefit tpf tbs tniveraity Of Virginia,
and Northern men viii lie asked to sub
scribe. II Why, then should We objecl "a
air, Carnegie especially when he is giving
his money away in = LusIness-lkc mar
tger, and when other Communities ele
taking IL without nnibarressment9 Mr.
Carnegie, who Is eoHeeded 70 Ec Que 81
Tue bralniosS n,en ~ the United States
1tas CONC tn ilin conclusion that tic bes
,,se he can make of Ms surplus wealti
IL 10 aid n Tho people IN this community
and that In establishing public libraries
Ia urder1 hat there may be 10 Nnlblrrass
pent; iii, orrdfr That the 3peqple s5as taxi
= yssvss lu.sssss. o. gFgpssss z max