The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-29
8Richmond's
Opportunity
Labeled.

y THE Tttness Dispatch Stquotes at the
& head OF Its editorial column tho state
{5mert that tho opportunity OF n lifetime
comes unlabelsds It "a not 80 with Rich
,nond. FOR some three years now the
people Of the city have steadily refused
,ftp accent a. great publid library, when
The only cost TO then, would DO the cost
81 maintenance. A few weeks ago MT
Il 5t.ar,,egie passed through the city ana
4 Iotrcrcd 10 double tho cost Of the proposed
library building II only her people Wou ,l,l
n bcstir themselves and provide suita DIG
and a reasonable annual appropriation.
8Nve stlll refuse /,
Sss 1t may be said tlnt the Laird OF skibo
Is selfish In his generosity; that le seeks
Ito make others give when he n1lshl
II easily give both building and M endow.
(, 1,,ent equivalent TO tho cost OF perpetual
maintenance. Granted for the sake OF
Y Sarg,t,nent. Yot tho fact remains that
H Richmond hns no adequate free library;
that ler school tcnchcrs. school children,
WORKING people and well-to-do stand III
r. sore need OF a library The city which
X rayo Poo to tho world has no public
q library; and Poe, the greatest poet ever
produced on this side the AtlantE5
4 would laugh 10 scorn this rich and
X powerful city could he hut hear the arg,i-
inent advanced against library by
some able and otherwise public-spirltcd
f citizens.
libraries nre in our day necessities,
not lux,irIes; they are productive forces
In the great cities OF America and the
& world. Who can estimate the value 10
u the world Of putting one aspiring young
$lnan in touch with n large collection OF
books7 Not only our city. but the state
+ and country. would be the bcnecinrles
o4 49, y tr,1,fN VyyuS
even now be living IN Richmond and
WITHOUT sufficient inducencnt to read
and TO study. The answer that the Stat,
tx hb1'ary would meet tile need ls not
sufficient, besides the city Of Richmond
Il Is not entitled to the State Library. a
,wcll-1nanaged Carnegie library for Rich
slond would not only prove a stepping
etone to greatness for some of our young
4 people: It would stimulate the reading
4 habit, raise the standard Of culture and
widen the horizon Of literary taste All
8tliis we refuse because we are unwilling
TO vote, Mt least this is claimed, tho
paltry sum OF ten thousand n ycarl
SIS Again, Richmond is All educational
confer and as such increasing It's influ-
ence on the youth OF tho South. The
Baptists of Virginia spend many thou
rands in tho city each year for ednca-
ton; the 1'resbyterians add as much
moro 10 the volume of circulating carl
tall might not the city add a little to
these educational assets and attract
others; make more useful still tho large
plants of Richmond College and the
I1nion Theological Seminary? It GER
tainly seems so. But there Is In this
connection n still moro practical side.
The hundred thousand which Mr.. Car
Ssnegie would give would be spent in Rich
@1nond It would go directly to local con-
tractors and aborcrs and indirectly into
the Golfers OF our merchants and manu-
facturers; the ton thousand n year would
II also be sent to considerable extent In
ralaries to citizens Of Richmond, who
would, II they arc properly qualified. be
#nppointed to manage the library. These
are among tho least Of the reasons for
accepting the Carnegie proposition; they
ere however worth while; they meet
the penny wise and pound foolish argyll
4ments of some opponents OF the library.
%ss4e. Lastly from the point of civic pride,
such Il handsome and useful public build
1 ing ought to be desired. No large city
n In the nation tries 10 get on without a
public library. Think OF Boston, Balti-
more and New Orleans with their crowded
libraries: Of Norfolk. Raleigh. Charlotte
f#cntoying far better library facilities than
a Richmond the city OF an
Client Virginia culture, the one time CAPT
85tal of the Southern tsnfederacy, the
3a|1pHSteu center Ol southern ClNlllXlt lOn! q
K But this is not all; such towns as Sails
bury, Greensboro and Winston S;rlem,
z N. G.. have handsome public libraries
X built by the same Laird OF, Skibo," who
y is anxious to sec a handsome library IN
our midst Richmond Is not only not
looking to the future. nor doing her duty
! by her young people; she is tagging be-
hind tho cities of her class in the coun-
try; she is distanced even by towns Of
ten Thousand inhabitants. Arc we proud
&of this record? Is this npelling the
charge that we do not love books? Shall
NO remain content In our present lag
gard condition? Or shall we meet the
"labeled' opportunity nsy becomes an en-
tcrprising and, ,.alest, community OF the
twentieth century? There arc teachers.
OF the young. lovers OF good books and 1
good citizens OF the town or ncighboring
suburbs (whose names nrc on the tax
books. who will be ashamed OF their
city II she answers these questions by
refusing longer TO meet the Carnegie
proposition. WM. T.. DODD,
A ny