The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-11-20
NORTH CAROLNA'S
LITERARY ACT|V-
|TY.


II "ItH Court Library. HHs ef the best
STATE law libraries iu our country.
containing 11.oHo volumes. worth ~
! the lowest estimate $4,000 NJ
joining this building IS the Han 81
History. q large hail al one end ps
the state Museum Through THE eu-
t~nGSIdstIc efforts of Col. Fred 4. oits.
! Who deserves the thanks of aE pa
trtgtlc citizens for his unatlf~h I8-
borS. more man 1000 historic relics.
documents. pape-S aUd pictures have
been collected there Illustrating every
period and almost phase Of tine life
Of the state. II is doubtful IL amy
other state lo the Union ha4 "A more
valuable or more instructive cellec-
ton of historic relics. In q INTEREST
ing story of tho Hall 81 History. col
DIds says:
North Carolina is Yet rich in such
objects, notably OF the Colonial and
Revolutionary periods. but until this
collection began. a little over three
years ago. nothing hai been done. ex-
cept in what may be termed very
justly a local way. 10 gather together
such objects. IN sueh faiIure the
state has suffered enormous loss. due
to the burning of court houses. pub
lie buildings. and. most Of all pri-
Vate homes. in some Of where there
We're extensive groups Of objects. the
loss Of which is i~Ireparablc. But al
last the gathering together mt Raj
'iS4Ir NIltl q bE dll manner OF means
the collection ought to he. has been
begun, and the fact that the humble
of objects now exceeds the 1000 mark
shows not only zeal in collecting. but
also an awakened public interest.
% = It is felt that the present Han
Of History is what may truly be term
ed a stepping stone to higher things;
in other words that ii is but the fore
runner Of a far more o one. gem
crouS as 10 pace, ana built on the
most modern lines as regards the
elimination Of risks by fire. Given
such a building. and the writer can
undertake to secure almost anything
in North Carolina
1t is impossible to place anything
like q mOney-valuc on these three
colleCtions-the State Library, the
Supreme Court Library. and the Hall
of History. They represent thOus-
ands Of dollars and years of patriotic
labor. They are beyond all price,
and yet year after year they are left
in buildings inadequate in size and
arrangement, hardly crcditablc to d
great State in appearance, and to-
tally unprotected from fire. \ fire
once started in either would sweep
like a hurricane through both and re-
duce the whole to ashes in spite of
all human effort. Is it economy to
leave these public treasures thus ex-
posed to destruction? Is it patriotic?
Does not the destruction of the Neck
lenburg Declaration papers teach us
a useful lesson? Has the burning
of the capitol no warning for us? the
loss of the State Library? the de-
StruCtion of the great statue of Wash
ington? And shall we let these
warnings go UNDECIDED? 1t is posi-
BILE that North Carolinians care so
little for their great past, for the de-
Nelopment of an interest in their his
tory, for the cultivation of literature
a IA art 81 n IN Cr tlni1 l,.n chat
they would froWn down an appropriate
ton from their public money for he
erection of a fire-prOof building in
which these treasures would be safe?
h very question is almost a SANDER
on the good name Of the state.
The State is amply able to erect
such a building building absolute
ly fire-proof. stately in architectural
designs, and ample for the purposes
to which it shall be devoted. It
would be moro than a library build
ing. Patriotic societies would have
rooms there for their meetings and
records; the state Literary and His
toriCal Association won't have Offices
and record rOOmS set apart for its
work; there too. would b" offices and
archive rooms for a state Commits
| sioncr of Archives and Records; a
spacious hall would be dedicated as Il
| Hall of History which would be the
! instructor of thousands in the history
| of North Carolina-in a word it would
be the headquarters for all the liter
AIRY and historical activities OF ia
turc generations Of Mort Ca@roItnians.
The Railways would be lined with
statues. the walls with portraits, pre-
serving the forms and features of thc
great men and women who have
served the state and nation. IA
the walls, too. would hang paint
ingS executed bN~nativc artists Of the
| O1'pJt qH-p1t-. II, nIII, hist nJI--t no. |, md
inE of the first Englishlnan on
Roanoke; the famous May day scene
of - at Charlotte: the greater q
at Halifax in April of Is: the mac
charges UP the sides Of Kings Noun
tain; the steady resistance at GuiIford
Court House; Davie and his fellows
resting under the poplar IN a halmA
October day dreaming of a great uni
V%ersitH; James G. Dobbin in the halls
% lcei-Iation pleading with a poWer
surprising olOQuCnCc for those WIN
C1rI1 not plead for themselves: thf
iShg gray line sweeping up the slope.
f GETTYSBURG. and these and man
more such historic scenes would =.
there to inspire hundreds OF NortI
Carolina boys and girls with Il dCsi:'
Ia serve SO good p state and SO grca
4 people. and there, too. Woull
come students to search its treasure
who would do for North Carolina am
the South all that Bryant and Lowell
and LongfelIoW and Holmes and En-
erSOn and Bancroft and Fiske and
host Of other great names have don
for Massa chuscttS and New England
Visited every years by thousands. sucl
a building. like a great beacon 1igh
on n hill. would she'd an inspiring Ign
; on the historical literary and educa
tiOnaI life of the state that would d
worth a hundred times over all tn
money expended in its construction
l II is not possible that the people G
North Carolina would regard with dis
favor and appropriation for this pun
t pose sensible and patriO-ic people wi
> applaud the legislature that takes tn
great forward step.
A second lesgon equally valuabl
: and equally necessary which the illus
= trations ] have given out to impres
: on US is the importance Of collectin!
copying, editing and publishing til
historical sources now in eXistenC
( while they are in existence.
o / have shown how hundreds of il
: Valuahl documents II other source
have been lost or destroyed thrOug
the CarelessnesS Indifference and il