The farmer and mechanic., 1907-08-27


sinners take each Iuny 10 Beaufort,
that good old town, which TINS year
celebrated its two handredth annlFeT-
sarv In 1905 / conceived the idea 81
taking the youngsters there ana Hfioe
the experiment Of carrying 81 boys
from 9 TO 10 years Of age 10 Tell
the truth nv hope WIS that the sue
cess OF these Sunshine trips would
lead other inland communities ~
North Carolina to take up the plan
OF course, people with plenty or mon
ey could improve upon 1t in many
uavq Las. wear both girls and boys,
= total of 49, were taken. and remained
ten days and this year ~ were car
ried, though f35 applied 10 90. IN"
number had 70 be reduced because or
lack Of accOTnLn Odatlons particularly
for the girls Last year ana this year
the price fixed for the railway jour
rev bouts board. etc. was at 80 10"
a figure thar even people in extreme
" mod crate circumstance could avail
Themselves of the opportunity TO see
something Of their state and It's Won
derful coast Last year the whole eX-
pense was $3.50. and this year vas
f,Yed at $40 ae il was found that the
other figures did not quite meet the
expenses Some children We're aided
IN making the trip. but not even these
themselves knew this, 1t being Sc
cret between their parents and the
would have never seen the ocean per-
haps in all their life. The association
nf these children. rich and poor, dur
.ng the three years has been produc-
tive Of great deal of good. The in
fluenceS have been fine, and so has
been the environment.
II may really be imagined that the
responsibility of such journey and
stay at the water-sde is intense, but
the game is more than worth the can
die. Really l cannot think Of any
thing which gives better Opportun-
ity OF studying the character OF boss
and girls Alexander Pope, the poet.
Ideclared THE proper study Of man
Kind is man" The Sunshiners number
ESQ and they are of all sorts and con
ditions of boys and girls. OF boys
there must be the good and the bad.
As no flock is ever without its black
sheep. I remember once being in
Texas, on train with a party Of tour
tasts and seeing a very great flock Of
!sheep on the range, which in the mass
showed all white. A lady who was
Cooking at it very intently said:
Thank God. there Is q flock without
"A black sheep" Her JOY was but mo-
rnentary however, for at that instant
- Up rose from somewhere in the flock
the hlackest of all black sheep,
stretched himself and looked about
him as if to say, Here 7 am" And
50 il is with boys: the black sheep is
always the weakest link in the chain.
He must be watched for, guarded
against, fathered and mothered and
If possible induced to change his col
or; something the real sheep can by
no means do.
No one knows Raleigh better than
this writer and certainly no one not
even the oldest school teacher. knows
nearly 80 many children. Last winter
Ernest Thompson Seton met a great
many of my boys and girls and then
and there confessed that while he
knew nearly everything about boys,
he knew absolutely nothing about
girls. adding that the latter were be
yond him" l called up one of my
girls and asked her to tell Mr.. Seton
her little gospel, and she put it in
his way: 'I try to do anything and
everything a boy can do and to do it
d little better than the boy"
Great girl" said Mr. Seton, with
plenty Of emphasis Now there are
lots Of Sunshine girls like this, and
the result is that when they are on
the road or at Beaufort they simply
astonish the sloW-goers by showing
them what real. live girl can do,
in healthy, simple and clean way.
This Is an eDitome of tn life of the
Sunshine girls at the seaside and here
at Raleigh. and it is one of the secrets
of our success. If it is q frolic they
are in for it: or if it is some mission of
charity, q visit to the sick or some
other kindly office for some one who
needs help, the heart will is put be-
hind the act and this is why the Sun
sinners are so much loved at home
and wherever they happen to go
On this third tour. extending from
July 18th TO 25th. there were Al boys
and 20 girls. the director, three chap
erones for the girls and some gentle
l11
youngsters. The Norfolk and Southern
Railway furnished a couple of spe-
clal cars and the bigger Sunshine boys
did their usual quick work in loading
the cots and baggage. The boys took
only suit ease and a trfle of bed
dlng; while. to be sure each girl
must have trunk to contain the frip-
perry SO dear to the feminine heart,
no matter whether of six or sixty
years.
Anybody can go away from home
Tor ten days trip, meet agreeable
people. some ola Appropriateness, some
new friends. but happy is the man
VINO can walk through two special
cars and look III ts,s faces OF over
three score children whom he loves
and who love him. and think that in
al their pleasures together there is
not TO be a touch or taint of selfish
mess. This Is the keynote of the
whole thing; the base upon which
these outings rest for their success
Amid the dew Of the early morning
with the big sun springing from the
horizon and glancing over world of
vivid green, we began our journey. All
were impressed with the excellence
of the track and equipment of the
Norfolk and Southern Railway from
Goldsboro to the coast At Newport,
out or sight of the sea- we got the
first breath of salt air. and soon
the sounds came into view. with that
serrated line of sand banks which sep
arate these inner waters from the
roaring ocean outside these banks
making so much North Carolina terri
tory av irritable haven of refuge
We had one new experience this
year, this being going into Beaufort
by rail and across the really wonder
ful bridge or trestle which the Norfolk
and Southern has built. at a cost of
much over a hundred thousand dol
lars. 1t looks like a gigantic thous-
Rnd-legs as it connects Morehead CITY
and Beaufort, now standing on the
marsh and now in the water, and the
views from the train is at once strik-
Ing and noble. AS matter of fact
the Beaufort people themselves half