The farmer and mechanic., 1907-02-26


cation in the south is extremely inter- |
esting. not TO say critical. The imme-
diate and proper constituency Of the |
Southern college possesses a precious
Inheritance Of ideals and of blood, 50
that its output for the higher minis
tries of life may be Of the best The
appeal which the Southern college
makes to wealth was never so con-
! Vincing ana impcriouS as it is now.
| The demand for its service grows more
| insistent as the sphere OF its service
/ Wdens. ON the other hand, the very
purpose and aim of the higher edu-
cation is threatened by forces and in
/ a way which constitute Il crisis.
| one meets On the threshold the in
quiry whether there is a New South.
Some fifteen years ago such an in
quiry would have received q prompt
and indignant NO, there is no New
South and there cannot be-" To US the
South was so fair we could not fancy
| her changed. We loved her with such
an ardor Of affection that any sort of
/ Transformation appeared to us in the
| light Of q compromise of her beauty,
We were unwilling to admit the lcgiti-
/ macy of that horrid cpithet new But
are there not visible in the complexion
and texture Of Southern society today
some things which warrant the use OF
the term? At least two features Of
seem to Justify the admission that
there is New South. These may be
presented briefly.
First, III sharp contrast with the old
er civilization, our society is at present
democratic in its constitution. Before
the War Between the States Southern
Society was organized on the class sys-
tenn There was on the one hand, the
iSlave-hOlding class and the prOfessiOn-
al class; on the other, the nonslave-
holding class. constituting what was
called more or less contemptuC uSly,
the masses. Provision for education
in both the lower and higher grades
was made with the slaveholding and
professional classes in mind. In this
provision the masses were not conten-
plated, or at most, remotely. Some OF
them shared in the opportunity, but
they were taking advantage of what
was provided for others. The public
school system of that day was 50 much
under the ban as hardly to have at
tanned to reSpectability. Much of the
illiteracy which is our burden now IS
directly traceable to this old feeling
that the masses had no rights in the
matter Of education. Today, however,
the organization of society is funda-
mentally different. The doWnmost
man has been awakened to self con
sciousness. and is coming 10 his own.
Every man is recognized as possess
ing inherent worth irrespective of
birth or circumstances. The privilege
of education is one Of the demands
which he is making and which the
rest COnceQe. The public school SyS-
tenn every graded school building. is
q demonstration Of the fact that So
ciety has been democratized. When the
rich and poor, high and low. cultured
and uncultured, white and black, not
only admit the right Of all men t0 edu-
cation, but also unite in practical ways
to provide the opportunities OF edu-
cation for all men, surely democracy
has been achieved
\ second feature in the general as
pect of Southern society is a new kind
Of prosperity, new and more widely
diffused. OF course, there was Il type
OF prosperity in this region III the
earlier period. 1t was restricted in
its diffusion we'll as peculiar in
kind. Wealth took the form mainly
Of landed estates and of negroes, and
transactions in the business world
were largely in these two kinds Of
property. investments, as q rule,
were made in the purchase Of more
land for the slaves to till. or Of more
slaves to till the land already pur-
chased. Now, however. prosperity IS
more general and the forms Of wealth
greatly more varied. Such aggrega-
tions OF capital as that on the Tennes
see river at Chattanooga or the Yad-
kin river in North Carolina for the
|
er were practically unknown in the
old South. and hardly possible.
| The prosperity of which one thinks
first in the New South is that which
is associated With the new jndustrial-
ism Manufacturing has increased in
volume and in variety at such an enor-
nous rate as to have attracted the
eyes Of the whole financial y rid. Tn
less all signs fail, this Industrial de-
yelopment is but just begun, and the
wealth which it has poured into the
lap Of the South is only the earnest OF
a far richer harvest to follow in the
near future.
But the agricultural development Of
our section is almost as marked as its
Industrial development. The South is
an agricultural region. decreed by
| Providence to be and remain an agri-
cultural region. when its physical fea-
lures We're established in long past
geological ages. Its long growing sea
son. its mild climate, and its fat soil
constitute 1t the store house for the
country and in large measure also for
the world. Recent improvements IN
agricultural methods and in the variety
Of agricultural products have greatly
increased our wealth. adding. it is said,
in the last two years so per cent to the
value Of our lands. L is probably true
that they have only just begun to yield
what is possible TO them.
What now is the relation which
these two fundamental aspects Of Or
ganizod life in the South bear to the
higher education? It may be replied
that common peril waits upon de-
mncracy and prosperity. namely, the
crSlaVement of soul to things the de-
pcrsonalizing Of man. Democracy IS
the crown of individualism. but no
sooner does the individual achieve his
demand Of equality of opportunity in
The social struggle. no sooner is de-
lTN-n TaNT .-,+o
| diOcrity. where individuals lose that
! which had served to distinguish them,
and the man becomes a grain OF sand