The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1908-12-16
PROF. r. M. SHIP
IN HANCOCK COUNTY.

Men Who Need Barrels in Business
Prof. R. M. Shipp at Hawesville dur
ing the recent educational campaign
Professor Shjnp spoke for an hour
and half. His talk, as is charac-
teristic of him, abounded in amusing
stories and witticisms illustrative of
his arguments, all of which were di-
rected to the end of making Ken
tuckians heartily ashamed of the low
rank of their State educationally and
of stirring them to greater effort in
behalf of the children of the State.
He showed that particularly all Stat
es exceeded Kentucky in raising
money for school purposes by local
taxation, and he defended the new
school law, showing points in which
it was superior to the old. The
school, he declared, was the John
the Baptist of all other Institutions.
He defined the purpose of education
to be ''to bring to the utmost best
the best that is in the person taught"
He rejoiced that Hawesville already
had a school of nine grades and that
steps had already been taken to or
ganize county high school under
the new law. He would suggest, as
the very best motto for the people,
"all act and act always" Follow
this and you will get what you want
educationally. He insisted that all
had a duty to perform in this mat
ter. He would spell duty with capt.
tai letters. 1t was big word. 1t
extended to little things. Trifes
made perfection but perfection was
no trifle. We should be doors. The
French give much attention to their
posture, and when they salute you
they say chow do you stand?" The
inhabitants of the British Isles think
most of health and their first salu-
tatiOn is chow are you?" But in
America the people are doors AID
they salute by asking show do you
I dot" Kentuckians are behind, are
woefully behind others as doors in
this matter of education. Only three
parts of the country, Louisiana,
North Carolina and New Mexico
show q greater per centage of illit-
crates than this State. Only 46 out
of every 100 children in Kentucky
get even a common school education.
Kentucky is not now famous for her
noted men as she once was, and yet
the demand for great men and for
great doors is far greater than it
ever was in the past. Because of
these facts we see the great proprie-
ty OF the present compaign of edu-
cation in this State. Too many of
our young people want to be idlers.
They do not want to labor. We must
do more to magnify and dignity la
Dor. Too often we are proud of the
wrong thing in Kentucky. This cam
paign is intended to develop pride In
our children and our schools and our
teachers. The school teachers are
the seed corn of civilization. You
know what seed corn should be. 1t
must be sound and good, and select
ed with care. We have too many
nubbins In our teaching force. We
must change this condition. We can
do it by lettering our schools. We
have our State University, but
youths cannot go from the common
school to the university. What we
need are the high schools, which we
may have under the new law. Ten
nessee established 40 high schools
in the past year. Kentucky has but
eight high schools In the entire State,
and they are confined to the large
cities. jefferson has declared that
democracy cannot exist In an litter
ate State. The average negro child
has much better educational advant-
ages than the average white child.
Some may doubt this, but it is true,
for the negro children are crowded
into the cities where they get eight
or ten months schooling each year,
while most of the white children are
in the country with shorter terms of
school. Are you in favor of Civ
ing to all white children at least the
same education that you are giving
to the negro children? That is one
great purpose of the present educa-
tional campaign.
In concluding his address the
speaker gave convincing arguments
to show that high school educa-
ton pays.