The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-09-02

Iguidance it has nearly quadrupled
| in number Of students, employees
and the value Of its property.
When we consider this phenomenal
development in so short a time,
with all the multitudinous cares
and responsibilities incident there
Ito, is it unreasonable to suppose
lsome mistakes have not been made?
Where is the man Of absolute per-
lfection? The man who never makes
mistakes? Can Capt. Wellborn
land his friends point us to such d
imam?
Give me an earnest, true man,
lfull of zeal and of good works,
whose purpose is right, and / am
willing to help him remedy his
mistakes. Such man is J. G..
Hardy. Shall the people of Mis-
sissippi rally to such man and
help him in his great work for our
boys? or shall we do the easier
thing, find fault, criticise, throw
stones, tear down yea, join with
the rabble and cry as they did
against the Master of old, Cruelty
him! cruelty himi" Who and what
kind of a man is ]. G. Hardy? Go
ask Mississippi College, who first took
him for development fresh from
the plow handles of his native
State. Ask the people Of Jackson,
Miss, and the Board of Education
there for whom he served and did
such grand work as Supt. Of city
schools. 1t gives me pleasure to
testify to his sterling worth. My
opinion of him is based on close
and intimate knowledge, for dur
| ing the ten years of his admins
tration here / was secretary of the
Board of Education, and know
whereof ] speak. As Superintend-
ent of City Schools he was a great
success popular with the people,
popular with teachers, pupils and
patrons. 1t is disgusting to see
one of the papers which spoke very
highly of him at that time now
trying to make it appear that his
administration as Superintendent
of city schools in Jackson was a
ridiculous farce and complete
failure. 1t was with genuine re-
gret that this community parted
with him. To show what the
Board of Education thought of him
| will mention only one incident.
A short while before he went to
the A. & M. some of his friends
were urging him to run for State
Superintendent Of Education. Our
board, afraid that we might lose
him, as an inducement for him not
to run, voluntarily offered him a
three years contract with a raise
iof salary, and when the Presidency
of the "A. & M. was rendered him,
as the President of our board ex-
pressed it. we consented to re-
lease him from his contract only
because we felt that we were con-
tributing to our own State college.
Does this look as if we thought
him a failure? No, sir! the in
aspiration Of ]. C. Hardy's enthusi-
asm still lives in our splendid sys-
tenn of schools today. Is such a
life Of fidelity to duty to count for
nothing in this hour Of his persecu-
tion? Capt. Wellborn, like Samp-
son of old, twist not that his
strength has departed F." If there
was rottenness at the college he
should have exposed it while con-
nected with the institution, but to
wait until he was dismissed-be-
fore his righteous indignation be-
came so stirred makes it very ap-
parent that his main grievance is
not the matters complained of. I
hope the people will stop and
think, and not be carried away by
| all this Misrepresentation and
abuse.
Shall we impeach and dismiss a
man from the head of our great
college, whose whole life has been
on the side of good morals and re-
| lligion, in response to the demands
/ of man whose attitude (if we are
to believe the evidence) is rather
on the order of the scoffer man
who refers to the noble, self-sacri-
fcing servants of our Master who
have left all and have gone to
foreign fields as the dam mission
aries2"
Shall we set aside man who has
the moral as well as intellectual
welfare of our boys at heart who
emphasizes the Y. M. G. A. and its
uplifting influence over our boys
for man who opposes religious re-
lvivals at the college and yet favors
the card table and the wine cup?
Shall we dispense with man who
believes in prohibition, who up
holds the State law which seeks to-
throw protection around our boys
by forbidding the sale of liquor
within miles of the college, a
man who by precept and example
teaches the student body to taste
not. touch not, handle not that
fiery beverage which ait the last
biteth like serpent and stingeth
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