The Grenada sentinel., 1908-07-25

| In the calendar of Mississippi's great
events there should be q milestone set
to mark the days of last week. From
these days there will come--and that in
the near futue-events of the import
ance and glory Of which we have, as yet,
but dreamed.
| On the beautiful old campus, meath
the stately oaks and graceful elms
which shade its velvet sward, there was
| gathered, from the four corners of the
State, and from every county within her
bounds, an assemblage of her leading
men and women in whose hands lies
the greater part of our future as
State.
| These were the teachers of the State
of Mississippi, with few from other
| States, who had heard our cry and
come over to help U.S."
There were present in that great
body of teachers, men who stand at
the head of the educational life of Mis-
sissippi-from whose offices i'll the splen-
did new capitol there is continually 60
ing out the vital current which keeps
alive the energy and ambition upon
which we are to build this glorious tu-
|
university, and our Industrial college,
and our Agricultural and Mechanical
college; men who have, by their own
efforts, built up the fine private schools
of Mississippi; and last, but by no
means least, that grand army Of men
and women who stand in the fore front
of our rural school work, and who are
so bravely leading on the youth of the
State we love, to the attainment OF
| these great and beautiful things which
lie beyond the school room doors.
1t was indeed most wonderful ag-
ereyation of teachers brought together
! bv their comon love for the children OF
| the State, and the patriotism that is
| as strong in the heart and the life of
! the most rural teacher of them all as it
| is in the heart Of the loyal superin-
| tendent himself
| This evidence of brotherhood which
was manifest everywhere during these
delightful days, was one of the finest
| things about the conference. Without
| it the meeting-great though it was In
| numbers, would have been a failure.
It was during the meeting of the
State Teachers Association held here
| in Nav, that the idea of an Educational
some time the idea had been forming
| in the active brains and loyal hearts
of few of our leaders, but it was
not until the last session of the May
meeting that it was launched. Imme-
diatelv it took with the great body OF
| the teachers, and since that time there
| has been much interest manifested In 1T.
State Superintendent J. \. Powers,
| having been one of the originatOrs OF
! the idea. was put at the head of the
work. and he and President L. 2. Scott,
| of the Brokhaven school, and president
| of the State Teachers Association, was
| authorized to call the conference when
and where he thought best.
Very wisely he thought the time imme-
diately following the great patriotic
| rally on the university campus best, and
that campus, already the scene OF one
| of the finest normals ever held in Mis-
sissippi, as the place
From first to last this inaugural meet
ing of Mississippi's educators was the
happiest possible success. There was
not. so far as the journalistic eye could
| see and it sees most things visible, not
a single ripple to mar the smooth sur
| face of things, nor was there an unkini
criticism of the arrangements, the lead
| ers. the hosts, the speakers, or even the
visitors.
What the results may be from this
conference it is beyond our power to
| estimate. But we are certain that they
will be good and far reaching. The
verv fact that there were SO many teach
ers present on the campus tfor 1t must
| be remembered that Oxford is one hun
| dred and fifty-siX miles, according to
nv mileage book, from the heart OF
the State) proves their profound inter
est. Very few of them possess mileage
books or passes, and as all of us know,
there are very few who have money to
waste from their meager salaries. Thus
their presence at this conference meant
something. And it is certain that they
received something from it, well worth
tbe trouble. the expense, and the sacri-
fee of the trip.
As | sat there in the restful library
of the quaint home of the chancellor,
and looked out over the beautiful old
campus with is hundreds of stately trees
standing there just as kindly Nature
placed them-for ber JOY and our
own. the thought came to me that this
alone was well worth the price of going.
Inst to be there where so many men
of great name and fair fame had had
their training for the great work OF
life: where others as great in the Nation
as OR own were in the State, had come
to say helpful word to the young men
starting out ON the way of life; and
where so many strong, true men had,
during the years that are gone-as IN
tine Years that are now with us-lent
their brave endeavor to help our youth
grow into the symmetry and the
strength that is requisite OF the per-
feet man. Had there been no lessons,
to say or learn; no speeches to heed;
no great men to look upon, 1t would
vet have meant a great deal to these
weary. work worn teachers, whose days
are overfull of the monotony that hurts
so cruelty, just to be there, and to drink
in the sweet pure air that lifts the
swaying trees so gracefully; and to
dream about the men who, passing tins
wav on the road to fame, had paused
a while, and then gone on, refreshed.
While the greater part of the pre-
oaratory work for the conference was
done. of course, by Superintendent
D,ors o;dad lovally by President