The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-15
Conference of Education Assem-
 b|ed For Twelfth Time
GOVERNOR SMITH SPEAKS
President Robert c. Ogden Delivers Annual Address on Educational
 Spirit and pr. Mitchell of
 North Carolina Speaks.

Atlanta. April 14.-The twelfth annual Conference for Education in the South was formally opened tonight when the conference was welcomed to Atlanta and Georgia by Gov. Hoke Smith and listened to the annual address of the president, paper on The American Spirit in Educa- ton by Dr. s. c. Mitchell, president of the University of South Carolina.
 Governor Smiths remarks were not confined to a speech of welcome. He touched upon the problems which tho south as well as all other sections had to meet and solve and told of some of the aids that could be used. He placed education above all other things and commended the men and women who are giving of their time and money in an effort to aid humanity. But, he said, the education which is most effective is the education which builds character as well as imparts knowledge from books. Next the governor took up the race problem. saying:
 "The presence of a great number of
 
 which must be understood. l do not be- lieve that those who dwell upon the work of negro institutions into which few of the race enter, comprehend the question. The real negro educational problem is found in the 100000 negroes who enter these institutions and who are unsulted for the opportunities they offer. I re- fer to great bodies of negroes engaged In the simplest lines of manual labor
 "The first step in the education of the great body of the negro race is to in- spire desire to do better the labor they are called upon to perform and to rid them of a willingness to live poorly, if perchance a meagre support can be made with half time labor.
 Progress of Negroes.
 Experience shows that negroes improve most rapidly where there are fewest ne- groes in proportion to the number of whites. The best friend of the negro should seek his distribution to all sec tions, This can be accomplished by more white settlers coming south and more negroes going north, east and west"
  ress being made in education in the south and predicted that as the public realized more fully what could be accomplished, there would be no lack of means for car rying out the conferences plans. He de- clared that one of Che most important things to be done was to guard against child labor in factories and said that this problem would become greater as manu- featuring enterprises increased
 'Our manufacturing growth would be a curse if we were to permit the presence of population worn out by drudgery in childhood and deprived of proper mental, physical and spiritual growth
 The rural schools he considered one of the most important means of mak- ing a better people and he expressed tho belief that the next generation would see farm life made most attractice. he closed by referring to the use of convicts on the public roads as a big step for ward and expressed his opinion that at all costs the farm must be saved for the small farmer and kept out of the grasp of the big corporations.
 Governor Smith was followed by Presi- dent ogden who read his address.
 Ooden's Address.
 
 eventually produced large harvests," said President ogden in summing up the result of the l ? years work of the conference. He pointed out that in the early days of civilization little at tention was paid to the development of the child. Now. however, he declared. "the protection of the deficient or un- fortunate child is distinguishing mark of Christian civilizations; the hA penetrating and arresting is the cry for help"
 Mr ogden said that the conference held it's place as a part of an educa- tional renaissance. This work" he said, "can perhaps be definitely de- fined only at a single point. It exists primarily to impress upon the mind of the citizen, the people, the responsi- bility of the individual for educatio conditions, to support the claim that every child in America, native or for eign born is entitled to a good Eng fish, eduaction; that 1t is the duty of the state as representing the people to provide such education and there fore our civilization must banish ignor- ance and replace it with intelligence. must provide facilities for education and compel the use of such facilities. must create such standards of intelli- gence as VIII make ignorance con scious discredit, not to say disgrace.'
 Alone In It's Work.
 So far as he knew, said MT. ogden. the conference for education in the south was the only popular civic or ganization In the interests of educa- tion in the couptry. He declared that other sections of the country need it and that in the judgment of many it should have a national character. The conference had been dynamic power in the uplift and development of many a lonely soul. rpughout the states represented here thei'cdwere, before the association came into being, thousands of people in rural places with clear vis-