The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1909-12-02
Manual Education.

GreeK philosopher was dShSu why
he desired to educate his son, he
replied, $50 he may not sit in the
Forum as a stone upon a stone. "
The great trouble in this Southland
is that we are still suffering from
the evil effects engendered by
slavery. In ante-bellum days,
manual labor was thought only
good for slaves and no southern
gentleman could be persuaded to
educate his son for any trade or
calling save the learned profes-
sions. They had to be lawyers, or
doctors, or preachers. Manual la
Dor was considered degrading.
Now this was all wrong and we
should abandon these old ideas
which have done so much harm to
our people. Labor is honorable
among all men. "Two men and
only two men," said great phi
losoper, s'do l honor. The man
of mind who conquers Heaven tor
us and the man of muscle who con-
quers earth for US. All others are
as chaf among the wheat or thorns
among the flowers. " Let us then
change our system OF education
and teach the rising generation to
use their own hands as we'll as their
heads, in some honorable mechan-
ical trade or calling. The learned
professions are over-croWded.
There are too many lawyers and
doctors and preachers-brleHess
barristers and physicians without
patients and ministers without con-
eregations. Let US build up more
manual training schools. Let us
have more mechanics, carpenters,
blacksmiths, manufacturing qRer-
atives, wheelwrights, harness max
ers and shoemakers, and fewer
lawyers and doctors and preachers.
Then will the old south blossom
like a rose, and her fertile soil,
when tickled with hoe, will laugh
with the harvest.
In old Europe, whose civlliza-
ton is far ahead of our own, man
ual labor has always been consld-
cred respectable. Every member
of the German nobility, from the
Emperor down to the lowest Baron,
is required to learn some useful
trade. In France, whose women
are renowned for their intellectual
attainments, it is pleasurable to
all, as l have heard, their nimble
fingers plying the needle and
thread. Even when travelling on
the cars they are sewing, embrold-
ering, knitting or doing some USE
full work, unlike their American
sisters, whose noses are generally
seen between the pages of some
useless and uninstructive novel.
In the cities, like Paris, among the
bourgeoisie, the women carry on
the stores, their husbands are the
boulevardiers and spend their time
slipping their absinthe at the cafes.
Let us teach our sons and daugh-
ters to be useful as well as orna-
mental members of society. Hunt
ington, the great millionaire owner
of the Southern Pacific Railroad,
said that he advertised once for a
book keeper and, carpenter; that
he had hundred applications fol
the position of book-keeper at $5c
or $75 per month, and only three
for the position of carpenter at s.
a day. So, it seems that not only
is manual labor respectable, but i
is three times more remuneratlve
than ordinary clerical work. l
this change is made in our popular
education, our young men and oui
young women, who are to take oui
places when we pass off the stage
of life, will be able to rely upor
themselves and not to be totally
dependent upon worthless negro
men to do their mechanical anC
plantation work, and upon worth
less negro women for domestic
service,-the poorest class of la
borers on the planet of the eartl
and who are getting worse ant
worse as time progresses.
/ have touched on this subjec
of manual training because tn
State Normal School, to be estab
lished some day, must train on