Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1909-11-26
Interesting Letter From Norton

breathing rather, with an abund-
ance OF this worlds goods, starving
his children TO death, intelletually,
his wife working harder than the
horses on the farm, would have
made splendid parable i'm the New
Testament. II would have been al
most as popular parable TO preach
from rs the "Pi odigal Son"
A certain Christian Disciple
preacher OF Tazewell preached a
sermon from local taken from the
Blueiield Daily Telegraph. The
parable in the News is referred TO
him for consideration. A certain
wealthy man died a few years ago
whom you knew very we'll. His es.
tate was worth clear OF any encum-
brances between SO, 600 and 500, OOO.
When divided among the heirs one
daughter rernarked"I' rather father
would have given me an education
than all this"
What blessed thing IL is that
there is n general, or standard influ-
ence above the one these men lived
before their children. 1t often turns
out that boy or girl reared in such
home, sees the general standard
governing the people and breaks
away from that under which he was
reared and gets an education of his
own accord, joins the church and
makes a splendid citizen | heard an
old man say that be was left an or
phan and had TO make his own way
in the world, said the first time he
ever tried to hoe corn he watched
the man hoe his hill who was said
TO be the best corn hoer In the neigh
borhood and l tried To hoe my com
just like he did. From that time for
ward said he ] always looked for the
highest standard in everything.
What n wonderful work could be
done I'm the mountains OF South west
Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern
Tenn. Western n. c., and in fact
throughout the entire mountain re-
gions OF the South, but especially
that which comes un Ter our own OBJ
servation, interests us most. WHY
the Rockefellers, he Carnegie's
and other multi-millonaires waste SO
much money on the unspeakable
monuments? In these mountain Sec
tions there is the brightest natural
talent To be found i'm the whole
world. A smattering of free school
is all IL gets. When they get
through with that, the clock stops
short, never 10 go again and the
old man dies, the boys follow In
his footstpes. A few High Schools
placed here and there supported by
Carnegie would do more to devel-
op the best talent than all the libra
ries he ever can establish This tai
emf as stated when il has gotten
about all there Is TO the free schools
finds In the home not n page of liter
ture to satisfy starving mind. Or
nail hangs an almanac, now and
then an old copy Of the bible, and a
few patent medicine pamphlets sent
free, often, too often make up the
literature OF the home. Haven't you
been I'm such homes?
These sections need an awakening.
l have often wished / could go OH n
crusade, through the mountains
preaching, lecturing urging upon
these parents the needs of their chill
dren. Thousands OF magazines, re-
ligious journals, few dailies, good
| weeklies, ETC., IL distributed free
would create an appetite for reading
that would mean an awakening.
The church with It's limited means
has done much. The mountain cir
cult rider has been n greater discov-
erer than Sir Isaac Newton, Herschel
or HALEY. While these have dis
covered stars OF the first magnitude,
the circuit rider has now and then
discovered a mountain boy and BY
some hook or crook, trumped up q
way TO get him out and In school
and greater star than ever glowed
in the armament was discovered.
In these mountains we find the most
valuable materials In minerals, met.
ais and timber, likewise we find the
brightest talent seems to be law oil
nature. The enlightened sections
have gone money mad" so that IL
more than half century New En-.
gland hasn't produced a great mind.
The whole cultured world is falling
sadly behind In this respect and
like the Grecian of old we must look
to the mountain III Greece may vel
be free ~
1t may be in that great day when
we shall all be Judged according to
our works that our millionaire phi.