The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-04-07
Obe Jeffersonian
A Mission School Incident
Capital of Poverty



and riot call was hurriedly sent to
the president. When that venerable
dignitary appeared on the scene, he
found the gifted author in tears and
an indignant squad of students who
were going to pack their trunks i'm
mediately and leave a horrid school
whose teachers were not above lying
about their pupils. Summoning to
his aid the reserve explanations
which had done duty on similar oc-
casions in the past, he managed to
pacify the girls and soothe them into
quiet acceptance of the situation.
Of course, the occurrence never got
into the missionary journals.
The Teachers Line of Defense.
I desire to call attention to the
defense of the teacher. In justifica-
ton of her course she set up the
plea that she had written the obnox-
ious article with the distinct purpose
of interesting Northern people in the
work of the school. For the sake of
enlisting the aid of outsiders, she
had pictured her pupils as social out
casts, while in fact they were her
superiors socially. The readiness
with which her matter was received
and published by the Board Gin New
York city, shows that she was fol-
lowing the course marked out by
those in high places.
Pious Fraud.
We have heard something of pious
fraud practiced for the sake of gain.
We know that leaders in the church
are not above accomplishing their
ends through questionable means.
We are certain that the warrant of
high ecclesiastical standing is used
to eXtOrt money for all sorts of
schemes. But if sanity individuals
who are engaged in writing up mis-
sion school work from the view
point of poverty and restitution,
while they know full we'll that pu-
pills and teachers are living in the
midst of plenty, do not come peril
ously near to the point where they
may be classed justly as pious frauds,
I miss my estimate. To tell the
truth is more honorable than to
teach mission school. If cozenage
must be resorted to in order to sup
port these institutions, the. sooner
they are put out of commission, the
better it will be for all concerned.
Teachers Home as Social Center.
While on this subject of Southern
mission schools, I might as we'll ex-
pose another fake. The statement is
repeatedly made that the home of
the teachers becomes social center
and model of home-making. Rare
ly, if ever, is it really such. The
Board usually gives the teachers a
furnished home rent free, but it is
no more a social center than are nu-
merous other houses in the same To-
cality. It could not be such without
giving rise to scandal. Any sensible
person, who is acquainted with So
cial conditions in the South, knows
that two or three girls or women
living in a place more or less seclud-
ed can not keep open house with
safety to their regulations. Cases
are not unknown where teachers, in
fluenced by fondness for society, or
by pleasing f1ctions they had read in
mission literature, have attempted to
carry out the plan of making their
house a social center. Sharp tongues
got busy Immediately with the dis
section of their characters. The bet
ter managers always surround their
home with an atmosphere of reserve,
and never imagine for a moment that
they are setting the pace for the
community. If missionary societies
will exercise little common sense