Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-08-10
RED HILL MEETING:
Fourth, County Campaign Meet
ing Red Hill Saturday.
Large Attendance. Good
Order.

AsGompared with the Edgeheld
county campaign meetings of ade-
cade and more ago, the meetings OF
1910 are almost funereal in charac-
ter. They are so orderly and quiet
as to become quite monotonous at
times. Although respectful and at
tentive to commendable degree,t the
voters listen to the speeches with a
nonchalant, listlessx air, as if to say,
1--WE are taking very little interest
in politics this year and have al
ready made up our minds who to
vote for"
The speakers may do their best,
their level best, and not a hand-clap
punctuates their eloquence. The
more, the perspiration beads their
brow, the more they stamp their
feet in emphasizing point, the
more they beat the air with their
gesticulations and the higher their
flights of oratory, the less inclined
are the voters to respond with hearty
cheers and hurrahs, as in former
years. To our mind this seeming
Indifference indicates a wholesome
condition. The masses of the peo-
pie are more intelligent and are do
ing their own thinking upon the
questions of the day. While they
are willing to hear the, views OF
others, they do their own thinking
and arrive at their own conclu-
sions.
Well, as to the Red Hill meeting,
it was very much like the st meet
ing at Long Branch. A goodly
number of representative citizens
attended, and the department was
perfect. Had they gathered to par
ticipate in religious service in the
beautiful church near the speakers
stand the order could 'have been no
! better. Two years age some whlss
key was in eaid dence, but. balt said s
to she cred 1t of The men sed salsl g y
NOT u "a aiinted illsa
Eev aslird1S " & I sE
'hs nieetin vas opened with pray
er l.l by Rev. 8. T. Littlejohn, after
which the veteran chairman, Mr.. J.
H. Busey, who presided with ease
and grace, presented the speakers,
beginning with the aspirants for the
Office Of coroner. Office by office
the candidates were called. Some
came forward.and made appropriate
remarks, but most of the candidates
for the minor offices arose from their
seat in the audience and simply ask
ed to be excused. As the entire
forenoon was given to candidates
for minor offices, the aspirants for
legislative honors did not clear their
decks for action till after dinner.
One hour and half was spent
in eating hash and in very pleasant
social intercourse. The men of the
community served an excellent-bar-
becue dinner in order to raise funds
to erect a fence around the Red Hill
cemetery. The meats were prepar-
ed in first-class style by Mr.. Erve
Holmes, the foremost chef of the
west-side. During the day the la
dies of Red Hill church refreshed
the crowd with their delicious ice
cream, making about $50 net for
their missionary treasury. The rrice,
asiwell as the unexcclled quality,
greatly pleased the people, being
only five cents per saucer. ~
Early in the AFTERNOON the Ia
dies, gentlemen and fellowcitizens"
re-assembled under the spreading
white oak to hear the the three Or
.atoIs of the day, the first presented
being the Hon. S. Nee. Simkins.
He began with discussion of educa-
zion, stating that the last session of
the legislative did more for the free
schools than any legislature
since the days of reconstruction.
He declared that our free schools
are only in their infancy, While
much Is heard of the splendid pub
! lie schools of Massachusetts and
other northern states, their system
has been in vogue over 100 years.
Our free school system dates back
only about 80 years. No system of
education can be perfected in a
gear.
Every act that the legislature
passed vita the view of aiding weak
schools was founded upon the idea
that the individual or community
should first help himself or them
selves. God helps the honest
hands that help themselves" We
can not have ideal conditions but
by the legislature and the people
working together, conditions can be
Improved wonderfully. Mr.. Sim
kins referred to the fact that often
progress in a school is Interrupted
By local differences of patrons or
trustees. In 1909 the legisl ature
\ concentrated soc. 900 to aid weak