The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-12-20
IT IS 4 H|DE0us PICTURE
OF isolated Cases Of ignorance
and Superstition
The Trouble Is That IL is Held up Is
the TYPE OF a Great and Intelligent
section OF North Carolina.
tCharity and Children.)

Section OF North Carolina.
tCl1arity and Children.)
Miss Lydia Holman has for some
ten years OF her life been doing mis-
sionary work IN Mitchell county.
She is from the North, OF course,
and felt a cali to go to the mountains
of North Carolina and save those
degraded and besotted heathen from
their own ignorance, sin and shame.
She is in the North now and is tell
ing her tale Of woe for the purpose
of obtaining funds for the establish
Inent o. a hospital to bear her own
name and Of which she is to be the
chief engineer.
The latest spell we have seen from
her was in Philadelphia, her native
city. She lectured before q gathering
of nurses at the Polytechnic hospital
in that city. Last week we had some
thing to say Of her remarkable de-
i~iverancc of the Club in Bal
aiInorc. This. il possible. was worse
than that.
The Philadelphia North American
remarks that Miss Holman has acted
as nurse. doctor, as mother, house.
keeper and social worker to a law
less community Of men and women
who are ignorant Of the first principle
of civilization. who have only prinll-
tive impulses to guide them, VINO set
tie disputes with a shotgun. and live
strictly according to the laws OF
nature
Here IS a morsel from the body Of
Miss Holman's address: The peo-
pie don't even know there is a Fed
erAl government. They have never
seen the American flag, many Of them,
and they are AS ignorant as it Is
possible for human beings to be"
Ae3j1- '"Tha ONLY food nf the npODIA
is salt pork and corn bread, and The
habit of using snuff and tobacco, which
arc supposed to dull the pangs Of
hune"', il taught to the children q
soon as they arc born
once more: The people thlnh
there IS something supernatural abo1;
rae They believe / have q pull from
heaven 10 have escaped harm all these
years. They will Kill each other OF
slight p~rovocation. but they will 10
suffer any harm to come TO any one
who has helped them"
we quote again: "A peculiarly o
the mountaineers is that If they thinl
any one is going to die they hastcI
their death by taking them out to {
creek and baptizing them. l remen1
Der enc case of a child who was bleed
ing p~rofusely from a hemorrhage
When ] was called In one Of tht
neighborhood quacks had arrived, hac
given her an over dose OF calO1ncl
ana WAS putting ktgS NONh hei bdcf
and protesting that she might as wei
be baptized for she was sure to die
These are a few specim Ems Of tn
address this woman delivered TO /
cultured audience of American peo
pie who drank it in and dropped thei1
tears of grief over the degraded
wretches Of the North Carolina noun
tains. There is much more TO tn
same effect
Here is what we have to say: [
you men Of Mitchell nave a spark o
manhood you Will respectfully bu
firmly deny the right OF this oratoi
TO impale you before a fearful world
and you will not stultify .ourselve:
by giving her conntenance much les:
sympathy or uppor
IT is not to the credit Of YOU Mitch
ell people that this t~ireless talker ha
lived among you ten years. Somebod!
has given her aid and comfort
Somebody has crawied at her feet TO,
the trihes she bestowed. SOmcbcd,
has played the s~ycophant n groNel
cd in the dust.
We do not say she has lied. Ever.
case she mentions may actually have
occurred; but she has no right to draw
this hideOus picture of isolated case
of ignorance and superstition, ant
hold it up as the type OF q great anf
Intelligent section of North Carolina
1t is up to YOU men OF Mitcheii
You can put q stop to it If you Will
Ana if you do not assert your ow,
manhood and invite your slanderer'
out Of your borders o must cortlnu'
10 suffer the odium they put nDo,
your names!
Potash Branch Office.