Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-10-06
ROAD TO SUCCESS IN LIFE
Late Or. S. A. Knapp Tells His Way
Of Bringing Up Boys and Girls
His Ideal of Education.

Extracts from an extempore address
delivered by the late DR.. 8. A. Knapp
to the agents Of the Farmers Co.
operative Demonstration Work at
Macon. Ga:
believe in making a boy a manly
boy. l believe in his attending the
public schools, because one of the
great things for man is to know how
to struggle with men and stand up for
his own opinions and carry his own
points In other words, life is a battle
and the man who hasn't met his
equals and overcome them when he
was boy is a weakling all his life.
I have seen namby-pamby boys tied
to their mothers apron strings and
taught Latin and Greek, sent out into
the world Poor little puny thingsl
Why. ! would rather take a street boy
that can knock his way through the
crowd; would rather risk him in the
battle of life than that namby-pamby
boy. We don't let our boys and girls
learn how to manage. Let the boy
do. even IL he makes mistakes. There
is great need Of farm managers today.
but men have not been trained to
manage the business side Of a farm.
There is need Of captains of industry
in every community. You can't make
them through books. Power of the
brain depends on the hardness Of the
muscle. Softening of the brain is the
result of softening of the muscles.
Teach the boys how to regulate their
forces. how to meet shocks, and have
supreme courage to face the world
anywhere. Having learned to be a
farmer. he should know machinery.
The costliest animal IN the world is a
man or woman. They cost in treasure.
cost in care. cost in human anxiety.
Yet we shorten human life by neglect.
The average age or span of life and
a possible one are wide apart. nv
ideal Of education is that of practical
serse. leadership. Get that sense into
a boy and he win take up farming.
and II he knows a few fundamental
principles he win apply the rest.
Teach him the importance of know
Ing few thingc well, of system and
thrift Education really means e lead
Ing out; we make it a stuffing in. Try
to teach the child to lay by his knovl-
edge on certain shelf in the brain
ready for use. Not one person in a
thousand has put his thought or facts
In definite brain niche, SO that when
be wants that knowledge he can reach
out and take that knowledge and use
Il Farmers must be orderly. Farms
are simply an outward indication of
what of brains the farmer has. There
Is no such thing as poor land. II is
! poor brain of a thoughtless man on
top Of the supposedly poor soil. No
matter how poor the land appears. II
ian be made profitable II the farmer
knows how and has the will power to
carry It out Try this system of edu-
cation that makes men as well as
farmers.
Reverting to the colony that was
n such poor condition, the first les
son gave them was to raise corn
md make molasses. because a negro
4 he has corn and molasses he can
i've. and you must make him an indie
PENDENT liver before you can make
linn a good citizen. So we taught
hem to make molasses and grow corn.
{ took with them and stuck Like the
Did lady that thanked the Lord for
everything She had a large family
and they all died: she thanked the
Lord and said they were probably bet
ter on In that world than in this. She
had large property. which was lost. |
md she thanked the Lord. because
me said 1t would probably have ruined |
mem to have so much wealth She |
lad a fine set Of teeth and lost the |
most OF them; she thanked the Lord |
nat she had two. and they hit The |
noiasses mill hit had some letters |
ust the other day telling in glowing (
erms Of the success of this practical |
york to those people Get down to |
where people can understand. touch !
he bottom. and lift.
You might think the object Of our |
work is to increase farmers income. !