The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-04-25
$AECE pIENNETr Discusses
RESULTS OF PAST 80 YEARS


state under what We have chosen to
call 'modern progress.
The main link in that chain Of ''pro-
gress" has been schools and then
more schools. We are no such fools
as 10 announce ourselves against pub
lie schools. but We can venture to an
nounce that the system should en-
gage the attention Of so-cal:ed refor-
mers to such an extent that they will
find planty to do without disturbing
the equilibrium of the body polite on
issues new and untried. In other
words, We take the risk to ask, is it
not the part Of wisdom to retrospect
cho Way, weigh the results from the
past twenty years and see where We
art~"aJ
When we first started out on this
system, the whole rural districts Of
Georgia were dotted with great big old
churches, and near that church, as a
rule, would be found a little bits of
a school house. Now, as a rule, it is
a great big school house and to hades
with the church.
Once the hearthstone was the very
foundation of society, the old father
and mother were the "oniy pebbles on
the beach, in the eyes Of little chill
dren and big children. Now some
great "reformer," some leader OF some
society craze, has more prestige than
forty old daddies and mammies, till
it has come that not a poor man or
woman in Georgia could dare dis
cipline their families. Some sort of
"spy" or "reformer," whatever you
choose to call them would have the
poor man in jail or before Judge
Broyles in a. heap less time than it
would take to make any powerful
citizen believe that any such condi-
tions are upon us.
Once the very dearest and sweetest
mothers would set up at night and
sew great patches on her boys cloth
ing, and that boy loved that hand and
held in reverence the mother in such
quality of affection and apprecia-
ton that we fear is thing of the past.
There are men and women grown to-
day that never saw "patch." What
boy now 20 years old that ever wore
patches on his clothes or had a pair
of socks knit and produced by his sis
ter from the raw material? Some
very rich mothers or sisters might af- !.
ford to do such thing, but the tutor
age Of the times would never allow a !
Door girl to do such thing without :
feeling that she had lowered her dig !!
nifty or stopped to pickannish econo-
my. There the trouble is, not the
wearing of patches or knitting the i
socks, but the million-dollar notion
that has been instilled into their ma
lures, impressing that style and the
dollar mark is the badge for respect
ability-the very poorest child is i'm
pressed that they should go the same
gates and make the same appearance |,
as the very richest, or, else, they are
odd or unrespected. This is what the
silly call raising the standard" 1t
is what Brown calls producing fools.
We could go on and name many
things that stand as a. rebuke, not to
the idea of public schools, but to flaws
in the system as they appear in the
rural districts; we know nothing of
the great city systems, and can only
give a small hint C. what We feel and
believe of country schools, but these
small hints should be enough to stir
the wisdom of this whole country and
stimulate such investigation as will
show US where We are ''at." !
The most of folks, at least the Wig
orous man of affairs, will feel salts
fed at considering s,ch 'hints" fool
ish. The very rich people will take
no heed of the matter, from the
thought that they are in no danger,
that they are too powerful to be af-
f7cted, but We venture to warn you
that your time will come to reap your
full share Of whatever is sown; the
weakest will suffer first, but YOU can't
escape; no matter how powerful YOU
may be, the blight will reach you If
there be a blight, the good if it be.
good.
# honest expressions could be had
and hypocricy suppressed We could
soon see where We are al" and regu
late the trend for good. For instance,
= Fo, -. ~