St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1912-02-03
BRAIN AND Drawn.

BRAIN AND Drawn.
The following is an excerp from
the address of e. s. Richardson, Ex-
tension Department, Louisiana State
University, before the Southern Ed
ucational Association at Houston,
Texas, on November 30MA911:
We, the Southern people, say
say it and you say it-labor in hon
orable. I say that l feel the man
who works with his hands should
stand as we'll in society as the man
who lives by his brain. But do you
know that way down in our makeup
we do not believe it. We Southern
people do not believe, it, There is
no use to make the assertion. We
are not living it and all our social
institutions plainly show our real be-
lief.
This attitude of ours has cost
US thousands and thousands of dol
lars. This attitude has created
among our Southern people thous-
ands and thousands of men and wo-
men who are not bread-winners, but
simply parasites.
To Illustrate: There is a certain
town in Louisiana where there are
about thirty grown men. l pass
there frequently and nine times out
of ten, at the railroad depot l have
found twenty or thirty men-stout,
stalwart, youthful fellows-sitting
there, never doing a bit of work.
They will play baseball the hottest
day of the year, and are able in every
sense Of the word to make a good
living. But in that community
there lives a large number of men
who once owned slaves or whose pa
rents owned slaves, and the feel
ms is that it is not just right for
these boys to work, because their
owners, and, OF course, they have
much "blue blood" in their veins.
It would not look well for them to
get out and labor with their hands.
That feel.a.' end attitude is our in
heritancc.
My observation and experience has
taught me that the Southern boy ana
girl does not mind work; it is no. a
question O.: what they can do, but 4
question Of this handed-down a.ti-
tude.
Let us notice for moment the
result Of the South's financial con-
dition. If you will go to the tax
roll of many of the counties of tn,
South you will find that our native
born Southerners do not own the
great bulk of the property. On the
other hand, you will find, in many
instances, that the counties are
largely owned by people who have
come from other States. have ex-
amined a number of parishes in my
home State and find that the new
corners and nonresident people own
from one-half to as high as II per
cent of all the taxable property.
This is indeed an alarming situation
and shows that something is radi-
cally wrong with the South's econom-
ic conditions.
have been representing recently
my. home State at the Chicago Land
Show, trying to get people to come
down and occupy our Southern land.
They are coming. We welcome
them. We have already made great
strides in the South, but it is just
beginning. Examine your assess
ment roll and see who is rebuilding
this great Southland. Are we do
ing It? Statistics say mo" l am
anxious for our boys and girls.
feel that they should have at least
stock in this great sunny land which
was once ours. At present, accord
- Aws,~on i,,ok 81 mr. notivo
born people in many places own as
little as 20 per cent of Southern
values. We have too many men
who spend their time talking about
Southern chivalry and the South's
beautiful history. love the South
ern chivalry and agree with them
that the South's history is beautiful
indeed, but this old story does not
regain for our posterity and lost
wealth.
In order that our boys and girls
should become shareholders in this
great awakening, it is absolutely nee
essary for them to learn that the
South has been sleeping idly on a
field of hidden treasure, and that by
honest well-directed Ia
Dor. our boys and girls can regain
the millions by right of their own.
have been in the school work all
my life. have great respect for
the public schools phenomenal
l believe that when |
Dur course of study is based on ed
ucation for efficiency" that our dis
.orted social and economic conditions
will be righted. 1t is right along |
this line that criticism comes in re-
Zard to our public schools.
Now, the boy is taught when he |
enters school by teacher, mother and
'ather that he must 60 to school and
ret an education in order to get away |
rom the South, to get away from the
arm. To say to him, not in words,
,ut in action, go to school so many |
months and you will be able to sell
|oda water in a drug store or sell
,alico across the counter; you must
70 to school to make something of
Our boys and girls have not been
old that right next to them just out
ide the school door lies a great I'M
country, and that with the
proper knowledge of its great re-
ources they could go out and be-
cme rich, or, at least, make success
nj citizens of themselves.
They did not tell me when l was
,oing to school that they wanted to
ct me away from home, but every
esson, every suggestion, tended that
ray. They did not tell me that in
he forest surrounding the school
ouse were millions of dollars worth
{ timber. They did not tell me that
4 q few short years this forest would
~ manufactured into lumber and