The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1912-08-14

Clinton, S. c.. July "a, 1912.
Dear Bro. Rankin:
have Just gotten home and read
the Advertiser, giving an account of
the Chicora controversy, comm ents.
etc. l think your people have not on
y the moral but the legal right to
carry the matter to the Presbyteries.
rhe board has made an egregious
blunder about Chicora and | am afraid
the institution Is going to suffer Sc
riously because of it. Just what the
final outcome will be, if the matter
Is taken before the Presbyteries is, of
course. impossible to foresee but you
ought not to lose this chance to estab-
lish another strong Presbyterian col
lege. The people of Laurens have
done splendidly. They deserve to have
good college and no matter what the
outcome of the fight they can have
one.
L don't see much chance for rapid
growth for Chicora now and two
smaller colleges will be better than
one big one anyway. Our Baptist
odists have two strong ones besides
one Or two co-educational; the Meth
odists have two strong ones besites
some co-educational; the A. r. P.'s
have two for girls. Unless Chicora
is enlarged and improved it cannot
accommodate half our girls and Cliff
ford is not strong enough to count.
We ought to get hold of it and make
1t a strong preparatory school for
girls, where physical culture would
be stressed. The longer the contro-
Versy over Chicora continues the more
detrimental it will be to it, whether
1t stays at Greenville or is removed
to Laurens and SO l believe further
agitation is to be deprecated
We need a school for girls of a
somewhat different type from Ch:cora,
In which the industrial and profession
al FEATURES are emphasized more. That
is the only way in which the overflow
from winthrop can be taken care of.
Our church schools have got to get
a.,
because the age demands It, The very
principle on which %e justify church
schools requires it. And so | sug-
gest that you do not allow the thing
to grow cold but move forward and
estaDllsh at Laurens college for
women, in which with a first-class
academic curriculum there will be
thorough training in all branches of
Pedagogy and in all the industrial
lines that are so much stressed at
Winthrop.
am persuaded that Clinton and the
other towns in the county will add
handsomely to what Laurens has so
handsomely started. Don't let the
enthusiasm evaporate. With $4,000
contributed from all the rest of Lau-
rens county, you would have a school
as strong as Chicora will be after It
gets $4,000 from the campaign now
in progress
We need, and badly need, a Female
college Of high grade in which the
vocational features are emphasized,
duly. We lost the Presbyterian Col
lege for Women in Columbia which
was established almost entirely with
Presbyterian contributions. have
mad a talk with Rev. Mr.. Jones here
and he seems to hold about the same
views that / do. Though he was dis
posed to buck against you in the re-
moval OF Chicora to Laurens, he saws
we would all back up the new college
at Laurens, or words to that effect
Excuse me for saying so much in
such Sizzling" weather but the thing
is profoundly important, as 1 see it.
There is danger of serious injury to
education in our Synod and there is
also the possibility of a splendid for
ward movement if the situation be
mghtly handled. | believe that with
your tact and wisdom and influence
you can pull it through.
Cordially yours,
d. j. BTimm
Iiffln Sam rnnnor