The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-05-15
The Value of Education in Develop
ing a Nations Wealth.
fponor read by Mrs. ". E. HUMPHREYS of Ganney before the State Federation OF
Womens Clubs.

wealth of knowledge to help others
, less fortunate than they. They have
given us ways and e whereby
, great epidemics of smallpox and 9TH
err contagious and infectious diseases
that were once so frequent now sc
rare, may be avoided. And it is but a
stones throw back to the time when
even cities were almost wiped out OF
existence by these p~estilences, the
cause of which were entirely un-
known, and no one entertained a hope
that a remedy would eve be found.
But thro' the never firing efforts OF
our great physicians we have, now,
anti-toxins for fighting and curing
these diseases. And diptheria, yellow
fever, and others of this class, are
treated scientifically and cured with
out difficulty.
From every field of science that the
mind of man has yet explored, are
brought trophies by the great philan-
thropists, who toll year in and year
ait and never tire, searching for still
richer treasures to lay as a free-will
offering at the shrine of humanity-in
order that conditions may be better
in order to save men and women
from the extravaganza Of ignorance.
They warn us to screen our houses
against the mosquito and the common
house-fy, in order that we may elm
mate the dangers Of contamination by
the bacteria that they bear. They
study chemical combinations that we
may have pure food, and may know
the composition and nutritive value OF
the various food-products that we eat.
And it is due to their discoveries and
inventions that men have passed the
Pure Food Laws, whereby we are
protected against injurious foouS I'ut
upon the market by dishonest, un-
p%rincipled dcalers.And to these We are
indebted for the awakening a.! oVer
the country to the value of having our
girls study under the guidance or
trained hands the Science Of Cooking
in II schools, where they may he
taught how to prepare the most MI
tritious, attractive meals at the least
possible cost. There they learn tho
great laws of economy-of how 10
save the -four and meat and other
food in the pantries-and how to save
their own physical strength by using
system in their work-keeping in re-
serve the over-plus for the highest
privilege of womanhood-that of be-
ing a competent helpmeet to'her hus-
band and a successful mother.
And not only does Domestic Science
teach economy in these things, but III
others of far greater Importance. For
it strikes at the very root OF all the
trouble and seeks to eradicate every
evil resulting from the ignorant waste
of the ignorant housewife. And
while it is a great thing to learn
economy in a material sense, there is
a far greater lesson that its study
teaches us--it is, that food has anoth-
er value besides sustaining life, that
of making children what we wish
them to become. The well-nou:lshed,
properly fed normal children are east
ly managed and not given 70 violent
bursts of passion. While on the other
/ hand, a bad disposition and an unruly
temcer docs not always Trar that the
| child is dapraved, but in the average
case, is traceable to some diseased
| condition OF the body. We can all
vouch for the fact that indigestion
makes one p~essimistic, over-sensitive'
and irritable, unhappy, and cynical
! and often melancholia claims as Its
victims men of fine minds as a result
! of some physical disorder. The world
is full of people suffering from ills
that had their beginning back in the