East Mississippi times. (Starkville, Miss.) 19??-1926, 1913-08-08
A Tribute to DR.. W. H. Magrud der

distinguished sons and daughters,
but in my opinion, she has never
had in all these years a more use,
full citizen than the late DR.. w. II.
Magruder of the Mississippi Agric-
ultural and Mechanical College
If it be true that no one has rend>
cred the commonwealth a more e.,
flcient service, then we must con-
clude that his name ought to rank
with the very foremost of our dis
! tinguished dead for service an d
goodness constitute the highest
title to greatness.
| shall not speak of his boyhood
nor of his early young manhood
when he shouldered his musket and
answered his Country's call. |
leave that for others who were
closely associated with him in
those days, that tried mems souls
| will only say that the State had
no truer son. no braver soldier, no
more daring officer; and his war
record is an honor to the State and
the cause for which he fought, as
well as cherished memory to his
family and friends, Every true
southerner is proud of the fact that
General Robert e. Lee, after the
surrender at Appomattox of all
save honor, did not sell his name
for commercial purposes, but gave
remainder of his life to teaching
the young men of the South how
to renew their courage through the
section which was to be made again
to bloom and blossom as the rose.
But how little credit has eyer been
given to such young men MS Will,
lam Howard Magruder who at the
close of that bloody contest found
themselves, without money and
without education, for the time
that should have been given to
education was given to a cause
dearer then life itself. Prof.
Magruder upon his return home
found himself face to face with
these stern realities; but with un~
dauuied courage he determined
to secure an education in order tba.
lie might be of real service in the
great task of reinstitutiug aud re.
building the PROSTATE and bleeding
south, After completing his Col>
lege course he returned to his
native county ot Holmes (which
he ever loved so we'll and in whose
scared soil his ashes will rest until
the resurrection morn) and begun
his long and distinguished career
as Mississippi teacher.
1t is as teacher that | desire to
discuse his life; for in my judge
ment when the final record in nude
up it will be found he is the great
est teacher that our great State has
thus far produced. l know this
is a strong statement, for no State
in all the Union can produce a
more illustrious roll than that up
on which appears the names of
those great teachers who have been
responsible for the splendid educa.
tio"al standing of Mississippi to
day. After serving for many years
i'll the best schools of Holmes and
Madison counties and as President
of the Female College at Canton,
he was in 1884 elected to the head
of the English Department of the
Mississippi Agricultural and Me-
chanical College in which position
he did monumental work, that
Will last through time and eternity.
Here lie touched and vitally in
fiuenced the lives of more than ten
thousand boys and young men of
our great State. Some one has
said If we work upon marble it will
come to naught, if we work upon
brass time will erase it, if we
build temples they shall cruL bic
into dust; but il we build our lives
into people our work shall endure
forever. If this be true, though
dead, Professor Magruder shall
continue to live through the thous-
ands into whose lives he has put
his. What a rich and full life not
only over the river is to be his,
hut what IA life here, for these men
are everywhere, they literally belt
he globe, being in South Africa,
in Siam, in the Philippine Isla ads,
IN Canada, iii every state in the
South and in many in the North.
Not only everywhere bat in every
line OF work that enters into the
life ef Mississippi. In the Sup
reno COurC in the person of Judge
Robert Mayes, il railroad man.
agement through Blewitt Lee and
Others, in The iawmahing through
the large number of our Alauni,
IN medicine through such men as
ljr. Evans nf Chicago, Holder of
Aenplis ami Others in almost
.yery comfy of the Stuie, in every
profession and III every line Of in