The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-12-02
SCHOOL FOR THE
FEEBLE MINDED
Commentator of 1t and For
Z the Work Being Done BY Dr..
Ira M. Hardy, the Superin-
tendent.
by c. S. WOOTEN.)

tBy c. S. WOOTEN.)
A few DAYS ago I visited the School
for the Predetermined. 1t is located
on a range of hills two miles west OF
kinston, on the A. and II. G. X H.
now leased to the Norfolk southern,
and one mile from Neuse river.
/ stood upon the steps Of h main
building, and looking to the east,
there is the thriving little city Of Kin
ston, with its hustling, e~nterprlslng
population of 5000 people, and to the
south is the grave of Richard Cas-
we'll, the first governor under n con
stitution after we had separated from
England, and Neuse river, whose
banks are fringed with trees OF
every hue-some green, some arus-
set, some yellow, or as the poets say:
''Distained with dusty Gold and to
the west for more than five miles is
a fertile landscape dotted with farm
houses, presenting a scene or unrlV-
| ated Ioveliness and beauty worthy OF
| the pen of the poet and the brush
Of Appelles or Raphael. There could
not have been a more eligible spot
selected for a great State institution.
The people of Kinston bought nine
hundred acres Of land and onate it
to the State for the school. During
the session of the Legislature of 1911,
an act was passed to establish the
school and appropriated $50, 100000 to
construct buildings, and the first brick
was laid by DR.. ira M. Hardy, April
9, 1912. He gave his time and ser
vice free from the passage of the bill
until he was elected superintend-
ent in May, 1912, in advising
and devising plans for the es-
adjustment Of the institution. He
was the first man in the State to cen
ceive the idea Of establishing this
noble charity to relieve the distress
IL 49, ~ 10 n ~ To in q
care Of these children who are thus
afflicted, is as much an act of charity
as providing for the maintenance Of
the insane, deaf, the dumb, and the
blind.
The Plea Of Mrs. Dobbin.
Until 1848, when Miss Dorothy Dix,
a sister of Gov. John A. Dix, of New
before the Legislature hat urged the
establishment Of an asylum for the
insane, thai unfortunate class Ian
guished in the jails OF h State, or
were confined in rooms at their homes.
The first bill to establish the asylum
was defeated by the Legislature. ]
have heard my father, Council Woot-
en-, who was a member Of that Legis-
, lator from Lenoir county, say: THAT
after the bill was defeated that the
r wife Of Hon. James c. Dobbin, OF
Fayetteville, who was on her death
Dcu, CduGu u11n W 1ltI DcuS1uc dI1O LII
plored him in her dying breath tt
I nave the bill brought before h Leg.
' islature, for a ~rehearing, and urged
him to max a speech in favor Of it
, passage. My father said: "Dobbin's
, appeal was SO pathetic, his eloquence
was SO thrilling that the whole Hous<
= was melted to tears and the bin wa
: passed." So we are indebted to Mr.
Dobbin for the asylum for the in
, sane. He vas the most eloquen
y orator of hat day. His speech in thu
: Democratic convention Of 1852 Sc
: cured the nomination Of FRANKLIN
. Pierce as President, and Dobbin wa:
! his cabinet. There must always b.
u somebody to take the lead in all en-
! terprises for h betterment Of HI
e mainly and helping the unfortunate
5 That was the mission of Christ, an
s should be Of every man. Voltaire, tn
e great philosopher and infidel despe
RADIO. went through France in tn
eighteenth century preaching liberty
equally, and fraternity. and exposin
the tyranny of the kings, until tn
e cip1es he taught the people cu.mi
mated in the French Revolution o
20 1889. when the king and queen wer
; beheaded and a republic established
g but Voltaire did not live TO see tn
le fruits Of his labors, for he died te1
y years before the ItNOiultoii. lug
III his eulogy on him in 1873, n hun
Is dred years after his death said:
went through France with a smil
upon his face"
in DR.. Hardy's Work.
IF DR.. Hardy is the originator Of tn
l. idea Of this school for the feeble
a minded, and has lived to see the fruit
le Of his labors. and it is but justice tina
er he should be continued as superin
~ tendent, for his heart is in the caus.
IL He went into this movement as
es matter of love. not from any me1
cenary motive he mas ample mean
,n 10 live upon, and is not depender
upon his salary for a living. | hay
known him all his life, his father
plantation adjOined my fathers
knew his grandfather, Lemuel Hard,
ha His great-grandfather and two hrott
ers were in the Revolutionary Arm,
There is no family in Eastern Nor
alf lima that stood higher for honesty an
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