Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-03-07

9lS.
know when a boy my ambition wa
first kindled by hearing Prof. Duncan
at a school breaking at old Hebron
church. I remember the thrill tina
went through my young soul at tn
Thought may be some day I cal
stand up and sway crowd as doe
that master mind" God rest his soul
Perhaps In some way, have incitet
the ambition and raised the hopes o
some boy in South Carolina. II so
then I have not lived in vain.
close with this thought to tn
young men and women Of my state
BE noble and the nobleness that lie
in others. sleeping, but not dead, will
rise in majesty to meet thy own"
90 John Lowndes McLaurin.
The States Second Reply.
Senator McLaurin's second article Il
defense of his position against com
pulsory education is published today
Two days ago friend inquired Of tn
writer: do you think Mr.. McLauril
will continue the discussion?" "Oh
yes," we responded, "he Is q lawyer
and will come back, and with NOR,
words than the first time" Our pre-
diction Is verified. Words, strings o
words, strung on the unsound threat
Of fallacy. And since the senato
delves 30 frequently into Biblical lore
we must recall an apt Jobs criticism
HE multiplieth words without knowl
edge"
The senator's introduction Of th'
negro Is foreign to the subject under
discussion. But 30 long as there Il
superior white intelligence there caI
be no such thing as "negro-ridden'
South Carolina, and so long as W.
have faith In the superiority OF tht
white race we can not be frightened
by a negro bugaboo. To our thinking
no man who feels his superiority u
ever afraid of an inferior, whatever
the odds, whatever the cost. But II
what better way can the white mar
be fortified In his natural superiority
over the negro, than by training MI
mind that Is naturally susceptible II
greater development under cuitiva'
ton?
Hear the senator: With the MARTA
blood of noble Scots or chivalrit
French in the veins of South Caro-
linians, with our emotional tempera.
ments, our love of romance and mu.
sic, our susceptibility to the charm Of
poetry and oratory would we submit
to have an officer Of the law lay his
hand upon a child and say to q par
ent, "you must" or you must notY'
Does the senator forget that his audi
ence, to whom he speaks through the
State, Is intelligent and knows condi.
tions in South Carolina? He can moi
hope to appeal to them with sophis.
try. however high flown. Fine words
for a gentleman of leisure whose broad
acres yield him incomes requiring hve
figures to express, but where Is the
or the poetry or the finer emo.
tions for the poor fellow who, denied
the privilege Of a chance In LIE py
being denied literacy, has only his
hands to work with, and who canno'
earn on Mr.. McLaurin's farm an aver.
age wage Of 75 cents q day; whose
clothes are rough and insufficient; Whc
owes the country store-keeper for last
months meal and meat, and to whom
"white bread" and molasses would be
a delicacy! Recite Browning to him
senator; try him with the Third Act OF
king Lear" and then insist to him
that the South Carolinians who insist
ed upon his lack Of literacy and there.
fore placed him on the educational
level with the negro farm hand are
his true and loyal friends!
It has not been proposed that ar
"officer Of the law" shall LAY his
hand upon a child" and in putting ],
that way the senator appears to appea
to passions and prejudicesl OF ignor.
ance. This law, when put into enec'
by a majority vote, would be the CO.
relative of the child labor law. One
says your child, for its good and fol
the future Of the race. shall not lapoi
before 1t Is IL years old; the other
says, your child, for the sake OF lts
own future profit and happiness, fol
the safety of the republic and for the
by superior cultivation OF
the white race, shall learn to read and
write.
Precisely this same narrow, un-
sound argument about the right OF the
parent to control his child was itera'
ted and reiterated when 1t was firs'
to prevent 8-year- old babies
from working ten hours a day IN cot
ton mills. And then, too. 1t was "the
friend of the poor man" who spoke
II. the future men could vote today
the children of today would have more
friends in the halls Of legislation.
Mr., McLaurin's contention that the
passage Of q compulsory Dill at tnl'
session was understood to be useles:
because of the well-known purpose Of
the governor to veto It, Is no defenst
of his opposition. Let every tub stanc
on Its own bottom. For the Legislative
branch Of the government to refuse tt
enact a progressive measure because
of the known opposition of the execu'
tive would be a surrender by the leg
islatiye to the executive department o.
the government. Such surrender woule
be not only violative in spirit OF tht
constitution, but culpable and cow
ardly.
as It poverty or ignorance that W.
have most to dread In maintaining tns
perpetuity Of our Institutions ask
Senator McLaurin. His answer
through the trend Of his argument, II
that poverty Is most to be dreaded
we answer that ignorance Is the great
est foe. With primer-like simplicity
our contention is established, viz
the world poverty and ig
norance 60 hand-in-hand; Throughout
the world poverty Is never overcome
by Ignorance; It Is only overcome bI
intelligence, therefore the one hope o.
prevailing against poverty Is through
intelligence.
"The decay and fall of every grea
nation" says Senator McLaurin, ma!
proceeded not from the ignorance o.
the masses so much as from the sell
fish greed Of the educated few. B!
the control of the government they
succeeded in concentrating into theil
hands all the wealth of the country.
Will Senator McLaurin have the good
ness to tell us how the few greedy ed
ucated ones could have enslaved tht
masses and done as they pleased WITT
the country except through the ignor,
ance of the masses? They controlled
the ignorant like so many sheep In
pasture. Thomas Jefferson, century
and a quarter ago. In urging that al
the people should be educated, de-
clared that the danger Of the country
lay in selfish schemers being able tc
misuse the ignorant vote. In seasor
and out Of season Thomas Jefferson
preached for universal literaey; ignor'
ance was the enemy he feared.
(Which, I ask you, Is the creates
danger, the Money Trust In New
York, using our cotton crop to enslav'
us, or the toilers in the fields. the FAC
tory and the machine shops?" Lister
to the answer. The money trust j!
the greater present danger. But how
came the money trust and the othel
trusts to become enthroned? Through
the ignorance Of the people who were
twisted and turned by powerful agen