The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-21


children in the fields than in the schools?
believe that the best public sentiment
of Alabama is at bottom overwhelmingly
progressive. 1t merely needs sober guild
ance and sane direction. The forces that
are really fashioning the life of this COM
monwealth are, l believe, tired of the
semi-mendicant basis upon which rests
our entire educational structure. They
are, l believe, tired of dealing with this
great task on the hypothesis that n
school is merely an educational orphan
asylum. They have, l believe caught the
idea that a school, so far from being
burden they must carry, is in fact a
great agency designed to help and to lift
them that IL only few are educated,
the accidents of fortune alone can deter
mine which they shall be: that education.
so far from being an expensive luxury
for the rich, is the right of every child
of the commonwealth.
ut is true that there is still vast
amount Of Indifference and a certain
amount of positive opposition to public
education. 1t Is in many communities a
rare thing to find a person, not in some
way connected with the schools, who has
ever taken pains to visit them. The most
discouraging thing, however. is to lind
some men of intelligence and influence
positively opposed TO an efficient system
of schools on the purely selfish ground
that it costs money. Truly these men
believe that where ignorance is profit,
tis folly to be wise They are unable
to see that a community is not rich be-
cause it contains a few wealthy men;
that it is not moral because it contains
few good men; that it is not healthful
because 1t contains few strong men:
and that it is not intelligent because 1t
contains a few educated men. They are
-.
to consider the needs of the community
When they are reminded that the per
capita wealth of Alabama is disgrace
fully small in comparison with that of
other states which lack our natural re-
sources, they offer no explanation. We
point them to great supply of iron
and lumber and cotton, the three raw
materials necessary to industrial pros
perity, and the ample supply of coal and
water power with which to convert them
into the finished product. Then we ask
them to explain why it Is that Massachu-
setts is able to ship iron and lumber from
the west. cotton from the south, coal
from Pennsylvania, and with its raw ma
terials thus gathered from the ends of
the country, is continuing to outstrip Ala
bama as an industrial commonwealth
They refuse to see that this situation can
no longer be explained by war and recon-
struction; that it is today and will be
i1enceforth a matter of training. They talk
excitedly about developing our natural
resources, while they refuse to see that
the most valuable undeveloped resource
of Alabama is the neglected child They
refuse to see that while we shall con-
tinue to ship our coal and iron and um-
Der to foreign markets, we are not plan
ming to ship our children away and that
in the balance sheet of nation, as well
as on heavens books, men count for
more than coal and iron and cotton is
| there any man In Alabama who is op-
posed to building a modern schoolhouse
| In every district in this commonwealth,
| employing trained teacher to conduct
| it, and providing for it a nine months
| term? If there is such man in Alabama.
1 would say to him land measuring my
words / say it, that he is thinking i'm the
terms Of the feudal ages that he is a
dead weight on Alabama; that he is a
living. moving reason why property is
not worth five times what 1t is worth
| why the soil does not produce five times
as much as 1t does productivity there
are not 100000 people within our borders
| instead of 1000, ,0O0-why there are not in
Alabama more beautiful homes and fer
tile farms, and good roads, and trolley
lines and railroads, and manufacturing
plants, and masters OF industry, and ora
| tors, and statesmen.
Story By Henry Grady
"You recall the story related concerning
Henry w. Grady and the country funeral.
1t is said that Grady fell into CONVEX
sation with a plain farmer with whom nc
was riding in the funeral procession. ne
asked the farmer where the coffin was
made. The answer was, New York He
asked where the wagon on which the cof-
| fin rested was made. The answer was,
! Cincinnati He asked him where the
dead mans shoes were made The am
swer was, Boston, Ie then asked about
the pick and the shovel and the spade
used at the grave. He found that these
| came from Pittsburg. Well said Grady,
| what represents Georgia in this funeral?' ?
The farmer answered gravely. Nothing
save the corpse and the hole in the
| ground. E
"Our supreme need Is to arouse public
sentiment. and to translate indifference
| and passive sympathy into mighty con-
! viction that will demand universal edu-
cation. When this is done our public men
will respond. | have seen the miracle
performed. I am personally acquainted
with men in public life who only de-
| cade ago refused to utter word Of SYM
| pathy to those who were fghting this
supreme battle. ] understand that today
/ some of these. politicians have actually
/ turned statesman. and are attending
| teachers institutes ann delivering bacea-
! laureat addresses. They will soon be
able to teach grade IN grammar school
| What is the meaning OF this change? il
means that these men heard the tramr
of the oncoming hosts. II means thai
they have caught the vision of an aroused