The Washington times., 1914-09-18
Problem of Conservation Of
Stock Descended From Rev.
oIutionary Days Interests
Patriotic Societies.

Where in America would you
look for pure-blooded Anglo-Saxon
stock?
The ANSWER would surprise many
eugenists. Far down among the
mountain whites" of the South
ern Appalachians there are hun
dreds of folk believed to have a
clear lineage from Colonial and
Revolutionary days.
In that fact lies the possibility,
and the difficulty, of industrial
education in the South. The
lSouthern Industrial Educational As
sociation is working with this
problem.
The White House contains a
striking tribute to the skill of these
mountain folk of the South. That
tribute mas the result of Mrs.
WOODROW Wilson's deep interest in
this work.
The Real Probe.
I'VE doan know writin'. and we
don't know readin'. and we don't
I know the letters in the books. But
we have a pow'ful lot of time for
thinkin'. and that's why we are bet
ter dedicated than some eddicated
| folks
| There. In a nutshell. Is the philoso-
| ply of the mountain folk Of the
Southern Appalachians. And If you
will take that~statement at its face
value you will avoid the common err
ror of speaking of the mountain
| white of north Alabama. Virginia,
North Carolina and Kentucky, as ig-
| norant. lllterate? Yes. ShiftIess,
| perhaps, and lazy. But not ignorant
| and not degenerate.
| In fact, the problem of the noun
taineer is not a problem of MISSION
| airy work, or rescue work, or reform
| work. 1t is problem of conserva-
| ton: the conservation of the purest
4 AnslO-SdSOH Ill tnlS country,
| the conservation of the direct full
! blooded descendants of pioneers and
| Revolutionary heroes.
| With this understanding, one may
| gain a clearer perception of the work
| being done by the Southern Indus
trial Education Association.
| OF course. in the mountains, as in
the cities. there Is poor white
trash There is the undertow OF
humanity that no effort and no
fhn oil Dirn
ting hand of time kills 1t off.
Cult of "Tomorrer"
And the best. of the mountain folk
have one outaonding fault That Is
well expressed in a single sentence.
!, scribbled on a scrap of old paper,
and mailed to Washington in re-
sponse to a request that some work
be hurried. Hurried? The idea was
| new to the mOuntaineer. So she
| simply wrote: There's gwine to be
| tomorrer: hain't there?'
| Foremost among the efforts of in
| dustrial educators all over the South
! is this great task OF suppressinS the
| cult of the ''tomorrer" and awaken
| ing these stalwart. courteous hos
! nitable easy-going people to the op-
| portunities of today that lie all about
| them, untouched.
| Last OF all places one might ex-
pect To find an enduring tribute to
| the skill of these mountain folk is in
| the White House. But there, in the
| sleeping room of President Wilson. is
| a jute and cotton rug, dyed and
| woven by a North Carolina woman.
| and the quaint chair coverings and
| window hangings done by two sisters
| of more than seventy years each,
| who live Just across the Tennessee
| line.
These furnishings We're selected
! personally by Mrs. Wilson from an
| array of such work on exhibition at
| the headquarters OF the Southern In
| dustrial Educational Association
| h.re For some time before her hus-
| hand became President, Mrs. Wilson
| took a keen interest INT the work of
| the association. She contributed per-
| sonal effort. as well as money, to the
J furtherance of the organization ef-
| forts In her death the association
| felt that its cause sustained heavy
| The white House rug is made from
| RI. Sun Moon, and Star pattern.
The chair coverings are designed In
| III "Double Chariot Wheel pattern.
| S,,,,nt names like these are used to
| designate many other patterns,
Lnown to have been handed down for
a century and half. These designs
| "ometimes are a family inheritance.
| s"m.times they will have spread
| sbrough a locality. And those who
| Lnow say that the Seven Stars. and
~ Double Snow Ball, the Pineburr.
| M Rattle Snake. and scores of other
| rrch patterns represent hish taste
and beauty in designing work
| Two aged women who had spent
| their lives in weaving might have
| been expected to grow demonstra-
| tive when their work was CHOSEN
The Land. But Mrs. Elmeda Walk
AZ. seventy-four. and her sister.
! Ssventy-six. Just smiled and. In the