Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1915-04-28

Being on his native heath, Mr..
Swearingen in an informal way re-
freshed the audience with several
humorous anecdotes. Very soon,
however, be confined himself to
facts and figures that aft orded food
for thought, giving his hearers
something they could carry away
with them. He referred to the re-
union of the old soldiers that was
being held on the sa re dag in Co.
lumbia AMI of the battles they
fought, stating that now, SO years
after the fighting for a cause that
was not lost, there is another cam
paign being waged in South Caro-
lima a campaign against ignorance.
This fight is being waged by God
fearing, intelligent men and women,
and the public school is the means
which they have adopted.
Mr.. Swe .ringen said the people
of South Carolina have only been
playing at education in the past.
But that this day marks a new be-
ginning in Edge6eld county, whose
people have been living too long
on what their ancestors achieved in
the Revolution and in the forties,
ffties and sixties. Again he referred
to new building, the best temple
in the county dedicated to educa-
| ton, as representing new idea and
an awakening of the people.
He deplored the fact thatso many
children drop out of school. Of
every 100 chill iren who are enrolled
in the public schools of South Caro-
lima, 95 per cent. never go higher
than the elementary grades; only 8
per cent. go to the High Schools
and only one and one-quarter per
cent of the High School pupils at
tend college.
Mr.. Swearingen is proud of the
fact that only one other county in
the state had a larger per cent. of
its voters sign their own names to
the club rolls in 1914 than Edge
field. What is needed in South
Carolina is the enrolment of every
child in the public school. Some
may say we do not need so much
education, and yet no man is in fa-
vor of compulsory ignorance. How.
ever, if you shut child out of
school he is condemned to that fate.
Mr.. Sweringen favors the state
distribution of the constitutional 8
mill tax in order that it may be divid
ed equally between the schools in
all parts of the state. Under the
present plan Of distribution some
of the wealthy counties have enor-
nous sums, while the poorer coun'
ties have very limited funds. Char
lesion county, for example, has
about five times the taxable proper
ty that Edgefeld has.
Flag Presented to School.
An interesting feature of the pro-
gram was the presentation of a
large United States flag to the school
by the Emily Geiger chapter, D. A.
R. The flag was formally presented
by Mrs. James H. White, the regent
4 of the chapter, who read a carefully
prepared paper giving the history
of the national flag and many inter-
esting facts concerning it. The flag
was accepted in well chosen words
by DR.. James A. Dobey, the secre-
tary and treasurer of the board of
trustees of the school. Miss Bessie
Bean recited poem entitled, 10y
atty to the flag" Much favorable
comment was elected by the very
beautiful manner in which she rem
dered the appropriate selection.
The presentation of the flag was
followed bu tableau representing
Gen. Washington and Betsy Ross,
the maker of the first flag.
Interspersed With Music.
The musical numbers on the pro-
gram added much to the pleasure
of the exercises. The Johnston or,
chestra which is composed of six or
eight pieces played several selec-
tions in a manner that would reflect
credit upon well trained city or