The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-11-30

The outstanding facts are becoming
daily moro evident. Thoughtful men
are asking: IL the apparent material
prosperity OF the South real prosper
ity in which Southern men are ade-
quately sharing. or are the reaf fruits
Of our prosperity being gathered in by
the foreign capitalist? Let me make
clear my meaning: Tho city Of Biz
min CHAM 10 the Industrial center of
the lower South. And yet who are
the real owners of its colossal steel
plants? Who are the real owners of
| its great public service corporations ?
Who are reaping the first fruits of this
great industrial activity? Are South
| ern born and Southern-trained men
adequately sharing In the dividends i?
Is a fair proportion of the money that
Is being made in the South kept in the
South, or Is 1t finding its way to our
| four quarters of the earth? This is
| perhaps the most serious phase of our
present economic problem The situa-
ton in Birmingham is by no means
| unique. Indeed. it is fairly typical of
| the entire South. Let me illustrate
further what have In mind: We have
| in Alabama a great supply of iron
and lumbersand cotton--the three raw
materials necessary to Industrial pros
perity. We have an ample supply of
coal and waterpower with which to
convert them into the finished product.
Tell me. then. why Is 1t that Massa-
chusetts Is able to ship iron and lum-
Der from the West. cotton from the
South, coal from PENNSYLVANIA, and
/ with its raw materials thus gathered
from the ends of the country, is con-
tinuing to outstrip Alabama as an in
dustrial Commonwealth? The simple
reason is that Massa chit sets has for
years been educating her people. There
are one hundred and thirty-fve mil
lion cotton spindles in the world, and
of this great total only twelve million
are in the South in spite of the fact
that we are producing three fourths
OF the worlds supply Of raw material
We. OF the South. have been talking
excitedly about developing our natural
resources apparently unmindful of
the fact that "our greatest undeveloped
natural resource is the neglected
child" and that in the balance sheet
of a nation. as well as on heavens
books, men count for more than coal
and iron and cotton. That the funda-
mental need of the South in esta blish-
ing a sound industrial fabric Is dis
ciplined citizenship is the supreme les
son that We have learned during these
years of educational revival. The late
William T. Harris truly said They
are building a new South. and it's cor
nerstone is the school"
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
AN INTEREST QUICKENER
I shall never forget a letter written
to me in the fall of 1911 by my friend,
DR.. Barringer, then president of the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute. / was
just assuming the presidency of the
University of Alabama He was ar
guing that the shortest route to a
quickened interest In higher educa-
ton In the South was through voca-
tional training. / am persuaded that
his view of the matter Is sound Let
me refer again to the region Of the
country in which live: For centuries
the great mineral resources OF that
region had lain beneath red hills lit
orally untouched. There was a ira
dition that the crow in flight for a
hundred miles over these hills had to
carry It's rations The whole region
was regarded as the most deserted
section OF Alabama. Today a single
county - Jefferson located in the
heart OF that region has one-fifth of
the wealth and pays one NTH of the
taxes of the entire State. The tonnage
of It's railways is said to be greater
than that OF the entire State OF Geor-
gia. while Birmingham Is today the
metropolis of the great central South.
Is there no moral to this simple record
OF achievement? What wrought this
change? And what has II meant to
higher education Surely the Univer-
sty of Alabama could never have wit
messed the record of progress that it
has been making within decade. If
49, ri o. A1,v, ar,t
had not taken place. Thus we see
the intimate Internationally between
industrial growth and the development
of the higher education. Thus we see
the intimate inter relationship between
industrial growth and the building OF
a modern Commonwealth to which a
single county, a generation ago prac-
ticaliy a mere waste place. Is contri-
buting 90 per cent of it's revenues
Whether or not we care to make the
admission 1t is fact that economic
rehabilitation will continue to be the
basis of real Commonwealth building.
And such rehabilitation in the South
first of all awaits education. No great
civilization can survive hunger and
poverty. You will recall the famous
remark of the English nobleman who
observed that he hoped the day would
come when every man in England
would read Bacon" To which Will
liam Corbett replied that he would be
satisfied TO welcome the day when
every man In England could eat
bacon" Universal education permest-
ing every phase of our industrial life
IL the first great step in the remaking
of our Southern country. And We are
acting under that conviction. For
these Southern States are now expend-
ing annually the huge sum of one hun
dred million dollars on the schools.
INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE
PREPAREDNESS NEEDED
We hear much concerning prepared
ness. The kind Of preparedness that
is most needed in the South Is intel
leotual discipline that will fit our
youth for Industrial leadership and
for intelligent farming. I have already
referred to the need Of training for
industry. The demand for agricultu-
No tn1r L. Arr, l1UyN Sp si Thu