The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-01-30
THE IDLER.
:, . @ o o Q o o o . o o o o @ o @

OF the truth of the statement, that
there is such thing as the dean
said. of "educatin' a man or woman
plumb out of reach of happiness.
And that is not said or endorsed as
in the least against educating the
Leople, but mere are all sorts of no
ton about education, and what it is,
and about illiteracy, and what it is.
and some people have very queer no.
lions about these things, according
to my way of thinking. Some peo-
pie think that if you can write your
name and read, and write your name
so that it lis pretty and legible-yes.
think that is the word they use
legible, that is so that people can
read it, that you are educated. Well
that may be, but l have seen lot
;aof mighty good people, and those
whom l would call pretty well edu-
Gated, who could scarcely write so
that they could read it themselves. And
yet. l called them pretty well edu-
Gated. No, sir, it amt that that makes
you educated. I remember hearing
once a long time ago, story OF Col.
Sim. Fair, and he was pretty we'll
educated, and they tell me one of the
best lawyers ever at the NeWberry
bar, and for forty years or more the
solicitor of the then judicial circul:
which included Newberry. Well, the
story as | heard it, was something
like this. He had written letter to
some one Of his clients, and the fell
low couldn't read it. So he brought
it to the colonel and asked him if he
could read it, and the colonel re-
piled, after looking over the chiro-
graphy, that he could not read II,
and he did not believe that the d-n
fool who wrote it could read it. When
he was informed that it was his very
own writing, why then he read it on
without any trouble. = So, you can t
always Judge the educated man or
woman by the legibility OF the hand
writing. But that is not the point |
am trying to make, nor is it the point
Of the story. The thing is, that we
do not want that education which
makes a food of the person recelv-
ing it. but We want that which VIII
make real men and women and better
citizens whether it causes them to
write we'll or not. 1t must not put
them out of reach of happiness, and
it must not make them feel that the
old folk no longer have any sense,
or it must not make them forget
entirely the former days. What we
want in education is the making OF
real men and real women, who can
appreciate something Of the higher
ideals of life and the finer sentiments
of living and who will make good
citizens. Yes, sir, that's it.
o.
| never ssaid anything about it, but
somehow | never did take much STOCK
in all that talk that some OF the hlgh
muck-a-mucks in the educational
field said about the illiteracy of the
citizens of the State when the DEM
ocratic club rolls were published some
two years ago, after the first enroll
ment of voters when the voter had to
sign his name or make his mark. IT
was paraded by these educational
lights all over the country, that so
many Of the grown men did not sign
their names but made their marks,
as an evidence of the great llllteracy
in the State. Well, I do not know
so much about that being the cor
rect test. OF course, in this day every
man should be able to sign his own
name. and be able to read the news
papers, but it is not always a correct
test of illiteracy because person can
not write legibly.
o.
Fact is, some of those whom we call
the highest educated are lie 0issest
fools that walk this mundane sphere.
You've seen 'em One of this kind Is
described in this same book to which
I have referred. Prof. Everard
Charles Parkhill is his name. His
slender body, with its narrow shoul-
ders and sunken chest. frail as 1t
was. seemed almost too heavy for his
feeble legs. His thin face. bloodless
and sallow, with a sparse daintily
trimmed beard. and weak watery eyes.
was characterized by solemn and
portentous gravity, as though. reallz-
ing fully the profound Importance OF
his mission in life, he could permit no
trivial thought to enter his bald,
domelike head One knew instructive
~ that in all the forty-fre or fifty
years of his little life no happiness
or JOY that had not been scientifically
sterilized and certified had even been
permitted to stain his super-aesthetic
SOUL
That's it. too much scientific steri~
lizing and certifying and all that IN
stead of developing the real man.
Phil-now. Phil was real cowboy
and the boss of the deans ranch
D1.:J do.or;hoc prnfoSSnr a.