Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-09-05
j. j. !! !. ]. i !. !. i. j. !. !. .3- j.
.f- A LESSON FROM THE y.
!. GERMANS. =.
4. i. !. i. !. i. !. !. ]. j. !. j. j. j.
(Atlanta Constitution,

\AlldHId COuSlllullOu.
Events and achievements at ones
very doorstep always are more i'm
pressive than things at a distance.
And oftentimes we can learn from
"the enemy" lessons which, If ap-
piled dispassionately, might prove of
infinite value to us.
For instance, we of Atlanta have
right at our gates, in the stockade at
Fort Mcpherson, where are interned
several hundreds Of German sailors
and "alien enemies" an object les
son Of thrift, industry and skill which
should prove to all American observ-
ers as inspirational as it must be I'M
pressive.
Not only America, but every one
Of our allies, well might emulate the
methods by which those military
prisoners have been taught to be self
reliant. resourceful and able to adapt
themselves to conditions and make
the best Of bad plight. And what
those interned men are doing out
there is the groundwork Of a study
that should sink deeply into the mind
of every one OF us.
In the first place, every man out
there is doing something. None is
idle; none Is morose and grumbling
against things which he Is powerless
to remedy; none is "sulking in his
0f hn Hx, h to Ia
Kaiser has got him into.
Transversely, everybody Is busy;
his mind is SO preoccupled with use
full things that he hasn't time-had
he the disposition-to do otherwise
than he is doing.
All sorts of things-little things,
baubles and toys and trinkets, for the
most part, but every one Of cash
value-are being made by the sailors,
with their hands, assisted by the
meager supply of tools at their COM
mand.
One sailor, as an illustration, has
made complete motion picture ma
chine-and it works." too-from
pieces Of an old automobile and BIZ
cycle which were found aboard one
Of his vessels prize ships! Various
and all manner Of children's toys;
sundry little articles Of everyday use,
such as cigar and cigarette cases, pin
trays, little trinkets for use in homes,
etc., are being made, and sold to Wis
itors, the prisoners reserving from
such sales only a small percentage
for their own "pin money" and do
mating the rest Of the proceeds to the
Red Cross!
Others OF the internod men have
turned their attention to agriculture;
and many Of them have as fine little
war gardcns' as one would care to
see. These gardens are grown in
what, prior to the advent of the pris-
oners, were red clay gulleys. The
TRANSPORTATION wrought by the gar
deners' ingenuity and application in
converting this patch OF eyesore into
spot Of profit and beauty is remark
able.
Why is this so /?
Because every German, from child
hood, Is taught that he must make
himself useful in the world; that he
must be able TO do something with
his hands; that, regardless of his
financial status, he must be self-reli-
ant and able to provide himself with
the things he needs and to adapt HIM
self-his hands as we'll as his brain
TO whatever conditions might beset
him.
There you have the lesson that can
be learned out at Fort McPherson-
at our very doorstep, and from "the
enemy!"
And there you have the secret Of
why and how Germany is standing
out to-day, after more than three
years Of tremendous warfare, against
practically all of the world, and still
unconquered!
Self-sufiiciency, individual sufn-
cheney, and vocational education tell
tho whole story!
The clothing manufacturers, ac-
cOrdinp to trade nanar are undo