The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-01-17

The message came from Columbia in
answer to our call that the governor
was going to deliver his message him.
self to the joint assembly at noon on
Wednesday, and there we were. Fin
ally about o'clock we got a mes
sage to Private Secretary Walter B.
Duncan OF the governors Office and he
kindly gave us permission to send out
the mail on the night tran Of Tuesday
so as to reach our country subscribers
on the rural routes on Wednesday, so
then the readers of The Herald and
News will have the message before it
is read to the legislature, and all
through no fault of ours, because if we
had known the governor was going to
hold it for personal delivery on We'd
nesday we would not have gone to the
additional expense Of printing it be-
fore Thursday.
We approve the plan adopted by the
governor of delivering the message in
person to the joint assembly. 1t is but
following the precedent of President
Wilson who broke all Iprecedents by
doing that very thing. and we approx
ed that in the president, and of course
these distinguished officials will be
pleased to know that their acts have
our approval But seriously we do
think it is the right thing for the
president and the governor to deliver
the message in person. Gov. Blease
did that very thing once or twice
while he was governor, but most of his
were not written messages.
The message contains much valua-
BILE information and many suggestions
that are good and that are worth while
considering. It is spoiled just a lit
tie in that is shows an animus against
a predecessor which has no place in
great State paper and would have
been better left out. It can do no good
and whether justified or not we will
not argue further than to say it would
have been better left ,unsaid.
But upon the whole the message is a
good and strong State paper, and as
we said contains many good sugges-
tions.
As to good roads and schools there
can be no valid argument against the
importance of good roads and compul-
sorry attendance. We do not think
much of the local option compulsory
attendance law, and so far as this
county is concerned, while we believe
a few districts did not vote it, the law
is practically dead letter. The only
kind of a compulsory attendance law
that is worth the paper on which it is
written is State wide law and one
that will be enforced.
We can not review the message en-
tirely and in detail, but the great af-
ter war problem TO be solved is that
of education and it would have been
well if the governor had been a little
stronger on that subject Of course
it means the raising of more money to
have better schools and better roads
and the other things that will be de-
nanded of the new world in which we
are to live, and the lawmaker who
does not grasp the vision and take
step with the new order of things had
just as well step aside, or he will be
crushed beneath the wheels of prog
ress.
We said several months ago that
what we needed in this age was men
with vision. You must have it.
Most of us have too narrow vision
and can't see out and beyond our no
bic selves and our own little interests.
You must catch the step of the new
world, and while taxes are going high
er, yet if you can show where the
payment of them means better con-
dition and good investment for
better world the people will not COM
plain. Where the people have right
to complain is when they are con-
stantly called upon to pay taxes and
can see no results in benefit to the
public