The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-08-05

So far as we recall Gov. M. 3. NC
Sweeney was the first governor to
recommend straight State wide
compulsory attendance law. In his
message to the legislature IN 1902
he went somewhat into the details to
show the Importance of compulsory
attendance law, and again" in 1908,
the last annual message submitted
by him before his retirement, he
laid stress upon the Importance
! of a State wide compulsory attend
ance law. We are going to make a
few extracts from the annual mes
sage of Gov. McSweeney to the legis-
lature of 1903, on this very import
ant subject:
''In South Carolina the per cent Of
illiteracy of native whites over ten
! years of age is 1871 per cent, and in
North Carolina it is 23~per cent. In
the face of these facts l do not see
,, how any one can oppose compulsory
attendance at school. 1t is not hcc-
essaN:to worry about the negro. He
is getting all the education which is
provided now and could get no more
under compulsory attendance. What
we should be concerned about is the
education and the moral uplift of our
white boys and girls. Ignorance is a
menace and a burden to civil liberty
and the good morals of the country.
In. addition to this, every boy and
girl in this country has right to the
opportunity to do something and to
be something. Such law can not in
terfere with the rights Of parents,
because no parent has right to make
a slave out of his offspring or to rob
his child of the right to make use
full citizen or to have the opportunity
ito live useful and happy life. No
one in this day will question the
right of the State to enforce COM
pulsory attendance. The
history and experience of those
countries in which compulsory at
tendance has been tried prove its
good results and refute the idea that
it works any hardship. 1t is true
that in the States which have COM
pulsory attendance laws, only two are
Southern, but that is no reason why
we should longer lag behi'
In the message of Go n Sv eeney
of 1902 he gave num- tatls-
tics to show what was being lone in
other States and urged the passage
6f compulsory attendance law by
South Carolina. We have not that
message before US, but all we want
to do is to show that several years
before the time referred to by The
State there had been efforts to pass
q compulsory attendance law in
South Carolina.
At the session of 1908 Mr.. 7. M.
Rasor of Orangeburg, a member Of
the senate, introduced a compulsory
attendance law which passed the SEN
ate. Mr.. E H.. Aull of Newberry,
member of the house at that time,
introduced similar bill in the house.
When the senate bill came over from
the senate it was taken up and on
roll call vote (see House Journal
1903 page 1867, Col. Mendel L.
Smith, then speaker of the house,
voted for the indefinite postpone
ment of the bill. The motion was
made by Mr.. M. P. DeBruhl, a men,
Der from Abbeville. Mr.. R. A. Coop
,er then a member from Laurens
voted against postponement and for
the bill. The bill was indefinitely
postponed by vote of 60 to 54..
This action being taken of course Mr..
Aull withdrew his Ill from the files
of the house. Mr.. Arthur Kibler and
Mr.. John F. Banks the other two
members from Newberry also voted
against the bill.
We are not referring to this record
to take proper credit from any one
for what he may have done to pro-
mote the education of the children of
the State, but simply to keep the re-
cord straight, and to give credit TO
whom credit is due while we are at
it. Gov. Manning and Col. Smith
and Gov. Cooper and Mr.. Clinkscales
may have done all that The State
says they did, but compulsory attend
ance was proposed in the legislature
more than twelve years ago, as the
records will prove. We are glad that
the compulsory attendance law has
been enacted. We have been long
time and consistent advocate of such
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