The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-05
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

one on the Atmosphere of Universi-
 ties,' but without waiting for some
 one to do it am going to write one
 on The Soul of an,Institute." I have already paid tribute to the public schools from the elementary
 grades on through the high, agricul- tural and normal school and the uni versailles. and so I crave indulgence for bringing to your notice one of the most
 unique schools in the country. True, it is affiliated with the state, and yet 1 it is in a class by itself among our
 educational institutions.
 The location of the Southern Indus trial Institute is ideal. It's on the edge
 mites to be found in all Alabama. The buildings rear their heads in the midst Of primeval forest, for the site is a part of 40o-acre farm. None of them
 are pretentious. but all of them fit into the landscape. They seem to be a part of the woods and the soil. 
  get rid of our environment, and I count it gain for any man, woman or child to have a pleasant outlook. How my heart goes out in pity to the tenement dwellers with darkened rooms. squaid
 courts, reeking cellars, filthy streets. Children born and reared in such sur roundings are to be commiserated, and all glory to Jacob Riis and such men who fought for light and air and play grounds for the disinherited little waifs of the slums.
 I thank God that I was brought up in home surrounded with trees and of crystal purity flowing through prossy- covered banks was close to our back door; that there were creeks to | the north and south of the town, and that the little city itself was perched | high on the banks of the Chattahoo- chic, immortalized by Sidney Lanier, and that the old schoolhouse on Col | lege Hill was hid in an oak grove and nearby were hundreds of swaying pines. All of these things sank deep 1 into my soul and gave me love for nature which will last to my dying day.
 I It was with thoughts of my boy l hood days that I walked about while
 on my visit to the school of which I write. I felt myself in sympathetic | touch with the happy-hearted boys
 and girls and laughing lads and las l sies, who were joyous because another school year was coming to an end. | There was a holiday air in the atmos- phere The opening exercises of com
 mencement were taking place with a
 Reclamation and essay contest. 1 I am willing to admit that there is
 similarity between most commence | ments, but if one will make up his | mind to forget himself and just be young again he can soon get into the spirit of the graduates and find some l thing to claim his attention. l sat 1 through the contests and listened with l pleasure to the essayists and found myself swept along by the recitation,
 and on the qui vive for the awarding 1 of the prizes.
 The Southern Industrial Institute didn't spring up all at once. but be- | gan in the simplest kind of way, with | little in the way of money buildings | or equipment. but rich in the fact l that behind it stood man and his wife with high dreams that would not | be given over in spite of nights filled 1 with nightmares when it seemed as If they had undertaken a task unreal | izable; but when morning came they were always found side by side doing | the days work.
 |
 1 Some people who do not know the game think that all that is needed to start a newspaper is money, and be- | lleving this way many fools have been | separated from their bank roll. It takes more than dollars and cents to build up a worth while journal. The same is true of school for both have to have field and purpose, if they survive and hope to be of any benefit in molding the thought of the com munities in which they are established. Subsidies are fatal to publishers. just las have some endowments crippled col (leges. The paper or college which IS supported because 1t performs pub llic service is the one which leads opin- lien and makes better citizens.
 school may be founded with the best intentions. but there is nothing
 
 teaching. and so this has been the aim and rule of the Southern Industrial In- fsiitute. The boys get the best mental ltrsining along with the things which fit them for practical life. Lessons are not to be sighted any more than the manual tasks, but the two are con
 sidered of equal worth in the prepa- ration for life. I am great believer in everyone being able to work with tteir hands as we'll as with their heads Manual and domestic training sfould not be neglected.
 am long time coming to 'the soul of the institution" The thing which
 struck me most was the attitude oi the pupils to the school. It was one
 of pride and affection. There seemed to be such an air of camaraderie be- tween the teachers and the scholars Tt ran all the way down from the president to the smallest boy and girl There seemed to be a contest going or
 between faculty and student body 1T
 the matter of paying compliments tf one another The teachers were con
 fident that they had the best pupils 1T tLe world and the pupils bragging thai l tsev had the best instructors anywhere
 to be found. It wasn't show per formance, but you felt it in the yer, , atmosphere.
 II For Illustration. a good woman do i, mated a certain sum of money to built a girls dormitory. Owing to the higl cost of building it was not sufficien to erect the kind desired. The pint lands were covered with suitable tim