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SATURDAY, AU8U3T 7. 1909. The 8umter Watchman was found ejA In 1110 and the True Southron In IM?. The Watchman and Southron *a>w haa the combined c I reu la t on and influence of both of the old papers, assd Is manifestly ths best advertising SBSXtlum in Sumter. Y. M. C. IL Mass Meeting*. Notwithstanding the Inclement weither last evening, a large and en tha<4a*tlc crowd of men was present at ?che Y. M. C. A. mass meeting In the Opera Mouse. The Interest was In? tones. The object of the meeting was stated forcefully with a few well se? lected words by Mr. C. Capers Smith. Oa motion of Mr. H. L. Tlmmons, Mr. Ssnltlrswas made temporary chairman la order that the meeting be on a basis to trsnaact business. The chair? man culled for expressions from the nndlence and a number of business men young and older, responded with enthusiastic speeches for tho As? sociation K committee consorting of live members was appointed by the chair? man t<< nominate twelve directors from the different denominations and report to a meeting to be called next Friday night at 8:30 o'clock, at quar? ters to be decided upon by the com? mittee. In reviewing the work done by the committee which has been working for members it was found that the membership now Is between one hun- i dred and forty and one hundred and fifty Not all of the men who want to Join have given In their names Quite a number of mothers have been asking for a place for their boys In , ths list of Juveniles. The young men ?xpect to get more than 200 members besides thA Juveniles. The organisation haa begun right, i ,and success la assured. The young Sheti are at work. The older men < wars surprised to learn the progress 'that has been made?the reason Is that the promo tors have been work Ins; among young men exclusively. The i fact trot the young men have done so much by ? themselves Is causing a deeper interest to arise among the older men. The young men are de tartnlzod t > have a % M. C. A. Watch the columns of this paper for the announcement of the place for the neat meeting. At this meet? ing the nominating committee will present the names of twelve men from the different churohea In the city as directors of the Y. M. C. A. These names will be voted on by the members who have signed the char? ter list. it Is Important that all members be present, because the di? rectors see very Important officers. Fence Again In Spain. V, Madrid. Aug. i.?Spain Is now tranquil from the bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean and the crisis In the country Is past, sccordlng to an offi? cial announcement today. The re? lease of Henor Igleslae. editor of El Progr?a*o, and a certala relaxation of the censorship are considered the beet evidences that the danger Is past. TW? ttpa/ilsh Trans-Atlantic Steam? ship Company Ma offered three of Its heat veaisls to be used as hospital ahlpe foe, the troops In Morocco. Henor Hnlortega. a republican sena? tor, who ha* arrived here from Bar? celona, denle* that the recent move msnt in that city was separatist and says also that the revolutionists dur? las; the tw? days they were masters of the idly did not commit a single flgggflalnutIon or ad of cruelty. A new civil governor of Barcelona has In n appointed. jffce *vjb!kat!on of a letter from Don Jalm \ the pretonder to Ciu Spanish throne, has removed the ap I?~?hensioiiH of a Carlist movement. Several gunboats have been dis? patched to Morocco to be used espe? cially in stopping the landing of con? traband. Jno. t. Ijopez. a negro who at one time was rated as a man of means, Is serving; a sentence on the chalngang of Rl< h.'and County, and Oov. Ansel has declined to <ravit him a pardon or a commutation. Lopez's crime was obtalntnr money under false preten? ses. He had left at Lynch A Letton's stable a home which had a board bill cf $37 60 In r?0 days, a I?pei then claimed It was not his horse and tie owners of the stable had him prose cuted Hi sentence was six months ob the < haui'-jang and $300 fine. He la over 10 years old and that Is the principal ground on which Hd sects pardon LeSSS was at one time wealthy, ao fa/ as negroes are rated la wealth. He had a big bar with billiard room* md loaned money to negroes Finally his money began to slip away from him and today he Is too poor to raise the fine. Itevlval Service*. A series of meetings will begin at Wedae field seit Monday night at 8 .3 ) o'olocK Kev. 8. K. Rose will do the preaching. All are Invited to attend. Morning service* at 11 o'clock; eve? ning services at 8:U0 o'clock. T. O. WHITLOCK, P. C. Farmers' Union News ?AND Practical Thoughts for Practical Farmers (Conducted by E. W. Dabbs, President Farmers' Union of Sumter # County.) The Watchman and Southron having decided to double its service by semi- veekly publication, would improve that service by special features. The frst to be inaugurated is this Department for the Farmers' Union and Pract cal Farmers which I have been requested to conduct. It will be my aim to give the Union news and offlcial calls of the Union. To that end officers, and members of the Union are requested to use these columns. Also :o 'publish such clippings from the agricultural papers and Govern? ment Bulletins as I think will be of practical benefit to our readers. Ori? ginal articles by any of our readers telling of their successes or failures will be appreciated and published. Trusting this Department will be of mutual benefit to all concerned, THE EDITOR. All :ommunicatlons for tl is Department should be sent to E. W. Dabbs. Mayesvllle, S. C. Some Random Thoughts. Let i s press home this week the importance of better schools in the country districts. This month while the trained educators of the State, our Governor and other officials and prominent citizens' are conducting a campaign for progress and develop? ment in the schools, let our farmers' unions join in the discussions nnd irive to :hls important feature of our declaration of purposes real solid support. We need never hope to be an effec? tive business organization so long as Ignoranea and prejudice prevail. When wo have shown to our fellow citizens that we can take hold of the things abound our door steps and work effectively for the uplift of our communities, then we will command [be respect and sympathy, and gain the hearty co-operation of all good citizens. I would not for a moment discount the great good that can be accom? plished toy State-wide, and Interstate co-operation, n >r the big plans some r>f our leaders have for financing the cotton ctop, but neighborhood co? operation will have to precede, this arider amalgamation?for how can you amalgamate or unite what does not exist? Therefore, we the rank and file, and minor officers of the union must stress edjcatlon and community of interestr in season and out of season, "line upor. line, precept upon precept; here a Hi tie and there a little." and by example prove to the doubting ones that In "unity there Is strength" and that ! armers will stick. This shall be the burden of the messages I will try to impress upon the farmers of another county where I have tx en Invited to speak this week and from these little seed grains of truth we trust to see the Farmers' Union grow into a great tree that will refresh man and beast and birds, by Its covering shade and beautiful pro? portions. E. D. $500 MO I IK A YEAR FARMING; ? HOW TO MAKE IT. By Working for Good Schools, Good Roads and Telephones. The subject announced for this 1s sue of The Progressive Farmer in our "$500 a. Year" series was "By Saving the Wh?le Corn Crop" with the sub Ject of this article anounced for next week; but as this Is our "Edu? cational Edition,' we have thought it hest to let "Good Schools, Good .toads, and Telephones" come first, leaving the consideration of the corn crop until jur Issue of August 5th. At first * lance this topic may seem less appropriate than some that have been considered in this series, but there is really no topic on our entire category that has a more; vital bear? ing upon farm profits, In the com? munity at large good schools is like ly to get or keep the best class of citizens. Whenever or wherever land is offered for sale, one of the first questions Is. "How are the schoob and the roads?" And If the prospec tlve buyer is told that both are good, his ?deas of land values at once ad? vance, and If In addition he learns the most farmers In the community have telephones, he is willing to pay even more. School Tax Pays for Itself In Incrcus t <l Land Values. Probably In every community which votes local tax for schools land values In a verf few > ears ad? vance to double the amount of school tax money vote'd. And this is but one of a hundred ways In which better schools pay for themselves many times over. The whole life of the community Is richer and finer wher? ever there Is a good school at Its center, the citizens fell Ii prtde in It ?uch as tht y never felt before, and everything In the neighborhood be? gins to catch step with the new stan? dard of progress thus set up. It Is not the fertility of the land that makes It valuable; It is the Intelli? gence of the community in which It is situated. Land In Africa today is more fertile than the average reader or The Progressh Farmer ever saw, but it is practically worthless because of an ignorant population, while land in Belgium, originally little more than a sand-waste, has become in? tensely valuable by reason of the presence of an intelligent population, and intensely fertile by reason of the wise methods of cultivation prac? ticed by these Intelligent farmers. Even if a man has no boy or girl to send, the school tax investment is a good one for any property-holder be? cause of the increase in value that al? ways results from the presence of an Intelligent citizenship. Education ami the Individual As to how much education means to the individual, the time has long since passed when it was necessary to arguo that point. The boy or girl who starts out in life without the fundamentals of a good education Is tragically, almost hopelessly, handi? capped. The parents o^such a child, if it is ignorant by theii neglect, have committed a crime against it almost as serious as if they had ? iffered its right arm to be cut off, for an educat? ed mind is in a very real sense one's right arm in the struggle for exis? tence?and nowhere is this truer than on the farrm If the South had had for fifty years schools even as good as we have today, there Is little doubt but that our average farmer would be making very nearly his ex? tra $500 a year more without agita? tion on our part. Work for Better Schools Right New. Wherever the public school is in? sufficiently supported, the school term not long enough, or the school fund too small for the employment of the best teachers, we earnestly urge our Progressive Farmer readers to band together, get their neighbors to help them, and set about the im? provement of their educational facil? ities. Right now while the crops are "laid by" Is the very best time for the work. Consolidate your districts if it Is necessary; It is better that your child spend two hours getting to a good school where he can do six or eight hours of good work, than spend half an hour going to a school where wo s of only half as much efficiency can be done. Resolve now that you will get bet? ter schools. Discuss the matter of consolidation of districts with your neighbors, and the matter of local taxation as well. Bring it up at your church meeting, at the store or post oilice, at your Farmers' Union or Alliance meeting. Get the advice of your County Superintendent if you wish it. Arrange with them to get some good speaker to address your people on the subject and push the matter ?> a conclusion. There is no finer service you can render your community. Then see to it that there is a good building?not merely one large enough and light enough and airy enough, but a building of some arch? itectural beauty, no matter how sim? ple. Your State Superintendent will doubtless be able to help you in this respect. See to it also that a good library is installed; there is hardly any way by which money invested will bring bigger returns to the com? munity. Work for Better Roads. The subject of schools in all Its phases, however, is so fully treated elsewhere in this issue, that we leave it now and turn to the matter of better highways. This is another matter there is no better time for agitating than right now during the leisure season on the farm. Write the United States Department of Ag? riculture, Washington, D. C, for Its bulletins on good roads, especially No. 311, "Sand Clay and Burnt Clay Roads"; No, 321, "The Use of the Split-Log Drag on Earth Roads," and No. Ill, "Macadam Roads." A postal will get all three for you without cost. Then if you wish any further infor? mation, write the Office of Public Road Inquiries, United States Depart men! Of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and also your State good roads au ? thorities. In Virginia an especially aggressive campaign for better highways Is now on, State Senator Charles T. Las siter being a leader in the movement. Our Old Dominion readers should line up with the Virginia Good Roads Association and they should also write State Highway Commissioner P. St. J. Wilson, Richmond, Va., for expert advice before mapping out a campaign. In North Carolina the good roads movement is under the direction of Dr. Joseph Hyde Pratt, our aggressive and efficient State Geologist, Chapel Hill, N. C. Few men are doing more for North Caro? lina than he, and the last Legislature placed such funds at his disposal that he Is now able to give more assistance j than ever before to communities wish? ing better highways and also wishing to get them in the most economical j way. Get Expert Advice. One or two bits of counsel in re? gard to good roads building cannot be too often emphasized. In the first place, never proceed without expert advice. In some of the sections of the South the movement for better highways has been set back a full generation because of ignorance and consequent wastefulness in the use of road funds. Get your State Highway Commissioner, your State Geo? logist, or some official of your State Department of Agriculture, to advise you as to what sort of road improvement policy you should advocate. Manjr counties are too poor to build macadam roads as yet, espeoially where stone for ma cadamizfru? must be brought a great distance. In such places the merits and aplicability of the ?and-clay sys? tem should be considered. It is much less expensive than macadam, and in hunxireds of count' ?g in the State it is the best system than can be adopted. And on all clay roads, the split-log drag should be regularly used. ? Get Good Roads and Keep Them. Getting back to the matter of ex? pert advice, let us urge our readers not only get expert advice about the ma? terial to use, but also get expert ad? vice about the rearrangement of the roads themselves. Straighten them; lessen the grades; run them entirely anew If necessary in order to make I them of the greatest service to the j people. It is folly to spend thou I sand of dollars in roads laid out by I calves and pigs. And then, having good roads, keep them. An expert of the United States Department of Agriculture said to us last week: "The people of the United States spend more than any other country to make good roads, and less to keep them up." This has been indeed one of our most con? spicuous pieces of public folly. We know a county which voted several hundred thousand dollars in bonds rot many months ago in which the roads are now going to waste because nothing whatever was voted to main tie roads after getting them?much as If you should spend $500 to buy a horse and then spend nothing to feed him. A Word About the Telephones. So much can be said, and needs to be said, about better schools and bet? ter roads that we have left ourselves little space to consider the manifold advantages of the rural telephone. We have too often written of the social and business advantages of the tele? phone, however, for us to need to en? large upon this phase of the ques? tion, and we expect soon to publish tome piactical experiences from ou: readers in managing rural lines. Per? haps the best thing we can now do Is to give this estimate as to cost as viven out by the general manager of 'he Western Electric Company. He says: 'A number of farmers decide to . uild, for their mutual benefit, a tele '-.one 'inc. Bach man agrees to cut ? . el and Van? a given number or polo ?thirty poles about 22 feet or 2' feet long, are required tor each mile f line. Before the pott:-?which arc ^: in the ground thref and a hah eet?are ercted. two brackets, on the end of each of which Is fastened a glass insulator, are nailed to the pole, one 18 Inches above the other. Having set the poles, wires are strung the entire length of the line, and farV mers living off the main route can connect with the main line at any point. f "It is possible for as many as 35 or 4 0 telephones to be installed on such a line, which may be 40 or 45 miles In length. The total cost of all the material (less poles) required to build a mile of 'full metallic' line is but $13.74. and the very best tele? phone on the market, with all ma? terial for installing it ready for use, can be had for $13. Assuming that there will be one telephone for every mile of line, the grand total Initial cost for each farmer, for the very best system, is but $26.74. "The maintenance expense on such a line, including wear and tear on the equlpmet, should be less than three dollars a year. Just think of it ?for 25 cents a month the farmer can have telephone service with his neighbor, doctor, broker and mer? chant! For 75 cents a month, he can have access to the Bell exchange and toll lines, and through these he can reach all of their local subscrib? ers and long distance points." Good schools, good roads, tele? phones?your community needs all of them, and there is no better time than right now to start the agitation to get them. Wake up your neigh? bors, get them interested, and if you don't know where to get any inform? ation you need, write The Progressive Farmer. We'll either get it for you or tell you how to get it. 1 TWO BIG QUESTIONS AND AN IL? LUMINATING STATEMENT. Tliree Notable Extracts From a Not? able Address Which Country Teach? ers, Pupils and Patrons All Should Study?Here They Are. In a recent address before the American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers, Dr. F. L. Stevens delivered a notable message on agri? cultural education, two or three ex? tracts from which are so effectively stated and comprise so much truth in so little space that they ought to he memorized by all country teach? ers and by their patrons and pupils as well. One treats briefly but thor high school, agricultural or not, should fit its pupils for the life that they will lead. The duty of fitting the few, 1, 2, or 10 per cent, by spe cial training for college entrance^ must fall upon the few who are to enjoy the advanced education, or the colleges must adjust their entrance requirements to the existing status. "The training of ninety boys who are to go no farther than the high school, must not be dwarfed or mis? shapen because of the ten or less who may perhaps enter college. "In particular is this true of the agricultural high school. It cannot aim in both directions. What it of? fers it must give well and thorough? ly, but the choice of subject matter for the curriculum must not be domi? nated by the entrance requirement of\( any college, but must be made entire? ly subservient, to the needs of the farmer's life. "Hamilton Wright Mabie has de? fined culture as 'the process by which a man comes into possession of his own nature and into real and fruit-| lul relations with the world about him.' It should give as much knowl? edge and training as is implied in the definition of Dr. Mabie just quoted. oughly of the evolution of our edu cational system, another points out | Therefore, we must retain as many as the folly o; pre aring ten pupils for | PO?etble of the most pert! dent of the college instead of preparing ninety for life, and the third points out the absurdity of a teacher arguing that she cannot teacn agriculture \vn? n (if she las studied the text-book properly * she probably knows a great deal more of the "knowable, teacha? ble things'* about agriculture than of the * knowable, teachable things" about history, geography, or physiol? ogy?subjects which she regards her? self as thoroughly competent to han? dle. Here are the three paragraphs from Dr. Stevens' address and we re? peat that; we cannot commend them too earnestly to our country teach? ers, and their patrons and pupils as well: A Question About Your School Teacher. Public Does She Think She Cannot Teach Agriculture, But Can each His? tory, Geography and Physio? logy??Why? One of the greatest obstacles to agricultural teaching in our country schools is the diffidence of the teach? er, who because she has not herself been taught agriculture, thinks that she cannot teach it to others. She can teach agriculture successfully, as I have seen demonstrated in many instances; and I believe that I have frequently led them to go on in my teachers' institute and summer school work, by calling their attention to the fact that to teach some agriculture, they need not know all agriculture, I and that if they can teach to their pupils a few facts or principles, that they do not already know, that it matters not if the pupil knows a few kinks and turns about handling a plow or a mule that the teacher does not know. "I wonder, as a matter of fact, if our teachers who have conscientious? ly and think'ngly studied a good text? book, do not know as large a per cent of the knowledge, teachable, ag subjects of the high school of today . whose function is not filled by the newly-Introduced subjects, and there? by avoid reducing the agricultural high school to a mere trade school, it is impossible to be specific in this regard because conditions vary in different sections as to the training previously received by the pupils in the lower schools. In no case, how? ever, la there time or need for Greek or Latin, mathematics higher than geometry, and rarely for modern lan? guage except the mother tongue. While there is unquestionably great J value in these disciplinary subjects, \ there ere many other subjects which furnish useful, practical knowledge as well as mere discipline, which not only dt>velop power to reason but power to reason about things con? cerning which the pupil will in life reason, and which dra^v him toward I life raiher than separate him from it." III.?AN ILLUMINATING STATE? MENT ABOUT EDUCATION. Some Patent Truths About How Ouri Educational System Developed and Why the Old Ideas Are Not Adapt? ed to Our Modern Needs and Ideas. "Our present public school system, common, high, college, and university, is an outgrowth, an evolution, from preceding systems. "(1) It came to us from an age during which education was for the aristocrttt, hence was largely of or? nate, esthetic, fashionable content "(2) It passed through a phase when education was for the priest, during which epoch It became heavi? ly tinctured with subjects appertain? ing to the priesthood. "(3) It developed into a system fitted for the 'learned professions' of law and medicine, and was corres spondingly modified. And since the chief an:ient source of knowledge A Question About Your High Schools. was the ancient languages, and, more riculture as that same reader knows j over, since both law and theology? which she thinks herself amply able i and in the eariier periods, medicine, to teach?" ? | too?required constant return to i tne^e originai sources, Latin and Greek became fixed components of the educational system. "Thus was the system of education slowly evolved through the centuries and adapted to those who were to follow the learned professions or the From this condition. Is It Preparing for College or Pre? paring for Life??Is It Trying to Help the 90 Per Cent, of the 10 Per Cent. "The criticism has often been made life of ease, that our system of public schools is with the advent of the public school an Inverted pyramid, resting on the and education for all, were derived * apex. The high schools are made to ? cur prest nt system. The change of Qt to the colleges, and the lower needs, historically considered, was schools to the high schools, and many , sudden. It was an educational cata people. have come to regard the high clysm. Evolution could not keep school as a preparatory school, mean- pace, and we find the system mat is ing thereby that >ts aim it to prepare struggling to survive today full of its pupils for college entrance. This vestigial characters, useless except for a pernicious and costly has been thought. "The high school Is for the pupil. Its course should be so shaped as to do the most good to the largest num? ber of Its pupils. The large majority toxenamic Farmer. purpose."? Progressive A movement has been started in Columbia to make that city the per? manent camping place for all the enter life, not the college, and the State troops. Lime, Cement, Shingles, Laths, Acme Plaster, Fire Brick, Drain and Sewer Pipe, Building Material of all Kinds, Cow, Hog and Chicken Feed, Hay a Grainy Horses ^Mviles, Buggies, Wagons and Harness. Wholesale and Retail. :: :: :: :: :: BEST LIVERY IN SUM I ER. SUMTER, S C.