The sentinel-journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1906-1909, November 19, 1908, Image 1
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44".
Entered April 28, 1908, at Pickens, S. C.p a Second-1m aotter, Wsder Act of Congress of March 3, 179. ]T '
VOL. XXXVIII. PICKENS, So0, THURSDAY, NOXEM.BER 19, 1908* NO, 3.
OUK SCHOOLS
hr Psor. Warurne H. Ra,
Univeruitv of South CS"UrA.
PpPWN=ar Tom
WHO IS RESPONSW1LE? Who
is responsible f9r our ill-equipped
bigh schools, with their short inell
Vient courses of study, their lack of
teachers to do the work, and the rel
Atively small number of pupils there?
The answer is, the superintepdents
*nd principals, the people, and the
eolleges.
The superintendents and principals
.are rightly looked to by the people
for leadership in building up the high
inhools. They are largely responsible
for the educational ideas of their
communities, and the attitude of the
'People toward high schools. If the
course of study is overcrowded with
-ubjects or is scrappy in its material,
#hey alone are responsible. Many a
school without a map, a chart, a
obe, or any other necessary appara
, might have at least a few such,
things bought with the money spent
1n so-called commencements, bacca
laureate addresses, invitations,. pro
grams, rule books, etc. Moreover,
mnany a boy and many a girl not in
the high school would be, if they had
-only a few eneournging 1words spoken
t. them. It is to be feared that the
tpublic hikh school teacher is not al
ways mindful of the pupils who are
,-out of school but ought to be in
-ehool. 14ilally, many a high school
A running ib a rut, because the prin
'u1pal is running in one.
The peoplh are emphatically to
bhme for not supporting their high
-9shools. They put neither their mon
- nor their children in them.
roughout the State, in places easily
1pointed out are high schools scarcely
M*wrthy of the *name, but whieh might
So made within five years to rank
high, if the people in those places
were only willing to use a little com
ion sense business sagacity. Why a
..sensible man will refuse to help his
heme school by patronizing it, but
instead will, help to maintain one
away from home -by sending his child
rn there, is one of the strange things
In life. He gets no better advantages
er his own children, and refuses to
elp his neighbor at home who is un
able to send his children from home.
Hence the home high school lags. It
veosts today $250 to send a pupil a.
year to school away from home. Why
will four men thoroughly familiar
-with the laws of busipess co-opera
tion take their sons and daughters
from their own high school, to send
-them away at an expense' of $1,000 a
.year? Why will they not put even
half that money in the home school,
di&ereby keeping their money and
oeir children at home, and at the
.Ame time when the children need
parental attention ?
Anderson, one of the four places
nast year with a four-year public high
'@ehool, has had to abandon its 11th
grade, although 12 of her last yesr's
1th grade are off at colege. Five
fkom the 10th grade and seven from
the 8th grade are at college 1 These
:24 pupils are ,eosting the people of
;1 .Anderson $6,000 this year; this year
Anderson is paying her entire high
usehool teaching force less than $4,
000.
Ninety-Six added the 11th grade
tViyear, kept 5 pupils out of last
S.r's 10th grade, sent 9 out of the
same grade to college, end pays two
high school teachers this year $1,
:280. These nine pupils, with one from
the 9th grade, at college, will this
year cost the people of that town
* -ore than they are spending on their
entire school from the - frst grade up.
The people of Pendleton, Seneca,
'Union, Woodruff and numbers of oth
- -ae places are impoverishing their
high schooils in the same way. What
is the trouble.? The people are still
'blinded 6y that fundamental error
that the function of the high school
is to prepare students for college.
ine-tenths of the -pupils who finish
the 7th grade never see the doors of
a college. True, in addition to the
subjects necessary to college entrance
we have added to the traditional
eourse a large number of side-dishes,
so to speak. 'These side-dishes are
nothing but rlighes, to be tasted oe
esionally. The people and the prin
pals have put no meaty courses par.
l to that .single one which lpads
atm7bt teeleg I
and unwillingness to learn stand abd
see their own strong and sturdy sons
step out of the school room at the
end of the 8th grade, because these
sons have found that their parents
and teachers have put nothing in the
high school except nourishment for
the college candidate.
Is the reader beginning to see
wherein the! colleges are responsible
for the unsatisfactory high school
conditions? Every.college in South
Carolina, State, denominational, and
private, is doing high school work in
its college courses. This statement
needs no proof; the high schools are
not doing the work, and it must be
done in the colleges, if done at all.
Formerly, and not so long ago, the
colleges were all but helpless in this
matter-they had to take the raw
unprepared material or close their
doors against deserving boys and girls
unable to get the proper preparation.
I have already argued that the high
schools are not yet ready to furnsh
properly prepared students to the
colleges. The lines of demarcation
between high school territory and col
lege teritory can not be definitely fix
ed, yet with respect to the age of the
pupil and to a majority of the sub
jects of study involved there is al
ready considerable unity of opinion.
Taking into careful consideration the
actual conditions which exist, let the
college set a reasonable number of
high school units (not grammar
school units) as -the minimum requir
ed for entrance. A standard three
year high school ought to do 12 units
of work. Since most of our high
schools are three-year schools, that
standard ought not to be unreason
able. (A standard of years cannot
be set up; every one knows that the
tenth grade is not definite as to what
is accomplished; besides. some iebocols
run nine months, some eight, and a
few only seven.)
First, let each college make its en
4:rv.nee requirements definite-let its
standdid be high or low, as it chooses,
but let it be definite. Second, let the
college live up to its published claim.
Colleges cannot be uniform in stand
ards, perhaps there is no need for
such uniformity, but all can be hon
est in these standards. After all, it
is a question of morals, and if a col
lege should stand for anything it
should stand for unswcrving recti
tude. It is just as reprehensible for
a college as a body corporate to ad
vertise one standard and act on an
other, as it would be for one of its
professors to promise one thing and
do another. The popular mind has.
come to look upon the published en
trance requirements of colleges as
fakes. With a college catalogue be
fore you giving its entrance require
ments in English, Mathethatics, Latin
and History, at a standard which the
average school of ten grades is fail
-ing to reach, and you know it, your
mind is likely to be disturbed when
you know that the same college is
taking pupils from 9th grades, and
occasionally from Sth grades.
What are the facts? With fully
twenty high schools yet to hear from,
I have the names of 154 pupils who
have entered college this session
from 9th grades, and 36 pupils from
8th' grades. These students reported
as entering the preparatory depart
ment of a college, were of course not
included. Every college in the Sta~te,
and several outside, are reported ~s
sharing thQ spoils. It is hard to re
concile thele cold facts with the con
stant wail of the colleges for better
prepared students, and with the per
ennial announcements about having
raised standards. If a college after
ten or twelve years of standard-rais
ing is canlvassing for 9th grade pu
pils, and taking 8th grades ones, what
must the standard have been when it
began raising I
The evil genius which dominates
our colleges is greed for numbers.
Boards of trustees, faculties, and the
people ~are all uinder the magic spell.
There is nio ob.iection whatever to
numbers in the colleges, if their pres
enee is not bought with a price. The
constant cry is, "Send us more stu
dents; make room for more students;
look at the students being turned away
from the college doors.'' The public
mind in its -hystorical moments fails
to grasp the significance of the plain
est facts. For instance, the college
enrollment in South Carolina. last
year was more than one-third the
high school enrollment. What is the
significance of this fact? Again, Win
th oep College had1 this year 1,047 ap
*pli ants for admission. 520 werted,
spittcd; .527 were refused. Presiden~t
2 ohnua6 ranout that fuflyl1K8n $
those . refused were not prepared to
enter Winthrop at all. Clemsdn had
1074 applizations for admission. 728
were adwitl.ed; 246 were refused.
President Mell reports that 206 appli
cants failed on account of examina
tion. The other colleges have simi
al reperienees. The ery should. be
for better high schools better patron
ized.
Concluded.
Prominent Confederate Veteran Dead
Washington, Special.-Albert G.
Holland, a member of the first com
pany 6rganized in Washington to
fight for the Confederacy, died sud
denly in this city Sunday. Mr. Hol
land took part in the first battle of
Manassas, fought valiantly until
captured and sent to Camp Chase,
where he Vas released at the close of
the war. -He was a member of the
firm of Copeland &Co., ahd it was
said manufactured flags for the Fed
eral government while it was his aim
to destroy them during the war.
Industrial Education to Be Promoted
Atlanta, Ga., Special.-The second
annual convention of the national
society for the promotion of indus
trial education, the membership of
which includes some of the most dis
tinguished' educators in the country,
will be held in Atlanta-Thursday, Fri
day and Saturday of this week. Ex
hibits from twenty-three ' industrial
and' technical schools of the country
will be displayed in the State capi
tal.
Will Be Extra Session. ..
Washington, Special.-That a
special session of the Sixty-first Con
gress will be called soon after the
4th of March to take up the matter
of tariff revision, became positively
known Sunday when eWilliam H. Taft
President-erect, after spending the
day at the White House as the guest
of President Roosevelt, stated' that he
intended to call the special. session
t meet as oon afte his inaugura.
abn,t' wobeb teviabnable.
Passenger Trains 0oI1ide.
Jacksonville, Special. -Passenger
trains Nos. 39 and 10, of the At
lantic Coast Line; came together in
a head-on collision near Camden, a
small station about ten miles from
this city Saturday morning, killing
James A. King,- of-Sanford, Fla., and
Alenxander A. Bell, of Palatka, both
negro mail clerks, and slightly in.
juring several others. A relief train
was sent out from here and the dead
and injured' brought to Jacksonville.
The trains, -it is said, had orders to
meet at Camden, but No. 39 ran by
with the fatal results.
Morris Haas a Suicide.
San Francisco, Special.-Morrie
Haas, who shot Francis J. Heney,
committed suicide at the county jail
by shooting himself through the head.
One report says that the pistol with
which Haas shot himself wa con
cealed in his shoe where he hid it be.
fore shooting Heney. -Another re.
\port says the pistol was secretl3
passed to Hanas by a friends since hii
incarceration.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan to Visit Florids
Fair.
Tampa. Fla., Special.-In a letteu
to President T. J. Brown, of the
State Fair Association, William J
Bryan has accepted an invitation te
visit Tampa during the fair. Mr
and Mrs. Bryan will arrive in Tampn
the latter part of January, going t<
Cuba for ai short visit and returnins
will spend at least a week in Tampa
Preparations are being made fon
Bryan day at the fair.
Complains of Cotton f,ates.
Montgomer-y, Ala., Specia.--Fail
im; in its snit before the city court
of' Montgomery to force the Central
of' Georgia Raxilway to cease alleged
discriminations against the people of
l'nion Springs, Ala., in the cotton
compress ease the Alabama Railroad
(Commission has sent a complaint to
t he Interstate Commerce Commission
against cotton rates in general. All
ramilr-oads doing an interstate business
in Alabama are made defendants in
the complaint. --
THE CUBAN Ef CTION
Goms, Liberal Candidate, Elected
President By Large Majority.
Havana, By Cable-At the close of
an election which was conducted wtth
great enthusiasm and complete ab
senee of disoider, it appears practi
cally 'eertaiii fhat Generil Jose Mig
nel Gomes and Alfredo Zayas have
beenchosen President and Vice Pres
ident respectively of the new Cuban
republic, with strong liberal ma
jorities in the Senate and House.
Throughout the island, according to
the reports, an extraordinary heavy
vote was cast, vastly in excess of
that east in the August, election
where 182,000 failed to vote in a
total registration of 450,000. This
was especially so in Havana City,
where the vote probably will reach
66 per cent of the registration
against 49 per cent in August. The
heavy vote was due, not only to the
prevalence of fine weather, but the
strenuous efforts made to bring out
the silent vote. The slow incoming
of the returns is attributed partly to
the heavy vote and partly to scratch
ed ballots on Representatives. In
complete official returns from the
precinct of Havana indicated that
the city was overwhelmingly Liberal.
Few returns have been received from
the provinces but estimates give the
island to General Gomez by from
25,000 to 30,00. The Conserva
tive leaders generally admit the de
feat of their partyt
Negro Kill Eight.
Okumulgee, Okla., Special.-Eighl
persons were killed and ten others
vrere wounded Sunday in a fight be.
tween James 'Deckard, a negro des.
perado and offleers.
The dead.
Edgar Robinson, sheriff of Ok
mulgee county.
Henry Klaber, assistant chief
of police of Okmulgee.
Two negroes named Chapman,
brothers.
Three unidentified negroes.
The wnunded:
Steve Grayson, Indian boy, probab
ly fatally beaten Victor Farr, chief
of Sioux, shot through shoulder; De.
puty Sheriff, arm broken.
Seven others, slightly wounded.
President-Elect Taft Invited to Spar
tanburg Banquet.
Spartanburg, S. C., Special.-PrOs
i4ent-elect Taft has been invited by
the chamber of commerce to be the
guest of Spartanburg upon the oc
casion of a banquet to be given No
vember 20th, celebrating the build
ing of the Carolina, Clinchfield &
Ohio Railroad to this city. A com
mittee of citizens from the chamber
of commerce, the city council and
the board of trade will go to Hot
Springs and extend the invitations.
The banquet will be attended by the
Governors of five States and the
presidents of half a dozen railroad
systems.
Taft Renders Tribute.
New York, Special.- While can
non boomed, awakening patiotic
memories of those sailor and soldier
heroes who died in British prison
ships in the revolutionary war, the
prison ship martyrs monument' at
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, was
dedicated with impressive ceremonies
Saturday -in' the presence of Presi
dent-elect Taft, Secretary of War
Wright, Governor Hughes and thou
sands of people who thronged the
knoll on which the tall dorie column
stands. Mr. Taft made the oration
of the occasion and after the~ cere
monies left for Washington, whore he
will meet President Roosevelt.
Pushing Work on 0. 0. and 0. Road.
Spartanburg, Speial.-The con
tractors are pushing the work on the
C. C. and 0. Road. They are re
eeiving steam shovels and all sorls
of road machinery and the noise of
the blasting is like the cannonading
around CharlEdon in 1864, only it i
umt o cnstant 'and .anenrous.
CHINA IS AmfLicilD
Emperor and Empress Die On
Same Day
THE PEOPLE TAKE IT QUIETLY
Shortly After 5 O'Clock, Saturday,
the Emperor Breathed His Last
Prince Chun, His Brother, Now Re
gont, May Be Accepted as Succes
sor.
Pekin, China, By Cable.-The
Emperor of China died shortly after
5 o?clock Saturday evening. As
early as 3 o 'clock in the afternoon,
it was reported that the Emperor
was so low that his death was re.
earded as imminent. The Foreign
Board of the government has con
frined the report circulated Fri
day that the Dowager Empress is
also mortally ill.
The Emperor had been ill for a
long time and during recent audi
ences with foreign representatives he
was unable either to sit up on the
throne or even in an erect position.
It was evident for a long time that
he would be unable to withstand .&
crisis which sooner 6r later must de
velop in the disease from which he
was suffering. Recent climatic ex
tremes caused the devel9ment of
fatal complications that resulted in
his death.
At the moment of death the Em
perer, the Dowager Empress' own
death chamber chair was waiting in
the courtyard. She, too, had been
in a serious condition, and word that
was brought her earlier in the day
that the Emperor was dying, caused
her to collapse. This has prevented
her from assuming the relationship
of grand mother to the successor to
the throne, which, according to the
Chinese system would enormously
aument her authority.
there is little indication of emo
tion among the people. over the
events which have been transpiring.
l'he Emperor's death and the prob
able death of the Dowager Empress
v!ithin a very short time have had
but little effect upon the Chinese,
who are pursuing the even tenor of
their way without signs of mourn
mng.
Kuan,g-Hsu's later life was a pit
iable spectacle to his attendants. His
feebleness had rendered him a mere
puppet and he had suffered long
from ill health, which was combined
with fear and despair. Latterly he
showed marked signs of mental dis.
turbances, and even went so far
last August as to declare himsel
mad.
The foregoing dispatch from Pekin
sets at rest the conflicting r1mors of
the past two days that have origi
nated in Pekin#and been published
around the world. The Emperor of
China is dead. The report' from
London of his improvement probably
referreI to a temporary n diti
only. The Pekin message is the first
wnqualifled' statement to come frova
the Chinese capital and it specifi
enlly gives the time of the passing
away of His Majesty.
The regent is Prince Chun, the Em
peror's brother, and if he is.accepted
b)y the government before t,he Dow
ager Empress dies, the likelihood of
any revolutionary outbreak in China
will be materially reduced.
Dowager Empress Dead.
Pekin, By Cable.--Tsze Hsi ,An,
the Dowager Empress of -China, the
autocratic head of the government,
which she directed without success
ful interference since 1801 and with
out protest since 1881,. died at 2
o'clock Sunday afternoon.
The annlouncement of the Dowager
Empress' death- was official and fol
lowved closely upon the announcement
that Kuang-Hsu, the Emperor, had
d (iedi Saturday at 5 o'clock in~ the af
ternoon, hut it is believed that the
death of both the Emperor and the
Dowager Empress occurred a consid.
erable time before that set doyvn in
the official statements.
An edict issued at N o'el9ek Sun
day morning placed upon the throne .
Prince Pui-Yi, the 3-year-old' son of
Prince Chun, the Regent of the Em
pire, in accordance with a promise
given by the D)owager Empress soora
after the marriage of Prince Chun ia
1903. An- edict issued on Fridar
made Pu-YI heir presumptAve.