Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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? Serious Books vs. Fiction ^ By E. S. Martin. ?& HE habit of reading th..- more substantial books seems to have taken hold of a much larger proportion of the people of the British Isles than of us America ns. And even that is not all. We seem not to be gaining the habit, for the proportion of light reading'in the current mass of new literature seems to be- increasing. Why that is,' and whether it is a temporary condition or something more serious, is matter for discussion. I suspect it is one of the habitual complaints of literate mankind that the readers of the generation just passed read better books than those of the generations in being. It is no fault of the publishers, for there are plenty of publishers who are eager to print the best books they can hope to sell. They won't print many books that no one will buy, because such a practice as that, if it became habitual, would be incompatible with continuance in the publish ing business.. But they have an interest, which is more than a mere pecuni ary interest, in what they publish, and would much rather find their necessary profit in a book that they can be proud of than in one which can never do credit to their name, however much it may help their pocket. To be sure, the more substantial books are in competition wtih all the great books that ever were printed. If readers neglected the good new books in order to-read th? good old ones, we might regret it as something detri mental, to the book publishing business and the interests of living authors, hut we would not find in (it a. sign of decaying culture or degenerating taste. But it is not the competition of the old books that limits attention to new ones, for whoever has learned to read the ene is by so much the likelier to Tead the other. Who has the habit of good reading and the appetite for it will read what suits his appetite if he can get it. The trouble is that the appetite is not oftener formed. If you are to make a silk purse, you must have the silk. You cannot make a reader of good\ books out of any human material that comes along. You must catch a mind proper for the job. Not all good minds are adapted to much reading. You find very able people who read few books, mostly trash, and people of less ability who read more, and much better ones. You find also interesting differences in the facility with which different people taite in the sense of printed words. Some people fjem childhood read very much fas ter .and with less effort than others. Their eyes seem to connect quicker with their brains, and their perception of words and rows of words is almost .instan taneous. Other people never entirely get past the need of pronouncing, men tally, each word-Harper's Magazine. >p *p I The 400 is How "The 1100" . mm ? By F. Townsend Marlin. ? il HAVE been interested in society ever since I was eighteen * years old. New York society has gone through its forma * tive stage. Its society now resembles that of London, the * oldest "ad most absorbing society-in the world.' <>' Peopte say, ecasually, "The great balls of the past have ?>?tO#H44 heen discontinued because the city is too large." That is ^ O not the point. Society is too large-not the city. Society <3^e-03O-e?S grows with the city. I should say there are 1,100 persons In society. I daresay , this figure is staggering, revolution ary, but I believe this number is accurate. Yet I know some women who would say that 100 covers completely the number of persons they would care to know. New York society is beset by a new idea, which is as unsatisfactory as lt is perilous. It develops a narrowness of thought and the most extreme boredom. Society is set-ridden. There are the Meadowbrook set, the Tuxedo set, the Southhamptcn set, the Winchester set, the Lenox set, the Aiken set, the set that meets in Palm Beach, in Aiken, and in Paris. Mrs. William Astor's' retirement as the leader of society marked a new There's a Good Time v| i ^EEComing=i \ "T By United States Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, i HE Republic of the United States Is in no danger of ruin in a business* or in any other way. The resources of the country are greater than they ever were before. The en ergy of the peop.'e, if it is not parayized by too much sub stitution of government for individual effort, if it is left to march along the~~old ror.ds which it followed from the days of small things to the present days of greatness-the road of independence, the road of individual enterprise, of determi nation to succeed in the battle of life-will /-assert itself. Let those old American habits continue to dominate in the United States and tread the doctrines of socialism under foot. Tho wealth of the world is here in our soil, in our mines, in our factories. This decline of values is but a passing ripple on the surface of the*great sea of American life and action, and all we need to do is first to try to prevent a recurrence of that alarm which so paralyzed business last autumn, then to aid in the restoration of pub lic confidence, and lastly to perfect a banking system worthk of our time and country. I believe that the Aldrich currency bill will tend strongly in this direction and serve our initial and immediate purpose. I believe it will bring back in a large measure the confidence which hus been impaired, and help to set the great car of American business moving once more upon the pathway of triumphal progress which it has fallowed for more than a century. When Wealth Getting Becomes a Crime By John Jl. Johnson, Governor of Minnesota. ty*i*?m+Kf** ft/fat* ERSONALLY I would rather be able to write a book that would live a -hundred years than be able to amass wealth ..that would enable those who inherit it to live for genera tions, in -luxury, and yet the amassing of wealth may be of vast Industrial service to the country and to those who seek . honest work and wages. But WEALTH GETTING BECOMES A CRIME when the man obtains it by the sale of all his finer instincts, by the sacrnice cf his character, by the violation of the nation^ laws and by trespass upon the rights of others to the pursuit of liberty and happiness. It Ss this spirit and not the thing which determines the nobility of a career and the degree of success. THE HIGHEST VICTORIES MAY BE WHAT THE WORLD CALLS FAILURES. Woman ancf Hat. See the woman with the hat! Is the hat adorned with the feathers of liv ing birds? 'Yes, ihe hat is so adorned -with feathers torr from living birds. If the woman knew that the feathers have caused the birds almost as much pain as they are causing the other woman -whom she is kissing on the street, would she not be smitten with remorse? Quite- likely,, for she is naturally not hard-hearted.-P?ck. Goodness Noss! When the clerk informed the cus tomer that the handkerchiefs Were seven dollars and fifty cents each, the latter remarked, "No, sirree! That's too much mon ey to blow In ! "-Judge's Library. In the sandy deserts of Arabia whirling winds sometimes excavate pits 200 feet In depth and extending down to the harder stratum on which the great bed rests. FLEET LEAVES TOKIO After Splendid Reception By the Japanese People VESSELS HOMEWARD BOUND The Departure of the Big Ships the Prettiest Feature of the Week Tokio Eesumes Normal Condition After a Week of Delirium. Tokio, By Cable.-After a week's suspension of almost every kind of business, because' of the presence of the American fleet in Japanese waters and so that fitting welcome might be given to the American officers and sailors, Tokio is resuming its normal conditions. Already many of the de corations have been taken down, al though every one is yet discussing Die remarkable features of the past few Says. President Roosevelt's messages to the Emperor was presented to him through Count Komura, the foreign minister, and the Emperor probably will make a reply soon, but there is no reason to expect that the Em peror's message will contain other than a graceful acknowledgement and an expression of gratification at the President's wann words of apprecia tion. Nothing could possibly exceed in.the public mind in Japan the sig nificance of the Emperor's previous message. The departure of thc fleet Sunday morning was one of the prettiest fea tures of the week. The flgship Con necticut slipped her cables at exact ly 8 o'clock. She steamed past the Louisiana and saluted and was fol lowed by the remainder of the first squadron. When the-eight ships had passed, the Louisiana led the second line, and the entire fleet then formed in single column. As each of the American battle ships passed the head of the Japanese column the crews of the. ships of both nations cheered enthusiastically, nnd the band of both >fie American ships played the Japanese national hymn. When the last of the sixteen ships was saluting, the Connecticut; was in risible on the horizon. Within exact ly fifty minutes tho entire manouvre had been completed. Seven New Cases of Cholera. Manila, By Cable-Seven new cases of cholera were reported in this city for the day ending Sunday night. The slight increase in the spread of the disease is ascribed by the au thorities to the many gatherings of the people on Saturday night and Sunday and the feasts that . accom panied the assemblies. The situation is not considered to be grave and the health department feels as though it has the epidemic well under control, expressing no alarm over the in :?.?VM Tf ir. ?M^ltnVjl? * l. rt * il,rt ?MI. -ma: Orville Wright Improving Nicely. Washington, Sneciah - Orville Wright, the acroplanist who narrowly escaped death in the accident to his aeroplane during a flight at Fort Myer. Ya., five weeks ago, will soon bs able to leave for his home at Dayton. 0. His most serious injury was a broken thigh and the splint was removed from this Sunday. It was found upon measuring the left leg, the one injured, that it is but a .quarter of an inch shorter than the other. An X-ray examination of the fracture^ showed that the knitting of the broken hones has been perfect. Chapel Hill Man Elected President of Peat Producers' Society. Toledo, 0., Special.-The second annual convention of the American Peat Producers' Society has adjourn ed to meet in Boston next year. Joseph H. Pratt, Chapel Hill, N. C., was elected president. Robert Ran som, Jacksonville, Fla., was elected vice p-?sident for the Southern States. To Ha7e Lobbyist at Capital. Baltimore, Special.-William H. Anderson, superintendent of the Maryland anti-saloon league, has been chosen by the national head quarters committee to represent the national league at Washington as neting superintendent during the coming session of Congress. Supt. S. E. Nicholson, of Pennsylvania, who has been serving in that capacity, ow ing to the fact that the Pennsylvania legislature will be in session this winter, will be compelled to give his entire time to looking after legisla tion in that State. Effort at Suicide Successful. Spartanbur^, Special.-Will Bur nett, a well-knowu young white mar who shot himself in the head with a pistol last Sunday, died at his home as a result of the wound. Burnett was one of ten men who were ar rested a short time ago for taking part in the mob that sought to lynch John Irby, the nesro charged with attempting a criminal assault upon a young white woman. 1 Korean Insurrection Over. Tokio, By Cable.-The so-called in surrection in Korea is practically ended. The troops arc still o'.i active duty, but thc insurgents -have dwin dled to merely a disorderly element, ll is stated that Prince Ito, former resident general, a Steoul will prob ably return to Korea early in No vember. Two thirds of the Japanese troops in north China will he with drawn in a few days. OLDEST EDITOR DIES At the Ripe Age of Ninety-Four Years CoL Richard Benhurg Creecy a Distinguished Journalist Passes Away-His Influence as a Writer Was Great and He Was a Terror ;to the State's Enemies During Re construction Days. Elizabeth City, N. C., Special. Deepest gloom is cast over the city in the death Thursday morning at 9 o'clock of her oldest, most honored and most revered citizen, Col. Rich ard Benbury Creecy. Colonel Creecy, while always bright, had been gradu ally falling away for months and his death was not unexpected. He was entering into his 95 year and would have celebrated the occasion on the 19th of December. Colonel Creecy was one of the State's most learned and beloved : .ns and had the distinc tion of being the oldest living editor in the world. He was also the old est, living alumnus of the University of North Carolina. Colonel Creecy was horn at Green field Chowan county, and was reared in Edenton. He moved to Elizabeth City in 1843 and began the practice of law. The year following he mar ried Miss Perkins, daughter of one af the largest planters and slave own ers in this county. Colonel Creecy won reputation as ,a writer by cor respondence to different leading news papers and during reconstruction days need for a strong newspaper was, most apparent. Colonel Creecy, of this city; Edward Wood, of Edenton. and T. J. Janus, then of Tyrrell county, established The Weekly Economist and elected Colonel Creecy as editor-in-chief. The great power and influence wielded by the brilliant writer's pen is now a matter of history. No marj in the State did more for the South's cause and no man was. hated and feared more by the carpet-baggers and scalawags of that day than he. Colonel Creecy's wife died years ago but he is survived by five daugh ters: Miss Nannie and Henrietta; Mrs. E. F. Lamb, of Texas; Mrs. W. Bl Lawton, of New York, and Mrs. D. C. Winston, of Edenton ; and three sons: Joshua and E. P.. of St. Louis, the latter chief of police of that city, and R. B. Creecy, Jr., this city. FirehugB Busy in Norfolk. Norfolk, Special.-Incendiaries are still working in this city, three fires in the business district having been reported between midnight and G a m. The first, at the wholesale notion establishment of L S. Fine & Co., caused $5,000. The second, at the office of the United States Express Company, and the- third, at the City Hay and Grain Company's establish ment, were extinguished in their in cipiency. The chiefs bf the fire and oolice departments conferred with the Board of Control on the situation and heroic steps are tobe taken to apprehend the incendiaries. _ .CT,.I.M?V--gPWWHWMI Vi Troops are scouriner three counties for the murdeders. Fearing a possible raid'by the night riders, the State troops are maintaining two lines of sentinels following tbe posting of notices that if the Governor did not discontinue the hunt he himself would be kidnapped. I.ost His Life for a Hoop. Lynchburg. Special.- Hooprollin? cost Walter Davis, a 7-year-old col ored boy, his life in Amherst county Sunday. The hoop rolled into the river and the boy followed it, being unable to check himself. He has not been seen since. News Notes. President Roosevelt in a letteV to Senator Knox demands that Mr. Bryan state whether he is committed to Gompers' labor legislation pro gram, and points to the Pearre bill as a dangerous invasion of property rights. Explorer Evelyn Baldwin plans to float on an ice pack across the Polar sea from Alaska to Greenland. The Pacific fleet is expected , to reach Panama from its South Ameri can cruise the same day the Atlantic fleet reaches Hampton Roads-Feb ruary 22. Textile Workers to Hold Next Meet ing in Charlotte. Schenectady, N. Y.. Special.-The eighth annual convention of the Unit ed Textile Workers of America, which lias been in session in Cohoes, closed Friday. Charlotte, N. C., was select ed as thc place for holding the next convention. John Golden, Fall River, Mass.,, ivas elected president. Big Lumber Plant Burned. Pensacola, Fla., Special.-News reached here of the destruction by fire Thursday of the lumber milling plant of the? Salye-Davis Company, at ' Southport. The fire, of unknown origin, was fanned by a high wind and destroyed the entire plant, en tailing a loss of $100,000. By Wire and Cable. President Roosevelt has signed a contract to become associate editor of the Outlook on his return from his African trip. Philadelphia doctor to prove his contention that vaccination does not prevent smallpox challenges an advo cate of its efficacy to sleep with him with a smallpox patient between ?hem, thc challenger never hading been vaccinated, while thc challenger has been. j..;..t..?..?..r..?..?..?..?..?..i..?. ?, mi -H-* ? OUR. SCHOOLS } t - * BT PT.OF. WILLIAM H. HAXD. University of South Carolina. "r ? Paper Number Seven. ?j? The Course of,Study- There is a small but turbulent class of other wise writers who periodically belabor the public schools. In their night mares they see thousands of tender children murdered or maimed in the public schools, and give vociferous ut terance to so much wild nonsense that they have but ono effect-making people refuse to heed them even when they point out some real defect. Some of these writers have warned us against one great evil which we have gone on ignoring-that of an over crowded course of study. To be brief, some years ago our educators realized the poverty of our common school course of study, confined almost ex clusively to the three R's. A just demand was made'for an enriched course, giving | .wider range of sub jects to the pupils. A number of sub jects has been added. Now. in order to encourage individual initiative. I take it, the State Board of Education lins never prescribed a maximum or a minimum number of subjects for any course. Instead it has adopted text books covering a rather wide range of subjects, and grouped these into yearly grades, leaving each school to make up a course or courses from this list. The building of a well-balanced course of study is the Avork of an- ex pert. Comparatively few teachers lay claim to that stage of fitness. Yet each teacher, or at least each princi pal, experienced or inexperienced, sets about to make his own course. Theories, prejudices and tastes begins to clash for the mastery. One teach er is an arithmetic crank, and his course has but little else in it; an other's favorite subject is grammar, and he makes his pupils analyze ami parse everything in sight ; ; another has no taste for geography, and he practipflliy omits it; another "dois on" poetry, and the whole school is put to memorizing and reciting gems; while a jnl of thorough-aoing teach ers who take evervthing literally, put the whole adopted lisi-into one course, and give it to every pupil in the school. A gr^at deal of ignorant and un just criticism is made against the frequent and useless change of text books. Tt would be neither wise, nor defensible to have a' child use the same reader through two or three grades, or to use the same geography through the 4th. 5th and 6th grade for instance. If the book is suited to his advancement when he begins it, it is reasonable to say that it is not suitable two or three years later in his life. And if a teacher were to keep the child of one o fthese watch ful guardians of the schools in a fourth rpadcr, for instance, for three vears. tin's samo . '1 erarle school in one of our towns, ^n that course are prescribed fifty-five separate texts, exclusive of cony hooks, drawing books, scratch pads, etc. In the school are ten teachers. Tn another ten-grade' school, with four teachers, there are sixty-four texts prescribed. In the first men tioned school there are ten separate texts required in the seventh grade; in the second mentioned school elev en texts are eiven in the-eighth gra ie. Everv child ought to have the host obtainable book in every subject he pursues, and he ought to have all the hooks he needs-books suited to his age and advancement, hut I protest that: the above mentioned courses are out of reason. To undertake to teach all these books to any one child in the allotted time would make old Soc rates catch his breath. In the first case it would seem that the com se given was measured by thc physical endurance of the teachers-ten teach ers pitted against ten sets of children. Tn the second case the physical en durance of the teachers was no limit ?-four teachers pitted against ten sets of children. I am far from advocating , the three R's in the common schools, but our schools are undertaking too much, in the quantity of work and the kind of work. School work must be cir cumscribed by time, space, and the ability of the pupil. Take the eighth grade course already mentioned. Of the eleven texts prescribed, nine are to he pursued at the same time. It is no figure of speech to say that if a child's time is the dividend of a long division, the quotient, or result, must bc small. For instance, in the first two years of a child's school life thc schools very properlv devote much time and energy to oral reading. But by the time he reaches the fifth grade so many things are crowded upon him that he does but little oral reading while under insruction-a few min utes each dav, perhaps. Hence when he reaches the high school his oral reading is scarcely intelligible, and he is often unable to get through from the printed page. Indeed, many a college student and not a few teach ers in our common schools cannot rend as they should read on entering the high school. These crowded courses of study have another fatal Aveakness. In the same school and in the same classes is a wide range of ability, taste and opportunity, among the pupils. The bright and precocious mind, the slug gish but retentive mind, and the dull mind are found side by side. The pupil of robust body and vigorous health, the one of feeble body and delicate health, and the one with am ple time for every task and the one with scant time for anv task all go to thc same school. The unpardon able sin ol' thc schools is to bunch ?hem together, give them the same work, and require all to measure up fo a common standard. God made . lum in different melds, and it is use Savings D Pays 4 % interest on all ac< compounded every six moi Capital and Surpl GO TO HAELING Before insuring elsewhere Old Line Companies. HA??flG At The Farmers ] THE ?.H:C You want an engine that runs like a top, smoothly and uninterrupt edly. If an engine balks or stops and you have to fool away year time to find out th? cause, yon don't want that engine because it means a waste of time and energy. -:- -:- -:- - E. J* ? The business of our o?VoP??wn frienda receives tbe same careful attention a? tb?* of our local depositors. The ascouots ot careful conservative people solicited. less for the schools to try to ignore the differences. It is unnatural and it is wrong. To march abreast twenty five children in one grade up to a given dead line is neither possible nor desirable. Children with diverse abilities, tastes, and>' opportunities should not be required to progress with even step through such diverse subjects as mathematics, language, history, and drawing. If a boy can do the language work of the sixth grade, but is prepared for onlv the 4th in mathematics, put him just where he is fitted to go. "Oh, he would not fit into my program," says some one. Then make the program fit the boy. Thc possibility of doing this i one of the great advantages that the small country school has over the closely graded school. There is another thing whicri needs to be dinned into the ears of our people-both teacher^ and partons that it is folly for a school with nine grades and two teachers to undertake to do what a school with nine grades and six teachers accomplishes. The two-teacher school may be the better school within its limitations, hut it must keep within these limitations. A one-horse farmer who would claim to be able to grow as many crops and as large crops as a four-horse far mer would grow, would be laughted -t. Little David could not fight in big Saul's heavy and cumbersome ar-1 mor, but with a sling and a pebble h? did effective work. Atlaniic Coast Lice Surgeons Meet. Jacksonville, Fla., Special.-The fourth annual meeting of the Associa tion of Surgeons of the Atlantic Coast Liue Railroad Company was held in Jacksonville Tuesday, about sixty members being in attendance. Some interestine; papers were read, and at 3:30 o'clock thc physicians accompanied by their v -ves and dar.ffhters left on thc steamer City of Jacksonville for Sanford at which place the convention adjourned Wed nesday morning. A meeting will be held on the boat nt which the ne^ officers will be elected. ?Ml I I I M' I1 HW 11 I'M 1 The Planter's Loan and Savings Bank Augusta, Ga. Pays Interest on Deposits, J* Accounts Solicited. L.C. HAYNF, CHAS. C. HOWARD, PREa?DENf. CA.S1?IEU. RESOURCES OVER $1,000,000. I-I-I-I -I I ?!? I-I--I ?! GA. department :ounts in this department, nths, January and July. as $550,000.00. i SEE & BYED We^represent the Bes* &BYRD> Bank of Edgefleld . E USIN? i. H. a engines are so prac tical and so simple that when you sta rt them they ran until yon stop them whither yon are . watthing or not Never out of ripair;fioii't waste fuel. Cd) OD us nd we will gladly exptua {tye food points of the . L H. CAqfaU. <- -:- -:- -:- -. lorri? 9 Full supply"of Fancy and Staple Groceries always on hand. iLet me supply your table. IIce cold soft drinks al ways on hand. Full supply of Bagging ard Ties on hard for the| farmers. Your patronage solicited^ J. ?. OTJZTS. J JAS. S. BYRD, SURGEON DENTIST, EDGEFIELD, S. C. Office over Post-Office. James A. Bobey, DENTAL SURGEON, Johnston, S. C Office over News-Monitor Office. Tl M MO]tS & CORLEY, SURGEON DENTISTS, Appointments at Trenton on Wednesdays. Crown and Bridge Work a Special ty. WaBter C. Miller, Dental Surgeon, . 731 Green St., Augusta, Ga. Thone 87. OVERHEARD IN TH t? BLEACHERS. "Thc buckwheat cakes at my board inghouse always remind me of a base ball game." "How so?" "The batter doesn't always make^ a hit."-Puck.