Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_. LANGSTON IN WASHINGTON Au, Anderson Eidtor Almost Com pletely Recovered from an At tack of Illness. News and Courier. Washington, December 14.-Editor rles C. Langston, of the Ander 4elligencer, is in Washington - w days homeward bound, af ecessful quest of health and ec Ration with friends and rela v at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. an to aes secretary of the South arol 0. Press Association, a posi on i h he has creditably and aithfull., filled for fourteen years, known hroughout the Palmetto tate. It w,iIl be a source of gratifi tion to hi s many friends and well ishers to leTrn that lie has complete y recovered *0.i an attack of illness n which no s prostration was threatened. He i anxious to get back home and resumo 's editorial and other dnties, but his physician pre scribes a restful period of several months and open' air qxerciscs and ex posure to complete the treatment which has been given him so satisfac torily and successfully since lie left South Carolina some time hgo. Whilo at the Capital, Mr. Langston called upon the members of the South Car olina delegation in Congress and .was the recipient of hearty and sincere congratulations upon the beneficial effects of his recreation and recuper ation among the mountainous recesses of the Keystone State. W. S. L. SUPERINTENDENT MARTIN ON COMPULSORY EDUCATION. State Superintendent of Education 0. B. Martin has- completed the third of his articles which are to go in his annual report to the general as sembly. -This chapter deals with com pulsory education and the proposed law on that subject by South Caro lina. While no direct stand is taken against the general good effects of the law, Mr. Martin argues that there should be better conditions than now exist. He quotes a report from West Virginia, where the law is well en forced, which is of general interest. The article is as follows: Compulsory attendance laws have accomplished much desired results in many states. The success of such laws depends largely upon facilities for enforcement. An iiieffective, in adequate, helpless law tends to bring all law into disrepute. The provisions for the enforcement of the child labor law in this state are meager and im potent. Our school system is not strong enough to endure the ridicule and opprobrium that would come from the non-enforcement or the ineffi cieney of a complusory attendance act. There is some logic in the argu ment that we should ''go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Such an argument, how ever, presupposes a great preparationi -''a great supper.'' If the state of South Carolina has a good sum of money at this time which she can de vote to thme education of her childrenm she should certainly place such an ap)propriation where it will do thme most good. Will that be in paying for the enforcement of a compulsory at tendance law? In some of our coun ties the average salary of teachers (white) is* but a little more than $100. Thme buildings anmd equipment inl a majority of sneh cases irre in keep ing with the salaries paid the teach er's. The average salary of teach. ers of negro schools in some coun ties is higher than the average salary of the wvhite teachers in others. I mention this to shoiv the extreme need of thousands of our children of the ohpportunities of an education. It >vould be folly to take any of the funds from.a school which gets only $100 a year and use such hpart to eni force compulsory education. Of course there are wealthy coun ties and wealthy di.stricts where a comul 1sory attendance law might be enfrorced successfully. I do not be lieve, howvever,, that a great state should so manipulate its lawv of its finances as to have poverty and ig .norance to tax and educate themsel ves if so, what advantagethi it them to be citizens of such state? To thiem it is not a conmmonwecalth. The experiences of other states clearly establish some points in this connection. First. A compulsory attendance law~ is neither automatic nor self-onfore * 1g. Second. Such a law has never been successfully enforced by teachers 01 m lagistrates. Third. It takes funds to proviat faciliti.es and agencies for the en forcement of such laws. Fourth. It requires-a well appoint ed system of trnaney officers to dc this work, Compnisory attendance laws pre vail in all of thet ates as far south as ~:)aryand ~l~n cy Maeor cial act which applies to that county alone. IXentucky at first passed a law and provided practically no means of enforcement. She found it unsat isfactory and then amended it so as to allow boards of education in cities to provide truant officers. Since then they have had some success. Indiana has a typical compulsory education law. I shall here give the briefest digest of its provisions: Chil dren between the ages of 7 and 14, must attend school. The county board of education appoints one truant of ficer for each county. When a child is habitually. tardy or absent, this officer gives written notice to parent or guardian. If this notice is disre garded, he brings complaint in any court of record. If parent is guilty he is fined not less than $5 nor more than $25 or imprisoned in the discre tion of court. A city board of educa tion may etuploy more officers in pro portion to population. Truant offi cers and teachers furnish enrollment lists to tle truant officers. Trustees furnish books and clothing to poor children. Confirmed truants are sent to reforniatory school at the expense of home districts. A tax of one mill is levied to pay expenses of executing 'this law. An annual census is taken of all children of school age, and niames of those of compulsory age are furnished-to the truancy officers. The state superintendent of Indiana estimates that the efforts of truancy officers brought 23,267 children with in thte school in one term at, a total expense of $39,424.29-$19,209.91 for the salaries of officers and $20,215.02 for clothing and books for poor clil dren. Dr. Waitman Barber of the Uni versity of West Virginia gives the following testimony in regard to the operations and defects of the law in that state: ''In two-thirds of the counties truant officers lia%e been ap pointed in one magisterial district or more in dach county. (A magisterial district includes from 10 to 35 schools.) In the vast majority of cases where truant officers were ap pointed the results have been very satisfactory. An increase in attend anee from 12 1-2 to 25 per cent. is generally reported. One magisterial district had a gain of 50 per cent. in one year. In some districts truant officers failed to do anything and in some districts the justices of the peace accepted trivial excuses and failed to enforce the law. In a few counties the law as it now stands undoubtedly a failure, but as a whole where tru ant officers were appointed with care and an honest effort made to enforce the law the results have been admir able. In some places it is difficult to get suitable men to serve as truant of ficers.'' There is no question but that hun dreds of children who are now out of school should be in school. Truancy must increase illiteracy and in many cases it leads to vagrancy. Idleness and vagrancy are the parents of nU merous crimes. The time will come in this and other Southern states when it will be necessary to enact laws similar to those in Indiana and other states. Wheni the subject comes up for consideration let us hope that real effective legislation will rsult, and not weak, impotent acts wvhichi merely bring the school system-into ridicule. Just now I do not believe South Car-olina is prepared for such a law as has been outlined. We have a great deal to do before such a law will be timely and app)ropriate. We arec making some headwvay in provid ing better salaries and beter teach er-s, better buildings and equipment, and, with it all, a better supporting sen timent. Befre- such law can be enforced there must be some equalization of funds is one of the most difficult of all problems in connection with a state system of schools. In our state the inequalities arec appalling. A child in one county gets $10 spent on his education while another child gets less than halfC of that amount in the adjoining county. In one county thc negro schools r-un 20 weeks. In an adjoining c-ounity the white schools run 21 weeks. Our main source of revenue, the three mill tax, is a coun t.y tax. Tihe poll and dog tax must be spent in thle (listricts where co lected. Of courise anly (district may vote a special tax of not. morec than four- mills, hut ini a poor disticjt this (loes not. solre thle diff'icul ty. A fomi mill tax in some dlistr-icts raises less than $50. The dispensary funds hiave b)en distributed as a state school fund, but ihis source of revenue has de cireased and the weaker schools wil soon1 feel thle effects of such decrease, because this money has been distri buted to all of the schools in the stat( on the basis of enr-ollment. TIhe inequmal y of apportionment op crates somewhat in this maner: A wealthy and a poor county ar-c situa te3d side by side. It so happens that railroads converge, and manufactur -ing and commercial enterprises con re-gate in tihe richer county and giv( it taxable property to assess. Only a Low miles of railroad ran througi the poorer county, but the people in that county ride on the trains and pay frieghts on their merchandise. They liave few factories, but they furnish material to and use the manu factured products of the factories in the adjoining county. There are few commercial institutions in the poorer county, but the people buy their goods from the wholesale and retail stores in the richer county. When it comes to taxation for schools every dollar levied in the strong county is kept there, but the weaker county must content itself with taxing its own property while contributing to the richer county. The people of a wealthy community should not be willing to receive alto gether and give nothing. Such a community constitutes a misanthropie and unproductive dead sea. I fear we have some such communities in our state. We are sure to be im pressed with this fact if we study the selfishness which is displayed in our local legislation for schools. We can never perfect our school system in any important particulars until we recognize and remedy the inequalities which now exist. An annual appro priation of $200,000 is badly needed to equalize the- apportionments of the various-counties. Such an appropria tion could be applied first, t< the weaker counties, until the apportion ment on enrollment shall reach a cer tain amount-say $6 per child. When this is done we can begin to think and plan for a compulsory education law, as well as a great mnany other laws which have been enacted in states with state school systeis and not inconsistent local hotch-potehl leg islation.' Love's young dream is apt to de velop into a matrimonial nightmare. Ludicrous Legal Lore. The early history of the Jurispr dence of Michigan, if faithfully chronicled, would furnish forth an entertainment abounding with the soul and point of hulmor. Mally of these little legends yet float around the scenes Which have given birth to them and serve sonetines to give best to a bar dinner or to enliven a bar meeting. Among them is the following: Judge B., a plain and worthy mant, but no lawyer, was once county judge of Oakland under the old system. A case came on for trial before him on one occasion in which the action wan founded in tort, and the plea of the defendant, which was special, wa.s suhel as to give him the affirmative of the issue, upon the strength of which he claimed the right to open and closb the case. This point was denied by the counsel for the plaintiff, "who never in the whole course of his prac tice had heard of such an enormity as the defendant's presuming to open the case." Authorities were brought and cited, however, and- the judge, after mature conisidera tion, determin ed that such wvas the defendant's righlt and so pronounced his decision. After a shlort pause, during which the plainltiff wvas grumbling his dis satisfaction, tile court toldl thle de fendant's lawyer to go on. ''Your hoor' said he, risinig, '1 am nlot quite ready to open tile case. When I get ready I will let the othlel side knowv I'' This opened, if not tile case, at least tile eyes anld mfoulth ot tile other side, who sprang to iis feet and bellowed forth denunciation up onl tile stuplidity of tihe judge, wh'l0o absurd decision hlad p)laced him i such a dilemma. ''You see, your hon1 or, what you hlave done. You have ae tulally placed tile case in the hlands of tihe defendant. Hie took possession of our oxenl, and whlen- we brought an action to recover them lhe took posses sion of thlat also.'' ''I .can't hlelp it, sir,'' said tile learned judge, with great sternnless. ''The decision la mlade, and( it is too late to alter it. N ewber Capital stock paid in. Surplus . . . Deposits .g We do business on bi We extend every cc with safe and sound be Four per cent. paid Department. F Burglar P JAS. McINTOSH, President. The law must take its course. You must withdraw your action and sue again.'' ''If lie (oes, -your hionor,' said the defendant's counsel. '''I shall plead the pendency of this action In bar and beat him.'' ''Then, Mr. ," said the judge, "I see no other way for you but to sit down quietly and wait till the defendant gets ready to try this case." The plaintiff took the judge's advice, but the ''time ap pointed" has never elapsed, and he is waiting yet.-Philadelphia North American. HAS. B. HANFORD. Delights a Good-Sized Audience With Production of Julius Oamsar. There has been no presentation of a Shakespearean play in Roanoke that has surpassed that of Julius Caesar, as given by Mr. Charles B. Hanford and a very capable company at the Academy of Music last night. In the production of such a play it requires the very highest type of his trionie artists, and stage settings that are elaborate and in keeping with the character of the play. The production given by Mr. Han ford was fully up to every require ment in every particular, and there has never been brought South a more elaborate prodiietion except possibly that which was given by Mr. Mans field and his stupendous company a few years ago. Mr. Ianford was seen in the role of A)ithony, and well did lie sustain the part. In the forum scene, when he eiitered with the dead body of Caesar, there was a realism that is rarely equalled on the mimic stage, and when the curtains fell on the final scene, he was forced to respond to numerous encores. Mr. Kline, as Briutus, and Mr. Hen ing, as Cassius, shared honors with Mr. Hanford, and their parts were taken as-they can be acted only by artists of highest type. Both these gentlemen have been with liaiford for several years, and between the three there is a sympathy that rend ers tlieir acting rarely entertaining. The production of Julius Caesar, is given by Mr. Hanford and his com pany last night, was a dramatic treat of the highest order, and while the weather prevented many from attend ing, it is gratifying to note that there was a good-sized audience present, who appreciated the refined and ele vating performance to the very ut most.-The Roanoke Times. ryMS,C ~, 1,. T2 5,0 0.0 4sies prn ils inidrain\c nitn inking. >n. depoits.inSaving C J.lLE E. INORW00), SAVIGSCAshKDP GO TO REA Christmas Goods of R Reliable D Pelharr We are giving discounts and( that cannot be e qualed in Souti tirely New, Fresh and Stylish, W. E. Pelham, Sr., recently in OUTGLASS in all Shapes and Designs JAPANESE OHINAWARE STYLISH LAMPS LEATHER PURSES AND BAGS DRESSING and MANIOURE OASES We guarantee to show the pr and will sell them for less than WM. E. PELI Reliable Ph NEWBER THE EXCH Of NewbE CAPITAL - You are cordially invi bank. Every facility of your service. Promptness, CourteE tion to the wants of out the established policy c We pay 4 per cent i partment, compounde account is earnestly so J. D. DAVENF E. R. HIPP, V M..L. SPEARI 49Pe Interet Pai in S The Coea Bafr Jno. M. Kinard, Pres. 0. B. Maye ~Prescriptioi *Which we use are without'i We believe in PURITY. We constantly preach PL We always practice PUF cinies. * PURITY counts, and cot * Ask your doctor. *MAYES' DR SOUTHERN Through Pullma on All Thro Convenient Sc Local' Tickets are now on Sal For Full Information as consult Nearest Souther Geo. B Allen~ Asst. Gen, Pass. Agent, Atlanta, GO. eliable Quality at the rug Store i& Son >fferlng bargains to cash buyers i Carolina. Our Stock Is en having been bought by our Dr. New York City in Person. HANDSOME CARVING SETS BEAUTIFUL PICTURES COLLAR AND oUFF BOXES HUYLER'S FINE CANDY Sale and Exolusive Agency. Attiest line of Holiday Goods mnybody. JAM I SON, armacists, RY, S. C. NGE BANK rry, S. C. - $50,QQ ted to make this your modern banking is at 'y and Careful Atten customers, has been f this bank. nterest in Savings de d twice a year. Your licited. 1ORT, Prest. ice Prest. VIAN, Cashier.. Capital $50,000.00. Surplus $40,000.00 DEAR ME! DID YOU EVER I Here's my page on the ledger at my bank and I've a lot more to my credit than I ever dreamed of. Yes, Mr. Saint Nicholas, that's true. You see banking at A POPULAR BANI like The Commercial Bank, of New berry, S. C., means prosperity to those whose accounts we handle. That's the rule, and not the exception. We'd like to interv'iew you andl have you open an account this Christmas time. kof Newberry, S. C. Cent. vings Department. Your Saving. e, Vice-Pres. J. Y. McFall, Cash ier 1 Materials : exception the purest grade. JRITY.0 ITY when preparing medi-* nts for much, in medicines. * S UJG STORE.+ Sleeping Cars ugh Trains. ledu1es on All Trains. 3 to all Winter Resorts, to Rates, Routes, Etc., ra Railway Ticket Agent R. W. Hunt Division Pass. Agent. Charleston. S. C.