University of South Carolina Libraries
I MeCORMICK MESSENGER MgCOKMH K. SOUTH CAltuiJ v Thursday, March 4, 1937 VcCOKMlCK MESSENGER j Published Every Thursday Established June 5, 1902 EDMOND J. McCRACKEN, Editor and Owner Entered at the Post Office at Mc Cormick, S. C., as mail matter of the second class. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One Year $1.00 81x Months .75 Three Months .50 Advises Germination Test For Cotton Seed The Citizens Library Movement (By M. A. WRIGHT, Attorney, And Chairman of the State Library Board Of South Carolina.) According to records in the County Agent’s office, the average germination of cotton seed from McCormick County is between 50 and 60 per cent. We urge every farmer who plans to plant this year’s crop from seed grown on his farm last year to have a ger mination test made. The County Agent will gladly assist in sending these seed samples to the proper authorities for this test. Seed re quired will be only a few handfulls taken from several parts of the pile of seed. There will be no charge to the farmer for this test. R. D. Suber, County Agent. McCormick. S. C. FINAL SETTLEMENT STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, County of McCormick. In the Court of Probate. Notice is hereby given that W. H. Gable and Mae Belle Gable, Executor and Executrix, of the es tate of Joseph Monroe Gable, de ceased, have this day made appli cation unto me for a final account ing and discharge as Executor and Executrix of the estate of Joseph Monroe Gable and the 9th day of March, 1937, at 10 o’clock has been fixed for the hearing of said pe tition. All persons holding claims against said estate are hereby noti fied to present same on or by above date. J. FRANK MATTISON, Judge of Probate, McCormick County, S. C. February 8th, 1937. •It. FINAL SETTLEMENT % STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, County of McCormick. . ' In the Court of Probate. Notice is hereby given that W. D. Morrah, Executor of the Estate of Miss Mary Morrah and Miss Ellen Morrah, deceased, has this day made application unto me for a final accounting and discharge as Executor of the Estate of Miss Mary Morrah and Miss Ellen Mor rah and the 11th day of March. 1937, at 10 o’clock has been fixed for the hearing of said petition. All persons holding claims against the Estate of said persons are hereby notified to present same on or by above date. J. FRANK MATTISON, Judge of Probate, McCormick County, S. C. February 9th, 1937. 4t. Libraries exist for the use and benefit of the average man. He pays the freight, and, in the last analysis, he controls their destinies. Libraries may tend to recreate the average man, but, first of all, he creates or destroys them as his pleasure may dictate. There can be ro permanent establishment and support of public libraries except as they spring from public demand and have behind them public sanc tion. It is not merely the necessity but the peculiar obligation of leader ship to inform the rank and fils It is necessary to the success o the movement^ which the leader advocates. The obligation arises from the duty which rests upon everyone to share with others such truth as he may have, particular ly when such others will be asked to bear the the burden of support for the cause which the leader rep resents. From such principles the Citizen Library Movement has had its genesis in various states. Those re sponsible for such a movement have realized, in the language of Woodrow Wilson, that freedom is never handed down as a gift from above, but is achieved from below and that intellectual emancipation will come only when it is earnest ly sought and desired by those willing to make sacrifices for it Only when the people come to realize that public libraries are the proper and legitimate objects of public interest and support will libraries be generally established and adequately maintained. Now, what factual material is there for use in presenting the truth to the public? The people may be told that in Arkansas and Mississippi, for -ex ample, there are 20 volumes in the public libraries for each thousand inhabitants, whereas in New Hampshire there are 3,570 volumes per thousand inhabitants, and that the average for the country is 820 volumes. The people may be told that in Mississippi the annual circulation of volumes from public libraries is 260 per thousand inhabitants and 290 for Arkansas, whereas the average circulation per thousand nhabitants for New Hampshire is 7,210 and the average for the coun try is 3,670. The people may be told that Arkansas and Mississippi annually spend two cents per capita fo. maintenance of public libraries, whereas Massachusetts spends $1.08 and the average American state, 37 cents. The people may further be in formed of those facts and figures which reflect the prosperity, com fort, and well-being of the average citizen of all of the American states, from the consideration of which there emerges the profound con viction that access to books and he habit of general reading tend irresistibly toward the elevation of a people in the scale' and standards jf their living. That fact is capable cf statistical demonstration. I mention now a matter which may not be caoable of st^t’^eol ■’emonstration but it is, I believe, a fdet and a fact which may be tcld—if one is reasonably discreet in the telling. That is, the nature of the political institutions under which we live, the system of gov ernment which controls our lives, and the stature and caliber of those who occupy responsible posi- “Jim sayj hit new **60** Ford Y-8 truck it a real miser when H comet to gat and oil. t 1 i New 112-inch Ford V-8 slake truck. A great type for farm hauling. 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Bracknell tions under the government de pend, in large part, upon the de gree to which the public has access to sources of general information. Ignorance A Breeding Ground For Demagogy I shall not call the names of any states or mention the names of any politicians—though the temp tation is strong to do so—but, as a southerne*. I will admit that the mountebanks and buffoons of politics have flourished more ex tensively and have attained a ranker perfection of technique in the south than in any other por tion of the United States. Men have been sent to Congress and have been exalted to the governor’s chair in many southern states who brought not merely amuse ment to the rest of the country but a sense of shame to the in telligent minority of their con stituents. Ignorance is the fertile breeding ground for demagogy. One enters upon a controversial field when he attempts to say what is cause and what effect. But T do point out that, by and large, and with happy exceptions here and there, library facilities are far more inadequate in the south than in any other section of the country and that those who do not read are the same people who exalt demagogues into high station. The reasons why this is true are obvious. One cannot pass an in telligent judgment on any proposed change in the government under which he lives without knowing the history of that government and with what success the proposed change has operated elsewhere. Reading is essential for that knowl edge. And, merely in a choice be tween men who present themselves for his suffrage, an historical background is requisite. One who has read widely and deeply is in far better position by reason of I that fact to puncture the preten sions of the demagogue. When a candidate, for instance, blows upon the emb&*s of an ancient prejudice, the well-read man does not throw his hat into the air, but smiles contemptuously and remarks to himself that the device ... is shab by and threadbare with age. One who is familiar with the dema gogues of Greece and Rome may not be expected to be swept off his feet by the comparatively in artistic performance of our local talent. The people may be told, with such force as we may command, that one of the chief responsibilites of the state is to enforce its laws and to administer justice as be tween citizens. The pivotal factor in the administration of justice is the jury. It will hardly be disputed that the decision of every juror is great ly influenced by his background. That is, he proceeds to the decis ion of the issue in the light of his own experience, observations, and fund of general information. The more narrow and restricted his intellectual horizon, the easier it is for him to be led to a conclu sion by the power of subtle sug gestions and by appeals to his deeper emotions. A very sinister phrase has be come imbedded in the language of the average man. The phrase is -== f Pound Coke Made on a famous pound, ior-pound recipe, of the finest ingredients, baked skillfully to retain all its delicious flaTor. this marTelous Pound Cake will win your approval, too! Because there are so very many ways to serve this deli cious cake, Claussen's calls it "the cake of a thousand uses.” Order it today! n nowins DEUCIOUI VARIETIES 25*25* PLAIN OR I C £ 0 -J AT YOWA « A 0 C i ft't ClauSSenS GENUINE POUND CAKE I “a good jury lawyer”. What is con noted by the phrase is that one may be so versed, not in the prin ciples of the law, but in human nature; so skilled in arousing emo tions, in touching deep prejudices; | so adroit in the use of the power i of suggestion, that the jury is led j away from the disagreeable facts of the case into writing a favor able, but improper, verdict. The average man’s use of the phrase is an indication of his recognition of the fact that the twelve men who sit upon a jury, however dis interested their motives, in a tragic | number of instances do not bring to the performance of their duties i the proper background of training and reading to guarantee that their verdict shall sneak the truth. i Is this remote from the matter of libraries? I think net. Books are a substantial part of the material on which minds may be fed. It is : easier to produce figs from thistles than to produce rational and in telligent opinions from minds which have been deprived of such . nourishment as books afford. , In referring to voting and jury | service I have mentioned two of the most elementary and primary duties of the citizen. I have as- j sumed, as I must assume, that deep : down in the heart of the average man there lies a desire to be a - — —i ■ --i: _ .— — good citizen, I believe that to this Carolina dates from that cam- desire an intelligent appeal for paign. Other states have fallen in libraries may be addressed. And I to line. I may, with some pride, believe that when it is made plain say that my own state of South to the average man that the pub- Carolina some two years ago at a lie library within his reach will meeting at Clemson College, call- appreciably increase his capacity ed by President Sikes, began a to discharge these primary duties, similar movement and that here he will respond to that appeal. ; and there throughout the state There is ground for the faith within a P eriod of two y ears Kbrar- that the people will respond to * es ^ ave sprung into being as a an appeal for public libraries when resu ^ °* influences set in mo- that appeal is intelligently pre- ^ on at that mee ting. sented. In the year 1927 the State The underlying philosophy of of North Carolina took the lead the Citizens Library Movement is in the organization of a Citizens the underlying philosophy of every Library Movement. Hundreds of civ i c movement in a democracy, patriotic men and women gave ^ i* permanent growth and freely of their time and means in improvement must grow out of an order to present to the citizens of informed public opinion, and that, North Carolina their obligation to the dut y is upon those assuming j place books within the reach of leadership to create such informed ers in the library cause—the plac- every man, woman, and child of public opinion. Where this course ing of books and ever more books that state. The response was elec- j is followed, a proper basis is laid in the hands of every man, woman* trie. The library progress of North' for achieving the goal of all work- and child who wishes to read. AND RAISINS 1 CITRON MID RAISINS BAKEU LIKE YOU BAKE Insurance Fire Insurance And All Other Kinds of Insurance Ex- HUGH C. BROWN, McCORMICK, S. C. checks COLDS - ’i ■ , ' *t and FEVER - Liquid, Tablets A ^ Salve, Nose Drops first day Headache, 30 minutes. 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