University of South Carolina Libraries
|?l School Book Bondage. Mr. Chane Addressed the Sons of Veterans. ? Demand Made for the South to Re cord the History Which She Has Made-A Subject Which Should Appeal to Every South Carolinian. Frcm^Fbe Uews and Conner, M*rch 8. The special meeting of CampMool {trie, United Confederate Veterans, which ?ss lic?d at Sooth Car o lie a Hall last oigbt, to consider the matter of Boothera books for Southern schools, was as well attended as might have been -expected on a rainy night Command sort St. John Kinloch called the meet Jog to order, and the Boo. A. T Sosytbe, as an invited guest of thc ??np, introduced Mr. Chase, the repre s-eotative of the publishing boase of P. Jobos?o & Co , of Richmond, ^?ywbicb is organising the Southern School B&ok Publishing House to sap ?ply thc wiint, so generally recognised, for sueh books. Mr Chase said : COUNTY IN SCHOOL BOOK BONDAGE For nearly a half century the Sooth bees practically without books of aelex^a. Some of our men, Mr st cf Georgia, and Mr. Derry. gia7 have attempted to write y,' SMU; tn one case the conditions of tbe timed pr?tent ed a wide circula? tion of the book, ia the other the pub H?her? allowed the book tcUait The necessary to make any attempt, er wcrihy the writer's production be, a ?oceees from tbe standpoint escalation ?at never forthcoming aa a resait all effort on the part of the Swather c writers ceased. .%Tfee, Northern publishers., detecting profit and poison at the first inception of the scheme, printed and distributed the Unios? including the so-tialled histories written by there atsthors. The disposition on part of these anthers and publishers injure the South bears no stronger of their parp?se than is shown tbs opposition to these books all over rn country. Tjbere is no *y ol roy dwelling opon the too well koo ara fast that not a trae Sooth* % traer endorses a single one of these eo g^eatfed histories. The soho si rooms have been flooded |Jwitk ?och ^histories" as Barnes, Eggle l^too, Fisk?, Montgomery, Swinton, |?fhoacas, White, Von Holdt, Godard. ^iAaderson, Ellis, MacCown, Morts, V Sheldon, Dodge, Channing, Higgir %%m. Mowry, Johnston, Sheldon,. Shaw, -jets, etc. ?, All? witfcoat exception, trestiog the Sooth as a special theme of vindictive ' comment orelee ignoring her or else basely misrepresenting her. The false ? hoods, liet!, printed in these books would shock a less sensitive people than those who bave thrust them apon the ? sebe?is. They tell of all thetis pain? fully false, ommittiog that which is : trae and jost. They speak; or some of them do, of "oar people," meaning 'he Nor ibero people, and of the South as . the % >4eaeory,?? **8outh?rners,*' etc. They . tell of New England's deeds, of . the Boston "tea party," bat omit, with characteristic prominence, the. action of the mee in Wilmington, N. C , and their mash braver ansi bolder acts in destroying: the hated tea. They fail te : ; tell of the Carolinians, Georgians and Virginians in the war of 412, wheo New England, after precipitating war, shirked the brunt. They fail to tell of Virgina's giving the great Northwest : as a.princely donation to the Union's territory. They stint into distressing meagreness ail the grand achievements of Soothe rn colonies sod the form they gave io the civilisation aod government of this country. They also, strange to relate, fail to record mach of the relig? ions peculiarity and witehery of New England. Io the Bevolotiooary period they treat with the same de degree of nu fairness the part the Sooth took, bot enlarge the glory of other portions of the colonies The political period, from the tims of Washington, reaching down into the war storm centres of the fifties; they fill with every possible uofairness and misrepresentation of the Sooth. Theo comes the war for Southern iodepen deace, which they treat with a scheme of falsehood disgastingly wretohed. Post bellum history is written by them as a declaration of partisan government, and the Sooth has figured io no degree worthy of their pens io this period* She is left oot. I repeat it, the Sooth is witboat a his tory". Falsehood, misrepresentation and omission do Dot make history. This country has never produced a history. Until recently no special attempt was made in the Sooth In? dividual books upon historic subjects have been written and many of them possess merit of the highest order. Geo. McCrady, of this city, bas wi it ten a history of the high class meas ores W J. Rivers, C C. Jones, Ramsey. Gayarre, Garrett, Wheeler, Cooke, Yoakum, Scharfe, etc., bave written historic works Woodrow Wilson, a Southerner, bas written a book on "Union and Disunion," in which be takes occasion to historize bis individual opinion of affairs that effect a people be no longer lives among Let me say just here, individual opinion is not history. Mr. Wilson's book is taught by every imported teacher of history in our Southern colleges oed universities, and also Mr. Wilson ia popular at the North. Dr. J L. M. Corry produced a bool '.Soothero St?, te a of American Ui ion," published at one time at tl North, but Dr Curry's views wei not suited to the North, and ii book was about to fail, when B. I Johnson & Co , of Richmond, took i aod pat it is the South, where it prospering: It must be borne in mind that bio? rapbies, reminiscences, memoin sketches, annals, hietoric monograph) etc , that have been written, and hav received more or less place in lion ries and as reference books, collate ra?s, etc , are not to be confused wit or considered as text books propel from the school book point Th Sooth needs State histories, writter by men who are capable of the tae and practically trained in education al work. The South needs a history of tb United States, written in an honee manner, giving ?li sections the jus portion of the common heritage troth, in fact But such a bool cannot live on ' wish you wells,' "good thing," "noble cause," am such other pleasant sentimentalities If the South wants a history to liv it must establish it upon a financial a well as sentiment basis Northen publishers lately attempt to get ou what they call "Southern histories,' but they are not very old, when thei existence becomes unpleasantly note? by the powers that be, and the mat ter sickies with a pale forgetfulness The Southern people cannot hope t< free the schools from this text bool bondage unless:tbe men and womei keep op a constant, vigilant, neve flagging warfare on false, poisonous harmful Northern written books OTHER BOOKS IN SCHOOLS are nearly as baneful in their effec opon the mind of the pupil as are tb< histories. Readers, for instance, ar< all written by Northern authors 01 ore filled with selections of Northen writers and scenes and subjects Foi proof examine them-for anothei proof Bee that the publishers are al Northern, and they never let a South ern school book live if they cat avoid it. It is enough to give s Southern child the chilblains to .loos at the icy, snowy, wintry pictures ia these readers-they tell of everything under the soo bot of the South. Think of what a vast field these readers opens np for the instruction of our children in stories of their fore? fathers, of the lives of the great form era cf tbis Union, Southern men ; of the achievements of the South io all departments of civilization. What grand lessons we can teach our cbil dren in these books-think of how tbe readers now in our 60,000 South ern schools ignore tbe writings, speeches, lives and deeds of our ten thousand authors, orators, statesmen, public benefactors, inventors, mano facturera, merchants, professional men If we had Southern written readers we could tell them of Timrod, Hay ne,. Simms. Lanier. Calhoun, Davis, Yancey, Hill, Lamar, Lee, Gordon, Hampton, Hains, Simonton, Capers, McGowan and a host of other men all over the South, whose lives are worthy of example Of tbe great resources and ambitions of our coun? try and its possibilities I would, rather write the read? ers for our Southern schools than be tbe President of the Union. Take np our geographies-the great pathfinder, a Southerner, Maury is no more. In bis death the Sopth lost a power, to the force of which even Northern publishers had to yield. Where is the South to-day in geography ? There, in an iris of map Our physical geography is ne glected, as is our literature In books of composition, gram? mar, rhetoric, etc. our children are taught daily from the pro? noun object in names not re presentative of the men and women we love to' honor or have our chil? dren taught to remember Bot this is not tbe only objection-grave, though it be ; but the big book concerns are comb)oed, but the business is done under various firm names, and the clamor of Southern schools for mod ern books, up to date methods, etc , is as totally unheeded as have been their protests against the false his tories thrust upon the schools. SOME SUGGESTIONS, FACTS AND FIGURES j The census of 1890, taken nearly ten years ago, gave the school popu lation of the Sooth (eleven States) at 5,782,478, South Carolina alone having theo 459,700. There are now in the South fully 7,500,000 school children The number enrolled in schools will reach about six million Texas, one State, has^ nearly 750,000 attending her schools. These figures do not include any portion of Maryland. Kentucky, West Virginia or Missouri. large districts of which States are in accord with the South in educational and pro gressive matters, and have proven to be among the most practical support? ers of the movement in behalf of proper text books ; and practical work is the only kind that pays the bills and supplants Northern books There are nearly 100,000 teachers, 5,500 county superintendents and members of school boards, about 1,500 city siperintendents and mein bera of city boards ; there are fully 60,000 school buildings ; the States pay to support what is is known' as free or public schools, the officials and teachers, etc , folly twenty five millions af dollars per year. In the foregoing figures private schools, uni versities, colleges, etc , are no1 cloded ; there are over 2,000 of t in the South Now, we will estimate that t! schools, public and private, use o average swo to five books per p per year ; at two the number wi be over twelve million books year These books certainly re sent a startling power This a of children daily take their ration the Book Trust commissioners. 1 up an Educational Journal, prit North, glance at the lists of bc the Trust-Combine publishers are p ing upon the lists constantly. Ti are nearly 1,000 differeut kind: school books named, and tbe corni have just enough semblance of c petition to induce a constant ag tion and deceive the schools i discarding one book and taking another, all in the same system on a par-the object being to ex traffic ou th? commercial side. 1 trust is familiar with the entire fi They will bay up a Southern book agree to print it and finally drop They have been known to disturb contents of books to suit their e tors' views. Inspect the lists in e cationai journals (controlled by trust ) They name no South book, or scarcely one. The wh book interest, amounting to i lions per year, is controlled Noi and tbe South contributes most liberal quota and receives same books that to our section ; most offensive and harmfcl, and i one iota of profit in the vast work school book publishing comes to I South. An idea may be formed the profit in school books per y< from the Sonth when one stops consider that on "copy books" ale one cent (and this very small) pr< on each would be considered a prim ly incorae-about $100,000 [ year. Take books on which fi: cents to g L each ?3 made, and,a neal idea is given of the enormous tribe schools South pay to the lordly mot poly of school book publishers the Northland all of this is apt from and barring out tbe whole que tion of the deep, deadly hurt th< books are inflicting upon our sch oe and our country. I dislike to parti ularize, but I may say tbe books coi pel, by their scheme of arrangemei children to sing their little pieces 1 such offensive tunes as "Marchit Through Georgia," deliver eulogi in declaiming upon Abraham Lincoli compose letters, compositions, se; fences, etc, on lives of Northern me and women-and our heroes, our d voted patriots, our literary me: statesmen, representative men in a parts of our political, social, religiot and domestic life, are omitted. CAN TBE BONDAGE BE BROKEN ? is a question often asked me. I re ply affirmatively, and I have reasor for doing no, With the aid of on public-spirited and enterprising o refiner. George Rice, of Ohio, I brok down the Standard Oil Company' mothods of selling unsafe oil at es orbit ant prices in the South Whe I began tbe fight I was laughed at Men laugh to day. There are langi ing men always on hand when sericu danger threatens the people. Thesi laughers are objects of pit; rather than censure It is the langi of something unknown to a profouxw nature Oil in 1S81 was about 30< per cent higher per gallon by th< barrel in most points South than i has been since by retail, and manj degrees lower in flash test than the law demands now. I formed an in dependent oil association among mer chants in the South, who refused tc buy Standard Oil Company oil. ] had Legislatures to pass oil inspec tion and gravity and flash laws and require fire protection systems as tc storage, etc. The Standard Oil Com pany to day is not fond of me. F. B. Thurber and another public spiri? ted man in New York in 1883 joined me in fighting the Standard Com? pany in tho press and the independ ent oil men like me. So with only three other men I forced the boasted Standard Oil Company to change their high banded methods. With over a million fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of South ero school children with me in the fight against the great Book Trust, the arch foe of American schools, the demon in? carnate of the Southern schools, what results may we not accomplish ! To the oil tight there was but one thread of sentiment-duty In this fight the very warp and woof are senti? ments than which no nobler could stir our lives I answer affirmatively, be? cause I know, as I know the blood of my Southern people, (bat they will uo longer stand by aod endure the si.amc ful bondage of school books -o shackle the children of the country we love. I aGSwer afiirmatively. because I know that the lidie bas come when the sous of veteraos who sacrificed all and suf? fered the agonies of failure will risc aod ovt out of schools books that are in? tended to digracc their manhood. I answer a*5rmati?ely, becaus?. the time ir* here wheo, from Richmond ro El Paso, the moo and women of rhe Sooth will hereafter soe to ir that their State school authorities conni*! of mon whose characters are incapable? of being cor? rupted by the bribes of the boek trusts, and who will deer, honorable officials in every school board of the South. Wou'd thal every city and school io the South could beast or a personnel vour city board and officers represent, aod these men will join you Rest assured of their support. The great aod ever gener?os press of tbs South is with us, and it is our duty to organize every community into an active body to work aloog practical lines to accomplish practical ends. The decree of the people bas gone forth and another year great changes will be on. Vigilance enternal is the price of liber? ty ! To the young meo maiuly re? mains the task They have millioos of cooperators, but they must take the iu itiative and lead. Finally, let me call your attention to this huroiog fact : The Veterans, Sons of Veterans, Daughters of the Con? federacy, the preps and tho people may urge with fervor, emphasis and constant endeavor every noble element of earn? est effort io attempting to keep before the children the memory of our heroes and the history of our country, but all this will avail nothing if the obiidreo are exposed to the poisonous vapora aod aspy venom of school books such as now existi? the schools. Our genera? tion bas been spared by our fathers and mothers telling us of truth of our coun? try, but they will all be gone before many years, and legendary history is a relio of barbarism, unworthy our day aod generation and the memory of our fathers. Ours is **the sweetest story ever told/1 The lips that taught us will sooo be silent Many of our teachers have already passed to their reward. Let us raise to their memory an educa? tion that will make this, our Southern I a od. worthy the suffering and sacrifices of our aooestors and elder brothers, aod let us do all in the fear of God arid the ; lovo of our fellow mao. Let us build a people and a couotry through our school rooms of which all civilized na? tions will be proud. Let cs see to it that cur twenty-five millioos of dollars annually paid to schools is not here? after made an eogioe of destruction, in? stead of instruction, as our people ever intended. I, for one, will be coo tent to know that no doubt bas ever engaged my at teotion ss to the final success of a united effort, aod through ail time to come my obief gratification wili bc that it has been my honor to address you to? night, here io the home cf the head? quarters of the United Sons of Con? federate Veterans RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED. At the conclusion of Mr. Chase's address there were a number of short speeches endorsing the sentiment. The following resolutions were theo adopt? ed : Whereas, Camp Moultrie bas noted with gratification that at last public sentiment throughout the South is dic? tating the rejeotioo from our schools of the unfair and partisan text books too generally in use, especially ou histor? ical and kindred subjects, whereby the milds of the youog are warped aod truth and justioe are perverted ; and ft hereas, at the meeting of our camp this evening has appeared Mr. Chase, of Messrs. B. F. Johnson & Co, who bas represented to ns that his house proposes to publish and introduce Southern text books written by South? ern authors, and invites our consid?ra? tion of bis publications ; aod Whereas, it is ooo of the main ob? jects of thie organization to perpetuate the truth of history and to eocourage movements tending to that end : There fore be it Resolved, That this oamp extends to each and every honest effort, by all sin* cere portions to advance the good cause of trne history in Southern schools, its hearty sympathy aod approval. Tbs meeting theo adjourned THfiFIBST CONVICTIONS OF THE POMARIA GANG* The Risers, Father and Sons, Well-to-Do Farmers, Sen? tenced to Penitentiary for Long Terms. Special to The State. Newberry, Marich 12 -The trial of the first three of t he Pomana gang of robbers came to an end to night, after hearing arguments from the State and defense, which occupied all day. The judge at 7 p. m. charged the jury fully, after which they re? tired and at 9:30 to night brought in a verdict of guilty of housebreaking and larceny as to Albert F. Riser and Willie Riser, who were sentenced to five years and one month in the peni? tentiary at hard labor, and James A. Riser guilty of receiving stolen goods, sentenced to 18 months un chain gang. ' The court room was packed all day. The verdict meets with the ap proval of every one Four raore of the same gang will be tried at the April special term. R P. F. Florence, Msroh 13 -The r?sidence of Mr?. W. Z Nettles and the ooe Ktory house occupied by L P Newman on Irby street, ?ere burned to-night. Chicago, March 13-A ppecul to The Record from Tacoma. Wash , says: Ao earthquake ba* destroyed the town of Amboina, capital of Amboir.a island, on?; of the Maiucca group Late io i January, according to meager details I received at Hong Kjug, a frightful j c.irfhquake occurred, without the usual j preccuing rumblings. A great crack j opened io the earth and maoy houses were swallowed before the oocupauts could get out. Hundreds of natives were killed and 200 injured Some died of fright. The Cotton Movement. Hester's Figures Continue to Indicate a Total Crop of 11,000,000 Baies. New Orleans, March ll -Secre? tary Hester's weekly New Orleans Cotton Exchange statement, issued before the close of business to day, shows an increase in the movemeut into sight compared with the seven days ending this date last year in round figures of 69,000 bales, an in? crease over the same days year be? fore last of 82,000 and in the same time cf 1895 of 50,000. For the ll days of March the to? tals show an increase over last year of 116,000 bales, an increase over the same period year before last of 154.000 and over*1895 of 99,000. For the 192 days of the season that have elapsed the aggregate is ahead of the 192 days of last year 2,024.000 bales, ahead of the same days year before last of 3,596,000 and of 1895 by 1,033,000. The amount brought into sight during the past week has been 169,743 bales, against 101,068 for the 7 days ending this date year, 87,348 year before last and 119,573 same time in 1895, and for the ll days of March it has been 284 089 bales, against 167,T88 last year, 130,315 year before last and 184,735 same time in 1895 These make the total movement for the 192 days from September 1 to date 9,804, 357 bales, against 7,779, 885 last year, 6,208,579 year before last and 8,771,647 same time in 1895. The movement since September 1 shows receipts at all United States ports 7,680,898 bales, against 6,157- j 709 last year. 4,605,225 year before last and 7,007,195 same time in 1S95; overland across the Mississippi, Ohio and Potomac rivers to North? ern mills and Canada 1,029,167 bales, against 747,565 last year, 690,642 year before last and 918,329 same time in 1895 ; interior stocks in ex? cess of those held at the close of the commercial year 382,561 bales, against 195,380 last year, 308,456 year before last and 286,255 same, time in 1895. Southern mill takings, exclusive of consumption at Southern outports, 711,731 bales, against 679,231 last year, 603,956 year before last and 550,868 same time in 1895. Foreign exports for the week have been 177,326 bales, against 137,040 last year, making the total thus far for the season 5,745,395, against 4,863, 986 last year, au increase of 881, 409. " v Northern mill takings doriog the past seven days show an increase of 19,721 bale*, as compared with the corres? ponding period last year, and their total takings since September 1 have increas? ed 481,695 The total takiogs of American mills, North and Sooth, and Canada, tbns far for the seasoo have been 2.620,104 bale?, against 2,102, 880 last year. These include 1,891, 390 by Norihern spinners, agaio6t 1, 409.695. Stocks at the seaboard and the twen? ty-nine leading Southern interior cen? tres have decreased during the week 83,232 bales against a decrease during the corresponding period last season of 90,400, and are now 403,780 in excess of this date last year. Including stocks left over at ports aod interior towns from the last orop and the number of bales brought into sight thus far for the new orop the supply to date is 9,920,. 911 bales, against 8,118.434 for the same period last year. President McKinley denied that the visit of Ambassador Panncefote to the white house had anything to do with the Cuban situation. It was said in Washington that England would like the impresssion to get abroad in Europe that she made an alliance with the United States, but it was regarded as improbable that j the administration would put the country under any obligations to the British government. In the House of Commons at London, Mr. Cutzon denied that any communications with reference to the Cuban question had passed between the British Ambas? sador at Washington and the United States The proposed question as to whether the British fleet would be put at the disposal of the United States in the event of hostilities was not asked, as it was regarded im? politic at that time. Members of Parliament however, expressed their sympathy with the United States, and Spain seems to be pretty well conviced that in case of war England would be an ally of the United I States and hence is even now ne- I gotiating for the aid of Russia and France -Spartanburg Herald. G. D. Tillman in to a Finish. Augusta, March 10 ?-There was a rumor here to-day to the effect that Col Geo. D. Tillman had changed his mind, and would not be a candidate for Governor of South Carolina Mr Till? man was seen to night on tho sulj?ct aod paid : "I am astonished at such j a report. Whatever fault or failings I J may have, fickleoess is not one of them J I am in the race to the finish, and 11 entertain no doubt of my election r-J The Newt and Courier fl Hale Old Uncle Sam. Here is a question ?early as old aod ; almost as familiar aa its subject :~ To the Editor of The Mat! aod Es ! press : Sir-Kindly let me know through your valuable Diper why the Uoited States is called Uacle Sam; aod wherefore bis attire. M H It is easy to understand the intered rather than the curiosity tbac prompts this ioquiry into the origio cf that figure wbicu, io patriotic pose, is just now very much io evtdsoce before the eyes of the the world. I; is always difficult to trace, with any ac? curacy, the beginnings of mythical fig? ures which represent things that are very real. Most nations are typified ?D this way. England, for example, has her humorous John Bali, as well as her dignified Britannia aod hsr rampant lion, just as the United States has its droll Uacle Sam, its majestic Colombia and its winged eagle. Bac it would tax both ingenuity and credulity to cred? it any one of these figures to a particu? lar iocident. As to Uncle Sam, che usual explanation is that his figure and oame were evolved dering his second fight with John Bali, wheo much of bis property, consigned to the commis? sary department ta New York, was branded 'U. S aad these ioitials were twisted into a reference to "Uncle Sam" Wilson, the popular nickname of the man in charge of the government stores. However that may he-and the ex? planation, seems fanciful-the figure of Uncle Sam has grown with the lapse cf the imagaination. Wo ail koow bim well, the tall, lank, kneeneyed, chin whiskered, shrewd featured avuncular relative with forty-five loyal and devot? ed nephews. It is in affection for them that he wears habitua; ly even for full dress, the stars of bis entire family upon bis hat aod waistcoat, aod the stripes of his thirteen first nephews opoo bia trousers. Although he is more than a century old, the exact date of his birth beiog somewhere about the time when the score of "Yankee Doodle" was written, the old gentleman is hale and hearty and promises to eojoy the suns ana endure the storms of centuries to come. Io normal circumstances he is quaint and merry, rather festive sn demeanor, with a wit that outs his public servants when they fail to do his bidding, and a humor that generously irradiates ail of the big farm he owns aod adds to the gayety of nations Just at present, the aspect of Uncle Sam is both severe aod sorrowful, while at the sa me time ree otate and con fident. A person of Latin blood, with whom he would be on good terms if he could, has been annoying Uncle Sam by cruelty to a child who lives next door. The old gentleman has also lost ose of his ships and so ne of tbe lives he loves so well. That is why he is both severe aod sorrowfal. He is just now about to say to the latin ehild-beater that he must cease his cruelty and let the boy go into business for himself, and he has discovered that he has ample oash aod vigorous mudies to enforce bis demand. That is why he is reso? lute and coo fident. The attitude of the old gentleman whom we have ali learned to love so well is ju?t now so dignified and admira? ble that it qui ry into his pedigree is quite natural. But it needs no college of heralds ?o guarantee bis patent of nobility.-N. Y. Mail a:ad Express. How the South Feels. The general wish in the Sooth is that war may be averted. The Southern people hope that war may not be nec? essary The New York Son, a repub? lican paper, describes tao 'eeliog of the Southern people aeon rattly thus : They are waitiog coolly and ic a judicial frame of mind and takiog no snap judgments. But this reserve is only an indication of resolute strength ready for the defence of the republic if occasion shall demand its expenditure. No one who visits the South can fail to be impressed by the splendid material for au army which there appears on all sides It is distinctively a fight? ing population ; everywhere are the evidences of a physical vigor which refutes utterly the notion once enter? tained by people ignorant of the actual Southerners that it lack* the strength acquired in a ruggeder climate No? where in the world are there finer ex? amples cf pby.-ical manhood. The Southern grasp io the handshake alone furnishes indubitable evidence of pe? culiar muscular vigor. It is, therefure, not from any defi? ciency of the military spirit that the Sou?b refrains from war bluster It is the calm reserve of people coofideot io their power aod courage. If the need came for tbe national defence there would arise an aru>y io the Southern States which would rival the matchless army of Northern Virginia led by Gen? eral Lee. Like biliousness, dyspepsia, headache, consti? pation, sour stomach, indigestion are promptly cured by Hood's Tills. They do their work id thoroughly. pills. ??StS. Iood &. ?o., Lowell, Mass, with Hood's Sarsaparilla.