The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, February 19, 1913, Image 3
dfffads himsfff v<.ai\stuov,
iufasfs < u \m.i;s
i nUrrnii) ll-o-ddont Arraigns Dr.
Johnson. (,r Winthrop College, for
l-atttfs \\h K,M| Furt In Contro?
versy Arising from Distribution of
Pea body Fund?D. \V. \u l4iiirln
?ml V. ii. M. MuM? r also (il\os Tea
Union jr.
Columbia. Feb. 13?"Dr. Jobns<?n
hau seised on a single clause of the
petition of Itfi, (bit with reference
to the education of negroes, and wav?
ed that as a red (lag before a bull,
that his own Institution might gain
In mat-rial wealth at the exp< nse of
the University of South Carolina," was
the statement of |> s C. Mitchell
during the course of his testimony
this afternoon before the committee
appointed to investigate the charge
mad. I?> c?o\ l:lease, that the presi?
dent of the Halt Fnlverslty had con?
spired t*> defraud Winthrop College
of her rightful share of certain funds
front, the IVabody board.
Df Mit. h. II then showed that the
petition which has been so much dis
cussed during the Investigation w
signed in 19?>t), and has been known
to all educators of the South since
that time.
??Yet." said Dr. Mitchell, "Dr. John?
son waited until political conditions
in this State were such that he might
arouse the prejudice of high officials
before he took any action in blaming
the action of myself and a body of ed?
ucational patriots for injuring Win?
throp with the lVabo.lv board."
The whole trend of the testimony
by Dr. Mitchell was that educational
*?^ndltlons in the South were such that
two separate committees ? the Pea
body board had recommended that
the best disposition to be made of the
fund would he to aid the struggling
educational departments of the va?
rious State universities in producing
teachers and superintendents for the
high schools.
"The Fnlverslty of South Carolina
was Included In both these recommen
? I Winthrop College was
never mentioned." said TV. Mitchell.
"This committee could ht?ve rightly
held me guilty of inaction. If, after
two representatives of committees, \
each recommending $40.000 for the
Fnlverslty of South Carolina, and af?
ter the subsequent action of the boat 1
In slighting the University without a
dollar. I had done nothing to ???VII
It," he continued.
Mr. D W. McLaurln. a trustee of
Winthrop College, testified at the af?
ternoon legaton He threw no new
facts on the situation, . od only testl
fled to the fact that he had shown
Governor HI ease a copy of a letter,
sent to him by Dr. Johnson, which
Mr. f. H. McMaster had written to
him and his (Dr. Johnson's) answei
to the communication. This corres
pon lence. as has been bef.?re brought
out, related to the act'.on of Winthrop
In get unrig the $40.0ro, v hlch was In
I I f .r the State Fn'verslty. Dr.
Johnson's reply referring to the peti?
tion signed in Atlanta b; the heads of
eight Southern universities, which is
the basis of the (iove-nor's charge
again** Dr. Mitchell. Mr. McLturin
said that he thought th*t a copy of
the correspondence had been sent to
every member of the board of trustees
of the College.
Mr. F. H McMaster, insuranc ? com?
missioner, an alumnus of QM Univer?
sity of South Carolina, testified briefly
. as to the e..rr< sporeb nce. He Stated
that he had written Dr. Johnson
about his, action In securing, through
Oovernor Ansel, the $40,000 appro?
priation Intended for the University
after Prof. T?te, rural school super?
visor, had told him of it. He had
talked with Mr MeUaurln about the
letter, and said that the Winthrop
trustee seemed to hold the same views
about the petition In its reference to
negro education as those express. >\
In his Inaugural address by the Gov?
ernor. He had written Dr. Johnson
another letter, asking for the names
of all parties to whom he had forw ard?
ed o,.??-s of Ms letter, which he con?
sidered pi ite correspondem e, and
that this request had never been
he- ded.
I?r Mitchell. In beginning his testi?
mony, said that the personal eb-ment
would have been left out of the mat?
ter, but for the H' n<>n of Dr. John?
son In ?tresfling hefon? the Governor
th? clause with referee* I to the edu
cation of BOfJteM s. which appears la
the petition drawn up by the pi I
dents i ? urht of the state aedvefst*
UM of the South.
"I am convinced of this," he said,
"for bjSel before i his mittel was
brought out one of the trustees of
th* Fnlversltv had told gee that Dr.
Johnson hail gsJel thai the dtotrlbti?
Uta al the fun i did aot matter te
the Fnlverslty, sin?, I w . |g i, of
giving It all to the aegfoes."
Dr. M i'- h? II tfceg rttot b ! tl
Work of the I eat-odv boat I ind StlOf
ed w h tt had nln ftdy b. ? n brought
out; th it the be ?? i elwaj ?* sin ?
out Some task to which to alb
Its benefits; thi? Its pop. v wag Aral
to aid the city school systems, then
the State systems, then the normal
schools, ami. iastly, the educational
departments of the state universltlei
l>r. Mitchell ?howed from reports of
the nteettnga ??f Um board that the
DOllcy of aiding the State universi?
ties ha?i boon adopted long before he
am elected lo the preeldency of the
University of South Carolina
i>r. Mitchell said the tirst connec?
tion in an official way which he had
<\>r had with the Peabody board had
been when he received a letter from
Dr, Johnson While he was still at
Richmond College, just after his elec?
tion to the presidency here. Informing
him that a vacancy had occurred <>n
the Peahody hoard which was to be
Riled from this Mate, Dr. Johnson
i bed hli oo-operetion in getting
Governor Ansel elected to tin the va?
cancy, So he had lent his Influence
to getting Governor Ansel elected to
th.- board.
The last change of the policy of
the hoard with reference tO the dis?
tribution ,,f the fund occurred in 1903,
at which time it was decided to aid
from that time forward the education?
al departments Of the State univer?
sities, the board being actuated by
the necessity of providing men super
! intendents, principals and teachers
for the high schools. At the same
time. It was decided to give part of
the fund for the establishing of ru?
ral school supervision for the ne
I gro schools.
AS showing how firmly fixed were
the pi.ins of the committee of the
board regarding the universities, Dr.
Mitchell showed that the University
1 of Tennessee was awarded its $40,
001 Sloag with the remainder of the
I Southern universities, despite the fact
that the board had already endowed
the Peahody Normal School, situated
St Nashville, with $1,500,000.
The prime need of the South
I
rend the report "is educational lead?
ership and the need must be sup?
plied with men teachers." I ?r. Mitch?
ell read from the report of Prof T?te,
who had just returned from studying
the school-; of gwltesrland, that the
excellence Of the Swiss school ays
1 teen Is due tc the fact that 85 per cent
of their teachers are men
The committee report recommend?
ing that aid be given to the educa?
tional departments of the universities
( says that it is beyond the province
of the normal schools to supply the
need far educational Isadora and says
that this need must be supplied from
the Stat?- universities. The report of
I
a later committee agreed with the
1903 committee. This latter body also
took up the claims of the normal
neb "U for part of the fund and de
l Ided to refuse their claim*?.
"After SStSWishing the Peabody
Normal School for Teachers, the
greatest need is to help the unlver
sities," read the report of the com?
mittee.
Dr. Mitchell said that Dr. Johnson
had repeatedly made the claim that
Winthrop was next In the affections
of the committee to the Peabody Col
h re, yet this report does not men?
tion the nams of Winthrop, as did no
reports until 1911, when the fund was
divided and Winthrop received the
$40.000 intended for the University
at the Instigation of Governor An.^el.
I Dr. Mitchell showed that Richmond
College strongly anticipated a hand?
some share of the fund when it was
finally divided, because of the pres
? nee on the board, as its president, of
Dr. J. L. M. Curry, at one time pres?
ident of Richmond College, but It was
not given.
I "It Is my belief," said Dr. Mitch?
ell, "that half of the institutions of
the South had some reason to hope
for a large share of the fund." As
to the charge With reference to the
education of nogrroos, i>r. Mitchell
showed that every Southern member
of the Peabody hoard had voted for
the motion by Governor Ansel to ap?
propriate $-5.000 for the salaries of
rural a< hool supervisor- for the negro
s< hoola
At the meeting held in May, Itll,
when Governor Ansel was present,
IS&e.SOf, had been given to the negro
i hoola without protest from the Gov?
ernor, In all of the other Southern
?St. te, there has been no protest from
the normal schools because the state
I universltlei received $40,000, and yet
I when the University Of South Caro?
lina raises her hand to secure the
funds which rightfully belongs tc her,
the president of Winthrop College has
protested VlgoroU8ly( said I >r. Mitc hell.
He then Iran sd something of the
history of the University of South
i
Carolina and anld: "in nil that bril?
liant hlstor) there is nothing to mer?
it the ?light which the committee
gave it "
Dr, Mitchell stated that after the
|40,ooo had been given lo Winthrop,
Which should ha\?< Justly gone to the
Unlver Uy, Dr. Johnson still made th.
request of the hoard that all surplus
ot the founds be given to Winthrop
) '..it* e,t Governor Ansel, who had :i' -
w iya been loyal to Winthrop, said Or
Mitchell, refused lo agree lo this end
moved before the board that if there
t.. .i irplui after the final dlatrlbu
t in t'nlvoralty of South Carolina '
I
irdfd $30,000 to he added to tin
Id .? 11. 111. received t'> complete
th. o> inal il l"oprlatlon.
I>. I). II, JOHNSON MAKES FINAL
STATEMENT.
Problem of Winthrop Denies Dr. s.
C. Mitchell Was Singled out for
Attack.
Columbia, Feb. 16.?The legisla?
tive commlth e ir charge of the In?
vestigation of the distribution <>f the
Peabody fund held Its ilnal session
yesterday, and as soon as tin- steno?
graphic notes are transcribed the re?
port will be ?ubmltted to tin- general
assembly.: Yesterday Dr. Johnson
submitted a statement to refute the
charges made by Dr. Mitchell that
he had been singled <>ut for attack In
the whole matter. Dr. Mitchell made
a brief reply to this, and D. W. Mc
Laurin stated that he was responsible
for the Information given the gov
ernor.
Dr. Johnson, when the committee
was called to order, made the follow?
ing statement:
"Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the
Committee:
"1 have been very patient under
great provocation: I have tried to
keep the peace under trying and un
fortunate clrcumstancea
"This room has been crowded main?
ly with 1 >r. Mitchell's students and as?
sociates, My girls and my associates
are in Rock Hill, and l am stai ding
here dime, forced into the false po8l
tlon Of prosecuting witness, to answer I
the summons of this committee as the
result of a reference to Dr. Mitchell
by the governor of the state in ids
Inaugural.
"For that reason i am assailed by
President Mitchell, who imputes to
me sin 1st? . designs and motives that
1 never entertained. I have a wife
ami children in Rock Hill to whom
my good name is as dear as his repu?
tation Is to his fand' . l do not believe
l have lived and labored In this State
for :::: years in vain and that Presi?
dent Mitchell's words can outweigh
the service to the state of these cr.
years. I have not made any personal
attack upon President Mitchell here
or anywhere else, nor do l expect to.
1 take it for granted that this commit?
tee deelres to conduct this Investiga?
tion in a dignified way, and without
personalities, Insinuations or in?
nuendoes?to get at the facts and not
to stir up bad blood between the
friends of the university and Win?
throp, ami l have so governed myself
and have refrained from all person?
alities.
"Now, gentlemen, with your indul?
gence I feel that I must take notice-,
of several personrj references to my?
self made by President Mitchell in
his Statement before this committee
yesterday.
" 'The university asked for anything
that was left, but even to this Dr.
Johnson objected,'
"I asked for the adoption of the
pending resolution in favor of Win?
throp in accordance with resolutions
Of tite board of trustees of Winthrop
college already submitted to this com?
mittee. 1 did not put the resolutions
in the minutes of tite Peabody board.
! afterwards agreed for Winthrop to
stand aside for the university, and am
abiding by that agreement.
" 'For the first time an effort has
been made to blacken my name and
that effort lias been traced directly to
Dr. 1). B. Johnson.'
"I wish to say Mr. Chairman, with
all the emphasis at my command, that
1 have not made any such effort, and
have never thought of making any
such effort. i have had n<> desire
whatever of doing Dr, Mitchell or the
university any harm. Dr. Mitchell
makes his charges against me because
of the reference to him by Gov. Blease
in his Inaugural, and that, too, in face
of the facts established here before
this committee.
"I resent ids use of the word 'trace.'
i do not wish to shirk responsibility
for anything I have said i don.-. I
do not wish to hide Or conceal any?
thing. 1 have not done anything to
hide or conceal.
"There is plenty of conclusive evi?
dence, written and oral, submitted to
this committee In Dr. Mitchell's sight
ami hearing showing that I did not In?
stigate the attack upon him by the
governor In his Inaugural.
"Mr. D, W. McLaurln'a sworn tes?
timony, Gov, Blease's original letter,
written In 1911, when he Urst got his
Information from Mr, McLaurln. The
oral testimony of Gov. Blease at the
beginning of this Investigation. The
written statement of the three men
Who heard what was said in the gov
Dr, Mit-loll as erted with emphasis
that he was b< fore the i ommlttee sole?
ly to answer charges which a state?
ment or sti tem< nts made by I >r, John
son had ciused Ihe mmd of Governor
Ulensu to evolve, Ho spoke icathinglj
oi Dr. Johni on's conduct.
i m Johnson, at I he con< luslon of
l ?i. Mitch ii i t- timony, asked to bo
nllov ed to r< ply, but It w is then it
t < r- Iho la on* for adjournm? tit and lht
committee decided to hear hi ? replj
tomorrow afternoon, when the c< in
mith e will bold Its last ? ? ? i Ion, it l>
thought.
ernor's office. And l still say here
that 1 do not recall having mentioned
i>r. Mitchell's name to the governor
at .any other time.
"Why try to put all Buch evidence
aside and still make the charge that
I Instigated Qov. Blease's attack. Why
does he attack me instead of the gov- |
ernor, who made the attack upon him?
i fear i>r. Mitchell has been very bad?
ly advised by mischief makers.
"It is proper always to consider mo?
tive in such matters as this. What
motive under the sun could I possibly
have had to prompt me to stir up j
Strife hot w een the university and
Winthrop. That would have been the
veriest folly, the very way to lose out
with the Peahody hoard. As a result I
of this fight I fear that neither insti- j
tution will get another dollar. Such
action on my part in lall or 1!>12 or
1913 or at any time would have been
foolish in the extreme. The university
and Winthrop must stand together;
must work harmoniously for the cause
of higher education in South Carolina i
to prosper.
"In reply to the question then,
'What shall it profit a university if it
gain a new building and lost its own
soul,' I would gay that the very way
o lose the new building would be to j
do that Which is insinuated in this |
question.
" 'In tlie subtlest way the negro
question was introduced.'
"Mr. Chairman, my lettei to Mr.
McMaater in 1911, in reply to his let?
ter to me, contained what I have had
to Bay on that question. I expected
Mr. McMaater to show it to Dr.
Mitchell, or some one connected with
the University. There was nothing un?
derhanded or subtle about that.
"I said that the petition had been
Bigned by representatives <>f Southern
universities Including our own, asking
for a certain amount of money for
each of them, and that the remainder,
be given to the negroes, thus cutting
Winthrop out without a dollar. I did
not think that they should have made
any petition for the disposition of the
remander after asking for a certain
amount for themselve s. They were
not responsible for the distribution of
the whole fund like the memberi of
the Peabody board.
"I have been urging the Peabody
hoard for over 20 years to give Win?
throp a large appropriation, but I
have never assumed to suggest that
the remainder should be used in such
a way that the university could not
l^et a dollar of it. After securing a
large appropriation for Winthrop I
would have been glad to have the uni?
versity secure as large an appropria?
tion as possible.
"Dr. Mitchell insinuates that I
should have known of the 'special re?
port of 1900, whereas a minute print?
ed in the proceedings of the trustees
for October 3, 1906, page 10, says:
'It was ordered that in the meantime
a typewritten copy of the report
should be sent to each member and
be regarded as confidential.' This re?
port was not published until the win?
ter of 1911, ?and Gov. Ansel, a mem?
ber of the Peabody board, has said
that he did not know of it until the
meeting of his special committee. It
was certainly not published to the
world, as I>r. Mitchell said, until
1911.
"I do not know how the presidents
of the Southern States' universities
knew about it. I know that I, like
Qov. Ansel, a member of the Pea?
body hoard, did not know about it
until 1911.
"Now, Mr. Chairman, there is one
other matter 1 wish to refer to, to
show on what untenable ground T)r.
Mitchell's chargei againet me stand.
You will remember that he Indulges
in all kinds of insinuations against j
mo because I wrote to him to help i
i
mo have Gov. Ansel placed on the
Peabody board to till the place made
vacant by the death of Capt. \Vm. A.
Courtenay, giving some 15 minutes to
that part of bis speech. The point
he attempted to make against rne was,
that while resenting his action in sign?
ing tftat petition in 1909, I was try?
ing to get his help ?to forward the in?
terests of Winthrop college. That put
me in bad light, as he intended it
should.
"Now, gentlemen. I am able to re?
fute absolutely this unworthy insinua?
tion with documentary evidence. I
have here the prlnto' 'oceedings of
the Peabody board for starch 18, 1909.
which show that Qov. Ansel was
chosen a member of the Peabody
board on that day. The letter to which
President Mitchell refers had to be
written before that time. I have no
copy of the letter.
"I have here, and herewith submit,
correspondence with Qov. Ansel in
June, 1909, which shows that I did
not see the petition signed by repre?
sentatives of the State universities in
1909 until after June 30, 1909.
"My understanding now Is, that that
paper was signed in Atlanta at the
Conference for Education in the South
some time during the month of
March or April,
j "Now, gentlemen, you see upon
whs.t erroneous suppositions a cruel
insinuation can be built. Dr. Mitchell's
other insinuations and charges in
Connection With this matter have ju*t
as little to rest on.
"I have the utmost confidence in
the s? tis?- of fair play and square deal?
ing of our people and do not believe
they will allow President Mitchell to
blacken my character because I have
been forced to become an unwilling
w itness in this matter."
The following letter was submitted
by Dr. Johnson:
"President 1 >. B. Johnson? President
Winthrop College. Hock Hill. S. C.
"Dear Sir: I have just been shown
by the Hon. D. W. McLaurin, P. H.
McMaster's letter of June -7 to you,
and your reply of July 15.
"I think it an 'outrage that any
I Southern gentleman would stoop so
i
( low as to attempt to take money
from the white Institutions Of learning
of the South and place it in the hands
of the free negroes, and I congratu?
late you upon the tight you are mak?
ing for Winthrop; and, if 1 can assist
you. or if you want a meeting of the
board or a joint meeting of the boards
of Winthrop and South Carolina col?
lege, I will be glad to call it, to be
held here in my office, any day after
next week, i hope that you will pr? ss
this matter and if possible have ihe
Peabody board stand to their original
proposition at to Winthrop college.
"Very respectfully,
"Cole L. Blease.
"Governor."'
Replying to questions of the num?
bers of the committee Dr. Johnson
said he had tried to keep down any
fight and that for over 20 years he
had hoped that Winthrop would get
a large portion of the fund. He Wish?
ed again to str- ss that the 1906 com?
mittee report was not published until
1911.
"I do not wish to Inqure Dr. Mitch
el!, why should he wish to injure
me?" remarked Dr. Johnson.
Replying to questions by Mr. Ash?
ley, Dr. Johnson said that he had no
desire to convey n any correspond?
ence that the university people would
insist on th? negroes having the
money.
Replying to Mr. Young, Dr. John
sun mid in * nt copies of the II -.
Muster corn apondence to Trustee
Braseale and possibly others. Dr.
Johnson said that he would not have
opposed the university securing any
Of the fund after Winthrop secured
what he consul, red her jus.t share. He
did not concern himself with the ne?
gro end of it at all.
Dr. Mitchell asked for a few min?
utes to reply. He said that he did not
wish to imply that he had written
after Dr. Johnson had seen the Atlan?
ta resolutions. Dr. Mitchell wanted
to remind the committee why he was
present. It was because of grave
charges made against him?charges
that he deeply resented. Questioned
by Mr. Welch, Dr. Mitchell said Gov.
Ansel did not start this. How was it,
be asked, that it was particularly
Stressed that the Atlanta resolutions
were used to bring in the negro ques?
tion.
! At this point Mr. McLaurin stated
that he was the first to inform the
governor of the matter and if there
was any odium attached he would take
it. He was in the office when Dr.
Johnson called on the governor to
discuss Winthrop matters as brought
out in previous testimony. This was
after he had talked over the McMas
ter coreepondence with the gover?
nor.
Continuing! Dr. Mitchell wanted to
know who used all of this to his det?
riment. It could only be one man?
Dr. Johnson.
"The result was that I got lots of
notoriety?as a negro lover," said Dr.
Mitchell.
By Mr. Young?All of the Southern
university presidents knew that the
negro would participate in the final
distribution of the Peabody fund?
Dr. Mitchell?Why certainly, that
was understood.
Continuing. Dr. Mitchell stressed
the fact that there was nothing se?
cret in the action. The mind of the
board WSS known by every student of
educational progress; in fact, before
the Atlanta report was made, Dr. Rose
was consulted. Dr. Johnson was trad?
ing on the sentiment of a name while
he was trying to get the largest re?
turns for education. In the long run.
he concluded, the cloud may have a
silver lining and the State may get
some good out of this unfortunate
affair.
The committee then adjourned.
?Mrs. S. S. S., Van Buren St., Kings?
ton, N. Y., (full name furnished on
application) had such decided bene?
fit from using Foley's Honey & Tar
Compound that she shares her good
fortune with others. She writes: "Fo?
ley's Honey & Tar Compound brought
my voice back to me during a eevere
case of bronchitis anil larynigttis. oh,
how many people I have recommend?
ed it tO." filbert's Drug Store.?Advt
j Had the bill to muzzle the press
J been passed South Carolina would
j have become the paradise of the
! demagogue.?Orangeburg Times and
I Democrat.
Old Ago.
Old age as it comes in the orderly
process of nature is a beautiful and
majestic thing. It stands for exper?
ience, knowledge, wisdom, counsel.
That is old age as it should be, but
old age as it often is means poor di?
gestion, torpid bowels, a sluggish liver
I and a general feeling of ill health, de?
spondency and misery. Th!s in al
! most every instance is wholly unneces?
sary. One of Chamberlain's Tablets
j taken Immediately after supper will
I improve the digestion, tone up the liv
j er and regulate the bowels. That feel
I ing of despondenc y will give way to
I one of hope and good cheer. For sale
by all dealers.?Advt._
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
o
o
o
o
o
9 Save Your Tune--Get IT From 2
o
? HEARON'S PHARMACY ?
? By Parcel Post. ?
o
q You can get your drugs and your drug store goods from our phar- q
q macy and get them with all possible haste. For your Special eon- q
venience we have prepared a very expensive catalogue, listing
o
^ many hundreds of drug store conveniences and much valuable in- ^
o formation. These catalogues will be sent free to anyone sending
o us their full name and address. v
o
q From our special drug store catalogue, you will be able to sein i at Q
J? a glance, just what you want and of course you w ill also find our q
prices as low as is consistent with the high qualit) goods which r%
O we sell. X
g Hearon's Pharmacy g
o PHONE 34 SI v. i K. S t o
o o
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo