Friday, June 19, 2015

Education Is Key to Our Future, D.C. Mast, June 30, 1910

“The Special School Tax in Watauga” a Letter to the Editor by D.C. Mast of Sugar Grove in the Watauga Democrat, Thursday, June 30, 1910

Mr. Editor:--The Hon. Smith Hagaman made a speech last spring at the close of the Cove Creek school and chose for his subject “A new phase of country life.” Mr. Hagaman showed in a very practical and common sense way the importance of the country people, the farmers, going forward.

First, of course, he emphasized education—education in agriculture, in scientific farming, as well as in a literary way, and advocated strongly as a means of education the betterment of the public schools. This writer wants to say here that he is awfully sorry that there is a backward step in Watauga regarding the local tax. One district has voted it out and another will, perhaps, very soon. Is this, my country brother, going forward? I think not. Counties east of the Blue Ridge, many of them, such as Mecklenburg and Guilford, that are in easy touch with Charlotte and Greensboro, whose educational facilities are hardly surpassed in the South, have a large number of local tax districts, believing the public school the most effective way of educating because it reaches all classes of people. And if I had it in my power I would convince every tax-payer in Watauga that the best money he has ever spent in his life would be in educating the children—the youths upon whose shoulders the affairs of state and country will soon fall and, as I see it, it is eminently our duty as parents to prepare the next generation for usefulness. Useful! Reader, tax-payer, have you ever tried or had a desire to be useful, and do you want your children to be broad-minded, liberal-hearted, noble-thinking men and women? Then go out of your way to bring them in touch with good literature and lives of great and good men—educate them and do it by voting a special tax on yourself for that purpose, as it is the best thing we can do at present.

Again, Mr. Hagaman said the country folk should beautify their homes—make them attractive, so that our children would not want to go to town. Now we are up against it; we must tax ourselves to educate and then spend money to keep these educated boys and girls from going to town. Yes, pretty touch, but if we do it they will bring things to pass and we will be proud of them and they will call us blessed. Of course we must have money with which to do these things. Where shall we get it? First, by increasing or earnings by close application of our time to business and organization. Organization is highly important. We let the manufacturer do all the pricing, that of the raw material and also the manufactured article. Take for an example wool. We are getting this year 23 cents the pound for wool and if we buy any yarn it costs us 60 cents the pound. Here there is too much difference in the raw material and the manufactured goods. Let every man who has the wool off of one sheep and up, not in Watauga alone, but throughout the country, enter and be governed by an organization and we can get what we ought to have for our wool. Let us organize in Watauga for a forward movement in everything that helps us and our children to be more useful.
                --D.C. Mast, Sugar Grove, June 17

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