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several years, and of himself he was evidently averse to speaking. Desire to open this oyster (a comparison admitted by the reporter of this sketch to be remote both in season and place) was rather ludicrously sharpened by the man's persistent reticence as without ever turning his eyes he looked at the wild, dangerous little creature below. At last, when they were about three-quarters of their two hours' travel, after several questions directly but not disrespectfully put, and the passenger's saying that himself had once kept a school, admission was drawn out that in a region and a period indefinite, but very remote, he was an old fielder. Then it was interesting how, with a brother in trade, he replied to interrogations about how he used to catch schoolboys in their pranks and flog them afterwards. He seemed to be oblivious of the names of text-books and was guardedly noncommittal touching his method of teaching, answering mainly yes or no to leading questions. The following is about a specimen of the dialogue between them. T indicates the passenger and D the coachman:

T. "In teaching grammar, can you remember which were your favorite parts of speech? Or did you have any special preference, say as among nouns and pronouns, or as between adjectives, verbs, and adverbs?"

D. "No sir, not as I remember of; I made my scholars get 'em all."

T. "Of course, that was your plain duty. I didn't know but some of those things might have been more troublesome than others. For instance: Demonstrative and distributive adjective pronouns. I well remember what a bother they were to me, and indeed to many others that were very sensible persons, and that not only when at school, but when grown to be men, even schoolmasters."

D. "I s'pose so. Some o' them might been ruther troublesome occasional, but they knewed they had 'em to putt through, and they putt 'em through."

T. "I think articles were nice little things, nicer even than conjunctions and even prepositions. Don't you?”

D. "I don't know if they weren't, some."

T. "Had you any special preference or dislikes among arithmetic rules?"

D. "Not as I remember of now."

T. "I suppose, in your day they were about the same as now; Interest, simple and compound, discount, fractions of all sorts."

D. "Jest about, I suppose."

T. "Can you recall to your mind how they turned an improper fraction into a mixed number, and how they got it back to its original position and condition?"

D. "Well, you see it's been so long that-but one thing I can tell you. Them boys-and them girls too-they knewed one thing from the off-start, ef no more, when I told 'em to do anything and that accordin' to the rule, they weren't no two ways about it, and so they done it."

Shortly afterwards the station was reached, and the aged veterans, after a bite of biscuit and a handful of oats, turned back to their humble home.

This period in the pedagogy of that region passed not without leaving some salutary results. Any system, however crude, is better than no system. On the confines of existences so far different from each other, it was as indispensable as elsewhere to get some instruction, at least in elementary education. This was all that at first was sought. Neglect of it had been too long already amid the hardships of one long war and threatenings of another. To read, write, become familiar with elementary rules in numbers, and get some acquaintance with forms of polite speech, these must be gotten after a fashion of some sort from the only persons who came forward to undertake the task of imparting. Weaklings as these generally were, need of subsistence which they were incompetent to obtain out of other vocations, continuance of endeavors to enhance their fitness for this their only, with pressure from outside, begot in time a familiarity with its duties which, if not satisfactory, was tolerable. The very crudeness habitually breaking out in those old schoolhouses contrasted with those in which good sense, manners, and tastes were hereditary, served as a foil to make the latter more clearly recognized and more easily practiced. Superadded to this the habit of entire obedience to authority of however trilling dignity, but taught to be of equal force with that by which it was delegated, tended strongly to the development of generous manhood, of neighborly kindliness, of lifelong friendships, of good citizenship. In a community situate far from cultured circles, activities sometimes too ardent, even degrees of lawlessness, must exist. Among the systems tending to repress them among the young, old-field schools, despite their eccentricities, made their own contribution, and it was respectable. Then their glaring imperfections intensified the sense of need of better, and expedited their introduction.

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE COTTON STATES AND INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, HELD IN ATLANTA, GA., SEPTEMBER 18 TO DECEMBER 31, 1895.1

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, D. C., February 1, 1896.

SIR: A marked difference between the Cotton States and International Exposition and the Centennial and the World's Fair may be found in the fact that the last two were held to commemorate great historical events, while the first was strictly commercial in its conception and aims. Its origin was due to the then unsatisfactory business situation in the South, and it represented an effort to restore the trade of Atlanta to its normal activity. To attract visitors, to increase the amount of money in circulation, to advertise the city, and to extend the market for its wares-these were the means by which it was expected that the efforts in behalf of the Exposition would redound to the commercial benefit of Atlanta.

As originally projected an international affair was not contemplated, but the idea, once started, grew. It was observed that it might be possible not only to add to the trade in the Southern States of the Union, but that the countries still farther south might be brought into such relations with Atlanta merchants as to open profitable intercourse between them by which Atlanta, though far from the seaboard, might even attain international importance. Government aid was early sought and an appropriation was secured of $200,000 for an exhibit of the resources and functions of the United States Government. Commissioners were sent to the countries of South America and of Central America to arouse interest in the objects of the Exposition, to obtain exhibits, and to secure the cooperation of those Governments. Agents were employed to solicit exhibits from Europe also.

Judged by the visible results, these efforts to give the Exposition an international character and significance were comparative failures. Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, and Costa Rica were represented by commissioners bearing governmental appointments, but their exhibits were meager and unpretentious, since the amount of money at their disposal was insignificant. It is not probable that any one of them had as much as $10,000 for all purposes. None of the European nations were officially represented. The foreign section of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building was composed of a number of booths, apparently for no other purpose than the immediate sale of wares.

This paucity of foreign recognition of the Exposition was due, of course, to its provincial and purely commercial character and to the fact that our own Government had no further connection with it than the preparation and display of its own exhibit. Under the circumstances it is only surprising that the managers of the enterprise succeeded in giving it as much of an international character as they did.

GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS.

The site for the Exposition was well chosen. It was about 2 miles from the center of the city and had been previously used for a number of fairs of local character. That, however, was of little significance when the more pretentious Exposition was arranged, for the entire face of the earth was altered by new grades, terraces, and artificial lakes, so that the old Piedmont grounds were absolutely unrecognizable in the new grounds as prepared for the Exposition. Only two of the old buildings were retained. The Main Building was remodeled and became the Transportation Building, while the grand stand overlooking the old race track was transformed into a very acceptable "Auditorium" for the various conventions and congresses held in connection with the Exposition.

Report of James C. Boykin, agent of the Bureau of Education.

The principal buildings were devoted, respectively, to agriculture, forestry and mining, machinery, Georgia manufactures, the negro, transportation, electricity, woman, liberal arts, the United States Government, fine arts, the auditorium, and the administrative offices.

Nearly all of them were substantial appearing frame structures, uniformly gray in color, with white trimmings, and shingle roofs stained with an unobtrusive green. The most conspicuous exceptions to this rule among the Exposition buildings proper were the Forestry Building, which was constructed of unhewn logs, the Woman's Building, and the Fine Arts Building, which were plastered with material similar to that used so freely at the Columbian Exposition. Several States, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Alabama, Illinois, and Massachusetts, erected buildings on the grounds at State expense. The Georgia and Alabama buildings were filled with exhibits setting forth State resources, mainly agricultural in the former case and mineral in the latter. The Massachusetts Building contained exhibits of schools, of the State board of health, and of somo State institutions. The other State buildings were merely meeting places for their citizens and contained no exhibits. The building called the California Building was a private enterprise.

The general arrangement of the buildings was around an elliptical plaza a half mile in circumference, on one side of which were two small artificial lakes. The grounds were tastefully laid out and ornamented with shrubs, fountains, and sheetmetal statuary. A decided novelty was introduced by mounting some of the metal figures upon tall Corinthian and Ionic columns.

The walks were of crushed limestone and in general color harmonized well with the color of the buildings, but the stone was crushed just fine enough to present innumerable sharp points and edges to the feet of pedestrians, and it was not laid sufficiently thick to prevent the heavy Georgia mud from oozing through when the winter rains fell. So the walks were not altogether sources of pride to the management.

The general appearance of the grounds and buildings was decidedly pleasing, and during the night illuminations, which were frequent during the first few weeks, the scene from any one of several favorable locations was one of extraordinary beauty.

"THE MIDWAY."

The ethnological appendage to the World's Fair on the Midway Plaisance has had its imitators at every fair that has followed; but at Chicago one of the main objects was instruction of an intensely practical and valuable kind. Amusement and profit were secondary considerations. The experiment was successful there, for the Midway was very popular and profitable, both to the Fair and to the managers of the various " villages." But at the later fairs, including that in Atlanta, the original object of bringing together representatives of widely scattered races for educational purposes seems to have disappeared, and instead there have been presented numerous shows, many of them of rather a low order, for no other purpose than sordid gain.

THE EXHIBITS.

Agricultural Building.—The most conspicuous of the exhibits in the Agricultural Building was the Arkansas State exhibit, which filled the entire building with the perfume of apples. There were also miscellaneous exhibits from South Carolina and Louisiana, two extensive railroad exhibits, several from beer and whisky making concerns, and a great variety of minor exhibits of food products, etc.

The Forestry and Mining Building was under the charge of two officials of the United States Government, Dr. David T. Day, of the Geological Survey, and Dr. B. E. Fernow, of the Agricultural Department, who were acting as officers of the Exposi tion as well as employees of the Government. The building was filled principally with the class of exhibits indicated by its name. An exception was the Venezuelan exhibit, which consisted largely of wools, skins, etc. An effort was evidently made to set forth with a great deal of particularity the resources of the South in the way of forests and mines, for the most striking features of the display were the Southern woods, the illustrations of the turpentine industry, statistical columns" representing graphically the extent of the production of Southern mines, and a fine collection of Southern gems.

In the Machinery Building the most extensive exhibits were those of cotton manufacturing machinery and pumping engines; and the fact that cards indicating that these had been sold appeared early may be taken as an evidence of enterprise in Southern manufacturers, for the mere fact that these machines were exhibited in such a place proves them to be of late design, even if not necessarily of the best. In this connection it may be well to mention as a matter of especial economic interest that there were also exhibited on the grounds a machine for picking cotton, and a new cotton press, which, if they come into general use, will greatly change the methods of handling cotton.

Cotton can not be cut and the fiber separated from the stalk as wheat is thrashed, for all the cotton on a stalk does not ripen simultaneously. The same plant may have upon it at the same time "squares," blooms, unopened bolls, and ripe cotton ready for picking. The last should be picked as soon as practicable to prevent it from being damaged by rain and dirt and from falling to the ground and being lost; but the rest of the plant must not be injured, and the remaining bolls must be allowed to come to maturity in order to realize the full value of the crop. Several pickings are therefore necessary. Heretofore nothing but the human hand has been able to do this, and cotton picking has been necessarily slow, laborious, and expensive. It usually costs a half cent a pound and sometimes as much as three-quarters of a cent. And the cotton as it is picked is worth not over 3 cents, for there are about 2 pounds of seed to every pound of fiber, and the latter brings only about 74 cents; the seed is of but little cash value to the farmer, even in this day of cottonseed oil mills.

Several attempts have been made to devise a machine to do the work of picking, but heretofore none of them has had even reasonable success. The new machine exhibited in Atlanta is an ingenious and intricate piece of mechanism and a description of its details would be out of place here. But it did pick cotton and it did not appear to damage the blooms or to knock off the unopened bolls. Its operation was far from being a complete success, but it demonstrated that the thing could be done, and if finally successful it will result in important economic changes in the cotton belt, and play its part in the upbuilding of towns by lessening the number of laborers required in farm work.

According to the present method cach picker carries a bag slung over his shoulders and puts into it the cotton as he picks it. At the end of the row, or when the bag becomes uncomfortably heavy, he empties it into a large "split" basket, which in turn is hauled to a shed or barn to await the convenience of the farmer. When picked the fiber is full of seed, to which it is attached. This seed cotton must be hauled to a gin-which is usually conducted after the manner of the old-time gristmills--and there the seed is separated from the lint or fiber by a series of fine saws. The lint emerges from the condenser attached to the gin in a broad, fleecy roll. This condenser, by the way, is a modern improvement, for within a comparatively few years the lint was thrown from the gin like a snowstorm into a "lint room," against an opening in the wall of which the gin was placed. At the same time the "feeding" of the seed cotton into the gin was done by hand and was exceedingly dangerous because of the probability of the feeder's hand getting caught in the saws. The automatic feeder and the condenser came into use about the same time.

After coming from the condenser, according to present methods, the cotton is taken by hand to a press, usually operated now by steam but formerly by horse power, by which it is formed into a bale containing from 400 to 550 pounds, the average being somewhat less than 500 pounds. The bale is partly covered with jute bagging and is held in shape by iron ties or straps. If the bale is to be shipped North or to Europe it is usually compressed to about half its former size by means of powerful hydraulic compresses at some central point. This is done to facilitate shipping and to reduce the danger of fire, for in the loosely packed bale a spark may smolder for days, burn the bale to a shell, and be communicated to surrounding bales before it is discovered.

Before reaching its final destination, where it is made into cloth, the bale of cotton passes through the hands of never less than three parties, namely, those of the local merchant, the warehouseman and cotton factor, and the final purchaser. Every one of these takes a sample from the bale in order to judge of its quality and determine the price to be paid. To get a fair sample a generous handful is taken, and to guard against fraud in packing, the sample is taken from as near the center of the bale as possible. To do this the bagging is cut, and the loss to the bale is not only what is taken for the sample, but also that damaged as the result of the exposure of fresh surface to the dust and mud encountered on its travels. The bagging only partially covers the bale at best and the damage from this source is considerable. The loss to the producer from the system of sampling alone may be judged by the fact that cotton factors consider the samples as perquisites of the business and the receipts from their sale usually amount to enough to pay all expense for clerk hire.

The new system of baling, exhibited at Atlanta, is intended to obviate all these difficulties. The cotton as it comes from the condenser is automatically carried to a new type of press where it is rolled under heavy pressure into the form of a cylindrical bale of great density. It is then completely covered with heavy cotton canvas. Samples are taken out during the baling process and accompany the bale with the guaranty of the ginner of its correctness. The density of the new bale is greater than that of even a compressed bale, and it is claimed that it is practically impossible for it to burn, since all the air is pressed out in the baling.

There are three, and probably more, varieties of presses on the new rolling principle, there being differences in the size and weight of the bale produced. But all ED 95- -55*

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