Liberia Andrew S
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K0XV1LLE COLLEC VOL. XXX NO. 8 1916 THEp^-ROR^- KNOXVILLE +-+ COLLEGE '•* MONTHLY May Liberia Andrew S. Jackson A Man Profj.R Millin Commencement "An English Class'' ni March if Bessie Kendrick THE AURORA Have been in business eight years Smith & Monroe Tailoring • Steam and French Dry Cleaning, Dyeing, Pressing, Repairing a Specialty Elf for good work give us the otder All work guaranteed Low prices B. F. Smith, rigr. C. C. Hon roe, Prop* Old Phone 3325 1508 "Clinton StE Knoxville, Tenn. WHEN YOU THINK OF HOPE BRC MUSIC THINK OF Jewelers CL ARK &L JOIN;ES 510 GAY 8TREKT E DO PRINTING ' .CALL ATr^^P Wo RKSHAJ YOU MILLER'S mutwy LIKE AND REASONABLE 1219 ASYLUM AV*i§g| FOR YOUR Knoxville College Press Cakes, Pies, and Candies ft W. Curtis SB. So. COraevder Dealer in Tennessee Pearls Established 40 years J. kotograpker 522 Gay St. When your SHOES are in need Removed to tAis address: of repair see 405 G>ast Vine ^/fve. Old ^PAone 4000 JEH. ALEXANDER I5O9 CLINTON ST. "THE OLDEST, LARGEST and stronger Grocery house in the state." Established in 1880, Gtias. t Mm & Go no change in name, bank and ocaton since that time. Our Interior Decorators guarantee is as good as a Gov Wall Paper, Paints & Etc, ernment Bond, has been For 315 Wall Ave. ;ill fhirtv- four years. JIM ANDERSON COMPANY THE AURORA (bvcellenl Service cfast Urains and S/ood Connections for all JL oints East - West - North and South MB THE SHORT LINE •Jo titania, M.ouisvelle, St. J+ouis and Cincinnati. For Rates, Routes, Schedules, and Complete Information Address or call on, SD. S. Shandler, 3)ist. &ass. y/gt. Jlolston ^National SSank Soldg., Zfinoxville, Uenn. • v^WWW-VWWW"* VVVVVVVVVVVVV\V%VVVVVVVVVVV\'V%%\\V%%9 I CHANDLER & COMPANY I \ if BUILDING MATERIAL | JI Specialties: J 51 CEMENT PLASTER 5 |r| FIREBRICK ROOFING, J || KNOXVILLE, TENN. 426 W- Depot Ave. \ • WW* i^^V1kVVVVV\VVViVVVVVVVV\\\\\VVVVV%%V%VV%^%%Vi1At C. M. McCLUNG, COMPANY WHOLESALE HARDWARE Knoxville, : : Tenn SPECIALTIES: Plumbing Material Mill Supplies L Pipe Fitting CONTENTS LIBERIA Andrew S. Jackson A MAN Prof. J. R. Millin,—Contributing Editor "AN ENGLISH CLASS" IN MARCH Bessie Kendrick MAY DAY GREETINGS - - 8 BIBLE SCHOOL - - ... 9 COMMENCEMENT DATES io COLLEGE NOTES - ii RELIGIOUS NOTES 14 ALUMNI AND FORMER STUDENTS 15 Prof. J. G. Beck, A. B., '06 EXCHANGES ... - - 16 ATHLETICS 17 LITERARY SOCIETIES - - 19 COLLEGE DIRECTORY, CALENDAR OF EVENTS THE AURORA Vol. XXX Knoxville, Tenn., May, 1916 Noi 8 Literary Department MISS ROSANNAH B. MARSHALL Liberia By ANDREW S. JACKSON IN 1821, a second expedition under the auspices of The American Colonization Society selected a site on the Atlantic Coast in West Africa for a colony of freed persons of color in the United States who desired "some asylum from the deep degra dation" of which they were complaining. Here a colony of freed colored people were planted by the Society with the aid of the United States government. As pioneers they suffered great ly. Many of their number succumbed under the African fever, some, broken down by sickness and hardship returned to Ameri ca, while not a few fell victims to the poisoned weapons of the hostile natives. After the colony had been firmly established, the natives subdued, rather reconciled/or befriended, so that the settlers were no more threatened with hostility from them, the Society returned to the colony the power which it had heretofore delegated to its agents, and left the settlers to the government of themselves Previous to this time the colony was supervised by tlie Society through agents or governors, most of whom were wuite men appointed by the organization. In Jwly, 1847, the following year, after the Society had dissolved political connec tion with the colony, the representatives of the people in the three counties in the colony met in a convention, and on July 26, "declared the said commonwealth a Free, Sovereign and In dependent State, by the name and style of the Republic of Libe ria " The Declaration of Independence contained an outburst of s * iu neut from the asylum seekers. In part it reads, "We the people of the Republic of Liberia were originally inhabitants of the United States of North America. In some parts of that country we were debarred by law from all rights and privileges of men —in other Darts, public sentiment, more powerful than THE AURORA law, ground us down. We were every where shut out from civil offices. We were excluded from all participation in the govern ment. We were taxed without our consent. We were compelled to contribute to the resources of the country, which gave us no protection. We were made a separate- and distinct class, and against us every avenue of improvement was effectually closed. Strangers from all lands, of a color different from ours, were pre ferred before us. We uttered our complaints, but they were un attended to, or met only by alleging the peculiar institution of the country. All hope of a favorable change in our country was thus wholly extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked about with anxiety for some asylum from the deep degradation." On the same day the constitution of the republic was adopted. Ev ery Liberian, therefore, considers July 26 his national holiday, and celebrates it with great enthusiasm. It was natural that the colonists should copy after the coun try from which they emigrated. The Liberian flag is like that of the United States, with very little modification. It has six red stripes and five white ones, and a "lone star", in a blue field. The government is modeled after that of the United States. The eight senators and fourteen representatives are from four coun ties and one colony. These are elected each for six years while the President with his cabinet holds office for four years. The supreme court of the republic is presided over by a Chief Justice and two associate judges. Liberia is approximately 43000 square miles iu area, and has a coast line of 350 miles. Four-fifths of this land is covered with forests of valuable timber,—walnut, mahogany, cedar, and other woods. The giant trees of the forest are entwined and clambered by rubber plants and rattan. The plains are clad in a luxuriant growth of perennial vegetation, so thick that it is al most impenetrable without the aid of a large knife. Fruits are plentiful and animal life is abundant and varied, both on land and in the waters of Liberia. White corporations mine at a great profit iu the Liberian highland, as native labor is very cheap The method >f farming in the "Black Republic" is unde veloped scientifically. Plowing is unknown to the Libenan farmers -xcept t 1 >se who immigrated fjrom America. The chief farm products are: rice, coffee, Indian corn, potatoes, eddoes, sum a id many vegetables and fruits The humorous expres- THE AURORA sion that "bread and butter grow on trees in Liberia" refers to the bread fruit and the butter pears. The former, when cooked can be cut into slices like light bread, while the latter when ripe, is as soft and greasy as butter, and is used by some Liberians for that purpose. Bananas, oranges sugar canes, grow freely in Liberia. Nearly every Liberian homestead has a plum tree which generally yields more than the family can use. There are only two seasons in Liberia, The Rainy and the Dry Seasons. During the former season which is the harvesting time, all the fresh water streams in Liberia peridically overflowed During the latter season, these streams become dried up, even to. the destruction of the fishes in the smaller streams. The population of Liberia is not given in reliable figures. It has been estimated however, by some observers to be 2000000.. Of this number 40000 are said to be Americo-Liberians. Others placed the number at n850 Americo-Liberians, and 2000000 na tive inhabitants. However far from the correct number these figures may be, it is apparent that the native population of Libe ria is by far in excess of the civilized population. Despite their small number, the Americo-Liberians, which includes also emi grants from the West Indies are at the head of the affairs of the government. There are, however, some educated natives in po sitions of trust in the government. Socially, the Americo-Liberians are guilty of undue discrim ination igiiust the native African. This is extended even to the educated native in a measure. Filled with the thought of supe riority, the Americo-Liberian is clannish and very often assumes an overbearing attitude toward the "bush niggers"—the native Africans. His cherished ambition is to get as many native boys and girls as bond servants, as his pocket book can afford, $15.00 for each, while he the "massa" of the "big house" seeks some profession. This ambition is sometimes carried too far, even to African children of noble birth, and it often impairs the relations between the two classes. An Americo-Liberian befriended a native African chief Ac the end of one of his annual visits the chief made him many valuable presents and permitted his son, the young prince, to visit him. The prince was treated as a servant. When he returned home, the prince told his father of the treat ment he had received in the home of the Americo-Liberian, the chief's* friend. The result was that this ungrateful Liberian was driven out of the chief's town empty handed. THE AURORA Education has not received much attention in 1 iberia.