1793 
 
 1896 
 
 "QUens J&ana in Cotpott JJano." 
 
 BlffGfiflP SCHOOIi 
 
 As Seen and Reported by 
 
 "F. IB. -aJESSiTXDEXJl 
 
 Staff Correspondent, 
 
 OF 
 
 The News and Observer, 
 
 OF 
 
 RALEIGH, N. C. 
 
BINGHAMHEIGHTS 
 
 One of the Chief Attractions in North Caro= 
 Una's Beautiful Cloudland. 
 
 THE FAMOUS BINGHAM SCHOOL 
 
 One of America's Leading Institutions of 
 
 Physical, Moral and Intellectual 
 
 Culture. 
 
 ITS UNEQUALLED EQUIPMENT. 
 
 Its Past Great Work, Its Present Excellence and its Bright 
 and Glorious Future. — flajor Bingham, Its Able and 
 Progressive Builder and Superintendent. 
 
 /§)SHEVILLE, N. C, April 28.— I asked a prominent Asheville 
 y* gentleman some days ago what were the three leading attractions 
 at Asheville. "The Battery Park Hotel, the Vanderbilt Estate and 
 Bingham School," he replied, without hesitation. 
 
 I knew that, as to the two former the gentleman was correct, and 
 made my mind that I would verify his statement as to the latter. 
 So I went to the corner of Patton avenue and Haywood street, and 
 seeing a new electric car having on each side, "Bingham Heights," I 
 reached for a nickel and got aboard. In a few minutes I was wind- 
 ing around the magnificent homes between Patton avenue and the 
 French Broad river. A few moments more and we were crossing the smil- 
 ing river, at the foot of Bingham Heights. Proceeding, after a moment's 
 gaze at the beautiful stream, I began a gradual ascent over a beauti- 
 fully graded pathway, leading up beside a babbling brook, along by 
 bubbling springs, blooming clover, laurel and jessamine, up the slopes 
 of a magnificent hill, then on through a budding forest of native oaks 
 and chestnut and maple, until I was on the summit of Bingham 
 Heights, and there was spread out before me one of the newest and 
 most attractive and complete school plants in America, a grand school 
 city, built of brick, on both sides of a delightfully shaded, grass-covered 
 esplanade into which open the doors of dormitories, class-rooms, and Y. 
 M. C. A. hall, with gymnasium hall and chapel nearby, all in most 
 perfect detail, and most systematic and convenient and charming ar- 
 rangement, a beautiful little city of barracks, built upon a commodious 
 hill shaded by maples and oaks that nature planted, sweetened with the 
 perfume of wild flowers that grow here as naturally as cedars grow in 
 Lebanon, fanned by winds that are never ceasing and never boister- 
 ous, and smiled upon by the broad panorama of mountain grandeur 
 on every side, by a blue azure sky above, and by a winding, whispering, 
 laughing river below. 
 
Bingham Heights is naturally one of the grandest spots in the 
 grandest country in the world, and Bingham School is to-day, in 
 location, modern equipment, in perfect arrangement, in sanitary ex- 
 cellence, in complete detail, and in superb management, one of the 
 best, if not the best, school plants in the United States. 
 
 Let no one be incredulous here; for I shall verify this statement 
 directly, with the voluntary opinions of men whose rank as statesmen, 
 educators, army officers, physicians, and business men entitles them 
 to speak, and when I had scanned Bingham Heights and had gone 
 through every department of Bingham School, I was prepared to 
 declare that the gentleman quoted was correct in his statement, ex- 
 cept I should, in naming Asheville's three leading institutions, put 
 Bingham School first. 
 
 Any one who inspects the new Bingham School as I have done, 
 must be convinced as I have been. 
 
 A brief history of this famous institution which the United States 
 Government's Bureau of education says "is pre-eminent among South- 
 ern schools for boys," is proper in this place. 
 
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 
 
 The Bingham School was established in 1793 by the grandfather 
 of the present Superintendent, Rev. William Bingham, who died in 
 1825, after having taught first in Wilmington, then in Pittsboro, then 
 in the State University as Professor of L,atin for 5 years, which posi- 
 tion he resigned to return to the private school work which he contin- 
 ued at his country home in Orange count)' till his death. He was 
 succeeded by his eldest son, the late W. J. Bingham, who as principal 
 of the Hillsboro Academy achieved a reputation unsurpassed by any 
 of his contemporaries in other professions and unequaled by any other 
 teacher in the South. In 1844 he moved the school to Oaks, 12 miles 
 southwest of Hillsboro, where he taught with unabated success till 
 his health failed in 1864, his sons, William and Robert, being associ- 
 ated with him after 1857. ft being difficult during the Civil War to 
 get supplies so far from a railroad, in the hands of the late Col. Wil- 
 liam Bingham, the School was moved again during the winter of 
 1864 — 65 to the nearest point on the railroad, three-fourths of a mile 
 from Mebane Station (and still in Orange County, ) where it remained 
 till 1891. But up to that time when a second disastrous fire in nine 
 years drove it from its wooden buildings in middle North Carolina, 
 Bingham's lacked an ideal situation and ideal comfort, safety, conven- 
 ience, ventilation and sanitation in its buildings. In the unanimous 
 and pronounced judgment of more than fifty physicians who have 
 inspected it, and of hundred of others from all parts of the Union, in 
 the New Bingham School at Asheville the ideal situation has been 
 secured, and the ideal comfort, safety, convenience, ventilation and 
 sanitation have been attained. 
 
 "In the buildings, " says the Atlanta Illustrator for April, "with 
 accommodations for one hundred and twenty pupils, two in a room 
 and one in a bed, economy and mere show are subordinated to health 
 safety, comfort and utility. They are on the so-called 'cottage plan,' 
 the ground plan of the University of Virginia and the plan adopted of 
 late years by all civilized governments on sanitary grounds for bar- 
 racks and hospitals. The dormitories are in eight sections and are 
 placed on both sides of a street seventy-five feet wide. Dampness is 
 prevented by a course of slate and cement under every floor, and the 
 sunshines into every room at some time during the day. But the 
 most distinctive feature is that a class room, with quarters for a teacher 
 behind it, is placed in the center of each of the eight ranges, so that 
 the teacher is ubiquitous and combination for disorders in study 
 
 rO 
 
 0=, 
 
hours are next to impossible. Every detail for the convenience and 
 comfort of the pupils has been carefully provided, and one rarely finds 
 a more comfortable spring bed, or a neater and more airy and better 
 heated room in any first class hotel." 
 
 I was prepared for the growing fame of Asheville by reflecting 
 how many people it attracts from all parts of the country and by the 
 prominence of the large majority of its 100,000 yearly visitors. I was 
 prepared to find a fine location for the School. I confess that I was 
 not prepared to find so magnificent a school plant in North Carolina, 
 or anywhere else ; not magnificent in appearance ; that cannot be said 
 of it at all ; for mere show has been entirely subordinated to utility . 
 But for convenience, for comfort, for discipline, for instruction, for 
 safety, for health and for sanitation, magnificent is the word. The 
 form of the buildings has been given in the language of the Illustrator. 
 The Gymnasium is a model of its kind. There are beautiful tennis 
 courts. The play ground is excellent. Athletics under proper res- 
 trictions are encouraged and provided for. The quarters, with their 
 single spring beds, compare favorably in every way with the quarters 
 and bed that I had at the Battery Park Hotel. The arrangements for 
 necessities are by far the best that I have ever seen in any public in- 
 stitution, and in the language of the Illustrator again, "are Northern 
 rather than Southern, European rather than American, in their san- 
 itary completeness and common sense, and they impress every one 
 who inspects them as being unequaled in excellence." 
 
 CULINARY DEPARTMENT. 
 
 But as much as I was impressed, and astonished, to tell the truth, 
 with every thing else, having a weakness for creature comforts, and 
 being a pretty fair judge of the same, I confess that the arrangements 
 for feeding the boys and the way they are fed impressed me more, I 
 believe, than any thing else. The table, the tableware, the labor sav- 
 ing appliances in the dining room and kitchen, the absolute decorum 
 of the boys at meals but especially the excellent quality of food, its 
 abundance, and the excellent quality of the cooking deserve the 
 highest praise. I travel a great deal and so I can make a just 
 comparison. 
 
 From the appearance of everything connected with the culinary 
 department and the well laden tables of rich, tempting and well prepar- 
 ed food, there are few hotels in the State that equal it and none that sur- 
 pass it. No wonder that all the boys say that Bingham fare is the 
 best they ever saw at a boarding school, and that their average gain 
 in weight last year was nineteen ( 19) pounds. 
 
 But lest some of my readers should think that I have overstated 
 the case, I will give the opinions of others whose political, official, 
 scientific and social prominence must carry coaviction to the most in- 
 credulous, beginning with Vice-President Stevenson, North Carolina's 
 favorite in public life, and ending with the opinion of Col. J. S. Carr, 
 of Durham, the great leader of the State's industrial development. 
 On his return to Washington from Asheville in March, 1894, in a 
 private letter to Josephus Daniels, published by permission in the 
 North Carolinian of March 20th, 1894, the original cop3' of which I 
 saw framed in Maj. Bingham's office, the Vice-President says : 
 
 "It was my good fortune, a few days ago, to visit the Bingham 
 School at Asheville, North Carolina. 
 
 "It is impossible to speak too highly of this celebrated institution. 
 Its location, buildings, sanitation and water supply are all that could 
 be desired. It would indeed be difficult to find a school whose location 
 possesses equal natural advantages. The corps of teachers, moreover, 
 is excellent. Under Major Bingham, its present efficient superintend- 
 
ent, this historic school has more than sustained its well earned rep- 
 utation. 
 
 "I take pleasure in commending it most earnestly." 
 This is high praise from a high source, and every word of it is 
 deserved. 
 
 OPINIONS OF ARHY OFFICERS, 
 
 There is no equivocation in the following from Major Chas. L. 
 Davis, U. S. Army, Professor of Military Science and Tactics. 
 Major Davis found here a school surpassing all others in the United 
 States, and he said so straight from the shoulder, under date of March 
 4th, 1894. He said : 
 
 "It affords me great pleasure to say that I regard Bingham School 
 as the best institution of its kind in the United States, possessing as it 
 does, a superbly healthful location, easy of access, in the geograph- 
 ical center of the region east of the Mississippi, and the best facilities 
 for developing the physical, mental, moral and manly qualities of its 
 students, among whom I deem myself fortunate to include my son." 
 
 Lieutenant Jos. B. Batchelor, of the United States Army, a North 
 Carolinian who takes special pride in the advancement of his State 
 and its interests, says: "Bingham's School combines more desirable 
 qualities than any other with which I arn acquainted." 
 
 Capt. Henry Wygant, U. S. Army, Professor of Military Science 
 and Tactics, says : "There isn't the equal of Bingham School 
 in my opinion." 
 
 Lieutenant J. B. Hughes, United States Army, says : I cordially 
 recommend Bingham's as the best school for boys in my knowledge." 
 
 Lieutenant John Little, United States Army, says : "The Bingham 
 school possesses more attractive features and offers better opportunities 
 for the mental and physical development of boys than any similar in- 
 stitution knowm to me." 
 
 "Best" is a great big, broad word and when used honestly and 
 advisedly it means a great deal. In this connection the word is used 
 advisedl)' and it simply means, in the language of Maj. Davis, Cap- 
 tain Wygant, and Lieuts. Batchelor, Hughes and Little, all of the U. 
 S. Army, who have been detailed as Military Professors in the School, 
 that there is no equal to Bingham School to-day in America, and 
 perhaps nowhere else. 
 
 PHYSICIANS SPEAK. 
 
 As to the sanitary excellence and general healthfulness of an insti- 
 tution there are none so capable of speaking as those physicians 
 whose scientific study and practical observation fully equip them for 
 expressing accurate and valuable opinions. 
 
 Dr. S. C. McGilvra, of West Superior, Wisconsin, after a careful 
 and critical inspection of the school in April, 1894, said : "The loca- 
 tion, the quarters, the class rooms, the gymnasium, the equipment 
 and service of the mess hall and kitchen, the ventilation, the drainage, 
 the sanitation, are much the best that I have ever seen anywhere North 
 or South, and must appeal very strongly to the smaller but higher 
 class of parents who are satisfied with only the best for their sons." 
 
 Dr. McGilvra did not stop at "best" but went further and said 
 •'much the best, "and he struck the keynote when he said that the 
 school appealed strongly to that higher class of parents who would be 
 satisfied only with the "best" for their sons. 
 
 Dr. P. L. Murphy, Superintendent of the State Hospital at Mor- 
 ganton, and one of the most eminent specialists in the South, says : "It 
 was gratifying to me, a former pupil of this famous school, to find it 
 fully abreast of the times in every respect. The reputation of the 
 
6 
 
 school under its present management for thoroughness in every detail 
 of moral, physical and intellectual culture is at least up to the highest 
 standard of its past, if not above it." 
 
 Dr. Karl von Ruck, member of American Health Association and 
 Medical Director of Winyah Sanitarium, Asheville, N. C, says: "I 
 find that its sanitary appointments are exceptionally perfect and much 
 better than I have ever found before in the numerous public institu- 
 tions I have heretofore examined. I have not one single suggestion to 
 make, on the contrary I commend its appointments as a standard, 
 worth the study and imitation of every similar institution in the land." 
 
 Dr. F. V. Van Artsdalen, of Philadelphia, says: "The most dis- 
 tinguished of all the educational institutions of North Carolina is 
 Bingham's School. For sanitation and the principles of hygiene I 
 look upon it as not being surpassed by an}- similar or other institution 
 in the world." 
 
 Dr. J. C. Erwin, of McKinney, Tex., says : "I have no hesitation 
 in saying, after a careful examination of the sanitary conditions of 
 Bingham School that they are perfect in every detail and superb in 
 their completeness. * * Superior to anything I have ever seen 
 before." 
 
 Drs. S. Westray Battle, Jno. Hey Williams, Jas. A. Burroughs, 
 William D. Hilliard, representing the Medical Faculty of Asheville 
 after visiting and inspecting the school in a body said : 
 
 We have carefully examined the new School Buildings on Bing- 
 ham Heights, just without the city limits of Asheville, and take pleas- 
 ure in bearing testimony as follows : 
 
 I. The Location in natural advantages leaves nothing to be 
 desired. 
 
 II. The Buildings exceptionally fill the requirements. 
 
 III. The Sanitation is as perfect as scientific modern plumbing 
 can make it. 
 
 IV. The Water Supply is abundant, the water of the purest, 
 carefully collected from mountain springs, and without a chance of 
 contamination. 
 
 V. The all-the-y ear-round Climate of Asheville is world-renowned, 
 and with the School's exceptionally excellent equipment and sanita- 
 tion, gives Bingham's Special Advantages not enjoyed by another 
 school in America. 
 
 OFFICIAL ENDORSEHENT OF THE EXECUTIVE AND JUDI- 
 CIARY OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Governor Elias Carr, after visiting Bingham's School wrote as 
 follows : 
 
 "I am pleased to add my testimonial to the superior advantages 
 of the renowned Bingham School, now located near Asheville, N. C. 
 I was a student at Bingham School when it was situated at Oaks, 
 Orange County, in 1854. It was then the leading school in the State, 
 and it has ever since been successfully managed, and has enjoyed this 
 reputation. After a careful personal inspection of the present location 
 and the sanitary arrangements made recently, I am impressed with 
 the great improvement over the old plan of buildings used in my 
 school days ; and I have no hesitancy in pronouncing the location 
 most desirable, the buildings excellent, the sanitary arrangements 
 unequaled. In fact it is a model school plant, with all the modern 
 improvements. For three generations, extending over one hundred 
 vears, the Binghams have been distinguished educators, and the 
 School foundedby them is an Institution'of which any State should 
 be proud. 
 
 Justice A. C. Avery, of the Supreme Court of North Carolina says : 
 
"As an old student of Bingham School when under the manage- 
 ment of the late W. J. Bingham, it was a great pleasure to me to see 
 from a recent inspection of its work that my classmate, Maj. Robert 
 Bingham, the present head of the school, is not simply keeping abreast 
 of the times, but that, like his father, he is ahead of all competitors in 
 thoroughness of instruction and discipline, as well as in parental over- 
 sight of the morals and care for the health of his pupils. 
 
 "The location of the School is among the most beautiful in the 
 country, commanding a combined mountain and water view rarely if 
 ever equaled. The drainage is excellent, and the sanitary arrange- 
 ments are as nearly perfect as it is possible, by the utmost skill and by 
 lavish expenditure, to make them." 
 
 OFFICIAL REPORT OF GEN. CAMERON, THE HEAD OF THE MILITARY 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OOVERNnENT. 
 
 vSTATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, 
 
 Adjutant Gbnerai/s Office, 
 
 Raleigh, April 24, 1896. 
 Having recently visited and inspected the "Bingham School," 
 near Aslieville, it affords me much pleasure to testify to its admirable 
 location, management and condition. 
 
 Located in the heart of the health giving mountain region of 
 North Carolina its natural advantages in that respect are doubly en- 
 hanced by THE MOST THOROUGH and COMPLETE SANITARY 
 SYSTEM I HAVE EVER SEEN. It is but simple justice to say 
 that nothing has been left undone that could contribute to cleanliness, 
 health and comfort. 
 
 In my opinion the School IS SECOND TO NO INSTITUTION 
 OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY. 
 
 (Signed) FRANCIS H. CAMERON, 
 
 Adjutant General. 
 The influence of a great State institution is seen most and felt 
 most by those who conduct its public affairs and the endorsement of 
 Gov. Carr, Judge Avery and Gen. Cameron is evidence of the value 
 to the State and the South of the great work accomplished by Bingham 
 School. 
 
 EDUCATORS' ENDORSEMENT. 
 
 Dr. Geo. T. Winston, President of the University of North Carolina 
 speaking of the School said : 
 
 "The Bingham School would do credit to any State in the Union. 
 I have known it well twenty years, by personal inspection and by the 
 work of its pupils. It may challenge comparison with the best boys' 
 schools anywhere." 
 
 Rev. Dr. T. E. Sampson, who has traveled in Scotland, Germany, 
 Syria and all over America says : 
 
 "After a careful examination of the Bingham School in its new 
 home near Asheville, I would like to say that I have never seen any 
 school in America or out of it where the arrangements for the physical 
 culture, and for the comfort and convenience of the young men, were 
 so commodious and complete." 
 
 Dr. James H. Kirkland, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, says: 
 
 "The Bingham School has for many 3^ears been justly celebrated 
 as one of the very best schools in the whole country. The good work 
 it has done is attested by the records of the students it has sent out 
 into life or to pursue higher courses at the leading universities. It 
 was recently my privilege to inspect the grounds and buildings of 
 this famous School, and I can cheerfully say that every detail is in 
 perfect accord with the leading idea on which the School is run. In 
 
all its appointments it would be hard to find a school in the South 
 better equipped for work." 
 
 BUSINESS MEN'S ENDORSEHENT. 
 
 Col. Julian S. Carr, one of the acknowledged heads of industrial 
 development of North Carolina, and one of the best friends that edu- 
 cation has in all this Southland, recently visited Bingham Heights, 
 and after careful inspection, wrote as follows : 
 
 "I am pleased to have enjoyed a recent opportunity of making a 
 trip to the celebrated Bingham School, and of going carefully over the 
 premises. I need say nothing with respect to the curriculum, for the 
 well known repute of the institution is older than I. But of the loca- 
 tion, sanitation, etc., I desire to speak more particularly. It is beauti- 
 ful as to location. The French Broad sweeps past the base of a bold 
 cliff, upon w r hich the institution is situated. For miles down the val- 
 ley towards Paint Rock the view is charming. And towards the south 
 rise Pisgah and the Blue Ridge ; towards the east one sees the Black 
 Mountain the late home of Vance, and the burial place of Mitchell. 
 There is Vanderbilt's glittering in the sheen of the setting sun. How 
 can such a location, enshrined in the home of the health-giving ozone, 
 be otherwise than charmingly delightful, and remarkably healthful 
 for the School. From the way the land lies the drainage is natural, 
 and nature has done her work perfectly. The sewerage is most per- 
 fect and complete, and the ventilation and sanitation of the buildings 
 are perfect. Neither pains or expenses have been spared to make the 
 barracks what I pronounce the most perfect living rooms I ever saw r . 
 Health and disciplinary care is written in every feature of the institu- 
 tion, and those in search of the best need go no farther. I am proud 
 that North Carolina can boast of Bingham and Bingham School." 
 
 But much as I was pleased with the unequaled excellence of the 
 new Bingham's in every respect, and proud as I am, like Col. J. S. 
 Carr, that North Carolina has Bingham and Bingham School, per- 
 haps the thing which appealed to me most practically is the very high 
 standing which the School has established for itself among the busi- 
 ness enterprises and among the business men of Asheville." 
 
 Speaking of Major Bingham and Bingham School, Mr. Geo. S. 
 Powell, of Powell & Snider, leading grocers of Asheville, said : 
 
 "Bingham School is one of the best institutions in the South, 
 and Major Bingham, the Principal, is one of the most prompt and re- 
 liable gentlemen in his business dealings with whom we have ever 
 dealt." 
 
 Mr. G. A. Greer, another leading grocer, said : 
 
 "Major Bingham is one of the best patrons I ever had. With him 
 it is a pleasure to deal. He wants nothing but the best, buys the best 
 and discounts every bill he buys by paying cash. He manages his 
 great institution so well and on such strict business principles, and 
 he draws to it such a large number of valuable patrons that he is- 
 at all times prepared to meet every business obligation." 
 
 Mr. Barnard, the President of the National Bank of Asheville, 
 said : 
 
 "We regard Major Bingham as one of the most valuable individ- 
 ual factors that has ever been attracted to Asheville. He is a man of 
 energy, of great learning, and of unquestionable business ability and 
 integrity. His School here is a great success. I happen to know that 
 during the past year Major Bingham has, from the resources of his 
 school, paid off six thousand ($6000.00) dollars of the debt incurred in 
 the erection of the plant. A good showing, we call it, for times 
 like these." 
 
 These things I mention because in this da}- and time nothing es- 
 
tablishes a thing quite so accurately as bold, cold facts, and they show 
 that parents and guardians all over the country have learned of the 
 par excellence of Bingham School and are encouraging its builder with 
 an extended patronage. 
 
 FAIRNESS AND JUSTNESS OF THE DISCIPLINE. 
 
 One of the things that one hears oftenest from the boys at Bing- 
 ham School is the absolute fairness of the discipline. On this point 
 I will let Major Bingham speak for himself, as he does in the school 
 catalogue : 
 
 Article 15 is as follows : 
 
 RIGHT OF APPEAL. 
 
 "On every Saturday night at a prescribed signal, the Faculty as- 
 sembles in the Superintendent's office to hear any appeal by any Cadet 
 who thinks he has any complaint to make against any Teacher, Cadet 
 Officer or comrade, or against any other person, or for any cause what- 
 soever. A patient hearing is given to every appellant, who states his 
 cause of complaint fully, and sustains it by any testimony he may be 
 able to bring up. In this way errors are corrected, hast3 T judgment is 
 prevented, avoidable causes of complaint are removed, and fairness, 
 uniformity and justice are secured." 
 
 I cannot do better, in speaking of this admirable feature of the 
 school's methods, than to quote in his own words the impression which 
 this policy of fairness and overhanded justice made on Lieutenant J. 
 B. Batchelor, United States Army, who had recently been subject to 
 the methods of West Point. Says Lieutenant Batchelor, over his 
 signature : 
 
 "The discipline cannot be too highly praised. Uniform and mod- 
 erate, it presses on all alike, and while it is never excessive, it never 
 relaxes. It it is applied directly to the student body by means of the 
 military organization — the best means for that purpose. The object 
 of the school is to make not soldiers, but cultivated Christian gentle- 
 men; yet the foundation of this character can be laid only in self- 
 control, which is discipline, and no machinery has yet been found, or 
 can be found for thmoderate, even and constant application of disci- 
 pline equal to the military organization, distinctly subordinated, as in 
 this case, to the main work of the school. 
 
 "The discipline at Bingham's," continues Lieut. Batchelor, "is 
 eminently fair. Presided over by a man whose patience has never yet 
 found its limit, and who desires to make his pupils feel by the treat- 
 ment they receive that they are considered young gentlemen, any boy 
 in the school who thinks that he has received less than justice from 
 any one, though that one be the Superintendent himself, is sure of a 
 fair hearing and of a decision on the merits of the case, there being an 
 "appeal meeting" each week to hear all complaints. This, I think, 
 is one of the most important features of the school. It springs from 
 no weakness of discipline or desire to substitute concession for author- 
 ity. On the contrary, it shows the strength of the discipline which 
 can afford thus to examine and review its own acts, and if those acts 
 are erroneous, to reverse them ; and it forces the pupil to reflect that 
 where he is so fairly heard and so fairfy judged, the punishment award- 
 ed must be founded, not on caprice, but on justice, and this makes 
 obedience to discipline in the school almost instinctive." 
 
 THE WAY TRUTH IS EHPHASIZED. 
 
 Another marked feature in the school's methods of character 
 building which cannot be too highly commended, is the way in which 
 the truth is emphasized. On this head I cannot do better than to let 
 the school speak for itself, as it does in its catalogue, as follows : 
 
10 
 
 "Art. 14 — The TRUTH is the basis of every noble character ; and 
 as education is, mere than anything else, the development of char- 
 acter, telling the truth is the basis of the discipline of Bingham 
 School. We therefore always expect the truth from every Cadet, and 
 if any Cadet makes an official statement which is not the truth, his 
 comrades, after a full and fair investigation, ask his removal from the 
 school as being unworthy to associate with them." 
 
 Every boy who enters the school does so with the distinct under- 
 standing that "his word must be his bond," and with this understand- 
 ing, he makes a promise on his honor as a gentleman that he will ab- 
 stain from three things, namely, from drinking or being in a bar 
 room, from having deadly weapons, and from hazing. This promise 
 has been violated but four times in twenty years, and in each case the 
 offenders were promptly arraigned, convicted by their comrades, and 
 expelled by the faculty at the instance of the cadet body for lying. 
 Thus the honor method has stopped at Bingham's these three great 
 evils, drinking, hazing and having deadly weapons, and when once 
 established it prevents cheating on examinations, and other kindred 
 forms of dodging responsibility. This idea of one's meeting his res- 
 ponsibilities face to face pervades the life of the student body at Bing- 
 ham's more, perhaps, than it has pervaded a student body since the 
 days of Dr. Arnold at Rugby, and richly entitles Bingham's to its 
 honorable soubriquet of "The American Rugby." I cannot do better 
 on this point than to give in Lieutenant Batchelor's words, the im- 
 pression which this high sense of honor at Bingham's made on him 
 when Professor of Military Science and Tactics in the school ten years 
 ago, and which shines with untarnished lustre still. His words are 
 as follows : 
 
 "The pupils of the School represent the best people of the various 
 sections of the country from which they come. It is important that 
 the early associates of young men should be chosen from those whose 
 acquaintance will be desirable in after years, and especially impor- 
 tant that a boy should grow up among companions whose standard of 
 thought is high and pure. I say with confidence that NOWHERE 
 IN THE WORLD CAN A BODY OF YOUNG MEN BE FOUND 
 AMONG WHOM THIS STANDARD IS HIGHER AND PURER 
 than at Bingham's. Its pupils, like all boys, have their boyish faults and 
 boyish failings ; but they never fail to answer any call made upon them 
 by the self-respect and honor of a gentleman. Some black sheep 
 may come in, but they never taint the mass, and are soon gotten rid 
 of by an almost unconscious rejection on the part of the Cadets them- 
 selves. No boy who is not brave, frank, true and decent can stand 
 the atmosphere of Bingham School." 
 
 THE FIFTH BINGHAH. 
 
 I was also very much gratified to meet Capt. Robert Worth Bing- 
 ham, who has been connected with the School for four years, and to 
 learn that this fifth Bingham, of the fourth generation is so excellently 
 qualified in every way to perpetuate the School, and not only to main- 
 tain, but to increase its renown, when the waning 19th shall have 
 passed into the waxing 20th century and beyond. 
 
 FREE CADETSHIPS. 
 
 Another very gratifying thing is that the School is about to re- 
 sume the gratuitous work for which it has been noted for 100 years and 
 which it was obliged to suspend while establishing itself in its new 
 home. It is offering eleven (n) free Cadetships to be won by a com- 
 petitive examination, like Cadetships at West Point, Annapolis and 
 other great schools. The scholarships cover tuition, board, lodging 
 
11 
 
 and lights for which others pay $250 a year and are to be awarded by 
 the two Senators for the State at Large and by each Congressman for 
 his own District, to the young man who stands the best competitive 
 examination on the 15th of August at such place and before such com- 
 mittee as Senator or Congressman may select, or on the 26th of August 
 at the School in case no selection should be made in any district on 
 the 15th. In this w T ay the School will do North Carolina good by giv- 
 ing an education to a few picked young men; and will get good itself by 
 the presence of these picked young men in its classes, and by giving the 
 North Carolina public the opportunity to know more of its grand edu- 
 cational plant and facilities, which other States have got the proper 
 perspective on already, as is shown by the fact the School has eighty 
 (80) pupils on its roll this year from outside of North Carolina, while 
 North Carolina, with her proverbial lack of enthusiasm for the best 
 work of her own best sons, has but a score of pupils in what is not 
 only her own most famous school, but the most famous school in the 
 South in the opinion of the competent and distinguished judges whom I 
 have quoted and for which opinions they alone are responsible and 
 not I. And it is the only private school in the South or in the United 
 States as far as I know, which puts a free scholarship at the disposal 
 of each member of the Congressional delegation of the State in which 
 it is located. 
 
 THE HIGH REPUTE OF THE BINGHAM BOYS IN ASKEVILLE. 
 
 I was very much struck, too, with the fine manly appearance and 
 gentlemanly bearing of the boys and with the very high repute which 
 they have established for themselves in the city of Asheville. One 
 hears the remark often from the leading citizens that no Bingham 
 boy, while under the jurisdiction of the School has been seen in a 
 bar-room in Asheville, nor has any one of them ever been known to 
 act on the streets in any way unbecoming a gentleman. Such a record 
 would be impossible without excellent discipline by the School and 
 without excellent blood and breeding in the boys themselves. 
 
 THE CHARGES ARE REASONABLE. 
 
 It is generally understood that Bingham's disclaims the 
 idea of being a cheap John concern ! "We appeal," says the 
 Catalogue, "to the smaller but higher class of parents who 
 choose for their sons what is the best rather than to the larger class who 
 take the cheapest," and while it has always commanded somewhat 
 higher tuition fees than any other school for boys in North Carolina, 
 its charges are not above those of other schools of like grade and char- 
 acter in the South and are below those of similar schools at the North 
 and abroad. As a matter of fact the charges are reasonable enough, 
 $150 per session pays school expenses, which include tuition, board, 
 lodging, fuel, lights, military and gymnastic instruction, medical 
 attention if needed, and books, the charge being at the rate of not 
 quite $1. 13 per day. Now I submit that if a parent or guardian thinks 
 that a boy can be well taught, well fed, well housed, well warmed, 
 well lighted, well instructed in military and gymnastic exercises, well 
 doctored if lie needs it, and supplied with books for any less than 
 $1. 13 per day, such a parent or guardian hardly realizes the needs of 
 a boy's body and mind. 
 
 THE FUTURE OF THE SCHOOL. 
 
 It is no wonder that such a school with such a great past, with a 
 greater present and with a future greater than its past and its present 
 combined — should attract pupils this year from 18 States of the Union 
 extending from Ohio and Wisconsin on the North, to Florida and 
 
12 
 
 Texas on the South, from the United States Army and should reach 
 outside of the United States to Mexico ; nor is it to be wondered at 
 that it actually brings to North Carolina for education probably more 
 young men from outside of the State than all the other 
 colleges and private schools for boys in the State combined. 
 The only wonder is that under the pressiire of calamity by 
 fire and the consequent change of location, of persistent ru- 
 mors of temporary and of permanent suspension, under the 
 pressure, too, of the long continued financial troubles which have 
 swamped so many business enterprises all over the country, the won- 
 der is that under all these untoward circumstances the Bingham 
 School has risen, Phcenix like, so grandly from its ashes and that it 
 should have equipped itself so grandly for another century of pre- 
 eminence among Southern Schools. The general public outside of 
 North Carolina has already given its most unqualified approval by 
 sending eighty (80) pupils to the school from 18 States during the 
 current year ; and every North Carolinian who has inspected it is 
 enthusiastic in his concurrence with this judgment of prominent 
 ■people from Ohio and Wisconsin on the North through Florida and 
 Texas to Mexico on the South. 
 
 F. B. ARENDBLL.