Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/131

 CHANGING CONDITIONS IN KENTUCKY 125

founding a Eettlemeat school in the valley of his home, gave some of his reasons for doing bo essentially as follows; That there was mueli whiskey and wickedness in the eommuuity where his grandchildren must be reared " was a serious thing for him to study about." Also, he heard two of his neighbors say that there is neither heaven nor hell. Further- more, one of them told him that when a man is dead he is just the same as a dumb beast. And another said that he could not rear his large family of children to be as mean as he wished. With these conditioji. in mind the founder hoped that by starting a good school he "wouli help moralize the country." Formerly the I'rcsbyterian religion was most prevalent, but it gave way to the " Hard-shell " Baptist creed, since in the mountains the educational qualifications for the latter were less severe than for the former. The disciples of this religion have in turn given way before the "Missionary Baptists." Methodists are also numerous. The most vivid disputes in the mountains were wont to be about religion. But now there is a significant change toward tolera- tion in that preachers frequently exchange pulpits with pastors of other denominations, and that the use of a church is often tendered to another denomination which temporarily is without a place of worship. The following can be interpreted as 8 groan of growth. "The church in eour holler, hits about dade. Part ov the folks want an eddicated preacher, and parts wants an old timer, an so they don't get nary 'one." The funeral preaching had become the sole opportunity for social gather- ing until the recent advent of " camp meeting week," and the coming of the extension school on wheels.

Changing conditions have not yet affected greatly the political situa- tion in the mountains. Since the Civil War so many of the inhabitants have been Republicans that party arguments have been one-sided, and the contests have been within the organization. Unity of feeling in the

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