Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1855-07-19
( D y c A ITO N.
NUABER THREE.


ing desE0us TO awaken some interest
IN the Community upon the subject,
eaptionsd as abore, I feel disposed to
offer-a few more suggestions for the
purpose of presenting more fally, the
grand reasons / have fer urging the
necessity Of such an organization
as alluded to in my former eommuni-
cations Such essays as these nay
be irksome and unirteresting to some
| Of your rsaders, yet hope there
are numbers of them who VII read
them with atleast sufficient interest
as to cause them to think and con-
slider the things presented. since
writing to you lest, ] have been ez-
aiming The Census Report, sent to
me by our friend and Congressman
Hon. G. W. Jones, (for which he has
my most hearty thanks) aud / an not
alittle surprised to find to what ex-
tent the citizens Of Tennessee are in
the rear 'of many of her adjoining
sister States, in point Of intellectual
improvement. By reference to the
census | find Tennessee has II ,522
white persons, over 30 years Of age,
who cannot read nor write. The es-
timated white population Of Tennes-
see being about 756,S36. BY divi-
ding by 1922 we have nearly one
tenth Of the population deficient in
this point We viii notice how the
matter stands in a few Of the adjoia-
ing eounties-frst / commence with
old Lincoln. 1 was born and
raised there--Lineoln with q white
population Of 1892, has within her
boundary i 1854 persons oyer 20 years
of age, who can neither rad nor write;
between one-ninth or one-tenth desti-
tute of a common school education.
Marshall county with population of
nearly twelve thousand. has 1.12l in
the same condition; between One-tenth .
or eleventh of her population. Giles
population 16,5lS-of these
1858 persons over 20 years unable
to read and write; making a little
over one-thirteenth of her population.
We notice next old Bedford, pOpula-
ton Is, 1887; S55 unable to rad and
write, amounting to the rise Of one
of her population.
Comparing the white population Of
our State with Ohio, We have one per-
son to nearly every ten who can nei-
thar read nor write. Ohio has about
one to every 80; her white popula-
ton being 1,955,O50; and those IN
learned amount to GI,030. / viii
one more State with OURS and
close this part of the subject. For
Instance, Connecticut, population in
1850, 10000; of these, only 4,739
Tan neither read ner write; about one
individual to &c Of her white popnla-
ton. | now leave this branch of tie
subject and present few other fea-
lures connected as / think, with the
rising generations advancement in
knowledge.
We have three classes Of schools
in our State. LIST Colleges; I'd Acade-
mics; Sd common or public schools;
and permit me to remark that Ten
nessee is better accommodated with
Colleges and Academies than in COM
mon schools. According to the CEN
susreportwe have in Tennessee some o.
Is Colleges, and am unable at pres
ent to State how many Academies.
The number Of public schools is est
mated to be some $3.50, having in
charge some l04,117 students, aver
aging some 3S pupils to the school
am most firmly Of the opinion that
we ought to have another kind Of
school, called by our northern friends
Normal schools, in which persons are
taught to teach. IL we had one such
school in each county, for the instruc-
ion and qualification Of teachers,
here would evidently great COED re-
suit from it. Ought we not to be
linking upon this subject and en-
to establish some place to 4.
meet and satisfy the existing demands
n intellectual improvement. Mr..
Editor, suppose, sir, you speak out
N this subject l ask are we wiling
hat our citizens should remain so far
n the rear as at present; ! think not.
desire to see all persons instructed
n their mother tongue, in the scion
es and arts, and l can think of no
etter way of bringing this about, than
D attempt the organization contsm-
lated In the communications list and
d On Education. viii notice in my
evt matters relative to the fund SET