The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-04-16
IMPORTANT DECISION.
oolored Children and the Common
Schools.


! INDIANAPOLIS, IND, April 6.-In
the Supreme Court, Judge Perkins
this morning rendered a decision in
the Carey Carter case, which met the
unanimous concurrence Of the other
members OF the bench. The Ques-
tions involved in this case are the
right Of eolored children 70 20 to the
public schools and the constitution
ahty of certain sections OF the school
law OF this state. The case was upon
an application for q mandate to COM
pei the school officers OF Lawrence
township to admit the children and
grandchildren Of Carey Carter, q coll
ored man, to the common school Of
that township, no separate schools
having been provided for their bene-
/ fit. A demurrer was filed to the Sp-
plicatiOn and also motion to quash.
After discussion Of the case, the
opinion reads as follows:
'tGreRt ability and research have
characterized the arguments upon
the motions. shall not follow the
counsel over the wide field they trav-
ersed in the argument shall limit
myself to the statement of q few
propositions which seemed to me to
support the conclusions to which I
have arrived. The ultimate question
in the case to be decided is this: Have
eolored children residing in the var
iOus districts, in the different tosn-
ships Of the state, in which no sep
arate schools have been organized for
colOred children, = right to attend the
school organized in such townships in
common with white children.
'On the 18th Of July, 1866, the Fif-
teenth Amendment became . part
OF the constitution of the United
States. That Amendment ordered
that all persons born or naturalized in
the United States, and subject to the
laws and penalties thereof, are ciIi-
Zens of the United States and of the
state wherein they reside. Article 8,
Section 8, Of the constitution Of the
State of Indiana, says: knowledge
and learning generally diffused
throughout q community being es-
sential to the preservation OF 3 free
government, IL shall he the duty Of
the General assembly to encourage
by all suitable means, intellectual,
scientific aud agricultural improve
ment aud to provide bylaws for q
general and uniform system Of COM
mon schools wherein tuition shall be
without charge and equally open to
ALL" This expression, equally open
to all, /" includes at least all citizens,
and the system Of common schools is
composed OF the various distinct
schools of the state. At the date of
the taking effect Of the Fourteenth
Amendment TO the constitution OF
the United States, the State OF In
diana had In operation a system Of
common schools wherein tuition was
free to white children under twenty
one years of age, they being citizens
Of the state: aud on the taking elect
Of that amendment, the several
schools composing that system, by
virtue OF the section above quoted
from our state constitution, became
open and free to colOred children; aisU
being under twenty-one years OF age.
As that amendment placed them in
the class of citizens, they had the
right to enter and attend those schools
until reasonably convenient separate
schools, substantially equal In edu.
eational advantages, were provided
for them by the state; and whenever
in any township such schools ars not
provided for them by the state, COL
Osed children being citizens under
twenty-one years of age, still retain
the right conferred by our constitu-
ton upon citizens children to attend
the common schools equally with the
white children in such locality"