Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-10-07
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

A recent proposition to sell the va
cant Orphan Asylum and devote the
money to the purpose of aiding the es-
adjustment of public schools in Ten
nessee, has directed our attention gen.
orally to the subject ofpublic schools in
the South and especially in Tennessee.
tits understood that in heSouth when
public schools are the subject of dis
cussion it means the education of the
negroes, and those who favor the one
favor the Other-we are most decidedly
in favor both of public schools, and of
the education of our colored pOpula-
tion, but in this article we propose to
treat of the history of the school ques-
ton in the South, reserving the main
question, with all difficulties financial
and otherwise, fer future consideration.
As regards the Orphan Asylum, we
do not look upon the present time as
favorable to its sale, the depression in
real property rendering it unlikely
that it would now fetch enough to be
of any appreciate aid towards the en-
terprise.
The Radical party claims to be spec
tally the champion of negro education,
and it is one of its charges against the
Democratic party that it is opposed to
any such enterprise and desires to keep
the negro in the bondage which ignor-
ance necessarily imposes; we might re-
ply, that the bondage which ignorance
imposes on the negro is a bondage to
the radical carpet baggers and scala
wags, whom he would soon learn to APP
preciate at their true value if he got his
eyes opened, but at present we propose
to examine the claims Of the radical
party to be considered the educator of
the negro.
The sincerity with which that party
puts forward this claim should be best
tested byexaminiug the condition ofthe
negro as to education in those States
where the radical party bore sway from
the time of the war to the present day
or nearly so.
If we we're to give our own state
ments they would be rejected by radi-
Gals as the offspring of democratic
prejudice against the republican party;
we prefer. therefore, to take our
statements from the observations of
Mr.. Nordhoff, a northern republican
but an honest man, who travelled in
the South last year for the purpose Of
investigating for himself the true con-
dition of that section so differently
described by different parties.
Speaking of the negroes he says:
They are anxious to send their chill
dren to school, and the colored schools
are more abundant in those States
which | have seen than | expected to
find them / think it may be said that
the colored people. so far. have got
their fair share of schools and school
money In such places as New Or
leans. Mobile, Selma, and Montgomery,
the colored schools are excelleutly
managed and literally provided for.
BY general consent Of both cOlors,
there are no mixed schools; nor would
il be wise to force this anywhere.
Ii must be remembered that few of
the Southern States had public schools
before the war. The whites are unaccus-
toned to them; and enlightened and
influential Democrats, as In Georgia,
have difficulty in obtaining appropria-
tiOns for schools sufficient to place
these on sound basis. The poorer
whites are still in doubt about the
usefulness of thorough public-schOOl
system. But wherever | have been
the blacks have a fair share of school
PR vilegcS. Democratic Georgia gives
as much every year for the support of
colOTed university as for the support
of the old State University, and in
places like Mobile, where the schools
are under Democratic control, | was
surprised at the excellence of the col
oreG schools, and the liberal manner
in which they were maintained by the
Democratic trustees.
From this. which is taken from his
preliminary chapter. twill be inferred
that whether white OF black the school
arrangements were not on magniti-
cent scale. How this came TO be while
the Republican party had the handling
ofthe whole finances of the State shall
now appear; first in Arkansas he says
incidentally:
Every neighborhood has church
and school for the colored people. and
usually also school for the white child
rem: but the school fund having been
wasted and stolen, many OF the schools
are closed"
More fully IN Louisiana;
I'm the report of theState Superin-
tendent ofPublic Instruction, the man
sgemeut ofshool afairsin Plaquemlne
narish is thus mentioned:
=. "A controlling portion OF the scnool
bo.rd could not resist the temptation
81 use their position as means OF Po-
SS,=@sl advancement. anda large portion
of M school funds was expended Tor
privafe and partisan purposes, Sur LaE-
sSsbad With ample funds from the otate
@roesarv. which were Literally in-
eressed by local taxsti0a, the money