The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-03-24
For the vIRG1NIAN

"
of the people, or what may be called popular
education. Before the war we had what may
be styled the pauper system of education, q
system calculated to degrade instead of eleva-
ting the poorer classes The constitution
framed in 1868, and adopted by the people
July g. 1869, provided for uniform system Of
public free schools-that is, popular system
adapted alike to the necessities of the rich and
the poor, and free alike to all classes and con-
ditions of society.
Against this system the Bourbons have for
ten years waged an unremitting war; First,
they have tried to destroy the system; second,
they have sought to prevent by discrimination
| the education of the colored people; and third,
a new development, to teach the colOred race
ito occupy its true position in society"-"that
inferior station in which God has placed them"
"a doctrine preached by Rev. G. W. Dame
and promulgated to the public by Superintend-
ent Ruffner (See pages 70-n, Report 1o90.)
| 10 bring the whole subject of discrimina-
tions before the reader, extracts from the laws
are here given in brief:
| The constitution of Virginia requires the
General Assembly to provide by law a uniform
system of public free schools.-Art. s, Sec. 8
For the support of these schools the constitu-
ton provides in sec. Z, art. s, for permanent
and perp etual literary fund.- consisting in part
of "all fines collected for offences committed
against the States also in sec. 5, art. 10, a
capitation tax not exceeding one dollar per
annum, which shall be applied exclusively in
aid of public free schools. Sec. s, art. 8,
reads as follows:
THE General Assembly shall apply the an
nual interest on the literary fund, the capita
| ton tax provided for by this constitution for
| public free school purposes, and an annual tax
upon the property of the State of not less than
one mill nor more than five mills on the dollar,
for the equal benefit of all the people Of the State,
the number Of children between the ages of five
and twenty-one years, in each public free
school district being the basis of such decision"
these requirements by appropriate legislation,
and in addition provided in chap. 70, sec. SO,
| of the code, "that white and colored persons
| shall not be taught in the same schools, but in
separate schools, under the same general reg
ulations as to management, usefulness and
efficiency"
These extracts furnish the basis on which
to lodge the evidences ofhostility of the leading
Bourbons to the public free schools generally
and the colored people especially.
| The assertion that they have tried to destroy
the school system can be briefly disposed of,
the funding bill of 1871 furnishing the instru-
ment of destruction in the shape of tax receiY-
able coupons, backed up by the decisions of
the State Judiciary By these decisions the
taxes levied for the support of the schools
could be paid in coupons to the schools
/ thus crippled for the lack Of funds. of course
your readers know that the interest on the
public debt was not paid even after robbing
the schools, but the funding bill was made the
special pet of the Bourbons, under the high
sounding but delusive title of Debt-payers, not
because they were really debt-payers, but be-
cause the tax-receivable coupons enabled them
| to seize the school money and thereby pre-
vent the education of the children Of the
poor.
This scheme has been very quietly worked
| by the Bourbon leaders, because the masses of
the people were friendly to the schools. The
political papers did not dare to oppose the
educational system, but the opposition to the
| schools was consolidated through the teach
ings of the Southern Planter and Farmer, the
organ of the aristocratc farmers of Virginia, a
class which is bitterly opposed to the educa-
ton of ''the niggers and poor white trash y
And the scheme came very near being success
| full, for the number of schools was reduced
from 4,672 in 1877 to 2491 in 1872 and am
convinced that if the Bourbons had not been
defeated in 1879 the system would have been
hopelessly destroyed by this time. Whatever
may be the conflicting opinions of your read
ers as to the relative merits Of funderism and
reimbursement, there is one thing patent to
| all-the salvation Of the public free schools is
due solely to the election OF John E. Massey
as First Auditor of Virginia. Has it occurred
to you to inquire why the schools should have
made such remarkable increase in one year,
jumping from 2, 491 in 1879 to ,S54 in 1880
The taxes had not been increased, the tax-re-
ceivable coupons had not been destroyed, yet
in less than one year the schools were lifted
from the slough of despond and placed on the
highway of hopeful prosperity. The answer
| -, toJ,1 thn nfxY no
dare under the lynx-eyed Massey to convert
the money paid by the people into coupons
whereby they have presumably been wont to
pocket some fifteen per cent OF the taxes over
and above their legitimate commissions.
But the Bourbons haye sought to prevent by
discrimination the education of the cOlored
people. This could not have been so success
fully accomplished without the acquiescence o.
the men to whom was intrusted the manage
ment of the system, but l am reluctant to be-
lieve that the masses of the white people
would approve such palpable and ungener
GUS violation of the constitution as has been
practiced during the last ten years in Virgin
Ia / have been for some months engaged il
the investigation of this question, but am.sav
ed the trouble of giving the results by Mr.
Ruffner, who, on page 1877 OF his annual report
for 1880, gives a chapter on the number O
schools by races, embracing table showing
the relative numbers of white and colore(
schools for each year from 1871 to 1880 inclu
sive, and winding of with the following con
fession:
1.-The proportion in the number of schools il
shown by the above table to have been APP
proxmately three white schools to one color
ed school. In 1870 the census of population
showed three white people to two coored; so il
would appear that the colored people have
not had their fair proportion ofschools."
The exact meaning of this is, the coloret
people instead of haying 1855 schools in 1881
ought to have had ,942, which would give
them about seven extra schools in every coun
ty in the State. This discrimination has beer
Systematically observed for ten years, and is at
trlbuted by Mr.. Ruffner to the local schoo
boards, which by law are charged with thi
matter" am inclined to think that the chap
ter on "number of schools by races" did no
originally form part of the Superintendent
report but was hurried after thought, for Of
page 1874 Mr.. Ruffner says of the local schoo
boards :-"There are nearly 1900 of these mel
constantly in office, and they have applies
and disbursed nearly ten millions of dollars
and they have done it honestly and judicious
ly" Surely Mr.. Ruftner would never conten
that the school boards had 'jat1iciously' dis
bursed theschool funds, after proving that eth
colored people have not had their fair proper
ton of schools"
1t is not my purpose 10 criticlse the admins
tration ofthe Superintendent Public lnstruC
I ton. but to show that the reasons assigned b
? him for the determinations need revisal, an
further that there are determinations whic
do not appear in his report. l cannot spea
for the State, but can give some facts in n
lation to the schools in my own county, i
which is located the headquarters OF the 81
perintendent. The first reason given by Nj
r Ruffner to show why the colored people hay
not received their fair proportion of schools
the greater density Of the white population
This is not applicable to Henrico county, for til
!, reports on file in his own office show tt
. . number of children to be 5,S91, of whic
$40 are white and 3,032 are colored; SO tn;
the colored school population exceeds Il
T white. Yet in Henrico there are 81 viii
schools and only 16 colored schools Nor
| think the other reasons assigned Of muC
force in this county, for one can re sonably i
fer from the county Superintendent Ecpo
' that the coored people are deeply interested
the schooling of their children, for how Ell
could there be such remarkable advance
the condition of the race under our oenie
system OF education" and certainly the schoc
have not for two years past receive any mo
az evcent from the usual schools ls.