The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-11-05

of the public school system, but of the
failure of its execution. The decisions
of our State and United States courts
are to the effect that all that the con-
stitutions require, State and United
States, is 90 substantially equal school
advantages" for both races, and of
course in separate schools if the States
respectively so determine. OF course
absolute equality of terms cannot be
had, but that is what the local school
authorities should aim at. The re-
ports to this Office from Pitt county
for some years show not exact equality
but substantial equality in the average
length of terms as between the races.
AS to the particular district to which
your correspondent refers, I have no
information, but do say that there
is no reason in the law why such a
state of things must or should exist.
In respect to the division of school
funds between the races, the present
school law affords to the white chill
dren and to the white x-payers all
the advantages that our State Consti-
tuition will allow. Let all citizens
help to execute the law in its true
spirit.
Your correspondent refers to the
excellent schools in the cities Imported
in part by voluntary taxation in
which erich and poor, side by side" F"
have advantages denied the country
people. This voluntary taxation is
from 20 to 33 l-3 cents on the $10O
of property, and a corresponding
amount on polls. If the whole State
would voluntarily tax that much more,
or the half of it, in addition to the
II IL cents on $100 of property that
is now levied in school law, much of
the complaint about the ineficiency
of the country schools would cease.
The fact of the matter is that it is
impossible to have an efficient and
creditable system of public schools on
tax of IL IL cents on $lOO of prop
erty Zone and a quarter mills) In
this matter of public education, North
Carolina is behind almost all of even
the Southern States. In the United
States there is annually applied to
public schools an average of So on
the whole population, men, women
and children; while in North Carolina
the amonnt is only 80 cents. With
this amount no State has ever been
able to establish a creditable system
of public schools, and, in the very
nature of the case, never will be.
But this is the peoples business; in
them rests the power to make their
schools what they ought to be. l am
not complaining that the State does
not increase the school tax, but being,
by the kindness of the people, at the
head of their public schools, I must
be frank and say wherein the main
cause of ineficiency lies.
The negro problem know is a
difficult one, and the burden, or sup
posed burden of taxation for the
education of the negroes is given as
reason for not increasing our tax rate
for schools. | have used the official
figures in my Office to ascertain the
bearing of the negro population upon
values and the financial prosperity of
the State. find the following:
l. AS rule, the tax of II 1-2 cents
on 500 of property raises more
money to each child, white and black,
in the counties where there are many
negroes than in those where there are
few or none. In Pitt county the
amount to each child by this property
tax is more than it is in half the coun.
ties that raise larger amount to each
child than Pitt are, in the main, those
that have a large negro population.
2. Taking the whole school revenue
of the respective counties, derived
from poll tax, property tax, fines,
forteitures and penalties, liquor
license, etc, the amount of money that
is actually apportioned to each child,
including white and black, amount to
more per capita in the strong negro
counties than in those having no
negroes or but few. In Pitt county
in 1873 the per capita amount was
($1.27) one dollar and twenty.seven
cents; in Chatham, $1O3; in Orange,
$l.O5; in Wilkes, n cents; in CASTOR,
$l.O7; in Edgecombe, $l.75; in Cam
den, $l.76; in Catawba, $l.2O; in
Greene, $l.48, etc. The elimination
of liquor license from the calculation
would somewhat change the figures
but not the general statement
3. The actual amount applied to
uOhate children aOho attend the schools is.
as a rule, very much larger in the
strong negro counties than it is in the
counties that have few negroes or
none. In Pitt county last year this
amount was $3.4O; in Chatham,
$1.5O; in Orange, $2,47; in Wilkes,
$l.10; in CASTOR, $2.O1; in Edge
combe, $3.50; in Camden, $2.56; in
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