The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-12-24
HARNETT COUNTY TIE AcHERs'
INSTITUTE.
SUMMERv1LLE. N. c.. Dec. l3.

| OUMMERVlLLE, N. u, Lee. 10.
Mr.. EDI1ToR:-The Teachers Insti-
tute, held in this county during the
present week, was a decided success.
The attendance of teachers was, on an
average, fairly good, there being
about thirty-fve or forty present
People who are interested in poublic
education turned out en- masSe at the
public exercises, and were highly en-
tertained. The Institute was con-
Quoted by Prof. E. R. Alderman, a
gentleman fully competent to dis
charge the duties Of his position.
On Friday he delivered public
address at Ellington in the presence
OF large and attentive audience. His
lecture was full of interesting facts
and figures, and believing that your
readers would be glad to know what
good Prof, Alderman is doing for the
cause Of education in this State, [ give
below brief synopsis of his remarks
on that occasion.
In the outset he discussed several
general propositions in which he
claimed that it was the duty of the
State to provide means for the educa-
ton of it's children, and that these
children had the right to demand
that they be educated. He took the
position that if the tax on property
for public education was not legiti
mate tax then ali taxation was mere
robbery, and that men who were op-
posed to public education had no logi
cal position among men. According
to his argument we have to face and
settle the great question of the educa-
tion of the masses. The schools were
here to stay and they either had to be
improved or abolished He showed
In very comprehensive manner how
important the child was to the State.
In this State, he said, the average
number of days of the public school
was sixty-three which was much
lower than some of the other Southern
States. EIeven-twelfths of the chill
dren in the State go to the public
schosas while only about 20, 900 in all
attended private sahools, and hence
the great question of the home was
the Importance Of the public sch ,ol
The number Of voters in 1888 in
this State who could not either read
or write he placed at l45, 600, and Of
these $4,000 were white and $1,000
colored. He advocated six months
schools, the employment of good
teachers, and the building of substan-
tial and comfortable school houses.
Hills description of the average country
school house created much merri-
ment, yet at the same time i was
nothing but the truth. In some of
these school buildings, he said,
farmer would not allow his boys to go
for fear that they would break their
legs or otherwise injure themselves in
trying to make their exit through the
holes. The hogs could be protected
while the poor children had to suffer.
He advised the people to act in har-
mony and appeal to the legislature
for relief. When that body saw that
the people were in earnest they would
enact laws that would furnish better
educational facilities. He gave those
men who opposed taxation for public
education some hare raps. He said
they were doing nothing themselve to
make the schools better. There was
acertain privileged class, he said, who
did not want the people educated be-
cause they would not then submit to
their methods and practices.
In his remarks to the school officers
he gave them some wholesome advice.
In the first place they should select
suitable buildings, then elect compe-
tent teachers and by all means not to
interfere with them. He was unal
terably opposed to letting out schools
to the lowest bidder, and in order to
secure competent teachers they should
lessen the term if there was not money
enough to justify good teacher in
accepting the position.
In discussing the negro problem !"
he said it was folly for some men to
be saying that they were opposed to
being taxed to educate the children of
the negro. In this they were simply
cutting off their noses to spite their
faces. If all the negro labor was
drawn from the State, it would have
to be replaced with some other which
likely would be more Objectionable
than the negro element. When these
foreigners were put in the negroes
places the people would have to pay
to help educate their children. So, it
was simply six of the one and half a
dozen of the other.
Prof. Alderman advocated the en-
dowment by the State of an institution
for the education of women. There
was no such an institution in the State,
and as many of the public schools