The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-03-12
MOBILES NONSENSE.
Governor IilIman's Sensible Eepiy-The
Question Being q Division Of Our SCHOOL
Fund Between Whites and Blacks.
Trhn State, Sth. !

Quite spicy correspondence is now
going on between the Governor of
South Carolina and the Secretary Of
the United States Department Of the
Interior, and the Governor last night
gave il to the public. Last June the
United States Congress passed an act
''To apply a portion of the proceeds Of
tie public lands to the more complete
endowment and support Of the colleges
for the benefit Of agriculture and the
mechanic arts established under the
provisions Of an act of Congress, ap-
proved July I'd, 1862 The act appro-
nriated $4,000 to the agricultural COL
leges of this State, beginning June
3OtE, and an annual increase Of $1,000
over the preceding year for ten years.
The act provided that the division of
the money between white and colored
colleges should be reputable" The
State Legislature passed an act accept
ing the fund aud dividing the money
eoIlallv. Gov. Tillman in January
notified Secretary Noble OF the action
of the State, and sent him copy of the
act. On January 81 Gov. Tillnan re-
ceived this letter from Secretary Noble.
It is self-eNplanatory.
Hon. 3. Il. Tillman, Governor Of
South Carolina:
Sir-I have the honor to acknoWl-
edge the receipt of your letter Of Feb
ruary u, enclosing a certified act OF
your Legislature, accepting the pro-
visions of the act approved August 81,
1880, making appropriation for agricul-
tural colleges.
The provision Of said act of your
Legislature proposes to divide the said
fund equally between the Clafin Agri-
cultural College (colored) and the Glenn
sou Agricultural College (white.) The
school population, according to the
latest count on tile in this office filed
April, lSSO.) is 35.S per cent. white and
Gil per cent. coIored. | ain Of the
opinion that the agreement for an
equitable division of this fund between
Institutions for the education OF the
races will be met by dividing the same
in the said ratio Of the school popuia-
t;Cn in this case. Very respectfully,
JOHN w. NOBLE, Secretary.
The Governor was i'll when he re-
ceived the communication, but as soon
as he recovered he sent the following
reply on February Is, which also eX-
plaiUs itself:
Hon. john ". Noble, Secretary of the
Interior, Washington, D. c.:
Sir-Repiying TO your letter OF Janu-
ary 31st HIS been delayed by illness.
The question as to what would be a
'iust and equitable" division between
our white and coiored agricultural and
mechanical colleges Of the fund appro-
priated by Congress last year, is, so far
as this State is concerned, no longer an
open one. Our Legislature has acted
and adjourned, and will not meet again
before November next. | have no
power in the premises. Please let me
know whether you refuse to pay South
Carolina her quota upon the basis pro-
posed by the General Assembly, and,
also, whether you insist that the school
population, as shown by the census OF
1850, instead Of 1899, is to govern.
Further, I will call your attention to
these facts: Over so per cent. of the
school tax of South Carolina is paid by
the whites, while tie negroes receive
the benefit of over half of it. Second,
the relative demand for collegiate edu-
cation, which Congress provided for,
bears no relation to the relative mem
bers of the two races. Third, your re-
-fusal to allow this money to be divided
as our Legislature has ordered will
cripple the colored college very serious
ly, because, relying on this fund, it has
already entered upon enlargements of
teaching force and facilities which will
have to be stopped; while the Clemson
College (white) is not yet in operation
and can easily wait an appeal to Con-
eress next December. I ask you, then,
to weigh your actions we'll before doing
anything to injUre our colored COL
Iege. Very respectfully,
3. r. TILLMAN,
Governor South Carolina.
The question of the division is an in
teresting one, and all anXiously await
Secretary Mobiles further action. The
Governor thinks that the term "eqlt-
abler may be construed in various
ways and is ambiguous.