The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-04-16
TILLMAN AND NOBLE.
THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FUND
TIED UP STILL.

oThOE AlllnNu ana thc department of
the Intorior-Conercss VIII Have to do
eide tho Matter.
COLUMBIA, S. c., April THE fol.
lowing is the last letter from the Depart
ment of the Interior to Governor Till
man in regard to the equitable distribu-
tion of the fund last year given by Con-
gress to be divided between the white
and the colored agricultural colleges of
the State. AS will be seen by the De
partment of the Interior adheres to it's
idea of what is All Equitable" distribu-
tiOn. "GovernOr Tillmans reply was
mailed yesterday, and copy of it will
also be found below. lie, too, adheres
to his previously stated views and SO
the whole matter lies over for the con-
slderatiOn Of Congress at its next seS-
sion unless the Secretary of the Interior
should in the meantime conclude to ac-
cept the basis Of distribution provided
for by our Legislature at its last session:
DEPARTMENT OF TIE INTERIOR,
WASIIINGTON, March 2Ist, 1891.
Hon. B. II. Iiilm0n, 0occrnor of iSouth
Carolina.
SIR: l have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 10Th
instant stating that your Legislature
having acted and adjourned until No
vember the question of the equitable
| division Of the funds appropriated for
agricultural colleges by the Act of Con-
gress, approved August 81, 1890, is no
longer an open one SO far as the State of
South Carolina is concerned, and cit
qulrlng whether the Secretary "rcfuScS
TO pay South Carolina her quota upon
the basis proposed 10y the Gcueral As
Sembly, and If SO, whether he insists
| That the school population, rs shown bv
the census of 1880 instead of 1880, shall
gOvern?"
In answer to the first part UE the i'll
qulry | have the honor to call your at
tentlon TO the provisions Of the statue.
tprOvided in the first section:
"That in any State in which there has
| been one college established in pllrSu-
ance Of the Act of July =, ls'i2, and also
IN which an educational institution or
like character has been established or
may be hereafter established and is now
aided by such state from It's own reYe-
| nue. for the education of cOlOred stu
dents III agriculture and the mechanic
| arts, however named or Styled or
whether or not it has received money
heretofore under the Act to which this
Act is an amendment, the Legislature Of
Such State may prepare and report to
the Secretary of the Interior Just and
equitable division of the fund TO be re-
celVed under this Act between one col
lege tor white students and one inStltll-
tlOn Ter cOlOred students established as
aforesaid which shall be divided into
two parts and paid accOrdidgly."
Section 4 provides:
That on or before the first day of July
IN each year, after the passage of this
Act, the Secretary Of the Interior Shall
ascertain and testify to the Secretary of
| the Treasury tn nDph 81
rltory, whether it is entitled to receive
It's share OF the annual appropriation
for colleges, or of institutions for col
ored students under this Act, and the
amount which thereupon each is cnti-
tied respectively to receive. If the
Secretary of the Interior shall withhold
certificate from any State or Territory
oil Its appropriation, the facts and rea-
sons therefore Shall be reported to the
PRESIDENT and the amount involved
shall be kept separate in the Treasury
until the close of the next Congress in
order that the State or Territory may,
II 1T should SO desire, appeal to Congress
from the determination of the Secretary
of the Interior. If the next Congress
shall not direct such sum to be paid, it
shall be turned into the Treasuary, and
the Secretary of the Interior is hereby
charged with the proper administration
| VI ltW.'
1t seems evident that while the Legi-
| lature may propose a division Of the
| fund between the two institutions, it is
made the duty Of the Secretary to pass
upon the equitablcnesS Of the proposed
division. In all but a very few instances
where slight variance was admitted
the Secretary has insisted upon Il diViS-
ion on the ratio of the school population,
and this seems to be the most equitable
ana uniform basis that can be adopted.
IN this case he sees no reason to rccede
from his convictions that equity de
mands division into the ratio OF the
school population.
| In answer to the second part Of the
inquiry, | have to state that when you
were written to on the subject, January
81, 1891, the school census for state Of
South Carolina for the year 1890 was
not available, and the census of 1880,
white 30.9 per cent, colOrcd GIL per
cent, was suggested as an equitable
basis of division. The department is
now in possession Of the school census
Tor 1880. (WhiteS 3G.I per cent, cOlorcd
63.3 per cent and it iSc0nsidpTcd that
the division should be Based upon the
latter enumeration. Very respectfully,
GEO. CuANILEE,
Acting Secretary.
GONEENOH TILMAN'N REPLY.
Inn. Gco. Ch0ndIcr, Iciji,y Nccytiufl
IntcIior, IF0~hiHyion, y, T..
SIR: have the honor TO acknowledge
receipt OF your letter Of Marct 2ist, III
reply to my letter to Hon. John ". SO.
bic, dated February 18th. As | wrote
to Mr.. Noble, our General Assembly has
proposed an equal division Of the funI
donated by Congress last year "for tic
further endowment and support Of col.
leges for the benefit Of agriculture and
the mechanic arts" between Clemson
Agricultural College (white) and Clanin
College (colOreU. Whether such diviS.
ION is equitable or not as provided by
inc statute and whether the Secretary
or the Interior has the right to refuse
south Carolina her quota because he
tnlnks it is not equitable is for you or
MN TO decide until Congress meets.
South Carolina has dealt literally
with its colored college in the past and
am sorry to see it crippled by a refusal
on your part to accept the apportion-
ment proposed by the state. AS Gov
ernOr / have no authority TO do more