The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-22

| the Improvement oil inc pupie Senooi'' :"
man who can and will come IN close
touch with the people, who VIII make
spacial efforts to interest the parents OF
orr State in the education OF their chll-
dren. and VIII show to these parents the
inheritance of making use OF the oppor-
tunities now offered in the schools ana
thus largely increase the average attend
ance of our school. 49,
We want supervisors who VIII give me
and inspiration to the public school teach-
ers. who can and will guide and direct
worthy young teachers who are STRIVING
to become more efficient workers III the
schools. a man that can give practlcai'
common-sense instruction as to the gov
eminent of schools and methods OF teach-
| ing. A man, who, when he VISITS the
schools and finds poor management ana
poor teaching, will have the tact ana
! Judgment to make order and system OUT
of confusion and chaos. My friends, II
! Won can have such men as these 1or
! county supervisors, and we may ana
| will have them if the county boards OF
education and the clerks of our courts
and registers of deeds of the respective
counties will only have the courage TO
/ do their whole duty.
! Srch men as | have been describing
will not be around seeking this important
office. but it is my honest desire to nave
these boards seek the men. Here are
cases in which it is all important for the
offices to seek the men.
| Consider for one moment what 1t
means for our public schools to nave
96 men going in and out among our
/ neonle in the great work of educating
/ the masses; Ninety-six men who are
able to reach the parents ana the voters
of the counties; ninety-six men Of char
acter and real worth and not politicians
or narrow. selfish, one-sided men; ninety
six men in whom the people have conn
1 dence and for whom they have respect;
n;nety-six men who will have the cour-
ge to tell the people the whole truth as
TO our ignorance and our neglect OF edu-
eating our thousands of poor children;
n;nety-six men who will not spend their
time rejoicing over the glorious things
for the future, but men who will take
up the work of to-day, men who Will act
in the living present and do something
now TO drive ignorance and superstition
i from our midst; do something now TO
feed the hungry minds Of our thousands
Of precious boys and girls i'm North Caro-
/ lima: ninety-sx men to persuade and to
show the parents their duty in regard
to sending their children to school; nine
ty--six men to tell the parents that I'M
less the attendance in our public schools
i largely increased within the next two
wears that the State Of North Carollna
/ will compel them to send these chlioreh
to school,
The last and perhaps most important
of all is ninety-six men who Will carry
ninety-six townships in North Carolina
! for local taxation at the August election
and cause the State Superintendent to
issue ninety-six warrants for SoVO each,
/ making the sum of $4,000 from the
/ State and even the same amount IN the
/ townships would make the sum OF S9o,-
] 600 We hope, however, in many town.
sh;ns these amounts will be $1,000 or
even 1890. thus making grand total
of S125.OOO or S150,000 for the public
schools.
THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.
The Township System" by State Sen
ator George Il. Butler bristled with III
! teresting facts-extracts from which
j VIII appear
| PROF. j. Y. JOYNER'S SPEECH.
| The day was chiefly taken up with the
question of the local taxation election
| Professor. J. Y. Joyner, who had
been appointed to lead on this question,
said:
/. North Carolina has been striving
more than a quarter of century to es-
tablish an efficient public system by
general State tax. This tax has been
gradually increased to 20 cents on 500
valuation of property and 10 cents on
the poll, and this briefly is our educational
condition today-all that we have been
able to accomplish in three decades under
this system:
The entire school fund is 81 ,035,316.
The number of children of school age
is 627, 249.
The amount spent for education OF
each child, therefore, is $1.66.
The average length of schools provided
for these children is: White, 12.45 weeks;
eolored, 11.S3 weeks.
The average salary paid the teachers Of
these children is: White, 1913 colored,
$50.
IN ILLITERACY OF ITS WHITE
POPULATION NORTH CAROLINA
RANKS AMONG THE STATES OF
THE UNION SECOND.
2. That some progress, and along GER
tain lines even much progress, has been
made nobody will deny, but that the
public schools are still sadly inadequate
in all things, to the stupendOus task OF
properly educating the six hundred thou
sand children Of school age in our State
no one can, with reason, deny.
8. There is nothing radically wrong
in the system; the machinery is good.
These compare favorably with those of
most other States. The insuperable OBJ
stacles in the path of the public schools
has been, and still is, LACK OF
MONEY. We have sadly failed to remove
the obstacle by GENERAL state TAX
for schools. The State has already gone
farther in this direction than any of its
sister States, except two or three and it
seems reasonably certain that it has gone