The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-02-17
DAe stlrssenwm.
HOW TO IMPROVE THE COMMON
SCHOOLS

fury appealed with special force to re-
11ecting and progressive men in the
south and in the north. AS we lately
said, the mistake in the north has been
to make education a reformer and re-
generator of society. Prior to the war
among the whites in North Carolina
there was far less crime than among
the whites of Massachusetts. This too
In the face of the fact that illiteracy
was far more prevalent in our state
than in the progressive New England
states. If education fails to purify and
degenerate a people it does not fail to
give very great advantages over the
unlettered in the struggle for life, and
in the making of money. North Car
olina was one of the first, perhaps the
first, in the southern sisterhood to
move for popular education. The late
Calvin H. Wiley took the initiative. The
schools have blessed many, but they
have never been very efficient, and
have never been satisfactory. The
Messenger year after year has urged
upon tr legislature to raise more
money for their maintenance, to have
longer school terms, to exalt the stand
ard of teaching, to build more COM
Portable school houses. 1t believes
still these are desiderata that can not be
overlooked in any well planned scheme
of popular education. We have not
made the system a subject of such
study as to warrant us Yin essaying to
suggest a plan. Teachers of education
declare yearly that the schools are very
defective, and not creditable to the
progressive spirit and Intelligence of
our people. We saw in the Raleigh
Post a communication from MI. J.. M.
W nite, of Apex, who is an old teacher
and clearly a man of observation and
Intelligence. We make a germane ex-
tract from his article. He writes:
"Our public schools are not popular
because not respectable.
"They can never be respectable with
forty " fifty pupils in a small cabin
or shanty, without comfortable seats
and nc desks; a three months term,
under an incompetent teacher.
"This state of things cannot be rem
edied without more money.
I'VE cannot get more money, by an
Increased appropriation along present
lines, because of constitutional limita-
tions.
1.-The only way to ~perceptibly in
crease the school funds is by local tax
alton"
There can be no objection to allow
ing school districts to vote as to wheth-
ter the people will place AN additional
voluntary tax upon themselves. Mr..
White says the white voters will not
vote additional tax save only for white
schools. They already have to con-
tribute as much in the general tax for
negro schools as for white schools.
The Messenger has suggested that the
present distribution should be no
changed SO as to give the white schools
more money. 1t has said that every
negro voter should be made to pay
something for negro schools; that
every negro parent should pay a small,
specific annual tax towards the educa-
ton of his children in addition to the
poll tax; and that negro teachers cost
ing less than the whites would cost,
with the help already afforded as sug-
gested, would give the whites three
fourths of the general school fund, as
now levied. That is to say, the negro
schools in all receipts from sources in
dictated, would be able to run as long
as whites with the three-fourths ap-
preparation. There is a decided view
on the part of thousands of white
voters and tax payers in the eastern
section that the white mans taxs should
go to the education of the white mans
child. But in view of present condi-
tions, and the widespread view that
good citizenship is dependent upon ed
ucation (Which only holds good in part
as we believe) the Messenger thinks
that division should be as above stated
based upon the suggested plan of get
ting more money out of the negroes
tthemselyesfoS+h0 education OF their
own race.
Mr.. White says:
+'Give us a law providing that school
districts may vote tax Or no tax,
each for itself.
eff white district No. l votes tax
,(no negroes voting), let such tax go
only to white schools. Have the same
provision for both white and colored.
This appears to me to be no class
legislation, and | believe the white peo-
pie will then vote to tax themselves
and our schools may become respecta-
BILE and popular"
If the ~carnivorous and useless 2OO,-