The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-12-21
Gke Wessengrr.
FIGURES THAT ARE REMARKABLY
ENLIGHTENING.

readers of the Messenger some Stats
tics illustrative of the relative educa-
tiouaI progress in the United States.
They showed hat less had been done
In the north in that direction than
was claimed. and more had been done
in the south than was accepted. We
have again met with statistics that are
ton interesting and instructive TO Re
disregarded by US. So We propose to
concerned.
Hon. J. l.. NJ. Curry. LII D., the
able manager OF the Peabody school
fund, IN which the south Is so much
interested and for which it has secured
SO much Of help has given out in a
we'll wrought pape from his pacticed
pen. some facts drawn from the CEN
sus report of 1s6O-forty years ago.
In those days the north turned UP its
superior nose at the south as it has
been doing for the last two decades.
We find the figures in the Charlotte
Presbyterian Standard and they are
as foIlow1.
BY the census of 1860 there was a
population of Is, 000, 900 in the north
Of 100000 in h south. Yet in
spite of his preponderance of
Bation. the south had 226 colleges. ~
compared with the 205 at h north.
and these colleges We're n by l.
48S professors at the south 1,4OI at
the north, though there was a small
excess of students at the north, 1904.
as compared with 27,055 at the south.
The south expended 1850, 419 annually
upon it's colleges as compared with
$l.514,6SS expended at the north, while
the north spent more upon it's academ-
les. 1868, 74S, as compared with $4,-
32S. 127 spent at the south"
We old fellows in the w~ay-back use
10 be mighty proud" of our dear south
hand. as we all are now. and we re-
joiced in the showing the south was
making for education. North Carolina
was in the a and had h best COM
mon school system then hat was to
be found in all the southland.
EVERYBODY old enough to pol bach
TO 1861. and what followed the results
Of the war until 1876. will recall how
Wild spread the ruin and tremendous
the upheaval. The editor Of h STAN
dard in a few words presents a graphic,
realistic picture of what, followed. He
writes:
After the war the south found itself
with it's labor system annihilated, its
transportation system destroyed. and
the flower of it's manhood under the
sod. It's political was like
wise gone and the legislation Of h
last thirty years has borne most heavily
upon the south. 1t has had to pay it's
share OF the pensions which make up
q greater sum than is required for
Germany.S standing army. and that
money has been distributed almost en-
tirely in the north. The manufacture
ing section was protected by legislation
which taxed h agricultural sections
without giving any RETURN"
Yet insspite of all calamities and set
backs and Affections the south has &C
-complished marvellous things n has
voluntarily taxed itself a great sum
put at $50, 900, 000-to EDUCATE the child
ron of negroes who were snatched from
the owners by the ruthless, steel
glOved hand Of war.
Now let us turn to other and later
figures. What do the figures and sta
tistics of the United States Commits
sioner of statistics furnish for 1S99-last
year. There are II, 900, 900 enrolled pu-
pills. This is 211A of the whole popula-
tion. The public schools have enrolled
Is, 1913, 715, D. 20.47 per cent. Here is
q table We invite you to examine with
care: