The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-09-04
Miscellaneous.
THE FREE SCHOOLS IN LIGHT OF THE
AMENDMENT.

pledge by the people most anXiously
exacted Of the men and the party
that proposed 1T, is this, that
No white, man shall ever be dis
franchised by the amendment.
Nothing is more certain than this
If a boy now twelve years of age
or less becomes of age in the year
1908 or afterwards, and is unable to
read and write intelligently, he will
surely be deprived of the right to
vote, without regard to race.
We make these statements en-
phatic. They are true. They arc
exceedingly important. They pre-
sent the matter of most Importance
to the North Carolina people during
the next ten years.
We believe the men and the party
that made this pledge intend to keep
it. To them we have this to say If
they do intend to keep it, let them
know now that they have a large
task it is no easy matter, as we
shall directly show.
We believe that the people of North
Carolina in all parties intend that
this pledge shall be kept. To them
we have just this to declare: If
they do so intend, they must be
quick to act, jealous in season and
out of season, unceasing in their
calls for improvement of our free
school system, relentless in their re-
pUdiation of men who refuse to hear
them.
Eight years from today a white
man twenty-one years of age turned
away from the polls, cut off from his
sovereignty, will be an impeachment
of us all, from which we cannot be
delivered.
1t was predicted by opponents of
the amendment that there would be
not only one such man, but many.
We we're as aware ten weeks ago of
what we have been writing as we
are now. We did not believe this
prediction and we do not now be-
lieve it, because we believe the party
that proposed the amendment knows
we'll that any white boy in III back
woods who rises to manhood in 1908
or afterwards and cannot read and
write-be he the humblest child of
the lowliest hovel-will be strong in
his sovereignty lost, mighty as a
million voices, to condemn that
party to oblivion, being himself a
living proclamation of the shameful
breaking of it's faith. We believe,
too, that the people without regard
to parties are determined that our
free school system shall be so greatly
and so quickly improved and our
methods so revised that no white
child shall raise i~lIiterate to his ma
jority from now N. owe say white
child but we desire it to be under
stood that we advocate a division of
the school funds on the present plan
population, and not race; and we
insert this here that we may not be
understand o~therwise.)
Such is the pledge; such is the
condition such is the mind of the
people. Now for the situation. Now
to the task. Not a moment is to be
lost.
We have $50, 900 children of school
age in North Carolina. We have
400, 900 enrolled-23O, 900 to be &C
counted for. Counting $4,000 as in
private schools and 70, 900 as having
learned to read and write, we have
100, 900 yet to be accounted for. In
view of this
1t is no exaggeration to say that
there are thousands of children Of
school age in North Carolina who
have never been to school, who can
not read and write, and who are not
reached by the present system and
that many of these are white boys
and will reach manhood after 1908.
Men and women of North Carolina,
politicians and preachers, teachers
and editors, farmers and workers,
citizens all with a pledge to keep be-
fore God and men, this is the truth!
We have a great task at hand.
Our present school system has
been at work three-score years. After
all we have a larger proportion of
illiterate population than any State
in the Union. Our percentage is
thirty-fve in a hundred. It is clear
then,-
That u present system must be
- c;1oo of4or o;v+v