The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-29
SPEECH OF DR. DABNEY.
EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH HIS
 THEME.
Public Schools without Colleges and Colleges without Public Schools are Alike Deplorable-Thomas
 Jefferson's Words.

ing of the Southern Educational Assocfa tion last night, Professor Charles w Dabney delivered the most eloquent ad
 dresses that has been heard by tha
 body.
 pr. Dabney's subject was "Publi,
 Education in the South. He said il
 part:
 'Everything in the South waits on tn,
 education of its people The nationa
 resources of the Southern States art
 great and varied; capital in abundance
 is ready for investment in them; only
 men are wanted who can plan, organize
 and direct" ss- sfA,.i. .sys4
 Good government in the town and
 State and intelligent action in national
 affairs, the speaker declared, waited upon
 educated voters.
 The only remedy" said he. for the
 political situation in the South is to be
 found in public education"
 Continuing, Dr. Dabney said he, re-
 garded the system of public education as
 a pyramid with the primary schools as
 the foundation and the University as the
 capstone.
 ''The old system of education in the south." said the speaker, ''so far as we had any. was Greek column: the Uni versity was a beautifully carved capital Ol CihSoiC OcSlkIts SuppOfkCO Dy d SitIiuCA column of literary colleges and academies, which stood on narrow and unsubstan- tial base of private schools"
 This system of education, which ex- isted before the Civil War. the speaker attributed to the social conditions of that period. society at that time being divided into two clearly defined parts, the planters and the poor whites, owners of small farms.
 He continued: "A number of colleges trained the young planter class and made them race of preachers. teachers, law yers. statesmen, soldiers. poets and orators. scarcely equalled and never sur passed in any country. The glory of the old school was that it trained leaders of men. The trouble with the new school is while 1t gives the smattering of an elementary knowledge to a considerable number, it makes no great men or wo- men. The old schoi belonged to the period of individualism, the new has yet to be made equal to the needs of COG operative society. The principal trouble in the South at the present time is that we have just enough of the public school in the country to destroy all of the old private schools.'
 According to Thomas Jefferson, the objects of the public schools were;
 ''To give every citizen the information he needs for the transactions of his own business: to enable him to calculate for himself and to express and preserve his Ideas, his contracts and accounts, in writing; to improve by reading. his morals and faculties; to understand fie duties to his neighbors and his country and to discharge the duties placed upon him. to know his rights. to exercise with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence. with candor and judgment. And in general to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed"
 Jefferson's education plan. which he for the State of Virginia, pRo- eided for elementarY schools in every country which would place every house. holder within three miles of a school; district schools, which would place every father within a days ride of a college where he could dispose of his son; a university in a central and health 'ul location.
 Dr. Dabney stated that the conception 'f education had grown in content and lind within the past few years, and that { was now realized that every human ,eing must be educated and that educa- ion included all training which fits a | nan for better living and service. Uni 'ersallty and diversity were the princi- | 'les of the new education.
 He continued:
 Tn 1900 the States south of the Potomac | md east of the Mississippi Rivers con | aimed S,9s1, ,OOO white and 2.429,OOO colored | hildren of school age 6 to 20 years), | otal of (, ,40l, 900. Only per cent of them | were enrolled in the school in 1900 The verage daily attendance was only 70 | er cent of those enrolled. The average | hild. white and blacks together in the Iouth's schools, stops after he has reach q the third grade. In North Carolina | he average citizens gets only 2.6 years; T South Carolina 2.5 years; in Alabama. { years of schooling. both private and ublic. Tn the whole South the average ltizen gets only three years of schooling f all kinds fin his entire life. Have we ot missionary work enough to do here { our own doors without going to Cuba, 'orto Rico or the Philippines to find 1t?
 The average value of school prop rty in North Carolina is $1S0; in South aroIina, S17S; in Georgia. $523, and in 1 labama, $212. The average salary of sacher in North Carolina is $23.36; in | outh Carolina. $2S. 20; in Georgia, $27, and S27.5O. The average number of avs of school Is taught is in North Car lima, 70s; in South Carolina, SS4; in eOrgia, 112. and in Alabama, 7sS. The average expenditure per pupil in verage attendance is in North Carolina, .34; in South Carolina, $444; in Georgia. .64 and in Alabama, $3.10 per annum l other words, in these States, in school Duses costing an average of $276 each, nder teachers at the average salary of 6 per month. for an average of S7 days
 the year. we are giving the children
 actual attendance 1-2 cents worth of lucation per day. Now behold the results! Percentages white illiterates over H years of age l'i
 the Southern States since 1S4O have ever gotten back to just where they ere in 1850. Paying the people all to- ,ther, we have made no progress fin ting the dark cloud of ignorance from IT own race. You will be startled, as | as. at this statement; but hears In 1900 e percentage of illiterates among males 'er q, native white, the sons of native , rents, was in Virginia, 12.5; in North < lrolina. 19; in South Carolina, 126; in i