The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-10-01
Raleigh, N. c., October l, 1901.

education which is necessary to de-
velop our great resources and have
thought that when a boy or girl had
a little knowledge of "Ritin', Read
in and 'Rithmetic" that he was
educated" to perfection.
There'is land enough in the east
ern part of this State suitable for
growing early truck to bring mill
lions of dollars yet there is only
a small part of all this fine land that
is actually bringing enough to pay
the taxes. All of this can be traced
to ignorance. In the exteme north
eastern part of the State educated
men from other States came down
and, seeing the finest opening in the
world to get wealth, bought land
and to- day are worth thousands of
dollars. Our people seeing their
prosperity followed after and to-day
some of them can count more dollars
of their own than can be found in
any other part of the State.
If our people had been educated
and trained in agricultural colleges,
what difference there would be in
our condition Instead of studying
our own business, we were pointing
our boys to the professions as the
royal road TO honor and wealth.
Making boy study law, medicine,
etc.-a boy that would have made
successful farmer, and often against
the boy s will or inclination then we
took the boy who had no talent for
scarcely anything and because he
would not study or try to be ''some-
body" made a farmer out of him.
Then when some of our neighbors
tried to get us to help to build up
school by increasing the taxes, holler
''nigger" to them and say that they
wanted to educate the ''nigger"
which would settle the matter with
them. Thus we destroyed the very
means by which we could have been
/
AS the negro has been the excuse
for so much ignorance and has kept
us back thirty years, here is our
remedy and plans for changing these
conditions. Let the Constitution be
amended so that all the taxes paid by
the whites will go to educate the
whites and ali the taxes paid by the
negroes go to educate the negroes,
excepting the taxes on incorpora-
tions, such as railways, telegraph
companies, etc. Then let each dis
trict tax itself to an amount suffi-
cient to run a school six or eight
months each year. Have a compul-
sorry law requiring each child of
school age to attend school not less
than four months every year. Have
a short course taught for boys desir-
ing to study agriculture and me-
chanics during the winter months at
three or four places in the State.
The experimental farms scattered
over the State would be suitable
places. Let the students pay half
the cost of tuition and the State the
balance. Arrangements could be
made 80 that board need not cost
over six dollars per month, Employ
such teachers for these schools as
would suit the section in which the
student aimed to live. We all know
that the same management of a
farm among the hills and plains
would not work. Some will object
to this on the grounds that the State
will be helping a few special classes.
But the farmers are the most i'm
portant class in this State and all
the money spent on them will help
every class of people.
There is another drawback to our
schools which ought to be remedied,
that is teachers salaries are too low.
You can't get teachers to work for
twenty five dollars per month who
would be worth anything to the
cause of the schools.
"How about the negro; he will not
have money enough if he only gets
his taxes?" Well, just try the plan
and see. They pay their preachers
and society dues better than the
whites. They are making better use
of their money for school purposes
than the whites, and if they will not
tax themselves for school purposes,
the above plan suggested would give
the whites an opportunity that they
sorely need. IF we educate the whites
] the nanrn rzill ia lie oara of himself