The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-09-10
OUR PUBLIC
Their Secret Enemies and Their Weakened
Friends-Too Many Districts-Let Us Use
Well the Money That We Have.

VIGIL bAp 10AO1 Ana saw
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
As you seem willing TO promote
the interests of good roads, popular
education, and whatever else con-
tributes the greatest good TO the
greatest number, it is always a pleas
ure to peruse your columns ; and any
n who contri butes anything of
public Importance can get a hearing
at your hands.
try not to be a crank about any
thing, not yet a chronic kicker nor
pessimist but I am panied to see
the men who should look after the
interests of education, either giving
it a treacherous stab in the back or
else 80 fearful of the party lash that
they dread to say their souls are
their own.
Last fall we heard in convincing
eloquence that we were so have at
least four months school; that the
i~Iliteracy of the Old North State was
a reproach to her people, and this
stigma should no longer dim her
e~scutcheon. Ignorance was declared
a menace to free institutions, and
the Amendment was declared the
sine qua non that would eliminate
the ignorant and vicious voter, and
good free schools we're TO insure
every Anglo. Saxon child schooling
enough to meet educational require
ments of the Amendment TO the Con-
stitution. l supported the Amend
nlent, and the only misgivings I felt
in the matter were that with the
present short terms and inefficient
schools, the white child in many in
stances would be deprived of the
educational qualification. The sin
oere patriot favored the measure,
and the long-haired tallow-faced
demagogue roared like the bull of
Bashan for the Amendment till the
unwashed and ~unterri6ed voters
arose, en- mdSSe, and shouted:
"Blow de bugle, Mary Jane,
De year oh Jubilee am come"
knew that nearly every paper in
the State of standing and influence
supported the measure, Thoughts some
opposed it that I believe were sin
cere and patriotic. I know that the
best papers in the State are still
friendly to the interests of the pub
lie schools, and 1 would call especial
attention to the consistent and manly
attitude of The Progressive Farmer,
Biblical Recorder, and News and
Observer. OF course there are others,
and / also have in view a different
class I refer to those dictated and
controlled by town rings, who will
let some swindler gobble up the
school money with some swindling
apparatus at four prices, and then,
for fear of exposing corrupt officials,
keep everything out of their columns
for fear of hurting the town and
country rascala. Some of this GLASS
are still e~xtant, and they raise q hue
and cry against any effort made by
a teacher to improve present educa-
tional conditions.
Believing you to be fair in the
matter, l submit certain propositions
that no honest or oven decent man
will question.
We must have longer and better
schools, and the children must have
the benefit of what we have. While
the commissioners are ready to pay
800 for a bridge going from nowhere
TO nowhere, and give everything else
called for by a capitalist or corpora
ton; they are always aware that an
additional help to popular education
is son con Sti IT, iOn0L."
The means of getting more money
for the present being out of the
question, we must better utilize the
funds we have. We try to have too
many schools. Section % of the
present school law recommends fewer
districts, and that no new school
house shall be built within less than
three miles Of one already estab-
lished. This is a wise provision, but
everybody who has brains enough to
grease a gimlet knows there is no
danger, diveot or remote, of this law
being carried out in many localities.
Some time since, 1 was in a county
of this State that had about 875 chill
dven and IL school districts in one
township. The superintendent said
they should have but 60 districts in
4hn nnnnAn nna III H. -