Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-09-11

North Carolina -. %. -. -. -. -. 81
South Carolina. %
Florida. ...s s.'s .s's -. 80 A4o
Alabama. -. Oh
Arkansas. -. -. -. 1.V4
1t will be seen from the above table that
the state of Georgia spends very little for
education in the common schools of the
state.
In closing his report Commissioner
Glenn has the following to say, in which
he invokes the support Of the people Of
Georgia for his successor in office: :.
This is perhaps my last appeal to a
Georgia legislature in behalf of the
schools. 1 have given eight Of the best
years of my life to the service Of the
people. 1 have tried in my reports and
in hundreds of public addresses to help
the people to see the Importance of main
tanning school system that will give all
the children a fair chance in the race Of
life. have known and felt more keenly
than any of the critics of the system. its
needs and imperfections. These cannot be
remedied as long as we are willing to
pay only $231 per child of school age, or
50 cents per capita Of population. The
man who says the school system can be
properly maintained for so small cost is
either willfully a demagogue or woefully
ignorant.
Amy fair mind that will compare the
cost Of administering the school fund in
Georgia with the cost of school admins
tration in any other state in the union,
will find that the fund here is administered
as wisely and economically as in any
state. 1t ought to be said also that no
state has zone more, IL so much, with the
amount of money appropriated for schools
than Georgia has done.
unfortunately, there are people among
us who would like to see the school sys-
tenn crippled or destroyed altogether.
These people believe and teach that every
man should educate his own children; that
the public school should be a school for
the poor only. It is folly to try to convert
these people. They are too old and life
Is too short. Besides, they Will soon be
forgotten as they lie asleep in the merci-
full oblivion of some lonely cemetery; nor
will the shroud that wraps them in eter-
nal forgetfulness contain hiding-place
for a single dollar that in life their bOny
fingers clutched from soul-hungry child.
1--WE have another class of people who
declare they would not object to tax
for schools If the white mans money
was devoted only to the white mans child.
and the black mans money to the black
mans child. These people do not seem
to know that while out of every hundred
children of school age in Georgia, As are
gets now only about 20 per cent of the
school fund. There could not be found
a fury of twelve honest men in Georgia
who would not give the black child what
he is now receiving as his equity of the
fund. But suppose the negro did not con-
tribute a dollar to the school fund, is
there a member of the Georgia legislature,
meet two starving children, one white
and one black, would he give all the loaf
to the white child and leave the black
one to die? Would he not give the black
child at least part and try and save
both? .->
"As see the case of the negro, his
real and trustworthy friend, the friend
upon whom he must rely, the only friend
who can and will understand him, is the
white man here in the south. If we aban-
don him his case is hopeless. II we can
not apply right processes to education
to save him, and make him skillful pro-
Queer of wealth and a useful citizen, then
God have mercy upon his children and our
own. We would better spend thousands
of dollars for his education to change the
name and the character of his crime, If IL
does nothing more, than to have one sin
gle white woman suffer the ignominy and
the nameless disgrace of the beastly lust
of one ignorant black brute. DR.. HarSis'
able report on the subject shows beyond
question that education changes the ten
dency in all ignorant races to low and
beastly crimes. With the improved char
acter and increasing efficiency in the ne
gro teachers we can hopefully look for
better results from the negro schools in
the future.
''I leave the office of commissioner Of
education praying the legislature and the
people of Georgia to cherish the school
system. Speak kindly words for my sue
cessor. AS he takes up the work Of saw
ing the children of the commonwealth
let every true friend of the school rally
earnestly and cordially to his support" .