The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-01-05

cents on the one hundred dollars, as fol-
lows:
From the State ................ 1850
From fines, ETC., .................. 5f5
For liquor license .............. 600
$150 tax on 4,150 polls .......... 6,225
35c tax on 49, 900 county prop
erty .............. lZ,64s
Total ...... -. .,............ $2l,z5
1t will require 81 cents tax to run a
four months school under the present ar
rangements in the old buildings with
proper supervision. If you want to i'm
prove these buildings it will cost you
81, 400. If you wish to run your schools
for six months it will cost you Is cents
more, and for eight months, 50 cents
more or total of Sc cents. Still you
continue to subivide your districts, and
if you continue for few years, it will
be almost impossible to run a respectable
school longer than three or four months,
and then at an enormous cost. The State
constitution says:
Each county of the State shall be di-
vided into a convenient number of dis
tricts, in which one or more public
schools shall be maintained at least four
months in every year; and if the COM
missioners of any county shall fail to
comply with the aforesaid requirements
of this section, they shall be liable to
indictment.
Here the burden is placed on the COM
missoners, yet only 81 counties out of
the 81 complied with the constitutional
requirement This means that the COM
missioners of 10 counties are liable to
| indictment. Somebody has neglected his
duty. Either the county commissioner
i or the grand jury. (See n c. Report OF
Education for 1898-99). The reason these
20 counties do not maintain a four
months school is because the appropria-
ton is insufficient for the number of
schools. Still the board of education con-
tinues to subdivide the districts until in
some counties it is absolutely impossible
| TO carry out the constitutional require
ments without high special tax, which
the people will not vote. This does not
mean an improved school; but 1.-The same
old school, with all of its defects cannot
run four months. The Supreme court has
held that education is not necessary
| expense, therefore revenue cannot come
| ton must be voted on because they are
| already paying up to the constitutional
| limit of sc 2-3 cents. Now they have
twice voted it down. This does not exon
crate the commissioners. They shall
maintain four months school" There
| is only one thing TO be done and that
| is to redstrict the counties in such a way
! and by combining several schools, so ar
/ A., H.
| ed. 1t was not intended that the Legis-
! lature should be the sole guardian of The
public schools. and suspend every school
| from one common centre-the State
| Treasury; and if all the time and ex-
| pense that is expended on the Legislature
was distributed among the different
| counties there would be today much
| broader opinion concerning public edu-
| cation than exists at present in some
| localities.
This committee from Clarendon county
returned home feeling that the question
| of public schools involved more than q
| mere request for money. They realized
| the fact that a four months school is
| insufficient; that the average county pub.
! lie school has no positive force for good
| The surroundings are not such as tt
| elevate the ideas, for as a genera
| thing the surroundings are worse a.
| school than at home. The teaching Is
| not such as will give new ideas; for tht
teacher only hears in a few minute:
what the child has prepared at home. IL
| the association of the children there is Z
| general leveling of ideas, the personalit,
of the teachers not contributing mucf
| either way. And if these schools should
/ be continued for ten months of what ma
terial benefit would they be to the com.
munity? The surroundings are worse a
| school than at home. The teaching of m
| positive force, the teacher of no more pre-
else type. There are communities toda,
| where schools are maintained for eigh
months. still they are degenerating men
tally as well as morally. In one instance
| the degeneration is due to the fact tina
| the teaching which was good educated
| the best people TO leave tho communit,
without elevating h. whole community
| This is frequently ,le work. of the sub
scrption school in lie county.
| Clarendon county contains some go
square miles of territory, divided int
| ten townships for local government AT
Continued OIL Page isleven.)