The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-14
A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT.

The Baltimore Supn that
certain northern experts" OIL education
have been recently asserting that the
education given by public schools in
the south is at a ~standstilI or even re-
Progressive n propose 10 a US in
hand through a sense Of duty. These
people apparently consider il their duty
TO take upon themseIy=s 4 fostering
care Of the people Of the south. They
seem to think it to be their business to
appoint themselves our guardians and
do all in their power 10 lift Us out of
the "savagery" and "bdrbaIism' into
which they pretend slavery had sunken
US. When they speak o. education at
the south being at q stallstiil or retro
gression they show their ignorance of
the conditions in this section. Before
trying TO educate us they should ac-
quaint themselves with these condi-
lions. They could get valuable infor-
nation on this subject from the census
reports. if from no where Use. If they
would study the figures in that reDort
for 1900 on the subject OF education they
would find that their services are not
so much needed as they ppo and
perhaps they would be shocked to find
that the south, instead Of TetrOgressing
in this important matter Is actually
progressing. While this progress has
not been near so grea- as we of the
south would desire. still it Is far better
than our northern self-Constituted
guardians would have the balance of
the country to believe.
The census por shows that in the
ten years preceding the year 1900 the
percentage Of southern children between
the ages of ten and fourteen years who
can e and write has increased seven
per cent. In this state. South Carolina,
Georgia and Louisiana the increase has
been ten per cent. This shows that the
south. and our state especially, is striv-
ing m%anfully to wipe out that condition
of iHiteracy which has for SO long been
Il reprOach and a cause Of distress to
us.
1t must be borne in mind that this
increase in education is of the entire
population. both black n white. and
AhdI dAlilOSI IAc GllAIe SAPE4St VI Suu-
eating the children of Dotn races falls
upOn the white people alone. Were the
white people in the sou,h taxed for the
education of the children of their own
race only the percentage among the
whites who can read and write would
be II great deal larger. There is M
doubt that the cause of education
among the white children in the south
has been greatly hampered By the fact
that the burden of educating negro chill
dren has been borne to SO large on eX-
tent by the white people alone. who
have taxed themselves TO the extent OF
millions of dollars to educate the ne
grOes. Had We not adopted the rule of
equal privileges on this matter, but had
left the negroes to educate themselves
the reproach of great illiteIdcy heaped
upon us by our anxious fTleEds of the
north would have been wiped away
long ago. Instead of the slow rOgress
made in the education OF the S!hite chill
dren of our section being a reproach it
should be the subject of admiration and
%laudation from those of or fellow coun-
trymen who have not had on them the
additional burden with which We have
beer loaded since the en- ]nCipatiOn of
the negro