The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-21

Governor Aycock's Address at Char
lotte ON the Subject Of the Consti-
t~utionaI Amendment and Universal
Education of Negroes.
Raleigh. N. c.. January II.
Especial Correspondence.)

Raleigh. n. u, January Il.
Especial Correspondence.)
Governor Aycock this evening, byI
special invitation addressed the Char
lotte chamber of commerce on popular
education. His address was in greater
part made up Of extracts from the re-
ports and messages Of state surerin-l
dents Of public instruction and govern
ors calling for the education Of all the
people as an imperative necessity. All
of them favored universal education.
Governor Aycock, speaking Of his our
views, said in part: Il am confrontedl
with the fact that after 1908 no ooy'I
white or black, who comes of g that
year or afterwards can ever vote unless
he can read and write. In the CANT
paign which / made in 1900 / distinctly
took the position nat the ~franchisel
amendment to the constitution ought ID
be adopted because it would tend to the
ucatio Of all the people Of the state.
I insisted then that the amendment
would be an incentive to the parents to-
send their children to school and WOULD
result in the education of everybody. IL
Their declared that ii wouId be a crime
TO d~isfranchise the children or thoseI
men who followed Lee n Jackson and
O shame to let theri grow up In ignor-l
ance. That appeal resulted in a MAORI
ty for me of more than $4,000 as govern
or OF the state. / have not forgottenl
my promise. nor have 1 neglected the
opportunities presented to make good
my pledge. i told the people that the
constitutional amendment neceSsitatei
the education of all the children OF the
state and when / made this statement
on my campaign the people, rich and
Door. applauded IL and ratified IL at the
polls. / am. therefore. compelled 70
believe that the believe in universal
education. If they do not their coursT
in electing me cannot be explained i
an. perfectly aware that there are meh'l
good men. and many of them, VINO thlhA
the experiment Of educating the negro
has been a failure. but / am here TO say
that we need not concern ourselves
about the education Of the negro. Inc
constitutional amendment makes -
certain that every negro male child VIII
b. taught TO read and write. Ihelr
schools are running. they are instruct
ing their race and If we wish 10 Keep
peace with them and occupy the hlsh
place in advance OF them which we
have held for a thousand years we mus
teach the hit children OF the state.
There can be no compromise on this
question. If we wish to maintain the
which we have; II We De
lieye in the white people ana lnlLih
they ought to stand at the head OF the
procession, we are compelled 10 educate
our children. The truth of the matte
is that we have Jagged in the rear anu
have failed to come up to the hlgh marx
of our calling simply because we were
ignorant. We have less crime thar
other states. 1t is therefore, not oul
vice that have kept US behind. we VIII
have to look for our relative position lol
another cause and that cause may De-
found in our neglect of education. we
have been an economical, thrifty. IN
d%ustrious and sober eopie oDeylng me
laws and regarding the rights or ourI
but Notwithstanding tneSel
facts we have become the poorest statEI
in dollars and cents in the American
union. This cal. only be explained Oh
the ground tina we do not know how u"
do hings 1t is incumbent, therefore
upon us to realize this fact and to cor
rect it. We can never become a leaoeI
In the American union unless we ed"-
cate our people.
WHY should we not realize that the
strength of the state is the average OF
the intelligence and virtue OF her cltl-
gems. Why should We insist, any part
of US, that education is injurious, ano
lag behind because the negro has NOT
proved himself to be what n optlmlSt
expected? l find many in the state Whc
think the negro has gone
rather than forward and that educatlo''
ia Injurious to Kim. Have these meli
forgotten that the negro was we'll edu-
Gated before the war? Do they not re
call that he was trained in those things
essential for his life work? 1t is true.
he has been sent to school,, but MS con-
tact with the old planter and the plan
ter's wife has heen broken Thls con
tact was in itself a better education
than he can receive from the puDll'
schools. but shall we for this reason:
saw that he is incapable of being train
ed? Ought we not, on the contrary, u
study the condition and realize tnat the
training he needs has not been glVeI
him since the war as II was pelore
But even IL we were to deny the dut!
of educating the negro. this would 1ur-
nish no excuse TO us for failure TO III
cate the white children of the state. !
have no fear myself that the Negro
will neglect the duty OF educatlns III
children. Dur TO the con
stitution has been a 10 tns
negro and already he has put ll,li0
more of his children in schools thar
were there before. The question now
confronting North Carolina is the edu
cation of her white children and this
can only be accomplished by the cred
ton of a public opinion so potent tnd'
no man will dare to leave his child oui
of the schools. We have made proVlS
ion in some measure. not 20
he sure, for the education OF all. and the
nroblem which confrontS us is that OIL
getting the children into n schools
Let us compel the attendance OF every
child, not by law but by the power o.
an opinion which cannot be resisted
The Liberty bell with Its escor'l
reaches Savannah where the Pnllaoel-