The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1903-12-22

are the. illiterate.
But in the second place it is charged that edu-
cation decreases the Negroes efficiency in agrlcul-
tural and domestic occupations, and promotes the
movement ~cityward. Whether or not this charge
is absolutely true, there is enough of truth about
it to give color to the entire accusation. 1t the
school does not actually encourage unwholesome
aspirations, if it does not actually train away
from common work, it certainly is not SO efficient
as it should be in training for service. "Educa-
ton the great remedy?" exclaimed DIR. John Ora
ham Brooks of the Winston-Salem Educational
Conference two years ago. eyes, but the kind OF
education that trains to effectiveness and pride
in the tasks one has to perform. Otherwise, it is
not education, but baked and ~disfgured life"
This expression, we confidently believe, is the
keynote of the situation. The plan for racial divi-
sion of school taxes, Heaven knows, is not the
remedy. Take away the negro schools and ten
times as many farm hands will go to the towns
as are going now. Take away the negro schools
and ten times as many negro cooks will go North
as are going now. For the North Carolina negro
to-day is very jealous of his school privileges, and
will not long remain where they are denied him.
Moreover, we are going to risk the assertion
that if we take away white support from negro
schools there will be many times as many "uppish"
negroes, many times as much ofensiveness among
the negroes, as now. So far as we have observed,
the negro teachers we keep in the schools are Civ
ing pretty good advice and setting pretty good ex-
amples. For a month past we have seen only one
young negro tipping his hat to passing white men,
and that young negro was a teacher in a West
Raleigh school. The Elizabeth City Tar Heel
bears similar testimony regarding the teachers
there. The published advice from negro educa-
tors is generally conducive to peace, industry and
good morals. But what kind of teachers would
the negroes have if this Vardaman plan for divi-
sion of school taxes should carry2 The answer is
not far to seek. Northern "philanthropists" (and
DR.. Hale has defined q philanthropist as "a man
with long hair who doesn't know what he is talk
ing about") social equality advocates, and mad
dened negro leaders-these elements would start
up negro schools throughout the South, and this
sort of Education" would indeed be a curse and
a snare; this would indeed train the negro away
from the pillow and the cook-stove; this would in
deed menace the peace and progress of the South.
1t is not a question, men and women of North
Carolina, as to whether or not the negro shall have
school training. No class of people, as we have
said before, can live on the American continent
in the daybreak of the twentieth century without
having schools provided for them. The only ques-
ton is whether or not we are going to keep our
control of these negro s~chools-whether they shall
be under the direction of the white State govern
ments of the South, or under the control of the
f~anatical social equality advocates who would
speedily take up the work if we should abandon
it. If the white man on either side of the ques-
ton, is an enemy to his race, is it not the man
who would turn over negro training to such ele-
ments rather than keep it under the direction of
the white South?
The Vardaman idea therefore is not a remedy
for anything. It could only make a bad matter
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