The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-01-13

~
The Swift Specific Co., Atlanta, Ga.
vention assembled in Greensboro they
endorsed this educational policy in the
following languages: I'VE renew our
pledges for the extension and improve
ment of the public school, system of the
state, so that 1t may keep pace with
the needs and conditions of our peo-
lie. We point with pride to the great
impetus and progress in this great
work during the last two years, and
call attention to the fact that this year
for the first time in the history of the
state every school district has been able
70 maintain a public free school for four
months. as required by the constitu-
ton" When the republican convention
met in the same city they used this
language: Intelligence being the cor
nerstone of the state. and the education
of the masses being dependent solely
upon our public schools. we favor the
support by public taxation of at least
a four months school in every school
district in the state" 1t appears,
therefore, that both parties represented
in your honorable body are pledged to
at least a four months chool in every
school district in the state and this, of
curse. includes the negro districts. I
an not unmindful of the fact that the
VI III NOS oil1
what Disappointing. and there are
many of our people who really believe
that education is injurious to the negro.
They insist that it tends to make him
worthless and leads to the commission
of crime. Unfortunately we have not
gathered sufficient statistics to III this
contention fully at rest. but the states
prison does keep a record and from it
is found that within the last two years
of the negroes who have gone to the
p~enitentiary two hundred and forty
one cannot e. and write, while one
hundred and Seventy-nine nave been
admitted who can read and write. At
Of our population are illiterate
and 52.4 can read and write. So that
for the highe crimes punishable in the
p~enitentiary it clearly appears that IL
literacy among the negroes is an in
jury to the state in that 1t produces
over forty per cent more of crime. But.
however this may be our duty is plain
TO try to find a way in which his edu-
cation can be made more valuable to
himself and to the state. Certainly
this cannot be accomplished by leaving
him to the pitiful income arising from
his own taxes. The negroes of North
Carolina pay for chool taxes S126, 442. 80.
There are 221 ,95S negro children of
school age In the state. This would
give to each child a little less than
ffty-Seven cents and would furnish
schools for them for a little more than
one month out of the twelve. 1t must
be manifest that such a provision as
this is an injustice to the negro and
injurious to us. No reason can be
given for dividing the school fund ac-
cording to the proportion paid by each
race which would not equally apply to
a division of the taxes paid by each
race on every other subject. Education
is a governmental function. The right
TO collect taxes for that purpose is
based on the duty of the state to edu
cate its citizens. The care Of the in
sane is no more the duty of the state
han education, and if we divide the
school fund according to the races we
should also diVid the fund for the
maintenance of the hospitals for the
insane in the same fashion. We are
probably not much wiser, if any, now.
han the men who framed our conSti-
tuition in 1875. There were many able
men in that body. The constitution of
1868 on the subject of education was as
follows: The general assembly at it's
first session under this constitution
shall provide by taxation and other
wise for q genera and uniform system
of public schools. wherein tuition shall
be free of charge to all the children of
the state between the ages of six and
twenty-one years" The convention
of 1875 added to that provision the fol-
lowing provisions: And the children
of the white race and the children OF
the colored race shall be taught in sep
arate public schools but there shall be
no discrimination in favor of, or to the
prejudice of either race" Why should
they have provided against discrimina-
ton? They probably thought discrimi-
nation unfair and in addition it must be
that the learned lawyers in that IN
vention were OF opinion that any dis
elimination in favor of either race
would be %violative of the fourteenth
amendment to the constitution Of the
United States. In this view they are
sustained by all the courts that have
ever passed pon the question n by
all the text writer's as well. The fed
eral court in Kentucky expressly held
that q provision dividing the funds be-
tween the races according to the same
paid by each race for education was
prohibited by the fourteenth amend
ment. 1t seems to me clear that this
opinion is right, and If it is, the pro-
posed amendment would be declared
unconstitutional and the suffrage
amendment which we have adopted
and which promises so much to thu
state would undoubtedly follow in Its
wake. The strength of our present
| amendment lies in the fact that after
1908 it provides an educational qualif-
cation n the courts will go far to-
wards sustaining a provision of this
nature when the state Is ~endeavorine