The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-02-04
COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
The State Senate Passes a Bill To
That Effect.

The State Senate Passes a Bill Tt
That Effect.
The Raysor compulsory education
bill, ito require all parents or guar.
dianS to compel their children OF
wards to attend school for eight weeks
in each year" was taken up in the
Senate on Thursday and after pro-
tracted debate which consumed the
great part of the morning session was
with the addition OF two amendments
finally passed to a third reading, The
bill had been carried over from the
previous day when at the conclusion
Of Mr.. Bricc'S argument to strike out
the enacting clause it was agreed to
resume the arguments Thursday.
Mr. Raysor, in opposing Mr.. Brice'S
motion. spoke at length and held the
undivided attention of The senate
throughout. He said that the mat
ter had been before the public long
time and had been discussed in all it's
phases. It had the endorsement OF
all the leading educators of the coun-
try not only in this State but else
where and in addition to this the gov
ernor and the superintendent Of educa-
tion had earnestly pressed it upon the
general assembly. The most abiding
good that can come to u people is the
uplifting Of the masses. Conditions
in the State are rapidly changing,
competition is becoming sharper every
day and it is the duty Of the
State to do all in its power
to improve the mental as we'll as
the physical we'll being Of her peo-
ple The children of today are the
material out of which our future
statesmen are made, who IN after
years will come into these legislative
halls to enact laws for the government
of our people. The argument of pa
ternalism has nothing to do with the
fulillment Of the conditions in this
proposed measure. 1t is a matter of
record that no State which has ever
enacted compulsory education law
has ever repealed it. He drew COM
pariSon between the State OF South
Carolina and Massachusetts, where
the law had been enforced for a num-
Der Of years. He spoke Of Germany
and pointed to her as the leader Of all
the nations, today the strongest com
mercial competitor of the United
States. In South Carolina there are
$4,000 white children and the sta
tistics show that only IS per cent. OF
them attend the schools and 25 per
cent. go to school only two weeks in
the year. The great question now is
to arouse the parents and make them
take advantage Of the opportunities
which the State has given to aid them
in the discharge Of their God given
obligations. The bill is intended to
represent the rights of the child. The
State undertakes to defend his phySi
Cal condition and it is nothing but
right that his mental condition be also
cared for if we expect to take our
proper places among the SiSterhood OF
States The constitutional conven-
tion, he said, fixed tax of three mills
upon all our people whether they be
parents or not and under the law we
have an educational qualification for
voting. AS to the negro, he is here
and here to stay. Nolaw is necessary
to compel him to go to school. His
parents are willing to make any sacri-
ice to send him and will do so even if
they have to steal from their employ
ers to buy books and pay contingent
expenses. 1t is the white people who
are Indifferent and he believes if
necessary the strong arm Of the law
should be used to compel them to take
advantage of the opportunities ex-
tended.
Mr.. Hough thought the proposed
measure beautiful in theory but thor
oughly Impractical I'VE can open
the school DOORS" declared Mr.. Hough,
''but we cannot drive the children
into them without violating one of
the fundamental principles Of the
constitution. The child labor bill
embodies all that is necessary to give
the children opportunity to attend the
public schools.
Mr. Sheppard expressed himself as
being in favor Of the bill except that
he is utterly unwilling to imprisou
any man who has committed no crime
but whose financial conditions are
such that he could not possibly COM
ply with the conditions Of the law.
He said that if the penalty Of i'm
prisonment in the county jail for not
less than ten days nor more than 20
days be stricken out, he would cheer
fully vote for the measure.
Mr.. Goodwin and Mr.. Brice opposed
it: Mr.. Johnson and Mr.. Sharpe favor
ed it and Mr. J. W. Ragsdale stated
that he had promised his people to
favor and vote for the bill and he was
now perfectly willing to fulfill that
promise.
Mr.. Sheppard offered an amendment
to strike out the words or l.Ayrison-
r1ent in the county jail for Let less
than 10 days nor more than 20 n..yS. >
The yeas and nays were demanded ard
resulted as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative
were: Messrs. Brice, Brown, Davis,
Dennis, Forrest, Gaines, Goodwin.
Hardin, Hood, Hough, Mc1ver, Nc
Leod, Mower, Peurifoy, kagsdale, {.
W., Sheppard, Talbird, Won kolnitz,
Walker, Warren-l9.
Those who voted in the negative
were Messrs. Aldrich, Blake, Butler,
Carpenter, Douglass, Hay, Herndon:
Hydrick, johnson, Manning, Marshall,
Mccall, McDermott, Ragsdale, J. W,
Raysor. Sharpe, Stackhouse-lS.
Mr.. Manning offered an amendment
which was adopted to reduce the age
limit from ii to y years so to make
it conform to the child labor measure.