The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-04-28

ana naoltaDle. Men have nad /
the exclusive management of court houses !
and largely the exclusive management of |
school houses, and upon both the marks ,
OF masculinity and neglect are plainly |
visible. /
This organization called the Woman's
Association for the Betterment of Pub
lie School Houses in North Carolina in
cludes now, not only students OF The
State Normal and Industrial College, but
representative women, teachers and 9TH |
ers, in various sections Of the State.
About twenty counties have good or
CARNATIONS, and literature has been sent
to all the other counties. The purpose
of this association is to organize small
clubs or branch associations around each
Public school where there are three or
more women who will volunteer their ser
vices TO improve each year the school
house and grounds. There is no member
ship fee, except that the women having
decided that may become associate mem
bers if they desire to do SO by paying an
annaul fee of 81.
We held a meeting of ten or fifteen wo-
men, including the officers of this asso-
Cation, last June at Morehead City dur
ing the session of the North Carolina
Teachers Assembly. In addition to furn-
i'AAA6 ottit - l oSACNN y poJ ~ -
| penses, to a limited extent, of ten work
ers in the field. SO far the entire ex-
pcnse of the association has not reached
$500. In the meantime, it has secured
| the Cooperation of the Youth's Com
ramon, which assists in furnishing litera-
ture and sends pictures as premiums to
| those schools that take steps towards
! identifying their houses and grounds. The
newspapers of the State have been eX-
ceedingly generous towards this organi-
cation, as we'll as to the other movements
in which l have participated as District
| Director of the Board.
The association has decided to join
| the Federation of Women's Clubs in the
State. The President of the Federation,
Mrs. Lindsay Patterson, Of Winston
Salem, is one of the most effective work
ers for school Improvement. l am thor
ovghly satisfied that every dollar invest
ed in aiding the 1000 members of this
wcman's association will sooner or later
Yield a most bountiful harvest of good
to our cause.
GUILFORD COUNTY.
I have thought that you would be
especially interested to know the pro-
gress made in Guilford county, beginning
with the conference held in Greensboro,
the county seat, on April 3rd and Atm,
1902. This was the first of our confer
ences after the Raleigh meeting for or
ganziation. 1t was the first meeting at
tended by the county superintendent IN
large numbers. 1t will be remembered
that by private subscription $4,000 was
raised at this conference to promote the
cause of public education in the rural
districts Of Guilford county and that the
General Education Board duplicated this
amount, making the total fund 5000,
which amount was afterwards increased
a few hundred dollars by various sub
scriptions.
The local board appointed at the con-
ference 10 manage this fund immeu-~-~
ly offered to aid any rural school district
that would vote a special local school
tax to supplement the present State and
county fund. In the meantime, a steady
campaign was begun to urge upon the
people the Importance of voting the tas
independent of outside help. So far min
districts have voted this special tax an6
have received or will receive aid from
the Greensboro Conference Fund. In nc
instance have we lost al election, though
in one case our majority was only one
vote and in another only four votes. W.
hope to carry every district in the county
Will " NSolo " liz ooLC 1 la
Conference, but if we do not, the funt
Will go to those districts that vote the
tax.
Our committee has proposed to give
81 900 to the first of the fifteen rura
townships in the county that votes {
three-mill tax, or 80 cents on every hun.
dred dollars worth of property in the en-
tire township and 80 cents Oh each poll
This vote wherever carried will increase
the annual school fund nearly 100 pc
cent. and will more than double the eff
ficiency of the schools. At the same time
by actual count, four-sevenths of the tax
payers of the fifteen rural township
would pay less than 80 cents propert,
tax of the special tax so voted, as four
sevenths of the taxpayers are assesse,
: less than $500.
My own work in the Guilford Count,
I campaign has been to get these facts int
the mind Of every citizen of the county
These same figures are approximate,
; correct for any county In North Caro-
! lima. I have placed the facts and figure
in every home in the fifteen rural dis
~tricts, or townships of Guilford, through
: newspapers and printed tables, and W
: hope not to be defeated in a single cleo
: tion in the county. These statement
VIII, l think, explain to you why we ar
q moving a little more slowly in Guilfor'
q than might appear at first to be neces
t sary. Werbegan with single district
e where sentiment was most favorable
S Now we are soon to have an election TO
al entire township instead Of a district
and some citizens have recently suggeste
that we try the entire county at once
d This last suggestion will probable 10
e be followed, and | only mention it t
e show progress in favorable sentiment an
growing confidence among the friends c
6 the cause.
n So far our local Board in Guilfor
t county has made no hard-and-fast rul
as to the amount Of money to be ap
propriated to each district from the So,
d 900 fund, but usually in the districts tina
II have voted the local tax we have give
W one dollar for every two raised by privat
subscription to build and furnish schot
houses. To illustrate, a district vote
the local tax and agreed to raise by pr
S vate subscription $500 for a school hous
and we gave them 5000. Another distrlt
l. voted the tax and besides raised $500 I