The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-27
TWELVE PER CENT
INCREASE IN CHAIHAM's SCHOOL
POPULATION IN FIVE YEARS.
1925 SCHOOL CHILDREN.
2,Os7 MORE THAN THERE WERE
IN 1895.

increase Means Larger Share OF
School Appropriation City's
School Population shows Increase
of 2,I96 since the Last Census.
Decrease in Number who Are Not
Attending Public schools Is
Large and Indicates Growing
Popularity of Public school Sys-
tem-SIfght Falling OF In school
Population of the Country Dis
tricts.
The school population of Chatham
county is 1926. The increase since 1898
when the last census was taken, is 2,0S7,
or 121 per cent. The white children of
school age in the county number 1868
and the colored 1885. The compilation
of the reports of the census enumera-
tors is not yet completed. but will be in
a day or two.
In the city the total number of chill
dren of school age who are in attend
ance on the schools is 14412 against H.,
216 in 1898 The whites are 6,4S9. of
which 1886 are boys and 1924 are girls.
in 1898 there were 1875 white boys and
1851 white girls attending the city
schools. The gain during the five years
IS e57. The colored school population
for the city is 1852 boys and 4,231 girls,
a total of 1923 and an increase since
the last census of 1888.
Increase of 2196.
The total increase in the number of
he 10
the city for the last five years is 21y6,
an increase which is greater than that
shown by the entire county, owing to
the fact that there was a falling off in
the county outside the city. which cut
down the total increase about 100.
There are 1888 children in the city who
have never attended any public school,
a decrease of more than one-third the
number shown by the census of 1898.
during which year 1872 children had
never attended school These figures
show conclusiVely that the public
schools are becoming more popular eV-
cry year, and that the parents are send
ing their children to the public schools
in preference to the private schools.
There are 26O children in the city who
have never attended any school, a de-
crease of so per cent. in the last five
years, the last previous census showing
42T non-attendants. Eight thousand
four hundred and forty-eight children in
the city attended school for more than
five months during 1902.
There are only FIVE white girls and
five white boys within the city limits
who can neither read nor write, a
number below that of all other cities
of the state. Last year there were
twelve white boys and girls who could
neither read nor write. The colored
children who can neither read nor
write number 597, decrease of 240
since the census of five years ago.
In the Country Districts.
In the county outside of the city the
total school population is 1883, a de-
crease of 100 since the census of 1898.
The number of children of school age
attending the country schools is Ito,
q net gain of 215 since 1898. OF this
number 610 are boys and $50 are girls
ga have never attended any school and
271 have never attended a public
school. In 1898 the number, who had
not attended any school was 345 and
the number who had not attended a
public school was 429. These figures
show that the popularity of the public
schools as the schools of the people,
has kept pace in the country with that
boys and 1854 colored girls attending
the country public schools, making a
total of BIB a slight decrease, the last
census showing 4.033 colored pupils in
attendance. The falling off among the
colored pupils cut the totals for the
country districts down below that of
five years ago.
There are eight white boys and seven
white girls above 10 years of age in
the country who can neither read nor
write, decrease from the number five
years ago when there were fourteen
boys and two girls who could do
neither There are 1,796 colored chill
dren who are classed as illiterates
living in the country districts, a de-
crease since the 1898 census, when the
number was 1903.
1929 school Children.
The totals for the entire count make
the school population 1926, a net in
crease of 2,0S7 over the census of 1898.
The total number of girls is 1874 and
of boys 1865, making a net total of
1859 and a gain of 1,16S during the last
five years. The colored children's to-
tai is 1855, an increase of 919 during
the last five years. OF the number
5.541 are boys and 6095 are girls.
The total number of afflicted children
in the county is %, the number being
HlOIe tlldH was SuOWH Dy the 1898 GEN.
sus. Ten of the % live in the city linn
its, and the remainder are scattered
through the country districts
In speaking of the 12.1 per cent. in
crease in the county school population.
Supt. Ashmore said:
while the increase in school popu-
lation does not necessarily mean that
Chatham county will receive a larger
appropriation from the school fund. vet
1t is probable that such will be the re-
suit Unless the entire population of
the state has increased correspondence
Chatham county will receive a greater
share of the school appropriation than
usual and it is not probable that the
increase throughout the state will equal
the 12.1 per cent. of this county and
believe that we will be given a larger
share of the appropriation"