The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-13
This is the way ve ars edvea,,nv ths,.

This is the way we are educating these citizens of the Republic, the voters who will have to determine the destinies not I only of this people. but of millions of
 others beyond the seas Have we not
 missionary work enough to do here at our own, doors without going to Cuba, Porto Rico or. the Phiiippines2
 But why is it that the children get so little educetion7 Have we no schools in ths country Yes: but what kind of schools2 The average value of a school property in North Carolina is $lSO, in South Carolina SIS. in Georgia s52s. and in Alabama $212. The average monthly salary of a teacher in North Carolina is $23.36, in South Carolina $220, in Georgia $27, and In Alabama $27.50.
 "The schools are open in North Caro- lima an average of 7o.S days. in South Car oina SS4, in Georgia 112 and in Alabama 76.S. The average expenditure per pu- pill in average attendance is in North Carolina N.S4 in South Carolina S.A, in Georgia S6.e4 and in Alabama A.E .E per an- mum. In other words, in these States. in school houses costing an average of Sz7e eacii' under teachers receiving the aver age salary of $S month, we are giving the children in actual attendance only i've cents worth of education a day for S7 days only in the year.
 Now behold the results in the adult people. Comparing the per centages of illiterate whites over N years of age in the Southern States since 1Sa0, we find that while they increased during and im- mediateiy after the civil war they have descreased but very slowly ever since These percentages in typical Southern States have just gotten back to where they were in 1850. Tn other words, among the u0httAN n the GnHffh haSr proportion of iiliterate men over n years of age as we had fifty years ago.
 "In half century we have made no progress. in lifting the dark cloud of ig- norance from our own race. Tn the State of Tennessee there are now l5,00O more illiterate white men than there were thir- ty years ago, when the public school sys- tenn was first established. There are L. 10000 whites in the South who can neith- CT read nor write.
 Tn 1890 the per centage of llllterates among males over 21-native whites, mind you. the sons of native parents-was, in sst Virginia l2S. in North Carolina. ls; in South Carolina, 12s; in Georgia, 12.1; in Alabama. l4.2; in Ten nessee. 14.6 and in Kentucky. 15.5. Tn Mississippi 1t is only 83 a mark ed difference directly traceable to their better schools. establiGhed some twelve years ago. These are not negroes. but grown white men. the descendants of the original Southern stock
 ''The material restora ion of the South since the war has been marvellous but the Southern people are stili poor. For each child of school age there was in 1901 in Tennessee only SS27 of taxable value against $2.e61 of taxable value behind ev- cry child in New York. The people of the South are doing as much per taxa ble dollar as those of the North. but the taxable valuations are so low that North Carolina expended only $1B3 for each child's education last year. while New York spent s1O.s1. Massachusetts spends Cor the common school education of her children eleven times as much as North Carolina and eight times as much as Ten nessee
 ''The Southern people are poor but they are a heroic people. and predict that within the next decade they will be doing as much If not more for the education of their children than any other section. It rpust be borne in mind that the Southern people have more children ln proportion ta adults than any ethsR section. Ia