The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1903-01-15

Injurious to the negro. They insist
that it tends to make him worthless
and leads to the commission Of criu.a
Unfortunately we have not gathered
sufficient statistics to put this conten.
ton fully at rest. but the States Prm-
On does keep record and from it is
Ia found that within the last two years
Of the negroes who have gone to tbs
penitentiary two hundred and forty
one cannot read and write, while one
hundred and twenty have been admit
ted who can read and write. 47.3 OF our
negro population are illiterate and 81. /
! can read and write. So that for the
higher crimes punishable IN the peni-
Tertiary it clearly appears that Hitter
acy among the negroes il an injury to
the State in that it produces over forty
per cent. more Of crime. But, however
this may he, our duty is plain to try
to find a way in which his educ atio;l
cal be made more valuable to himself
and to the State. Certainly this can
net be accomplished by leaving him to
the pitiful income arising from his own
| taxes. The negroes of North Carolina
pay for school taxes 1926. 1920. There
art 221 1858 negro children of school
/; age in the State. This would give to
| each child little less than fiftyseyen
cents and would furnish schools for
them for little more than one month,
out of the twelve 1t must be mani
fest that such provision as this is ar
injustice to the negro and injurious to
us. No reason can be given for divid-
ing the school fund according to the
proportion paid by each race which
would not equally apply to division
CT the taxes paid by such race on every
other subject: Education is govern
mental function. The right to collect
taxes for that purpose is based on the
duty of the State to educate it's citi
zens. The care Of the insane is no
more the duty of the State than etluca-
ticn. and If we divide the school fund
according to the races we should also
divide the fund for the maintenance Of
the hospitals for the insane in the same
fashion. We are probably not much
wiser now. if any than the men who
framed our Constitution in 1875. There
we're many able men in that body. The
Constitution of 1852 on the subject OF
education was as follows: the Gen
e al Assembly, at it's first session under
this Constitution, shall provide by tax :
alton and otherwise for general and
uniform system of public schools,
wherein tuition shall be free CT 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 following clause: And
the children OF the white race and the
children of the colored race shall be
taught in separate public schools; bat
there shall be no discrimination in fav-
or OF, or to the prejudice Of either
race Why should they have provided
against discrimination? They prob
ably thought discrimination un-
fair and in addition it must be
that the learned lawyers in that
Convention were of opinion that any
discrimination in favor of either race
would be violative Of the 14th Amend
ment to the Constitution of the United
States. In this view they are sustained
by ali the courts that have ever passed
upon the question and by all the text
writer's as we'll. The Federal Court in
Kentucky expressly held that q provis-
ion dividing the funds between the
races according to the SUR paid by
each race for education was prohibited
by the Fourteenth Amendment. 1t
seen to NE clear that this opinion is
rig. and if it is the proposed amend
tional and the suffrage amendment
which we have adopted and which
promises so much to the State wouid
undoubtedly follow in it's wake. The
strength OF our present amendment lies
in the fact that after 1908 it provides
an educational qualification and the
courts will go far towards sustaining
provision OF this nature when the
State is endeavoring to educate all her
children. but if it should be made to
appear to The court that in connection
with our disfranchisement OF the negro
we had taken pains for providing TO
keep him in ignorance then both
amendments would fall together: The
amendment proposed is unjust, unwise
and unconstitutional. 1t would wrong
both races, would bring our State into
the condemnation of a just public
opinion elsewhere. and would mark us
as a people who have turned back
wards The State of North Carolina
has heretofore enjoyed the distinction
OF being first in these things which
look to larger liberty and a conse-
quent higher development OF her peo-
pie. Let lis not seek to be the first
State in the Union to make the weak
nan helpless. This would be a lead
ership which could bring lis no honor
but much shame. | earnestly hope
that no effort will be made to insure
the adoption of the proposed amend
ment. Let us be done with this ques-
ton for while we discuss it the white
children OF the State are growing up in
ignorance. To secure the education OF
all our people is great task and we
have no time to waste in discussing
impossible changes in our Constitution
When it is finally admitted, as it must
be, that such an amendment cannot
stand before the courts we will have
gone long way towards solving our
educational problems. In my judg-
ment our Constitution does not con-
template a division of the school fund
par capita, but it is required that equal
facilities shall be accorded both races.
Within the limits of this interpreta-
ton both races can be reasonably edu-
Gated without excessive cost to the
white people, and within this provision
we are in no danger of having our
educational system upset by a decree
OF the courts. Education is a matter
belonging to the States and the funds
raised for it are raised by the States
and until it appears affirmative1y and
clearly that one race or the other is
denied the equal protection of the law
the courts will never interfere with
the conduct Of Our schools If there