The Tupelo journal., 1904-08-05
Tho Address.

Tho Address.
With a keen sense of responsibility
laid upon us as heads Of the depart
ments of education by the people Of
our respective States; with a fixed
faith in the native capacity of South
ern children, through whose veins
courses the purest strain OF Anglo
Saxon blood on the continent-the
strongest. cleanest blood on earth;
with a firm reliance in the patriotism,
chivalry, courage. pride, and sense OF
justice of the Southern people; with
a profound conviction OF the necessity
of universal education for the preser-
walton and perpetuation OF democracy;
with an assurance born of the evil
aence Ct all past experience and all
past history that the only means OF
universal education are h public
schools, we are moved to lay before
our people these facts about their
schools and to make to them, in the
children's name, this appeal for these
schools.
Comparative Statistics.
The public schools of the South, the
OILY HODG lOI lhe StuSdlloh VI AAhS
tenths of the peoples children, are
still sadly inadequate to their stu
pendous task. unequal to the educa-
tional demands Of this century OF edu-
cation and inferior in most respects
TO the public schools of other sections
of our common country. Comparative
statistics of %undoubted authority show
that of all the sections Of our country
the public schools of the South have
the poorest houses and equipment, the
most poorly paid teachers, the short
est school term, and the most made
ouate system of supervision. The av-
erage monthly salary of teachers for
the country at large is SAG for men
and $40 for women, while the average
monthly salary for the teachers in the
Southern States is $3.50 for men and
$30.47 for m The average length
of the public school term for the coun-
try at large is 145 days. The average
length of the public school term for
the North Atlantic States 1913 days;
the average length of the public school
term for the Southern States, includ-
ing. Tennessee, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina. Louisiana,
Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Texas,
Virginia, and Florida, is SO days. Out
side of the larger cities n towns
there are few public high schools in
the Southern States worthy of the
name, and the work done in most OF
the public schools is necessarily SC
elementary in character as to fail
to furnish adequate preparation for
| college or university, or for civic, so
- .-l .-l,t;o1 rorrin0 for tho
thousands that must depend upon
them for preparation. For every man,
woman and child of its population the
country at large is spending $2.99 for
the education of it's children; the
South is spending barely SO cents. The
country at large is spending $20.29
for every pupil enrolled in its public
schools; the Southern States are
spending only $685.. The country at
large is spending for every child OF
| school age in the United States an
average Of $10.57; the Southern
States are spending for every child OF
school age within their borders 81 .05.
1t is not surprising that, with such
an i~nadequately equipped system OF
public schools, there should be found
also in the South the largest per cent
of illiteracy and the smallest per cent
of property on a per capita distribu-
ton of wealth. The census report for
| 1900 shows that "a per cent of the
white population of the United States
dwells in the Southern States that
composed the C~onfederacy, while "a
per zen of all white illiterates owe
ten years of age is to be found In
these States. Illiteracy and poverty,
intelligence and prosperity travel to-
gether through the world. The one
follows the other as effect follows
cause.
The Rural Schools.
Between eight-ninths and nine
tenths Of the population of the South
is rural and agricultural. The great
masses of the people OF the South,
therefore, are dependent upon the
rural schools for education. These
rural schools, then, are the strategic
points in the educational system OF
the Southern States. Farming is still
the greatest industry and the farm
house is still the greatest institution
in the South. The preservation and
Improvement of it's greatest indus
try and its greatest institutions de-
pend largely upon the improvement OF
these rural schools. Because of sparse
population, large territory, bad roads,
geographical barriers, small amount OF
taxable property, and small school
fund, these rural public schools are
the most poorly equipped and the most
inefficient public schools in the South.
Unless they can be made equal in
merit to the best public schools of the
towns and cities and adapted to edu-
eating farmers children for farm life
rather than away from farm life, many
of the best people in the country will
continue to leave the farms, and the
disastrous drain upon the best blood
of the country will be kept up until
there may be left only the poorest