The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-02

! ally or Systematically, by the teachers
| of the State he held 10 be most de-
| sirable, and then he explained that &c
| assist in promoting this study of ma
| ture. the North Carolina Nature StudS
| Society was organized in Raleigh, july
| 18th, of this year, the objects of the
| Society being TO stimulate interest in
nature and to promote Nature Study
| in the schools.
| He told of the easy method of be-
coming a member ofthis society and OF
| the prizes offered for which members
could compete, holding that this
friendly competition would have d
! stimulating and beneficial effect upon
| school work. At the close of his adj
dress he distributed circulars setting
| forth in full the objects of the society,
| copies of which may ne obtained from
the office of State superintendent JOY
| ner.
DR.. McIver's Address.
President Joyner next presented DR..
Charles d. McIver, president of the
| State Normal He did not mention
| his name but said an address on 'The
| Cooperative Work of the southern
| Education Board" would be made by
| one who, las all roads lead TO Rome,
| would before he closed speak of the
|
| that young women be given an equal
| chance in the world, man who had
recently been introduced by a new
| title, that of the 'Almaa Mater OF
| North Carolina
1t was a peasant introduction of
! DR.. McIver who blushed nightly as
! Prof. Joyner talked. He was greeted
| with applause as he came forward,
| and after q few words of thanks he
| declared that the subject was one of
| SO much importance that in defining
| the work of the board he had reduced
| his remarks to writing. He then read
| as follows:
The Southern Education Board is
composed of the following thirteen
men, eight of whom are natives or
| residents of the South.
&c. a. Alderman, w. II. Baldwin,
| Jr., Wallace Buttrick. G. w. Dabney
II. Il. Frissell, Hugh II. Hanna, Walter
b. Hill, Charles ID. McIver, Edgar
Gardner Murphy. Robert G. Ogden,
| Walter Fl. Page, George Foster Pea
body, Albert Shaw.
MIR. Robert G. ogden is president
/ of the board: Mr. Peabody is treas
urer; Mr.. Murphy is executive secre-
| tary. All the work of the board is
| done under the direction of the cam
| paign committee. consisting of resi-
dents of the South, these being Charles
ID. McIver chairman, E. A. Alderman,
II. b. Trissell Walker r.. Hill, Edgar
Gardner Murphy.
The Southern Education Board is
a campaign board. 1t gives no money
! to any educational institution. It's eX-
pense funds are contributed annually
| by individuals interested in its work.
| 1t has no official connection with any
other board. It's purpose is to aid, in
! cooperation with the constituted au-
/ ~, 81 tn h
/ States. where such cooperation is de-
| sired, the heroic campaign in prog
| ress all over the South and especially
! in the rural sections for longer school
| terms, better school houses, better
trained ana better paid teachers.
| THE Board has no desire to preach
any new doctrine or to inaugurate any
new Recommendations or other But
| if. by paying the campaign expenses
/ OF educational speakers or workers for
| public school Improvement of any
| kind it can help the officials of this
! and other Southern States TO hasten
| the day when every child shall have
| the opportunity of the training by a.
| live teacher in an attractive school
| house for a school term of proper
| length it will have accomplished its
| full purpose.
"The campaign committee of this
| board believes with your state Sup
| erintendent and with you that more
money is the fundamental need of our
| schools, ana that local taxation is the
! only practical method of securing the
necessary increase in school funds. 1t
| knows, as every experienced worker for
better educational facilities knows, that
local taxation is the result of agitation.
Wherever, therefore, during the past
three years State or county authori-
ties have wished to have discussed
haf
of local taxation and the improvement
of public school houses and grounds
the Southern Education Board has
been glad TO pay the travelling eX-
| penseS Of the SpeakerS-nO matter
how remote the community; and
| wherever it has been possible to Sc
cure any special speaker desired by
| a community that speaker has been
| sent
"The campaign in this State in which
| the Southern Education Board partic-
| ipated began in February, 1902, and
| since that date no community in North
! Carolina has failed to have the ques-
| ton of improved educational facil-
! tiles by local taxation presented to
it vigorously, if it applied to the cam
| pa1gn committee appointed at the Raj
| eigh Conference of Educators in Feb
| ruary, 1902. This committee consists
| of State superintendent Joyner
! Governor Aycock and myself. This
| committee employed Mr.. E. G. Brooks
/ as secretary and manager, who with
! the State Superintendent has had en-
| tire charge of the details of the cam
! paign. Mr.. Brooks having left the
| Office of the superintendent has been
! succeeded by Mr.. r. ID. w. Common.
| without some persistent campaign
| the youngest of us here will be well
! advanced in life before North Caro-
! lima has such school system as she
| ought to have and can have.
| Yet, l believe that if every man
| in the State knew the simple facts
| that if every rural community would
vote the local tax of thirty cents on
| 100 dollars of property and 80 cents
| on each poll, the public schools would
| be doubled in efficiency without in
creasing the annual property tax of
| the tax payers as much as 80 cents,
we could secure favorable vote on
| local taxation in three-fourths of the
i village and rural communities of the
State in one year.
1T is the business of the superin-
tendents and other educational work.
ers to make this and kindred facts
Main to the ppOnlp If can he done nv