Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-03-07

The meeting of the Superintend-
ents was all that anyone could desire.
The attendance was large, the papers
and discussions all interesting and in
spring and one came away with the
feeling that he is working out in a
small way part Of the great move
ment which IL going ON in this coun-
try everywhere for the betterment Of
school conditions, especially those OF
the rural communities. The work
that is being done in the South, es-
pecially along the lines of the COM
mon schools In rural communities is
really remarkable. There are a num-
Der of very capable and energetic men
at the head Of the educational move
ment in the south, chief among them
being: President Alderman of Tulane
University; President Dabney of the
University of Tennessee; President
McIver of the North Carolina Indus
trial and Normal School, and State
Superint Joiner of North Caro-
lima: Merritt Of Georgia; Hill Of Ala
bama, and Sheats Of Florida. The
influence of these men for good is be-
ing felt most emphatically. They all
stand upon the great principle Of
equal educational privileges for black
and white. :, The question which was
uppermost everywhere: How to in
crease the efficiency or the. common
schools" and the unanimous answer
seemed to be: TO increase the effici-
:ency Of the teaching force; and to in
crease the efficiency Of the teaching
force will necessitate payment Of q
living wage We Of the North are
disposed to feel that the payment of
an average wage of $500 to $3.50 per
year to our teachers is really deplor-
able, but when one contemplates the
fact that the average wage of teachers
of the South is not in excess Of $3.50
per year, we are led to believe that
the lot of the teachers of the North is
not so hard as it might be.
"The most interesting part of our
trip was the day spent at Tuskegee
Institute; the school which has been
built and which is now conducted in
all its manifold activities by that
masterful man: BROKER T. Washing
ton. An attempt to describe this
school would in itself occupy more
space than is possible to use In this
communication. Starting from a
5one-room log shanty in 1881, with
less than twenty-five students, the
school has grown until to-day it com
prises over sixty buildings, many Of
them magnificent structures and q
student body of nearly sixteen hum
dred; from teaching force Of one
person in 1881 UP to over one hun
dred in 1904. The grounds now In
clude more than three thousand
acres. Much Of this, however, is used
for farming purposes and pasture land.
The fundamental principle of this in
stitution is to teach the negro to
help himself to become a useful and
productive member Of society; conse-
quently President Washington lays
particular emphasis upon the trades
and upon the pursuit OF agriculture.
The academic training in this insti-
tuition is not carried beyond that
which may be found in the average
high school. Every trade is taught
in this school, and taught thoroughly,
and the statistics Of the school show
practically all Of its graduates are
now useful and productive members 81
society. This Industrial training APP
plies alike to young men and young
women. Emphasis In the training Of
the young woman is laid upon those
arts which 60 to make possible the
best home keeping. Or course one
cannot Judge the whole negro race
by these sixteen hundred young men
and women who are gathered here,
hut certainly this school demon
strates to an absolute certainty that
X. - II :, Z, D Ia