The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-08
CHARGES. UNFAIR
Supt. JOyner Nails But
Ier's Attack on Schools.
Shows With Plain Statements From
His Annual Reports the Falsity OF
the Article Printed in the
Winston Republican.
CWinston Republican.)


ITO the Editor:--It is source OF
regret that the report of the State
superintendent of Public Instruction
for 1904 was not made public before
the election. 1t would have furnished
Governor .Aycock. who is so enthusiast
tic on the question of public education.
food for thought and the people OF
the State as well. The information
we get from this report is rather as
founding. We do not intend, by this
article to reflect upon superintendent
JOINER, for we think he is industrious
and sincere in his work, but the facts
obtained from this report require some
explanation.
I'm 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898. and 1899
it cost the State of North Carolina
about 1000 to run the public schools
one day. In 1902 it cost $1S,56l, 80.
In 1908 it cost $19,12310, and in 1904
it cost $22, 367.75 to run the public
schools in North Carolina one day. In
other words it cost the State of NORTH
Carolina about $S,367.75 more each
day to run the public schools in 1904
than it did in 1898.
Listen again. In 1904 the report
shows that we had II weeks school
term, and in 1903 we had 1870 weeks,
making gain of only l IL days from
1903 to 1904. Now let us see what this
l IL days increase cost the state. IN
1903 the total fund for school was
l. 1.584,222.13, and in 1904 it was ST.
901 ,237.29, making the increase In
school funds $313015.16 and since
this increase in funds did not give US
but / IL days more school term, 1t
will be seen that the cost of one day
increase was $211, S43.44. The report
shows also that there were fewer
school houses built ana fewer schools
taught in 1904 than in 1903 The
teachers did not get this extra sum,
| for the report shows that the teachers
in 1904 were paid only $4,000 more
| than in 1908.
THE query is, what became of this
extra $317,015.16 that went into the
schools of 1904. 1t cannot be said thas
! it went to increase the school term,
for the term was not increased but
/ ID days and that should not have
cost but $4,000, and that would leave
nearly 100000 not accounted for un-
! less we say it went into the general ex-
pense account for the machinery for
running the schools. Now what does
| this machinery cost per year?
The total expense. including salary
| of county superintendent. county in
stitutes, treasurer's commissions,
boards of education, and other pur-
poses in 1898 was less than $4,000.
| These expenses in 1903 were $685.
| 840,21, and these same expenses in
1904 were $194,007.24. In other words,
| the running expenses. money which
does not go into the schools, was over
$104, 900 more i'm 1904 than it was in
1898, and more than $4,000 more
than in 1903 The items that go to
make up this Increase can be seen
| by referring to the last report of the
State superintendent.
| This article is not written for cam
paign PURPOSES, for it would not serve
that purpose at this time, but these
are facts for all friends of public edu-
cation to ponder, and ii may be Incl
IDENTIFY interesting to the tax payers of
the State l do not mean to discour-
age public education or strive to les
/ sen the appropriations for that pur-
pose, for my best efforts in the past
| have been to better the educational
facilities of the children of the State,
and for that purpose now, 1 have writ
ten this article and made ,ublic these
facts"
GEO E BUTLER