Bisbee daily review., 1905-01-05


 Jacksonville. Fla. Jan. 3.-One of the most notable addresses delivered at the session of the Southern As sociation today was that of Hon. Peter ". Meldrim of Savannah Ga on tho
 Industrial Education of the Negro.
 Mr Meld-im, chairman of the Geor- ga State Industrial college. declared himself strongly in favor of giving the negro a good primary education. and also teaching him skill in use of his hands, affirming that if industrial edu- cation was good for the white boys it was also good for the negro youth from a civic. economical and Christ ian point of view
 He spoke in part as follows:
 There are those who would deny 10 the negro education, the most ele- mentary There are others who would restrict the appropriation of public funds to the proportion which the taxable property of the negro bears to the masses. These declare that the white mans property should not - be taxed for the education of the black mans child. Of course not.
 Who dreams of taxing the proper ty of the rich man for the e6ucaticn of the poor mans child? Or the proper " of the nonresident, or of domestic or foreign corporations?
 Who would dare advocate that the prcrerty of the chiloless widow, or of the orphan. or of the bachelor CT spinste-. should be taxed to educate the child of the poor white mane
 The property of the virtuous should not be taxed to meet the ex- penses of the courts organized for the trial Of the criminals.
 The strong and healthy should not ne taxed to support hospitals for the sick and weak. Persons of sound mind surely should not be compell- cd to provide for the insane. and she learned ought moi to be forced to suppor: libraries for the unleaTned.
 'T must confess to having little patience with either Of these classes. Our conclusions should be reached by process of reason. uEdisturbed by fear, uncolored by prejudice. Let the 30,- 000 negro schools in the. south be closed today. and the result would be an increase of poverty, ignorance and crime. Without education there can be no wealth. happiness or true greatness.
 ''The conversion of the crude labor of the negro into skilled products in Nres to the advantage of the employer and the employee.
 Because of certain conditions such as race, soil and climate, the labor Of the negro is now, and probably for unborn centuries will continue to be. essentially manual. Shall it remain of the lowest and least renunerative character, or do every interest and duty prompt to its elevation? One of the objects of aii education is to furnish the capitalized experience of the human race. and in no better way can it be afforded to tine indus trial education of the negro than by the establishment of properly equip ped industrial schools.
 The level of industry is lowered by the crude labor of the negro The inertia of negro incapacity diminishes the momentum of a peoples progress. A nation is prosperous in proportion as it is productive, and the negro is, in the main, a consumer, and not q producer. nation is materially great as its citizens are allowed to de yelop and utilize to the largest degree their mental and physical powers Material advancement has it's share in moral and intellectual progress. A mass of ignorant, unsldlled negro ls- bor is a constant menace to the peace of the state. a disgrace to civilization