Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1905-02-01
EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN
This Year Will Witness Great
Revival of Interest


All signs Indicate that we are ia
have in Virginia this year the
most vigorous educational cam
paign ever known in the Common
wealth. 1t is agreed OF ali hands
that the condition of the school.
in the country districts is unsatis
factory in fact, is deplorably bad
The facilities furnished are mad.
equate to the wants Of the pupils.
The schools are too numerous, the
attedance zoo elm, the term toe
shorts and the'teacher poorly paid
Under such conditions, popular in,
terest in education languIshes,
and thousands of children are
growing up without attending
school.
We quote the following from
the Richmond News Leader:
Dealing with whites alone. we
have in Virginia 100000 boys and
girls of school age, and but $685.
600 of them are enrolled IN the
public schools, while the average
daily attendance is but 156, 900.
The negroes use what opportu-
mites the State offers them for
education to better advantage
than the whites, for willie the OIL
cial reports show total seating
capacity in public schools for white
children of 305, 900, the white
enrolment is but 258,000. On the
other hand. the negroes, with a
seating capacity of l0S, 900, have
an enrolment of $4,000. The
plain facts are that a little over
one-fourth of the white children
of school age in Virginia attend
the public schools, and if the full
seating capacity was used there
would yet rem ain more than 100,.
600 of the next generation of Vir-
ginia men and women unprovided
for.
These are startling facts, well
calculated to arrest the attention
and excite the serious apprehen-
sion of every thoughtful Virginia
patriot. How can Virginia keep
up in the march of progress handi-
capped with such mass Of Hit
eracy? II is a fact, beyond con-
troversy, that the earning capacity
of a laboring population is in
proportion to its intelligence. DR..
Dabney has demonstrated this by
contrasting the per capita wages
earned in Massachusetts, and Ten
nessee.
The time has come for action.
The evil has existed too long al
ready. 1t is significant that both
of the candidates for Governor
who have announced themselves
lay great stress on the Importance
Of improving our public school
system. 1t is equally significant
that the Cooperative Educational
Commission has determined to
inaugurate a vigorous campaign
next May for the improvement of
the public schools in the rural
districts. The purpose is to arouse
the people themselves as the fret
step towards improvement.
We quote again from the News
Leader:
The idea the Cooperative Edu-
cational Commission will labor to |
impress on the people is that of
concentration. 1t is proposed to
abolish the shabby and disgraceful
little schoolhouses scattered in
neighborhoods AID dribbling out
feeble particles of education to
small groups of children few
weeks at time, and to establish
real schools. creditable snd COM
Portable buildings and coca equip
ments, graded and with the work
in each divided among several
teachers, so that the children at
may have some opportun'
lty to be thoroughly and systemat-
ically taught. Those who know
the facts and figures cay that this
concentration can be SO arrange
that decent and well-conducted
school can be placed within two
miles and a half Of every family il
the State. This plan can b. exc
,uted only by the heart co-op@ra
lion of the people themselves. IoI
secure this, meetings will be hello
n May 10 every county If the
State, attractive and well informed
speakers will be enlisted and at
east two of them will talk at each.
rhe campaign will be made with
Ill the earnestness ane zeal of a
political fight. The members OF
he commission are deeply impress
ID with the danger and disgrace
# conditions.-Lynchburg News.
Ev utful Year TO Baptists
Nineteen hundred and five bids
% Il 10 ha q oxrank ucar for Dnniint |