The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-29
EDUCATORS FROM SOUTHERN STATES
 SPENT A. BUSY DAY IN MONT GOMERY

1 for. educationally, he said. but not so l the rural district, for. while for the i past seventy-five years there has been
 system of district schools throughout | the state, Kentucky ranks 90 per cent | in the descending scale of lilliteracy in | this country.
 In the State of Kentucky. he said, | there are S.330 school districts, ofiicered | by nearly 25.000 trustees. In the selec- | ton of so many officers. 1t is m i'm l possibility for any great percentage of | them to have an adequate conception
 or what is required in such an office, 1 and Tn the instance of the Kentucky | Trustees. he said, 10 per cent could l neither read nor write.
 One of the greatest difficulties which, ne said, confronted educators of Ken | lucky in making any rapid advance | ment in the work Is the lack of under 1 standing of the need and of appropriaS | tion for the work by the State Legisla- ture. recent appropriation of $50,000 was made by the Legislature of the | State for the establishment of three normal schoolss In these schools only l trained teachers will be employed | A strenuous effort Is making for the
 esta ablishment of high schools through l the rural districts of the State, and at I this time, Mir, Cassidy said, there is a | meeting in, progress in Lexington of | educators of the State for the purpose of formulating plans for the further ance of the school work in the rural districts.
 MT. Merritt of Georgia. w. B. Merritt, Superintendent of the Georgia. Educational Association. made report of the progress of the educational reform movement in Geor- gia, adhering strictly to facts, as he said that in the short time given in which to talk. 1t was impossible to | compass subject in which there Is so much worth as in tho great educational | movement in the South.
 One of the strong points which he made in the hpRfnninEg nf hia rRnnTf. was, that one of the difficulties with which the South is now contending, is that directly after the war a system of common schools and of universities was
 established with no provision for the high school or the preparatory school. and now the efforts of educators are
 being directed to the establishment of the intermediate and agricultural
 schools all over the South.
 Alabama is to be congratulated, he said, flor the great progress ana the wonderful work which has been accomplished within the past few years along educational lines, and for the enrouragement and inspiration which she had been to Georgia"
 While in a broad and general way, Mir. Merritt dealt with, the educational problems of the South, his address was confined chiehy,to the situation and the condition of education in Georgia ana mainly to the agricultural schools and the schools. in the rural districts. He recited instances of the marked ad. vancement of the work in Georgia since the conversion of some of the wealthy men of the State to the needs
 of the establishment of the agricultural
 schools and of schools in the rural dis-
 No school in the State of Georgia, he
 said. waA deserving of more praise ana of comn1andation than that of the Boys Industrial School at Rome, Ga, of whtcs Miss Matte Berry is the founder and the principal. No, school In the south is doing a better work, he said; ana grander work than Miss Berry. She
 has blazed the way for the establish mont of the district agricultural school through the State. ne said.
 Plans are making in Georgia. he said, fer the establishment of splendidly equipped industrial and agricultural school in each of the eleven Congres- sional Districts of the State.
 %We need the ideal. the theory and
 the visions, as also we need the prao" ticaI knowledge by actual contact with the work" said Mir. Merritt. we need
 the vision as 8 guide as well as the vim
 to grapple with the problems round
 MT. Merritt had a number of pictures
 of school houses In Georgia that at' tfaeted considerable attention.
 Education I'm AIabanlas
 supeeintendent-eiec H. c. Gunnels. of Alabama, reported the progress of educational work in Alabama,
 
 Mir President, Ladies and Gentlemen
 "In educational matters Alabama re- ports progress and respectfully ask TOT an extension of time. The last year mas been a mOmentous one in many respetcs in this State. Political issues or seem ing paramount importance have large lV taken up the time and attention oi our people Nearly everybody has been running for office. and we nave tounC it rather difficult to mix politics, rai!' road rate reform and education. ''NVC have done something, however, and un. der the circumstances we feel that there can be no just ground for oCm. plaint in--the work or the educatlonal forces in Alabama.
 ."Under the leadership of pur worthy Superintendent of EducationI numers ous reforms have been instituted, ana the waste places educatiOnallys have in many cases been made to blossom as a rose. When it is taken into consldera- tion that the people of Alabama are poor, that we together with the other States of the South. suffered the dis asters of war and bore the burdens and | sacrifices of reconstruction, and when we realize that A per cent Of her pop ulattoE belongs to a race which pays but about per cent of her taxes, the enormous problem which confronts our | educators and our leglslators can De more readily understood. NotWithstand- | ing this condition the Constitution of | Alabama forbide that discr limitation in splred by prejudice which would re- strict the educational privileges and rights of particular class or race ac- l cordng to its contribution to the gov ernment A spontaneous philanthropy | too generous to take advantage of the | poor and sense of right too proud to wrong an inferior race, prompted the people of Alabama to guarantee in her organic law equal rights to all her cit- | lzens The practical problem, however, Is before us and we are endeavoring to work it out inl our own way.
 The Rural Schools.
 Probably the most important single
 movement has been that inaugurated by
 Superintendent Hill, looking to the inl- provement of the surroundings of our rural schools. Alabama perhaps is no
 worse than other Southern States in the matter of rural school buildings, and rural school surroundings. The ladies of tho Federationof Women's S
 Clubs have joined heartily and enthus-
 lastically with the Department of Edu-
 cation in endeavOring to bring about
 better condition in the rural schools
 To these women, more than any other
 single force, Is due the credit for what
 has already been accomplished. Num-
 bers of School Improvement Assucia-
 ious counties and towns of Alabama,
 and the wonderful influence which they
 have had in making better and more
 comfortable rural school houses, and
 in many instances town and city school
 houses, Is the best guarantee of the
 efficiency of the work.
 We have not onIy had In Alabama
 during the last year d new school house
 for breakfast every. morning, but we
 have built enough to take one for avery
 Sunday dinner. These school houses are
 not the ,oId-fashioned square box, but
 in nearly every instance, have been
 built in accordance with modern, up-
 u-dates plans. The school house build ling fever is not waning. but IS growing
 in strength and in power every day.
 Five of our counties have within the
 last six months levied tho one min tax
 for the support of the commdn schools, and several others will undoubtedly
 oar bA me VI itbin fha nngg few