The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-10-30
ADIChS AND PUBLIC

=
The North Carolina Republican
are endowed with d genius for rails
ing the very issue whore they ar
teakest and whore the Democrats ar
strongest. If the Democratic record j.
lnvulneroble at any point i1 BIS l1 tho
ronauct Of tn public schools. They
have always had the oest man at the
head II the system ana given Kim
support in al pre2resiEe measures
And vet uuon the initiation IT lit,
sud." George Butler, the Republicans
pitched their campaign Hppa an as
sault uuon the Democratic position on
public educatiou. The Juggling by "ittll
bud" Spence Adams. and big bud
was fully exposed IL the plain state
mente Of state Superintendent Joyner,
and now We have the spectacle Of thi>
self constituted guardian Of the publ
schools. using every technical plea
known 10 the legal proGe-.lra TO de
feat the establishment y a COCA pnt-
lie school in EaH-tn Grove township.
county, tie chief reason "d-
vanced for defeating the Tx being
because 40 negro signed thc petition
and no negro .Dtcd in tho
This exposure of his e~N-~cld-pf, "h"
rushed into print l., cr-ticiSe state
Superintendent JoyleT-s record e dc
votion to the children, = Il fair sam
ole Of the record Of all the l;adIcai
eaders from the day they squandereo
the permanent school fund in 1S68
down to the time thy elected ncgro
school officers to control white public
schools in 1895.
The people should never forget that
the Democrats before the wan accuWn-
lated = considerable school fund and
had established the hest system OF
rubIic schools IN the South. Though
the sore needs Of the Crnfederaty
called for every 1onar, that fulld was
deemed so sacred that 1t was not
touched After the War, in dire pow
erty, when the income OF the State
did not pay proper expenses OF gov
eminent. that fund was never 'ouch-
ed or changed. But und1r rccCnstruc-
ton the Radicals. VINO increased the
GGDJ OF me Sldtt iINilN $500
lars. made haste 10 squaniar this per-
manent school fund. Among the
securities that war did not impair WAS
four thousand shares of stock
in the Wilmington and Weldon Rall-
road of the par value of 100000.
In order to get money to pay them
selves big salaries and to dispose OF
49, f.o,,J-1opt bonds he
Radicals sold this $500, 600 Of stock IN
the Wilmington and Weldon railroad
for $14S.OOO. and then proceeded TO
take that $14S,OOO of good money and
invest it in the fraudulent special tax
bOnds-in other words, ~squandered
the children's money Of that and all
future generations. The crime of sell
ing that sacred fund for a pittance was
2 grievous one, but the crime OF
taking hi pittance and investing It
i'm Fraudulent bonds known to be
worthless was a crime against unborn
children without q parellel in hlstc-
nv. 1t was the most n~efariOus act of
the Reconstruction Legislature. As
to the fraudulent issue of special tax
bonds. the time came when the peO-
pie could repudiate them and prevent
payment, but this 1000 shares of
stock was sold for a song n is gone
fOrever. and the honey derived from
the sale was invested in what the
States trustees knew were fraudulent
and worthless bonds. And with that
record, the same Radical party in
North Carolina dares to talk of crit
icising the way public schools are adj
ministered by James Y. JOyner and his
associates.
The magnitude of the crime against
the children by the sale of that valu-
able stock is seen by what S%uperin-
tendent Fremont told the state board
in 1855 and the present value of
that stock Suppose the State Board
of Education in 1865 had been COM
posed of men of the character of
which it was composed under John
w. Ellis. Jonathan Worth n Zebu-
Ian b. Vance, that stock would have
been retained for the State. How
much would that $500, 900 of stock.
if kept in the States strong box until
this good hour be worth to the hill
dren? 1t is certain from the
loWest estimate made by any
body that if the Radials had
left that stock in the strong box
where they found it. the value today
would be seven to one-that is that
the $500. 900 of stock would have been
enhanced until now the State would
W interest bearing stock worth in
the markets not less than $4,000. 900.
1t is believed by some that it is worth
even more than that. and Associate
Justice Douglas (Republican) in
an opinion in the Selma come
ton case, figured that each share
Of that took is now worth
worth about $1,000. If his estimate is
correct the stock the Radicals sold
for $14S,000 would today be worth
nearly six million dollars. What q
splendid endowment that would be for