Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1908-10-14
MISREPRESENTATION OF REPUBLICAN,.
Answered by a Page Of School History.
Some UnansWerable School Statistics.

As CeI6aiu RepuUllCau epeaholi
, are claiming for the Republican
| party the credit of inauguratine
J the present school system of NORTH
, Carolina, in the interest of truth
it is we'll to partly review the his
tory of education of North Caro-
lima.
TIL constitution Of 1776 pro-
|vided for free schools for Uni.
versity, and it has been the con-
stant aim of all patriotic North
CaroIinians since that time to
build up and develop them. The
school laws have been amended
and improved continuously since
the foundation Of the State Gov
ernment, as wisdom and expe-
rience suggested needed changes.
The notabls school acts prior to
the war were those of 1920, 1888,
l1940, 1851 and 1852.
| After the abolition of property
qualification and the establish
ment of "Free Suffrage" or
"Manhood Sufferage" in North
Carolina by the Democratic party
every energy of the State was bent
on the securing of an educated
electorate. So great was the sue
cess of the party IN this respect
that at the beginning of the war
North Carolina had the best system
of common schools in the South
and was making greater education
al progress than any other South
ern State. At that time the State
held in trust for the public school
fund more than two millions of
dollars. The State University,
in 1860, with an enrolment of
nearly five hundred students, was
the leading university in the
South.
When Sherman entered Raleigh
in 1865 the Superintendent of
Public Instruction was in his Of
fee, and schools were regularly in
operation
In 1868 and 1869 the Republi-
can party passed new school
Law, and that pro 'ided that the
Board of Education might ''se-
curely invest" the public school
fund in bonds and securities of
the State or United States. At
that time about one-half of the
two million dollars of the school
fund had been lost by the destruc-
tion Of values by the war, and of
the balance six hundred thousand
dollars or more was represented
by shares in the Wilmington and
Manchester and the Wilmington
and Weldon Railroad Companies.
These shares we're sold to W. T..
Walters, of Baltimore, for $159,
1000, which was invested in fraud
ulent especial tax bonds" which
were worse than worthless. The
cash received by the State, $685..
1000, was divided among the mem-
bers of the Legislature as ''pe1
diem" at seven dollars per day
and twenty Gently cents mileage.
In 1868 and 1869 the Legislature
was in session three hundred and
four 1904 days, at 81 per diem
and twenty cents mileage, and
cost the State $430,958 O6. In
the fiscal year ending September
l30, 1869, there was spent out OF
the educational fund $167, 1853. .18,
not one dollar of which great sum
was spent on teaching tho poor
children of the State, white OIL
black, to read or white. For the
year ending September 80, 1870
, $2O3, All Oh was spent out of the
r educational fund and only $685..
981.86 was spent on the public
S schools. In the year 1870 to 1877.
the Legislature was in session ont
hundred and ninety days and paio
< themselves five dollars per day
!, and twenty cents mileage, anG
1 cost the State $212,893 25.
o During the Republican manage
: ment the Rev. S. S. Asheley, 6
e nonresident New England carpet
q bagger, and his negro assistant
3 were in charge of the public
schools in North Carolina, ant
v the President of the State Boar,
I of Education was the Grand Pres
ident of the Union League o
America, for North Carolina
d Both were preaching and teachin
s the doctrine of "Union-Libert