The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-09-25

of her children 1t is dark
cloud upon her escutcheon that should
bring the blush of shame to every ma
in Kentucky. "a
My friends, want to tell you that
the chief reason for the lack of educa-
ton in Kentucky has been because
owing TO the low prices for farm pro-
ducts that have existed for the past
ten years that the tobacco growers
the farm tenants and the poor white
people of Kentucky have been forced
to keep their children at home to work
in the field and have not been able
to send them into the public schools in
order to gain an education. The
American Society of Equity stands
against child labor in the fields OF
this country. AS organized labor
stands against child labor in the fac
tories SO the American Society OF Equ
ty stands against child tabor in the
tobacco fields and In the fields of the
farmers of this State.
| appeal to you therefore, In behalf
of the education of Kentuckys chill
dren that you back up this organiza-
ton SO that the farmers of Kentucky
may obtain decent and profitable price
for the products upon their farms and
SO they can transplant the children
of Kentucky from the fields on the
farms into the schoolhouses, where
they can grow into citizenship that
will be an honor and a credit to our
cd Kentucky home.
My fellow-citizens stop and think of
1t, that here in Kentucky when you
take the negro population out of con-
sideration, you have increased the il
literacy of this State l per cent!
You white people here. | beg you to
think of the hardships that the con-
dition of affairs has worked upon the
poor white children of Kentucky.
hAhh VI IT, thdl thc Whiuc pcopit vi
Kentucky are dependent upon the
kinky-headed negro 10 hold us up /
per cent. in the scale of educati ton
in Kentucky,
Stop and consider that during the
past twenty years in Kentucky the
negro has decreased his illiteracy in
our State 80 per cent. During that
same twenty years the white man in
Kentucky mas decreased mis- illiteracy
only 8 per cent! That during that
period of time that the negroes have
made three times the progress that
lucky in the matter of education.
My friends, why are these startling
facts so? / want to be clearly under
stood. / wouldn't stand here and un-
dertake to drag down the negro in this
State or Nation. | am too broad-mint
ed for that | want To see the negro
educated, but | will tell you that so
long as | have a voice and the power
to raise IL that by the Eternal Gods
| propose TO raise it in behalf of
those children in Kentucky whose skin
is the same color as my own.
My fel 'ow-citizens, want to say to
you that the white people of Kntucky
pay 80 per cent of the taxes of this
State. beg to remind you of the
fact that during the past twenty years
that there mas been an exodus of the
negro from the farms to the cities.
You have got thousands of them here
in this magnificent city and other
towns in Kentucky. You find them
leaving the farms and coming into TN,
towns. | will tell you why they have
done 1t. The negro has more love
for his children; he has more intel
ligence that many give him credit for
having.
The negro has sense enough TO see
that by moving into the great towns
that he can educate his children; that
he can put them into the public
schools, and my friends, | am here
to-day to ask you the question, who is
taking the place of that labor on the
farm that twenty years ago was per-
formed that twenty years ago was per
formed by the negro in this State?
will tell you that 1t is the boys
and girls of the poor white
people of Kentucky trust-rid-
den and their products and
crops taken away from them at
prices that will hardly permit them to
gather together the bare necessities of
life. The poor people in Kentucky have
not been able TO ducate their children
but have kept them in the fields as
the serfs and the slaves of these great
trusts and corporations that have so
over-ridden us.
In behalf of the children of Kentucky
in behalf of better education for
Kentucky. appeal to you, my fellow
Kentuckians to come and stand with
the American Society of Equity for
a better education of Kentucky's peo-