The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-09-28
MR.. COON'S MARES NEST

the NatlOnal Educational Association.
IS a sincere friend Of the negro and
mas always favored negro education.
Mr.. Joyner has made a statement thai
shows that Mr.. Coon's figures and
conclusions cannot be relied upon.
What are the facts as to North Car
DINA? Mr.. Joyner shows tina in
North Carolina the negroes pay $685.
9'9.5S for schools and that $780,
UIo.49 IS spent on negro public
hoo In this estimate Mr.. Joyner
assumes that the negroes pay 27 per
cent Of the general poll-tax for
schools, which he says is probably n
excess OF the amount paid because if
the larger number of insolvents
among the listed negro
than among the listed white tax-pay-
ers. He shows that the negroes
pay $47,657.51 on their for
SCHOOLS, or 81 per cen of the whole,
the whites paying 96.3 per CEN OF
the tax on property. It is not proba-
bic that the egroe pay over Is or
10 per cent of the general poll tax and
the total paid by negroes to schools il
North Carolina is probably nearer
100000 than $253,OOo. Mr.. Joyne1
says:
1t will be observed that in divid-
ing the general and special poll tax
the negro has been allotted 27 per
cent Of it. which is the per CEN Of
all taxable egr polls to all the taxa
bic polls Of the State. Any one IA
nliliar with the facts knows that a
! much larger n~rOnOTtinn of nnorn nnjIc
is reported as insOlvent than of white
polls, and that if the rnoun Of poll
tax allotted to the negro were divided
by two, it would be nearer the truth.
In the tables the negro has also been
allotted his full per cen Of
tax. based upon the per cent that his
aXable property bears to all the tax
able property Of the State. 1t is also
true that q larger per cent Of negroes
than OF whites fail to pay their prop
erty tax on account of insolvency, 50
that these figures are probably largely
in excess of the real facts. In these
estimates, 1 have allotted to the ne
groeS the maximum property and poll
tax that WOuld have beer paid by
them if they paid their full per cent
of each and if the per cent of negro
insOlVents were no larger than the
! per cent of white insolVents.'
The real way to ascertain how much
the negro pays prOportionately is to
omit everything eXcep the tax on real
and personal property and the poll,
for he owns little in corporations. By
tina test, the negroes would not pay
anything like 5000, 600 in North Caro-
lima. for he makes up the larger pOr-
ton Of the insolvent poll tax list.
When the statement is made that the
total assessed property in North Caro-
Ina (real and Iersonal) belonging to
white people. Is $44O,669,472, and the
total value Of property Of the colored
people is ~$21,253,581, together with
the fact that the bulk Of the school
funds comes from a tax on property in
this State, the a~bsurdity of Mr.. Coon's
statement must be seen by any fair
minded man. All property pays the
same rate of taxation and the proper
ton is 40 by whites to II by negroes,
so that on property the whites pay
over twenty times as much for schools
as the negroes. AS to the corporation
assessment Of $111,098,932, it is we'll
known that ninety-eight per cent at
least is owned by the whites who a
the taxes on it.
The South has treated the negro
justly and fairly in the matter Of pub
lie education. Many white people or
iginally believed it would do the negro
more harm than good to educate him
and certain public men have from
time to time advocated a plan to give
the negroes only the tax they paid for
rublic schools and let the whites keep
all they paid for white schools That
proposition has never found favor
with the strongest men in the South.
They have determined to give the ne
gro an opportunity to secure az edu-
cation, and when the negroes paid