The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-10-27

said corroborated all she had said be-
fore-and worse. Kentucky 37th
down the line of States! Ladies, that
Is so only when you reckon by it's en-
tire population. It Is not the negro
that raises 1t to that rank. There are
more white illiterates than black. On
the basis alone of its white population
who can not read or write, it drops
to 42nd In the line. And on the ba-
sis of the percentage of illiteracy
among native white voters Of native
parentage, 1t ranks 49th, with only
three States below it. The number of
these illiterate white men in Ken
lucky Is 65,717. In some counties ev-
cry third man, as he steps into the
voting booth, must look at the picture
to know how he is casting his ballot.
Each generation is adding to this crop
of undesirable citizens. Less than so
per cent. of the children of school age
In Kentucky were attending school in
1900. And many Of those that went
were but little better off; for rural ed
ucational affairs in the State were be-
ing administered by school trustees
Of whom five thousand could not even
read or write.
The Federation went home to form
an education committee in every one
of the local clubs. The women on
those committees had usually sent
their own children away to private
schools to be educated. What kind
OF schools the neighborhood provided
for less fortunate children rad never
particularly concerned them. But
now they went out to see. They dis.
covered that In one hundred and nine
ty districts in Kentucky the public
school had altogether faded away and
there was no free school at all. Some
had school for two or three or four
months year. as long as the allot-
ment of money from the State held
out. In twelve hundred and thirty
eight districts the buildings were Of
logs like those Of q century and a
half ago. Some had shabby little one
room shacks. Exhibits like these
were not limited to the poor mountain
sections. The richest bluegrass coun-
ties had them in districts that sell
their horses for from $500 to $780,
600 piece. One Of these pitiful edi-
fees that the community raised to ed
ucation stands in the shadow of a
$4,000 monument to a dead race
horse. u
1t was plain that more Of the money
that Kentucky made and spent on
horses ought to be spent on children
and on schools. There ought to be To-
cal taxes levied for this purpose, and
the owners Of the stately. widespread
Ing estates ought to be made to help
pay. The women said so and said ii
everywhere they went. ~
In 1905, as the state department
records relate, "a large body of citi-
zens and educators" began to take no
tice, recognizing the backwardness
OF Kentucky educationally." The Ken
lucky Educational Association was
getting under way. A little later they
invited the Federation to send dele
gates to meet them in a conference
about what to do for Kentuckys
schools.
AT no time in the history of the
South have women been members Of
a more important conference for pub
lie eduaction. Here was planned the
legislation to be launched on the
waves Of the coming great education
al campaign Of 1908. The plans were
endorsed by the society of college men
In a conference to which they. too.
invited Federation delegates.
When the General Assembly of
1908 met it enacted legislation that
will give Kentucky the education II
needs. The credit for the victory that
carried 1t through, I have no doubt,
would be variously claimed. The Ed
ucational Improvement Commission
think they did 1t. The school men
think they did 1t. And the politicians
think they did It, But any one who
looks can clearly see that 1t was wo-
mems hands that were at the lever
OF public opinion, guiding and direct
ing the force in accordance with