Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-26
EDUCATION IN SOUTH
Seventy-Three Cents Spent
Annually for Each Child.
APPLIES TO NEGRO RACE
Increase From Forty-Six Cents Re.
suit Of Agitation.
IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRESS
Senator Tiliman Entitled to Credit.
Compulsory Attendance Law
Cannot Be Enforced.
IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRESS
BY WILLIAM f.. CURTIS

| Apropos Of recent speech of the next
President concerning speech of the next
south, and the reply Of a senator from
South Carolina, the official statistics OF
1 the local boards of education show that
an annual average of only 73 cents per
child of the school population, between
the ages of five and eighteen years, Is
| spent in the southern states for the edu-
cation of >celored children in state. county.
city, township and other public schools
| supported by taxation.
This does not include the private and
church schools supported by northern
people or the contributions from the Pea
body, Slater. Rockefeller, Jeanes and
| other funds established by the generosity
Of northern philanthropists. And even
! these figures show a decided increase
| within the last few years, which is due to
| a crusade under the leadership of a few
| patriotic educators both north and south
| The movement was started eight or ten
| years ago: Conventions were held in all
| of the southern. states, committees were
! appointed everywhere, lecturers were sent
| out in every direction and vigorous cam
paign was conducted for the purpose or
| arousing the moral sentiment OF the
| southern people concerning their duty to
educate the children of the poor. white
| and black
| increase In expenditure.
The result of this agitation has been to
increase the per capita expenditure for
colored children from 40 to % cents per
year, and for white children from s1.90 to
| s.. 96 per capita of the population between
five and eighteen years of age. The I'M
provement is still going on. The appro-
priations by the state legislatures have
been much more liberal and an opportu-
nifty for secondary education is being fur
nished by the establishment of high
schools. which were very scarce in the
south outside of the cities. In some of
the states there were none at all. The
children of the rich and well-to-do people
were sent to private schools. The chill
dren Of the poor were entirely neglected.
Another great difficulty in the way of
| education in the south has been a lack Of
competent teachers, which is being grad
ually removed by the establishment Of
normal schools, which did not exist in
more than two of the southern states
until this movement began.
At Bottom Of List.
South Carolina stands at the bottom Of
the list Of states and territories in educa-
tional statistics. The educational facili-
ties in that state are the poorest and the
most limited. both for white ana colored
children. of any part Of the Union. In the
cities and some of the mill towns there are
excellent schools. as good as may be
| found in any part Of the north, but else
where. and particularly in the rural dis
/ triets, until recently there have been prac-
| tically no educational facilities for either
! white or colored children North Carolina
and Arkansas are down at the bottom of
| the list, but rank higher than South
| Carolina.
In 1907 there were only 1895 schools in
| South Carolina, for population OF J11,-
500 children between the ages of five and
tAs- inh fC VA r0 o. n
| school for every 1O2 children. But only
222, 1870, or 10 per cent of those children
are in school: forty children to the school
and they are given an average of only
| ninety-six days of schooling during the
| year. That however. is a great improve
ment over the conditions that existed ten
years ago. There are twice as many
schoolhouses now as there were then,
| only 1651l5 in 1896 has increased 60 per
cent Nevertheless, only about As per
| cent of the children Of South Carolina,
| black or white, are now attending school
for about three months in the year.
Tillman Entitled to Credit.
Senator Tillman is entitled to some of
the credit of this Improvement. because
it is largely due to a provision which he
| inserted in the constitution of 1895 provid-
ing a perpetual tax of three mills on
the dollar upon all property for school
purposes, and giving the schools the entire
| proceeds of the dog tax and the poll tax.
| Under this constitutional provision the
revenues available for education have ad-
yanced from $563, IA to 81 ,S53.52. or TINS
amount 1865 253 was contributed In 1907
| to the state university, the military acad-
envy, a medical college at Charleston, an
agricultural college. normal schooi. and
white industrial and colored industrial In
stitut ions, which have total OF 3,21l
students This left about a million and
a half of dollars available for primary edu-
cation in the state and allowed an aver
age expenditure Of 500 a school The
salaries of teachers throughout the state
in 1aO7 averaged $.27 a year. The salaries
Of county superintendent averaged S6e3,
in comparison with $3.50 in Iowa. 1900
| in North Dakota, $1,:20 in Kansas, 81. 400
| in Indiana and even larger sums In other
states. The average salary of county
superintendent in other southern states
is 500.
there has been little Improvement in the
length Of the school term in South Caro-
lima. 1t averaged hundred days during
the regime of the desptsed 'carpet-bag-
gers" and under the reign Of the planta-
ton arstocracy which followed them, 1t
ran down to sixty-eight days in the year.
Under the government Of the people"
brought about by the revolution in which
year in South Carolina has gradually in
creased from sixty-eight to ninety-six
days; but more than half a million chill
dren in that state are without instruction
269 out Of 1856 days In the year.
i Private School Before War.
South Carolina had no public school
) system whatever until the "carpet-bag-
GER regime. Before the war there were
none but private schools. The constitution
Of 1868 provided a new system Of free
instruction for rich and poor alike. but
during the first year Qs6O there were
) only $50 schools which were attended by
%, AL pupils at cost of $77,940 for the
year.
A compulsory attendance law was
passed by the legislature of South Caro-
lima, but it cannot be enforced for the
. simple reason that they cannot compel
. children to attend schools that do not ex-
. list; but schools are gradually being es-
. .ablished everywhere. The returns for
each successive year show an increase in
. the number and q corresponding increase
; in the attendance. There, is very little
; done for the colored people, however. and
; very little can be expected SO long as
the boards of education are under the