The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-10-13

rect attention 10 the cause or causes
for such = disappointing and dssas-
,rous result, and 10 reforming the
educational system. before taking up
the question Of further increasing
taxes for public education
Hon. George z. Butler, the present
candidate for Congress IN the Third
Congressional District, vas then
, State Senator from the Fourteenth
Senatorial District lie vas called
upon by his colleagues In the Legis-
lature TO undertake the work Of re-
visIng the public school Law and
working out q system by which the
boys and girls of the State would get
better results for the money ex-
pended.
The Constitution of North Carolina
provides that there shall be full
four-month public school term main
tanned all over the State. This solemn
requirement In the organic Law OF the
State had been continuously violated
by the Democratic party. The re-
quirement for a full four months
school term was put In our Constitu-
ton by the Republican party. and IL
| became clear that the Democratic
party could not be trusted to carry
out that all-important provision of
the fundamental law of the State.
Senator George E. Butler under
took the work Of revising the school
system, so as to make the taxes then
being levied for public schools pro-
, duce better results, and, IL possible,
to make the taxes levied give 70 the
people of the State the Constitutional
requirement OF four months school
term.
The school bill which he drafted,
and which was enacted into law by
the Legislature so amended and ad-
justed the public school system as to
increase the length of the public
school term for the white children
for more than two weeks in length,
without adding a single dollar of ex-
ira taxes. He discovered that the
Democratic party had not been max
ing a wise and economical use of the
, public school fund and had not been
making even a proper distribution Of
the same.
Our State Constitution provides
, that the two races shall have equal
, public school facilities. The Demo-
cratic party, when in control Of the
State Government, had construed this
provision to require them to turn over
to the negro school committeeman
one dollar per capita for each negro
pupil for every dollar per capita that
was given to the white public schools
for each white pupil.
b; Major Butler took the position that
this was unfair and unconstitutional;
he contended that what the Consti-
tuition meant was that the negro
schools shall be taught the same
number Of weeks as the white schools
and that inasmuch as it cost less
money to provide suitable and proper
negro teachers for the negro schools
than was required for the higher
class teachers that are needed fo1
the white schools, that enough mon
ey should be set aside for the white
schools to keep them running fol
the same length of time that Lesser
amount of money would be required
to run the negro schools for the sam,
time.
Il To make effective this proposition
, Major Butler provided in his bill tina
the management of the negro schools
should be taken out of the hands O
? the negro committees and that eacl
4 negro school should have only on,
committeeman, instead Of three, an,
that the eommitteeman's authorit.
should be limited to clerical duties
> such as taking the negro census, etc
. The bill provided that there shout
: be a white committee for both tn
: white and negro school and that thi
: committee should make the distribu
s ton OF the money and employ teach
/ ers. That committee was further re
e quired to grade the white schools an
o the negro schools and employ tn
: kind of teachers necessary for thei
b needs and to make the length c