The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-08-25

ute and four colleges, 194S; Alabama Girls Industrial school, AS; district agr- cultural schools, 1214; total number or white students in all colleges and tech nological schools 3606.
 This estimate does not include the Ma rion institute, which, understand, has not more than 300 students at the out side. although it is a highly reputable educational institution and it's president is one of the foremost educators Of +ba state. And there are not more than eight colleges for women with maxi
 mum estimate of 1200 students AS nas been shown, the total enrolment III Pii vata schools is 11,164 of which 52l7 are negroes. The reports seem to show that the negroes, with a population at iess' per cent less than the whites' nave more students in institutions for higher education than the whites have in Nthe so,na class of schools. Unquestionably, the negroes have more pupils receiVihs industrial training. anticipate the only answer that can be made to this state- ment. l. e., that the Tuskegee insti- tute for negroes is an important ana extraordinary factor in comparative esti- mates for Alabama. So 1t IS, put tne reputation of the Tuskegee institute IS due to the fame of Dr. Booker Wasn- inston and not to its extraordinary hnan- cial ar numerical strength. Other south- ern states have institutions for the high CT and industrial education Of the ne- groes and the attendance at these schoois is proportionately as large.
 This state of affairs Is alarming and it must be humiliating. If it continue for the next decade the statistics that will be published to the world will show that a people without national his- tory. who were in abject slavery half century ago, have advanced in educa- tion beyond the children of their for mer masters. What the end of this will be no man can tell, only God knows, but it is a situation that should make every citizen of the state tremble for his home and his children. More than railroads, mills and factories, Alabama needs strong and fearless man who, forgetting self, party ties, racial and partisan pre1u- dices, will go among those good people and tell them the truth and plead with them to mortgage their homes and their beds, if need be, to save their race. people who have always been ready to die for their country ought to be willing | to live for their race.
 have searched the standard books usually consult for information on social and educational questions and I have | gone to the great reference libraies of this city and can find no reports that
 make a better showing than I have stat ed. If I am in error, I hope this paper will be read by some Alabamian who
 is better informed and that he will point
 out the fallacy of my conclusions The actual facts ought to be published, favor
 able as possible, in justice to the state | from a moral and practical point of view. Educated Germans, Swedes and | other people with brains in their heads and money in their pockets, who are
 seeking new locations, usually inquire, | first about the climate and second. about
 the schools of the country in which they | are invited to invest and live. It is easy
 to learn that there is no better eli
 mate in America, that no other state
 has such wonderful resources and that
 no people are more hospitable and gen,
 erous than the people of Alabama. But the stumbling block to greater progress
 is the educational question. There seems
 to be blight on the whole system of | education, from the lowest to the highest | No better evidence of growth in the uni
 versity and colleges than in the elemen- l tary schools. And this unfortunate sit
 uaton is no criticism on the faculty | The University of Alabama and the Ala
 bama Polytechnic institute have the
 faithful service of experienced. educa- tors of the highest integrity and ac-