The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-05
ALE COUNTIES ON THE SAh1'
BASIS IN EDUCATION.

and some bitterness because certain
counties in North Carolina were cali
ed 'pauper counties" It will be re-
called that the Senator from CleVe-
land, Mr.. Gardner. having e III Tie
papers that his county was put down
as a pauper county, grew indiglah
and undertook to show thai his couh-
ty and other counties designated Us
'pauDer counties paid into the State
Treasury as much money as was ap-
pIopriated by the State for their oun
ty. The Constitution Of North caro-
lima requires, Sec. 8. Art. IA, tnat
public schools shall be maintained ID
every district in North Carolina AT
least four months in every year ana
if the Commissioners OF any county
| shall fail to provide such 8 schooi
they shall be liable to indictment.
The Constitution also A1its the
amount Of taxes to be levied. n
for q long time, under the
decision. it was not possible to main
tain q four months school IN many
Of the counties with the constitution
al Limitation o! It was not untli
the case Of Colly VS.. the Commission
ers that it was held that the consti-
tutional requirement Of the -four
months school was mandatory and
must be carried out even il to do so
the tax rate had to be increased.
This being true, if there is 4 coun
ty In North Carolina that has not q
four months school term the Commits
s;oners Of the county are subject to
Indictment. Recognizing h fact that
some counties, with no large towns
and without large wealth, could not
maintain their public schools out Of
taxation in the way to give their chill
dren h proper advantage. the State
undertook to appropriate out OF the
general fund 100000 annually to be
apportioned so as to guarantee a four
months school In every district In the
State. This was the beginning Of the
talk Of the "pauper counties" In or
der to secure this money a county
had to show that It could not OF itself
maintain q -four months school. and
every year there is g. check made out.
and sent by the State Board OF Edu-
cation to more than half the counties
in the State. for a sum OF money
which will be sufficient to give four
months school. when added I 0 the
State tax retained in the county and
other revenues for h purpose
Of conducting public schools.
This provision. ORIGINATED In order
To 20 F.ysyy >-.& fH0 ~ w. ~->
inant party made by Governor Ay-
cock when he came into office in 1899
that "the strong should help the
weak" has lone much good, but lat
terly It has resulted in some friction
and this talk about "pauDer counties"
Moreover. whenever an appropriation
Is suggested for any State educational
that this money should better be Civ
en- TO the public schools which are
sorely in need OF it, and in these dis
cussions there Is danger that the edu-
cational era Of good feeling in North
Carolina may nav some jar. With
admitted defects due chiefly to the
lack Of none the educational policy
Of North Carolina has been admins
tered with great wisdom, with de-
voted interest to the children, and the
small money at command has been
made to go as far as q dollar ever
vent IN the education Of the people.
The sacrifice Of the teachers, who
have given their lives to the teaching
OF the children IN the public schools
at salaries that gave them only the
barest ~sustenance. has alone made the
educational progress of the State pos
sible.
The presence OF the hundreds Of
teachers Il oil the county superir-
tendents in Raleigh last week has en-
phasized the educational question. It
is the great question OF North Caro-
lima. Beside. it, other questions are
comparatively small. What is the
chief change in the educational poll