The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-30
I'M ONE s.R1.AT nENEpY.

s8 since suoorintsndenf of Public Instruction
E.narncs stated ghat there are $1,000 white per
sass over ten years of age tn virginia who can
neither read nor write there have come from
any spurces expressions Of amazcment. doubt
d wonder though there Is no reason why
ere Should have been any great display O.
gsthsr. Most people Who have kept informed
abort conditions in Virginia know that there
are thousands and thousands who either have no
cnrortnu{tv 10 attend school VIII not attend
vben given tha opportuntty and though they
eopld not have given approximately correct fig
nras thcy ver. net surprised that they should
! Aave reached near TO a hundred thousand
mt expressions of wondermcnt and doubt and
sraaauant haze not been the only results of
Superintendent stearnes' statement In some
quarters thcre has been shown disposition 10
cast reflections upon the management Of the
uuhlic schoal system. Whether Intentionally or
sn;utentionaIly tbc sNoffott rtrqtnianPilot hints
shat the money expended by the state for edn-
cation has not been expended judiciousy. "The
aubise s.hooi system Of virginia" it says, went
into operation in 1871 Since thon the State
has expended more than sixty millions of dol
lars On It's maintenance and development Nov
superintendent stoarnes IN pleading for a heavy
increase III the annual appropriation in the de-
partmeat of education says there are $1,000
white chiidren In the State, over ten years Of
Hrr, wssoaas ifAfteraee ia such that they cannot
write thelr names"
sixty naiilions for education may seem
huge sum. bat it is less than million and a
half annually. and less per capita than has
heaa expended by each State In the Union out
side the South million and half annually
Tor 100000 children between the ages Of seven
ana twenty is only orc dollar and a half per
child. That ia no great cum to expend for edn-
cation. II Ii 70 small that there should be no
surprise that Il does not SUFFICE ana that only
saasaut hals are receiving a public school educa-
slon or have received it
Hafe are snnac figures taken from the United
states census reports by the Newport News
Presss
The number of men of voting age In Virginia
HI 62a 53a. Of WHOM 22s .o9s white, The mum
her of male initeratos Of voting age Ia 9291T, Of
whom &c, $50 are waite, The whole number Of
slstaYates over ten years Of age is 232.911. of
whom, AZ already stated s1457 are white.
THE total number of persons in the State
Between the ages Of ten and twenty is e976f9.
aad OF these. only 39e49a. or 5G.5 per cent, are
attending school
The total number Of persons between the ages
Dt ak and fourteen Is 44e920, and Of these, only
so1.o5r. or 6S.s per cent. are attending school
There are OYER s1.o00 white children between
IRE ages Of ten and fourteen who do not attend
school. almost precisely the same as the num-
bar OF iliteraics.
4 The Vtrginiaa-Ptlot wants to know why 1T is
fhat there are so many iIliterates in the State.
we th'ak we have given one reason. namely
TIE state does not appropriate sufficient money
for the purpose
III IN true that there are now facilities for
saofo pJpils tban attend school. bur in many
sections 81 the state there insufficient faeili-
tiass In many Of oar cities. even, the school
Eail6inga are crowded. and In many counties,
sueh Az FraaRlln, Buchanan and others. there
ara not school buildings enough to accommodate
thage Who would attend Many children are not
living within reach Of school buildings. MANY
Garnet supply themselves With books and pro
visions. fpr State supply IL not made In all cases.
III ans~er 70 tbh question Of the Vr0tntan-
Pslet as To whether iliiteraoy is due solely to
snadegpsey ~ school accommodations these facts
arr given They show tbat literacy is not due
soicly TO inaaequacy Of facilities, but partly to
saas caase. The extra appropriation asked by
tic department of education would increase the
facilities where Reeded and would Improve fa
elsitles vbpre already partially supplied.
III ii trua. however that even this three hun
3 dreA thousand dollars additional asked would
3 moi stamp Out iiiiteracy even though all of It
should BIO applied 10 that purpose. school
bnaae Oh every hillside aud al every eroes road
wdult not accomplish ttat purpose Nothing
viii ayen approximately accomplish II bat com
ral#ory edacatan. Those olghtyone thousand
\ ilIiss.ates are iiiiterate because they did not