The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-26
.EDUc'.t'E's*;;ivAL BOARD .F!'s$I , s HE SOUTH IS.
 ,sIilAbLE ; ID SUPPORT. NECESSARY SCHOOLS
Efforts to Promote South ern Education Summar- ized in Report to Board
 Founded by Rockefeller. Lack ofMoney Responsible

New York, December 3-Efforts made to promote education in the south are summarized in the sixth installment to- night of the report of the general educa- ton board founded by John D. Rocke- feller. It soon became clear according to the report, that, adequate development could not take place until the peoples re- sources were enlarged
 These conditions were not primarily due to lack of interest in popular educa- tion," the report continues. ..'They were mainly the result of rural poverty. While the average annual earnings of individ- ua1s engaged in agriculture in Iowa were upward of s1ooO. the average earnings oi those sllnilary .epgaged in some south ern states were as low as s15ey The great bulk Of the people of the southern states were simply not earning enough to pro vide proper homes and to support good schools
 Lack of Money
 The southern farmer suffered primarily from lack of money, the report says. He also lacked scientific knowledge of farm ing and the board therefore proceeded on the theory that if he could be helped in this direction he would gladly support better schools
 The board says that this programme could not be carried out by the federal government. because while it was taking measures to combat the boil weevil il could not appropriate money for strictly educational purposes. The board decided to work in conjunction with the govern ment.
 "The cooperation of the general educa- tion board the report continued brought about an immediate and rapid expansion of the demonstration move ment in every direction; it conquered new territories. dealt with a rapidly in- crea sing number of activities and touched more people:
 "In 1906. 545 farms were reached; a year later. 2S34; in 190S something more than 1400o; in 1910. 63,622; in 1912, 106.621 Twenty-Five thousand adults were at the last named date receiving instructions in Texas; more than f5,o0o in Oklahoma
  Ala bama; 6l9o in Mississippi.
 Initial Appropriation
 "1he initial appropriation of the board in 1905 was s7ooo. At that time the gov ernment was devoting s4o0Oo to demon strations against the boil weevil The board appropriated s30.00os the next year, s7s,500 two years later, $500 in 1911 and S252 GOO in 1913
 "These sums were uneverlly distributed: in 190S-o9, S4o00 was spent in Florida and s15,oo0 in Virginia; the next year, s19o0o in Virginia and s30,0oo in Georgia; in 1si1-l2. s23.oo0 in South Carolina and s25, 900 in North Carolina
 Summarizing the total cost of the south ern work up to date the report says the government appropriated s1,922 300 and the general education board 1925. .750, while $l. C69. 405 was obtained from other sources. The board says it's policy has been vindi- cated by the fact that the southern peo- pie themselves in less than decade were paying almost 50 per cent of the total annual expenditure approaching q 1,2o0 coo.
 Fortunately" the report concludes. the value of demonstration has been so clear that the federal government will now take over and extend purely educa- ticnal farm demonstrations; success has dissipated the constitutional scruple that for the past 10 years has restricted gov ernmental activities in this direction to plegue-infested states