The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-07-01
need IS PRESSING
APPALLING CONDITIONS ABOUT
ILLIT.aRACY MADE KNOWN
White PEOPLE IGNORANT

tor on State Board Of Healths,
Tells Of Conditions He Finds in
His Work Among Poor People Of
This State as Result of Ignorance.
In his speech at the Kingstree
campaign meeting Tuesday John G.
ClinkscaIes used as part Of his am
munition in his fight for compul-
sorry education law a letter written
to him by L. A. Riser, M. D., of the
State board Of health, who has been
located in Williamsburg county for
some time administering the hook
worm treatment. In the letter Dr..
Riser tells instances, many of them
touching, Of illiteracy among white
people in this State and cites cases
of the eagerness shown by negroes
to get an education.
The letter of DR.. Riser to Mr..
Clinkscales follows: I'm reply to
your request I am writing you con-
cerning the need Of compulsory edu-
cation in South Carolina. I am vital
iy interested in this question, as I
am sure any one would be who has
had an opportunity Of observing ed
ucational conditions in the rural dis
tricts as have had.
"My work has taken me into the
following counties: Aiken, Chester,
Darlington, Williamsburg, Florence,
Lexington, Berkeley, Union, Green
wood and Greenville, parts Of Ches-
terfeld, Saluda, Edgefeld and Barn
well. In every county I have found
the amount of illiteracy among white
people to be appalling.
''In Lexington county two years
ago white woman living within one
mile of school told me that neither
she nor her husband could read or
write. Her children, eight in num-
Der, had never been to school. I was
told this by her when I gave her
medicine with printed directions. I
asked her to get her neighbor to read
the directions for her. Could any
thing be more mortifying to a white
citizen OF South Carolina?
"Two months ago at Monetta, In
Aiken county, 7 found the white
school closed and the negro school
running. When I asked why this
was was told that the public funds
for the negroes had been exhausted
two months previous, but that they
were now running the school on pri-
vate subscriptions. In another coun-
ty I found this same condition. The
negroes were paying the teacher 10
cents per week for each child.
'tIa Aiken county in February I
drove out :13 miles to Talatha, a
country post Office. On my way out
stopped at the white schools. In
the first school employing one teach
er I found eight pupils-all under
the age Of -; in the next seven
pupils-one girl being over IL. The
third school with two teachers had
II pupils present. There were at
least so enrolled. The wife Of the
county superintendent-Mrs. Marie
Cromer Seigler-told me she taught
this school several years ago and the
average yearly attendance Of each
child was II days. I was curious to
know what the attendance OF the
negro school in the same district
with the school last mentioned was,
so investigated. found one teach
er with 81 pupils. Half Of those
pupils are grown boys and girls. In
the white schools boys and girls OF
this age had been stopped to work
in the fields or were allowed to stay
at home on one pretext or another.
"In Clarendon county this week l
was told by trustee of a school dis
trict that the white school in his dis
trict the past year had II pupils and
the negro school had 127. He also
told me that the negro school ran
only three months and the white
schools seven, but when the negro
school closed a night school was
ojened by them and is still in ses-
sion. To this night school are 60
! ing grown negro men and women.
Ten cents per capita is charged each
week by the teacher.
"In Berkeley county at one school
house, where no school was IN ses-
sion in November, asked how long
the school term was and a trustee
told me they ran one three weeks
the year before.
"In Union county, within sight OF
the home of Mr.. Browning, is one OF
the most up-to-date community cen
ter schools, and as good as there Is
in the State. At Mr.. Browning's in
vitation, and as his guest, I attended
the closing picnic at this school. See
ing a number of white children who
seemed to feel rather shy and out OF
place with the other children present,
I inquired who they were and was
told that they did not go to school,
had never been to school and neither
had their parents nor grandparents.
Mr.. Browning, the big-hearted fell
low that he is, told me he had Offer
ed to buy books and suitable cloth
ing for these children if their parents
would send them to school.
Some time ago father with his
16-year-old son came to my Office.
The boy, a lad with good, intelh-
gent face, had the misfortune to have
his right arm cut off three years ago.
Neither the father nor son could read
or write. I asked the father why ne