The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1915-12-10
Compulsory School Attendance.

We publish the following at the
request of Mrs. Rena G. Knowlton.
Secetary of the Woman's Club Of
Laurel, branch of the Maryland State
Federation of Woman's Club.
The General Assembly of 1914 ad-
journed without enacting statewide
compulsory school attendance law.
The law of 1912 requires school atten-
dance in Baltimore City, makes it option
al in II counties, and specifically ex-
empts six counties from its operation.
This condition of affairs raises several
fundamental questions in the light of
number of facts which are to be found
in the reports of the United States
Census and of the Maryland State
Census and of the Maryland State
Board of Education.
Since 1900 Maryland has steadily
ranked 23nd among the 4s States IN the
percentage of illiteracy of native
whites, ten years of age and over.
At the slow rate of decrease in
lliteracy with our present school
machinery and public interest in educa-
ion, it will be 1850 before all the native
white voters of Maryland will be able
. read and write.
Last year the State of Maryland ap-
orotioned school tax of about 1924
,er child on the enumeration of 252,OSl
children in our counties.
Of these, 159, 786 was the total num-
Ter of different pupils in our county
.hools.
Of these. LAG. TIA were enrolled on
Ianuary 1st, 1915.
Of these. 1O5,OO3 was the average
number in attendance IN the year 1914
Is.
What has become of the 81, 1888
children whose names had gotten on
the registers of the schools in our
counties? =
Who shall receive the benefits Of
special State taxes?
''The State has no right to levy and
collect taxes for a specific purpose,
then permit:that purpose to be defeat
ed at the hands of Indifferent or sell
fish parents, For the State, under the
mandates Of law, to collect taxes for
the education of its children and fail
20 give the education to the legal
benefciaries is moral crime, if not a
statutory one. In this connection one
hears much about sacred rights and
personal privileges of the parent who
neglects or refuses to send his child to
school. Has the helpless child nc
sacred rights? Has the State not some
privileges?: The tendency to shift from
the home those functions which pro.
perly belong there is regrettable. One
of those functions is to train the child
rem for their duties and responsibilitie!
in the social organism. Society itsel!
is imperiled whenever its members are
nufit. One Of the essentials of fitness i!
what we call Education" prof
William H., Hand, State High Schoo
Inspector of South Carolina.)
In the State last year 42,088 whit,
children whose names were on school
registers were out of school, as com
pared with IL, 500 colored children wht
did not 60 to school.
Shall the illiteracy of one negro child
cost Maryland the illiteracy of nearly
three white children?
Without any compulsory school at
tendance, the negroes in Maryland have
reduced the illiteracy of the members
of their own race of ten years of ag,
and over from SOL per cent in 1885,
to 35.1 per cent 1900 and to 23.4 il
1910.
At this rate of decrease illiterac,
among the Maryland negroes ten years
old and over will have disappeared il
1880.
Under the law of 1912, nine count
les are making an effort to secure
/ larger attendance of children-Balti
i more, Caroline, Dorchester, Hartford
4 Montgomery. Prince George, Queer
Anne Frederick and Talbot. Report
, from these counties show slight ir
crease in enrolment and high increas
in average attendance for the month
when the law is enforced.
)1 In Baltimore the schools were class