The Washington herald., 1916-05-28
Money for Education.

The most serious resolutions in the interest
Of reform sometimes have a humorous sugges-
tion when considered in connection with historic
facts. The Southern Baptist convention, in ses-
sion at Asheville, n C.. the other day resolved
in favor OF national prohibition and prohibition
for the District of Columbia, in order that there
should be more money for education of the
people. This resolution reads we'll, and the COM
mttee that drafted it probably thought only of
that excellence; but in connection with some
census statistics, it has in it some OF the quail
tiles OF the resolutions Of the Three Tailors of
Tooley Street. This convention represented
great church which has its membership in. the
Southern States where prohibition is the rule
Ten OF the Southern States have Statewide pro-
h1btlon and they claim that the laws are en-
forced. Those States ought, in conformity with
the declarations of the Baptist convention, to
have more money for education than do the
States that do not have such laws They should
have higher literacy than have such States as
New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Michi-
gan and California where the people have re-
fused 70 adopt this method of saving money for
education.s
The statistics do not, however ndi-
cate that the prohibition States are those that
spend the most money on education, have the
largest number of children in school or the low
spends $66,ooo,ooo a year for public education
Georgia spends less than S6,oooooo while Massa-
chusetts spends s25,oooooo, South Carolina spends
100000; while Ohio spends s. per capita OF
population for public education, North Carolina
spends S2.Io per capita for the same purpose !;
Illinois spends So.52 per capita and Mississippi
ISI48 per capita for education Then to bring the
comparison closer home, the District Of Column
bia spends S872 per capita of population for cdu-
cation, and Virginia spends S. 50 per capita for
the same purpose.
The same embarrassing statistics confront us
when we consider prohibition and teracy. In
Massachusetts So per cent of the population over
ten years Of age terate, and in Georgia
IT is 2o7 per cent; in wicked New York 55 per
cent illiterate, and in South Carolina 257
per cent; in Ohio 80 per cent, and in Alabama p
per cent; in Illinois 81 per cent and in Mississippi
ga per cent; in the District Of Columbia 40 per
cent and in Virginia 1853 per cent
or course, large part Of the illitcracy in these
Southern States is among the colorcd people, but
the District of Columbia has as large per centage
OF colored population has Virginia, and in
general, the prohibition States do not spend as
much money for education as do the States that
have not taken on that forced virtue nor do
they have as many children in. the schools or
educated people out Of the schools, either white
or colored. In fact, education has never been
fostered by prohibition for the simple reason that
the spirit of prohibition is not confined to any
one kind of liberty. 1t IS just now attacking the
moving picture films, the liberty of the press and
the general scope of education That is why
such resolutions those adopted by the South
ern Baptist convention sometimes cmbarr-ss-
ing They sound well, and in the abstract may
appear to have the proper moral ring, but when
r,OT1n r1I
they fail to convince ard only call attentios to
conditions which the reverse of the resokes.
1t may be that there is more need for education
in the nonprohibtion States that causes theml to
spend 81 for schools where the prohibition States
spend less than 81, but 70 amount of resolving
Like that at Asheville the other day will help lhe