Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1921-06-18
CENSUS REVEALS
LESS ILLITERACY
Decrease Of From 22.9 to 1861
Per Cent In Ten Years
Shown in Alabama.
DECLINE IN OTHER STATES
Marked Improvement is Shown in the
Education of the Negro PopuIa-
ton In the Southern States
Funds Are Limited,

| -WdSHlnRlOD.-lH liIlLerdCy is Oc-
creasing in this country is indicated by
a survey of early reports from the CEN
sus office by Sara l.. Doran for the
Bureau of Education of the United
States. The figures for Alabama, Ar
kansas, Delaware and the District Of
Columbia have been published and all
of them show substantial Improvement
since 1910.
| In Alabama the proportion of per-
sons ten years old and more who can
not write in any language has dropped
from 22.9 per cent to ISL per cent;
in Arkansas from 1913 per cent to 9.4
per cent, in Delaware from 81 per
cent to SO per cent, in the District of
Columbia from 40 per cent to 2S per
cent.
1.-The condition is even more encour-
aging than the figures that relate to
the total population seem to Indicate"
continues the investigator, "for it is
evident that the coming generation Of
native Americans will be practically
free from illiteracy in nearly every
part Of the country.
| "Alabamans have been constantly
mindful of the evils of illiteracy dur
ing the last 20 years The census Of
| 1900 showed marked increase in the
actual number of illiterates in the pre-
viOus decade. The figures were pub
lished widely throughout the state and
the people awakened to the fact that
the public school system was not hold
| ing its own. The result was shown in
the census returns of 1910. The ten
dency to increase in numbers which
had appeared previously was entirely
overcome, the illiterates were reduced
by 91,8S0 and the proportion of IL
literates in the total population was
cut from 81 per cent to 229 per cent.
Government Helps.
| These numbers were recognized as
much too high, and the agitation for
universal education continued. This
eliminated in survey of educational
| conditions throughout the state under
the direction of the United States
| commissioner of education and a gen.
eral revision of the laws in consonance
with the recommendations of the sur
| vey commission. Alabama's first COM
pulsory education law was passed in
| 1915, and an illiteracy commission was
| established in the same year. 1t has
since been engaged in direct efforts
to educate illiterates.
'The money available for these pur-
| boe o.
the finances of the state have not been
in an entirely satisfactory condition,
and the efforts of education have been
hampered by that fact. No state money
has yet been appropriated for the il
literacy commission, although it was
established by legislative action; and
the only funds which the commission
las had came from private sources.
1T is well known that the greater
part of the illiteracy that exists in the
southern states is among the negroes.
In 1890, seven negroes in every ten IN
| Alabama were unable TO write. This
proportion has been reduced at every
census since that time, and in 1920 it
was three in every ten. Nearly 211 900
Alabama negroes were reported Hitter
| ate in that year. A similar lack Of
education prevails to an undue extent
among the native white people of the
state; 67,287 of them cannot write.
That number is 6.4 per cent of the
native white population over ten years
| OF age.
| with much smaller proportion Of
negroes in her population, Arkansas
may be expected to excel the showing
made by Alabama in the education Of
her citizens. The number of taxpayers
among negroes is relatively small in
all the southern states and the amount
they pay in school taxes is not enough
| to maintain their own schools. The
whites, therefore, must educate not
only their own children, but those of
the negroes as well.
Arkansas has within her borders
121,S37 persons ten years old or over
who cannot read; 40,753 of them are
native whites and 1925 are negroes
The percentages Of the corresponding
total population are 4.6 per cent, and
| 2l.S per cent, respectively. Clearly,
| Arkansas is better off educationally
| than Alabama.
i Like Alabama, and presumably
many other states, Arkansas has much
less of illiteracy in the cities than in
the rural portions of the state.
/ Negroes constitute only 1876 per
cent of the population of Delaware.
and the proportion is decreasing.
Native whites in the cities of Della
ware show only or per cent of Hitter
acy, and that is presumably among the
adults. Outside the cities, however,
81 per cent of the native whites are
unable to write. City negroes are H.
literate to the extent of III per cent,
and country negroes to the extent of
20.8 per cent.
"The reverse Is true Of the for
eign born, for 1t appears that the bet
ter class Of them go to the farms and
| tho IGNORANT lah0rers ara inclined IN