The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1921-02-12
Commission Re-
ports Pay Of Ne
gro Country Teach
ers Pitiful.

Jefferson City, Mo-. Feb. 1O-The
report of the Missouri Negro Educa-
tional and Industrial Commission, ap-
pointed two years ago by Gov. Gard
ner, characterizes the pay of Negro
county, snd dis senosol,7teachers s,,, as "pitiful
: The report disclosed that 20 per
cent of the 212,000 Negroes of Mis-
souri, reside in the congested areas of
slde In tbs, smaller towns or in the
country. Missouri Negroes pay taxes
upon Sl5OOOO'OOO Of property, the re-
port said.
The commission, of which N. G.
Bruce, founder of an Industrial school
for his race at Dalton, was chairman,
stressed the low. standard of the Me-
gro schools in the country and their
frequent abandonment entirely by hos
tile school boards as one reason why
the Negroes are driven to reside in the
cities.
Efforts to Reduce Number.
I'm some places" said the report,
great efforts are made to reduce the
number of Negro children, so that no
school for Negroes may be by law de-
are given, and in others farmers will
refuse to employ Negroes with chill
dren so that by these two means many
Negro schools are now closed. with the
final result that Negro farmhands and
renters are forced into the cities and
towns, the centers of population where
schools are provided"
An examination of the state laws
reveals that school boards are not re-
quired in the country to establish
there are fifteen pupils. The statutes
authorize these boards to summarily
close for six months Negro school
when for any reason the attendance
falls to less than eight for any one
month.
An epidemic or influenza or other
communicable disease would enable
School for the remainder of the school
year and deprive the children, no mat
ter how many, of any opportunity of
going to school at all.
No such iaNs is applicable to a cotin.
try school district for white children.
No School Children.
There is school now adjacent to
Warrensburg where there are no chill
ers in the district in order to avoid
paying taxes in the Warrensburg dis,
where taxes are higher, levy a tax
and teacher, who keeps school with
out pupils, according to George Criss-
man of Warrensburg Normal.
The state laws provide that Negro
children may when no school Is pro-
vided for them, go to any Negro
ion is made for transporting them or
of paying their other necessary ex-
penses, except tuition, which Is the
smallest item of expense in attending
school
The report declares that the admin
istration building at Lincoln Institute
has apparently not been painted for
twenty years; that the salaries paid
much less than to teachers in the OF
her teacher colleges of Missouri: that
many instructors in the other teacher
colleges receive higher pay than docs
n
The report recommends the conver-
sion of Lincoln Institute. now set
apart for the training of Negro teach
vocated voc, by the last Democratic state
platform and the Republicans were
criticised for failure to make the spe-
cific recomme ndation in their plat
form.
Moore Introduces Bill.
Walthal M. Moore, Negro legislator
from st. Louis, has introduced a bill
to convert Lincoln Institute into a
university under the management of
an appropriation of $1,0O0,O0O for car
rying out the purposes of the bill.
In addition to Moore's bill, there are
bills to create farm experiment sta
a home for Negro defective, patterned
after the Marshall Colony for Feeble
minded In addition, the Negroes
woull like. separate institution for
rigible The Negro Industrial Com
mission holds that reformative influ-
ences cannot successfully operate for
the Negro boys at the Boonville in
stitution.
Here is the estimated distribution of
the Negro population of Missouri by
congressional districts as set out in
the report of the Negro Industrial
Commission: First, 1888; Second,
10,955; Third 4812; Fourth, including
st. Joseph, S121; Fifth. including Kan
sas city, 190O4; Sixth, 1900: Seventh,
1871; Eighth 12,031; Ninth, 1885;
Thirteenth, S515; Fourteenth. 1928;
Fifteenth, 2710; Sixteenth 1922: st.
Louis and ST. Louis County, Tenth,
Eleventh and Twelfth districts, S2.656.
The officers of the commission
were: NJ c. Bruce, Dalton: Mrs. Lucy
Bledsoe, st. Louis; Robert S. Cobb,
Cape Girardeau. and b. F. Butler,
Auxvasse