The Lubbock avalanche. (Lubbock, Tex.) 1909-1922, 1922-01-10
Percentage Of IlGteracy in Texas
Shows Decrease Of One and Six
Tenths From 1910 to 1870 Census

n ! ,232,3iG AZ au1;ed to urban com,
muIities Il found sO,333 illiteratcs OF
all eges Of 10 wears and over, or o
70 rcenlagc OF C.j, whereas IN pon-
ulalon Of 2,)2i,2eS attributed 20
rural communities IL found 2lo,5ll
illiterates, or a percentage OF 30.
SomothuR like the same difference
Is shown az To- The two oasseh ~ pop
ulation Of all ages. For example. IN
the towns and cities IS per cent OF
the population between The ages OF
10 and 20 are illiterates, and In the
country IL per cent, while OF those
81 q years and over, rs per cent
are illiierate in the towns and cities,
and 1919 per cent in the country. But
In 1910 illiterates Of all ages consti-
tuted 1919 per cent Of the rural pop
ulation, whereas il was, as has been
shown, 9.3 per cent In 1920, re-
duction Of l.6 per cent, Shile In the
cities the reduction has been from
II to G.5 per cent, or only about
half as much as The reduction made
In the country Our warfare on
illiieracy has been prosrcring more
IN the country than in the city though
now as in the past rs bigger task is
In the country.
With respect 20 races, the census
report shows what every one has
known 20 be true, that, namely there
is more illiteracy among the negroes
than among the whites. or the ne
gro population Of all. ages, l76 per
cent were found 20 be illitcratc In
1920, "a against 1913 per cent for the
population as whole, white and
black, native-born and foreignborn.
That high percentage contrasts with
20, which is the percentage OF IL
llterates among native whites Of ma
tive parcntaRe Of all ages, and with
ga, which Is the percentage Of Hit
crates among whites Of native birth,
but Of foreign or mixed parentage
Among the forcign-born whites, the
percentage Of illiteracy - shown 20
have baqn 1913.
That the negroes are taking 10 the
schools more largely than the whites
Is one Of the impressive facts this
census report seems 10 disclose, al
though u II not one which will SUR
prise those who have observed close
ly One Of the evidences Of II Is that
whereas the percentage Of illiteracy
among negroes was reduced from
21.G 10 i7.S per cent during the 1910
1920 decade, or nearly per cent, Il
was reduced among the population
as q whole from go only 20 1913 per
cent, and among the native whites
If native parentage from 1913 only
20 2.2 per cent a testimony that
will be more surprising Is that dur
ing the decade there has been n
greater reduction IN the percentage
Of illiteracy among negroes above the
scholastic age than among those with
in II. For example, the percentage
Of illiteracy among negroes above
p years Of are was 33 In 1910 and
23.i IN 1920, a difference Of almost
10 per cent, whereas among negroes
between the agos Of 10 and 10, in
elusive. the percentage Of illiierncy
was 1913 in 1910 and 4.6 In 1920,
difference Of less than 9 per cent.
The span between 10 and 10 does
NOT measure the scholastic age, which
is from 2 10 ls, 80 that the two aets
" Figures do not afford q perfect
comparison, but they are strongly in-
dicativc Of the presumption that
adult negroes have shown even more
eagerness TO escape the thrall Of III
literacy than have their children. or