The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-11
HLiteracy Conference
 Begins Two-Day Session
 With ExtensiUe Program
Educators From Southern States Group of National Dr. ganization Begin IlIiteracy Program This Morning.

With arrival last night and
 carly this morning. of delegates
 states, numbering from 20 to 200
 from each state, and including
 the foremost educators, and of-
 ficers of various national edu-
 catiOnal organizations in the
 country, all is in readiness for
 the opening session of the south
 ern illiteracy conference which
 convenes in the Sunday school
 rooms of the First Methodist
 church at Si3O this morning.
 Headquarters will be opened nt
 the Tutwiler hotel nt 0 o'clock, 1t
 was announced by Mrs. Cora
 Stewart of Frankfort, Ky, chair
 man of the ilIiteracy commission
 of the national educational de-
 pertinent. who will have charge
 of the extensive program.
 Founder Arrives.
 Mrs. Stewart. who Is the founder of the movement, having organized the work for illIterates in Kentucky fin 1911, which has now spread throughout every state in the union, arrived yesterday morning with headquarters at the Tutwiler, and expressed high hopes for a most successful and inspirational meeting at Birmingham. Miss Sarah Luther of Montgomery, state director of schools, and of exceptional eductaion In Alabama, arrived late Sunday and will take a leading part in the pro- gram both of today and tomorrow. end she will lead the Alabama session" Wednesday morning.
 Delegates to the conference, most of whom have arrived. number more than 500, come from Alabama, Flor Ida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee. North and South Carolina. Virginia. Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, and the unique feature of the personnel of the visiting body Is that they are not only representative of the schools and other educational bodies in the south. but men and women designated by governors of various states who are prominent in patriotic. labor, civic and professional life In the states from Wnlcn they come.
 Arkansas Also Active.
 According to information received from the conference headquarters late yesterday afternoon. Arkansas Is expected to follow Alabama closely in the number of delegates to the ilIiteracy conference. and with ap- 200 delegates. is expect ed to take a very active part in the meeting.
 The custom of holding these re- gional conferences for the benefit or the illiterate classes was instituted last November, when the Il eastern states held such conference in New York This was so highly success ful and producing that Tn February the Il western states held I similar meeting in San Francisco and this was followed closely by the meeting in Chicago of the middle western and northern states. This Ia the last of the four conferences, and as Mrs. Stewart expressed 1t. Alabama and Birmingham was chosen as a meeting place because tho last federal census indicated that more people had been taught to read and write in Alabama than any other state in the union, al- though others showed a lower per ,entage of flliterates.
 A special feature of the program will be the Experience Meeting" to ,e held tomorrow morning, when del- gates from all the states represented win give the date of the incipiency md growth of the great movement in heir respective states, and outline 'ome of the plans for the future.
 The work in Alabama has been organized under the able eadership of Dr. John w. Abercrom- ,ie, state superintendent of public in- 'truction, and Miss Sarah F.. Luther, ,tate director of schools, according to Mrs. Stewart. and the movement which has already won the support of every state in the union, and with he passage of pending legislation in Congress will have the support of the ederal government, new era in the to free the south and other sections of the country of the Hitter lte class in being ushered in.
 Today-s Program
 Following is the program arranged Tor today:
 Morning Session
 Invocation: Dr. Henry Edmonds.
 Address of welcome Dr. John Abercrombie. superintendent public instruction. state of Alabama; c. B. Glenn, superintendent Birmingham :ity schools.
 Response: Hon. J. E. SwearingeD. public instruction state of South Carolina.
 Illiteracy a national problem: Hon. J. B. Brown, superintendent public in- struction, state of Tennessee.
 The states responsibility for the illiterate: Hon. M. l.. Britain. su- public instruction. state of Georgia.
 The county's part in the illiteracy crusade: Dr. Patterson Wardlow, president South Carolina illiteracy 
 The obligation of the city to its Hon. J. W. Ramsey, presi- dent Arkansas illiteracy commission.
 Afternoon Session
 Creating public sentiment: Miss