The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-06
EDUCATION IN ALABAMA

EDUCATION IN ALABAMA
Two facts with regard to the. status of
education in Alabama are fundamental and
cannot be explained away. These are that
Alabama ranks forty.second in liferacy and
forty sixth In the amount spent per capita on
puBlics education. The lowest amount spent
in any state on education is $3.50 per capita.
In Alabama it is $4.55. The average for all
the states is .43 per capita. Education is
ain investment and it gives returns in almost
direct proportion to the amount invested. 1t,
cannot be said that the presence of the negro
is responsible for 'Alabamas low comparative
standing in literaey, for, while all other
Southern states, but one, rank above Ala.
boma55 in negro. education, only six states
rank below Alabama in white literaey. This
situation is entirely due to the fact that as
state, Alabama spends too little on public
education. - ss..s - ~ -
This is not because Alabama is not rich
state, On the contrary according to DIR.
John W. Abercrombie state superintendent
of education while the richest Of. states
in natural resources, Alabama is the poorest
of states in per capita income. because she
is lacking in that which is essential to the
highest degree of economic growth, namely,
citizenry adequately. trained to make the
wisest and fullest use of her natural re-
sources. The chief factor in economic pros
perity is lacking because she has failed in
har dpfvy IN bar Hoaa Il. ~.
permitted them to grow into manhood and
womanhoed in ignorance, weakness and in
efficiency" The reason for Alabamas small
income is complex. i In the first place, the
forced. Governor Kilby did much to correct
this situation and to bring the valuations
nearer to the percentage fixed by statute.
Governor Brandon deliberately undid much
of this effort, but the revenues are growing
somewhat in spite, of that because of the
phenomenal expansion of the states activities.
In the second place, many sources of reve-
nue. developed in other states have been neg
lected in Alabama Where other states have
paid much of the school investment out of
current revenues, Alabama communities have
too frequently been forced to resort to bond
issues, while many institutions supported by
the state have actually gone without the APP
propriations necessary to their normal func-
tioning. This has been especially true under
Governor Brandon, who was elected largely
on his campaign pledge to advance materially
a. =. L =
He has failed to redeem that pledge in the
slightest degree.
The sums spent ON public education are not
lost. The loss accumulates only when ade-
quate sums are not spent. Alabama is back
ward in many kinds of development, fbr the
simple reason that the fundamental training
of such citizenship as will not tolerate the
blocking of public development has been neg
leeted., 1t is true that education in Ala
bama has made great progress in the past
decade, but it is. likewise true that Alabama
has not materially progressed in her relative
standing Ten years ago she ranked low
among the states in public education, and
today she ranks little, if any, higher. That
neglect has been accompanied by tremen-
dous and incalculable sacrifice in progress
and prosperity. Those who build common
wealth are those who in youth have had that
groundwork of education which is constitu-
tionally the birthright' of every American
child. Ignorance is brake on material, civic
and social progress, Ignorance costs infin-
itely more than education. Every dollar
spent on education means many dollars saved
on ignorance. 1t is not question whether
Alabama can afford education. The ques-
ton is whether Alabama can afford her
course of inadequate educational provision