Evening star., 1924-01-12

+, migrants. There is said to be not a
county in any state where there is
not some community whose illiteracy
Is shameful.
Where a community is poor In
property, It is often "rich In chill
dren." The state school tax. at so
much on each 500 of assets. may not
produce sufficient school funds there
to support schools enough for all the
children through full terms. In an
ether community. in the same county,
there may be more wealth In prop
erty. with fewer children. Uniform
| tax rates, therefore. do not assure
the public sentiment wants them.
Some states average only IS or So a
year per child In total school sup
port. while others Approximate ten
times that muth.
Although 3S per cent Of all our
lilliterates are foreign born, 67.S per
cent of the city iiliterates are for
eign born-who cannot read or
write in any language. Accidents In
factories cost $4,000 loss per day.
and half Of these accidents are due
to the illiteracy Of the workers. they
not being able to read the warnings
and ndinstructions, even though printed
in their native languages.
The late Franklin K. Lane, Secre-
! tary of the Interior. estimated that
the average wages of illiterates was
30 cents a day less than for the edu-.
| Gated, which made the ignorance of
this country cost s825,000,00 a year.
aside from cost of accidents and loss
OF wages Though avoidable causes,
due 10 ignorance.
X y 4 +
There may be danger to our in
stitutions from propaganda of for
eisn conspirators. The illiteracy
conference will consider the greater
crisis of peril to our democratic gov
eminent and society through blank
ignorance
This is government by the people. 4"
While all illiterates are not voters, they
hold the same proportion to the voters
that they do to the whole community.
England. with its 1,143.277 illiterates
Gas indicated by the Army test), cast
1855, ,02S votes for President. The mid
die Atlantic states, with 3,349.46 litter
ates. cast 5.s52, oo2 votes for President;
south Atlantic states Uncluding the
District of Columbia in its illiteracy.
| though not in it's voting) had 1.795. sl5
illiterates and cast 2.16s,329 presidential
votes. Pennsylvania, with 1854, 734 illit-
| crates, cast, for President, 1,S49,692
votes.
The illiteracy conference is facing
great problems. Some will urge the
passage by Congress of the pending
Sterling -Towner bill to create a federal
department of education; to add a ma
tional council of education, for advisory
assistance to the proposed secretary OF
education; to provide federal aid in en-
couraging and assisting the states to
correct their educational weaknesses,
without interfering with the full control
of the schools by state officials. The
measure will appropriate $4,000. 900 a
year for schools. to be apporttoned
among the states, when the states also
raise like amounts for school purposes.
A state governor, within the last
week, jealous OF state independence OF
the federal government, denounced all
measures which offered federal aid to
the states. for any purpose Of influence
ing state action-whether for better
roads or better schools. With what
educational missionary work will the
conference meet such opposition?
Copyright. 1924. by Paul V. oollins.)