Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1940-01-10

thirty-five percent of the total
amount of State and LOCAL taxes COL
lected. J
We are interested in the entire
South, but more interested in North
Carolina North Carolina is the one
southern state which spends for edit
cation more than half of the take:
collected. and yet, North Carolina
spends two and one half times us
much for each white child us II docs
for each Negro child Census l93O).
We are more interested in North
Carolina, but most interested IN
Vance county Some figures were re-
leased Il short time ago which show
ed an enrolment of 4,O31 white chill
dren and 3,5l8 colored children in the
county of Vance. There are enrolled
only $40 more white children than
colored, with ia white teachers and
only 81 colored. There are six high
schools for the white children ana
only one for the coloreG.
These figures referred to above
also showed that the property value
of schools for white children is S9Il,-
8l4. and for the colored children
Sl53950. That is to say, the value Of
| the school property Tor colored chill
dre-n is less than l6 percent of the
value Of the school property used for
white children.
a few years ago the figures showed
that the colored people of VANCE
county paid about - percent Of the
taxes. Twenty-Five percent OF the
taxes and sixteen per cent Of the
value of the school property =. this
! is food for serious thought.
The high school for white children
! is beautiful and we'll appointed
school building, costing all told in the
neighborhood of quarter of a mill
| lion dollars. Is is one of the show
places to visitors coming to Hender-
son. | am always glad TO take my
visiting friends to see our high
school. We are Just so glad the white
| children have such nice sanitary
place where they can attend school.
According 10 newspaper reports,
we are now constructing home loI
white teachers at cost OF S33,OOA.
We are again so glad the white teach
erS are going to have comfortable
place to live. We believe we can Sc
! cure better teachers and that they
can do better work when they have
4 nice: and comfortable place TO make
their home. We think they ought to
have it. Those of us who help pay
the taxes are willing for them 10
have all these things; still we can
not but think Of the conditions of
some of the schools for colored chill
dren. In the judgment of the writer,
there is not Il school building for COL
ored children in the county worth
white teachers of Henderson.
When we think of the crowded and
unSanitary conditions of Our elemen-
tary school and the inadequaCy Of the
high school. where the teachers have
10 take their classes out of the build
ing to other buildings we cannot but
say. oh Lord, how long!
there are other things other than
the school situation which cause us
10 think. There is not Il colOred per-
Son receiving Il salary from the pub
lie funds OF the county except it is a
ianitur o. Il nurse. Within the knoWl-
edge of the writer there has not been
Il colored person on Il jury in Vantt
county during the past 80 years. This
is the situation in the face of the de-
ciSion of the United States Supreme
Court few years ago.
We write this with malice toward
none but friendship toward all. We
close as we began, Justice sleeps,
but never dies.
J. A. COTTON,
Henderson Institute.
Henderson. Jan. 9, 1910.