Compulsory Education and the Southern States By GEORGE F. MILTON Editor of The TCnox-ville Sentinel Reprinted from The Sewanee Review for January, 1 908 Compulsory Education and the Southern States By GEORGE F. MILTON w Editor of The Knoxwlle Sentinel Reprinted from The Sewanee Review for January, 1908 La IT>1 •tts r ift Author 20? 'OQ Compulsory Education and the Southern States* Even in a cursory examination of the subject it will be neces- sary to sketch the experiences of European countries and Amer- ican States. Statistics will necessarily occupy a prominent place in such a sketch, as these are essential to an intelligent understanding of this important educational question. These may appear prolix, yet they are the meat of the subject. First, as to European countries : The Germans were the earli- est to institute a system of general education, and the wonder- ful progress of Germany in every respect is now largely attributed to the thoroughness of national education. Especially in the last twenty years has the aspect of the nation been greatly changed. Some attribute this to the large number of special technical schools, which are also undoubtedly potent factors, but some more organic reason in the national life must be discovered. The English consul, Mr. Powell, in an interesting report on these conditions, says that this (commercial and industrial) suc- cess is due less to superior commercial education than to the high state of general education that Germany has enjoyed for many years, which was formerly lacking, and is even now lack- ing in several essential points in Great Britain. The fact that in Germany elementary education has been gen- erally compulsory and, to a large extent, also gratuitous, for more than one hundred and fifty years, is recognized to be an essential element in recent political, industrial and commercial successes of the nation. Nothing short of a general uplifting of the mass of the people will raise a nation to a higher level in all respects. In England and in the United States, until the middle of the nineteenth century, compulsory school attendance was justly con- sidered an infringement of civil liberty, and this view prevented the passage and successful execution of such compulsory school * This paper was read before the Irving Club, Knoxville, Tennessee. 4 Compulsory Education and the Southern States laws. In Germany, since Luther, the fact has frequently been dwelt upon that parents are not always the most pious, conscien- tious and far-sighted educators. In the beginning, compulsory education is always felt to be severe, and meets with energetic contradiction and opposition. In the course of time, however, the masses become reconciled, and the law enforcing regular school attendance in elementary schools is recognized as a protection ; yet its suspension would be followed by a noticeable falling off of attendance in the most advanced States. Various German States — Hesse, Wiirttem- berg, Gotha, and others — had qualified educational laws in the seventeenth century. But education did not become truly com- pulsory in the Kingdom of Prussia until the decree of Frederick William I, September 28th, 1717. This memorable decree re- quired that wherever schools existed, parents, under penalty of the laws, were obliged to send their children to school, paying a tuition fee of six pence a week for each child. Frederick the Great, in 1763, defined the provisions with greater exact- ness. By a cabinet order of King Frederick William III, in 1825, compulsory education was extended to all parts of the kingdom, this being the basis of the present State law of Prussia, and other parts of the German Empire have similar statutes. In practice, the child between six and fourteen is required to attend school. The number of children between six and four- teen years of age in school has increased from 12.2 per cent of the total population in 1822 to 17 per cent in 1895. The chief gain has been in bringing the proportion of girls up to that of boys. In the United States, the tendency is now the reverse, the girls getting the greater advantages of the schools. It may be of interest to note the provisions of other European countries as to compulsory education. In the Austrian crown lands, the period during which school attendance is compulsory is from six to eight years. In Hungary, from six to twelve. In Sweden, from nine to fifteen. In Norway, from ten to four- teen. In Denmark, from seven to fourteen. In England, by the law of 1870, local school boards are left to pass special ordi- nances introducing compulsory attendance. These regulations, Compulsory Education and the Southern States 5 together with the factory laws of 1878, which require all chil- dren working in the factories to attend school at least five times a week until their thirteenth year, have made instruction vir- tually general and compulsory. The Netherlands have no com- pulsory law, but boards of teachers and college directors are supposed to establish a regular attendance of children from six to twelve years of age by means of exhortations, circulation of roll calls and indirect compulsory measures, such as the with- drawal of public support. In Belgium no compulsory education exists. France has, since 1882, required attendance from six to thirteen. In Italy, from six to ten. Russia has no compul- sory education law. While in Germany, the percentage of elementary pupils in attendance, to all population, is about 17, in Belgium, it is 11. 10; Denmark, 12.87; France, 14.47; Greece, 6.19; Great Britain and Ireland, 15.45; Italy, 8.14; Netherlands, 14.25; Austria, 13.40; Hungary, 12.59; Bosnia, 2.70; Portugal, 4.60; Roumania, 4.41 ; Russia-in-Europe, 1.03; Finland, 18.29; Sweden, 16.37; Norway, 17.02; Switzerland, 15.73; Servia, 3.38; and Spain, 10.95. As an example of what is being done for education in Europe, the Kingdom of Prussia alone may be cited. In addition to the elementary schools, there are about twelve general continuation schools, with 8,718 pupils; 1,320 industrial continuation schools, with 145,672 pupils; 97 trade schools, with 8,625 pupils; 217 commercial schools, with 17,029 pupils; 1,193 agricultural schools, with 23,831 pupils; a total of 2,989 continuation and technical schools, with 219,490 pupils. The German believes in education. As showing the thoroughness and zeal with which the government supplies the means of technical training in the various industries of the country, it is stated that if any paper, dealing, for example, with some department of the textile indus- try, is read before any foreign society and is published or appears in any journal, the communication is immediately translated and circulated throughout the textile schools of Prussia, with direc- tions to have it dealt with as a lecture to students, and if models, illustrations or lantern slides are required by way of illustration, they are prepared and sent with the paper. The German is sur- veying the world for ideas. 6 Comp?ilsory Education and the Southern States As showing the relation of the compulsory school system in Germany and other European States to illiteracy, the following statistics of adults are suggestive: German Empire, .05 percent are illiterate; Denmark, .02; Finland, .49; Switzerland, .13; Scotland, 2.46; Netherlands, 2.30; England, 3.00; France, 4.70; Belgium (not compulsory), 10.10; Austria, 35.60; Ireland, 7.90; Hungary, 47.80; Greece, 30.00; Italy, 32.99; Portugal, 79.20; Spain, 68.10; Russia, 61.70; Servia, 79.30; Roumania, 88.40. Our immigration is now principally from Italy, Hungary and Russia. France offers a good illustration of the rapidity with which illiteracy may be reduced as a result of good attendance laws. In 1854, no less than 42.5 per cent of the French people were illiterate. In 1870, at the end of the Empire, 31 per cent were illiterate, and in 1880 the condition was very little improved. In 1882, the compulsory education act went into effect and as a result, in 1900, the illiteracy had been reduced to 6 per cent — only one-fifth of what it was eighteen years before. Now, let us see what has been done in our own country, and especially in the Southern States. The conditions in Amer- ica have been entirely different from those in Europe. The work of popular education is not now, nor likely ever will be, either directly in the hands of the general government or under its close control. The right of State authorities to require the attendance of all children at school was asserted early in the Colonies. Connecticut may claim to have been one of the first States in the world that established the principle. Its code of laws adopted in 1650 contained stringent provisions for com- pulsory attendance upon schools. In 1810, with the changed conditions resulting from immigration, it was found impos- sible to enforce the law without important additions, amount- ing in reality to a set of factory laws, forbidding the employ- ment of children under fourteen years of age who have not attended school for at least three months in the year. As early as 1642, Massachusetts enjoined the selectmen of every town to see that all parents or guardians or masters taught their chil- dren, wards or apprentices so much learning as would enable them to read the English tongue and the capital laws, upon pen- Compulsory Education and the Southern States 7 alty of twenty shillings for each neglect thereof. A factory law similar to that of Connecticut was passed in 1834. Compulsory education must be accompanied by child labor laws to make it successful. All the States and Territories of the United States now have compulsory education in effect except the following: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The percentages of illiteracy in these States are the greatest of any in the United States. As has been seen, compulsory educational laws have not been adopted in any of the Southern States except Kentucky and Mis- souri. Three counties in Tennessee, through legislative enact- ment, have such laws, but no fair test has yet been given. In Asheville, North Carolina, by popular vote an ordinance was adopted requiring compulsory education. That State has a local option law for cities as to compulsory education. In the South, great progress has been made in public education, especially dur- ing the past twenty years, despite the fact that this section re- mains, of all the Union, the only section where attendance on public schools between the ages of six and fourteen for a consider- able period each year is not compulsory. But how necessary is an even greater effort to secure universal elementary education in the South is shown in the fact that in 1900, 27.9 per cent of all the illiterate white voters in the United States were in the South, while only 14.9 per cent of the white voters of the country were found here. In other words, we had nearly twice the illiterate population among the whites of voting age that our proportion of population justified. Of the total negro male population, 76.2 per cent lives in the South, and 85.5 per cent of the illiterate negroes of voting age live here. I have no disposition to minimize the progress made in the South in reducing illiteracy. The record, in fact, is encour- aging. In the South Atlantic Division the percentages were 46.2 in 1870, 40.3 in 1880, 30.9 in 1890, and 23.9 in 1900. In the South Central Division for the same years the percentages of illiteracy were 44.5 in 1870, 39.5 for 1880, 29.7 for 1890, 22.9 for 1900. The percentage for the United States was 20 for 1870 and 10.7 in 1900. For the North Atlantic Division it had 8 Compulsory Education and the Southern States decreased from 7.6 in 1870 to 5.9 in 1900. North Central 9.3 to 4.2, Western 15 to 6.3. In percentage of illiteracy the South, despite, the reductions made, is still in point of literacy behind all the other sections of the Union, and far behind such countries of Europe as the German Empire, Switzerland, Scotland, Neth- erlands, England, France, Belgium, Ireland. Only Austria, Hun- gary, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Russia, Servia, and Rou- mania, of European countries, make a worse showing. It is fair, of course, to exclude the negro population and con- sider only the white population, which in the South is almost entirely native born. It is conceded that the whites of the South constitute a pure branch of the Anglo-Saxon root. They trace their lineage directly to the early English, Scotch-Irish and German. In 1870, the percentage of white illiterates ten years and over in the United States was 11. 5 ; in 1880, 9.4; in 1890, 7.7; in 1900, 6.2. In 1870, the percentage in the South Atlantic States was 23.5; in 1880, 19.5; in 1890, 14.5; in 1900, 11. 5. In 1870, the percentage in the South Central States, in which group Tennes- see is included, was 23.4 per cent; in 1880, 21.6; in 1890, 15.3; and 1900, 1 1.8 per cent. In Tennessee the percentage in 1870 was 26.9 per cent, or 3.5 more than the average for this division, and in 1900 the percent- age was 14. 1 or 2.3 per cent more than the average. In actual number of illiterates, we had of whites ten years of age and over 178,727, and in 1900, 159,086. But of those of voting age the number had actually increased, 3JJ73 in 1870, 52,418 in IQOO. The total white males over ten years of age among the illiter- ates in this State is 77,275, females 81,811. As to age periods, ten to fourteen years,- the illiterate white males are 12,446; illiterate white females, 9,027; fifteen to twenty years, males, 12,411; females, 8,482; twenty-one years and over, males, 52,418; females, 64,302. "Mere Man" is evi- dently not in this generation appreciating the school advantages offered as formerly. The women are crowding the schools. The men will do the voting, but they are not equipping them- selves for the elective franchise. Of the native white population, only four States of the Union Compulsory Education and the Southern States 9 in 1900 had a larger illiteracy than our own, those being Ala- bama, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Mexico. While the native white population showed a percentage of 14.2 illiterates, the foreign white showed a percentage of 9.7. As to the education of the negro, Tennessee ranked 34 out of 50 with a percentage of illiteracy in the colored population of 41.6. Several Southern States make an excellent showing as to the native white illiteracy. Oklahoma's percentage was only 2.5 percent; Maryland, 4.1 percent; Missouri, 4.8 percent; Texas, 6.1 per cent; Mississippi, 8 per cent; Florida, 8.6 per cent. Eliminating the foreign population of Texas, there are only about 95,000 illiterates, or about 4^ per cent. While not affecting the South materially, except in Louisiana and Texas — where the foreign population is considerable, and very illiterate — the general question of compulsory education, of course, involves the foreign immigrant and his children, and this consideration has no doubt hastened the adoption of com- pulsory laws in the States of other sections. The percentage of illiterates ten years and over among the foreign population in the United States in 1900 was 12.9. In the North Atlantic Division, it was 15.9; the South Atlantic Division, 12-.9; the South Central, 22.8; the North Central Divi- sion, 9.4; and the Western Division, 8.5 per cent. The Eastern States with the largest percentage of illiterates among the for- eign population were: Maine, 19.4; New Hampshire, 20.5; Ver- mont, 21.4; Massachusetts, 14.6. The largest numbers of illiter- ate foreigners in any States were in New York, with 258,423, and Pennsylvania, with 191,706. Our system of education is raising them up, as shown by the fact that the percentage of illiteracy among foreign born whites is n. 5, and among native whites of foreign parents, 2. In cities of 25,000 and upward in the United States, the per- centage of illiteracy among the voting population in 1900 was only 4.5 per cent. In the cities of the North Atlantic Division it was 5.8 per cent; in the South Atlantic Division, 3 per cent; in the South Central Division, 3.4 per cent; in the North Cen- tral Division, 3.3 per cent; and in the Western Division, 1.7 per cent. It will be seen that in this classification Southern 10 Compulsory Education and the Southern States cities make a good comparative showing. The percentage of white illiteracy in the voting population of Tennessee in the cities of 25,000 and over, including Memphis, Nashville, Knox- ville and Chattanooga, was only 3 per cent. The percentage of negro illiterates under the same classification was 35.9 per cent. The cities of the East, especially of New England, have suffered in educational excellence by reason of the influx of foreign population. The greatest illiteracy in cities outside the South is among foreign born whites. This, in 1900, in cities of over 25,000 for those of voting age was 9.8 per cent. The influence of the good educational systems of such cities is shown in the fact that the percentage of illiteracy for native whites of foreign parentage is about the same as for native whites of native parentage, and less than 2 per cent among those of voting age in such cities. The percentage of illiteracy among the white males in the North Atlantic Division in 1840 was 2.3 per cent only; in 1900, this had increased to 6.6 per cent. In 1840, the percentage among the white males of voting age in the South Atlantic States was 13.4 per cent, and in the South Central States, 12.7; these, by 1870, had increased to 15 and 15.4 per cent, respec- tively. They are now (1900), 11. 5 and 11.6, respectively. That of the United States as a whole, is 5.9. A more intensive examination of one State, and a community and section of that State, may illustrate what we have to deal with in the problem of ignorance. Knox County, Tennessee, the writer's home, has an illiterate population among the native whites of voting age of about 14 per cent. The following East Tennessee counties, some of them adjoining Knox, have percentages of more than 20: Meigs, 20.8; Bledsoe, 2 1.1 ; Polk, 2 1.1 ; Campbell, 21.2; Marion, 21.5 ; Union, 21.6; Scott, 21.5; Anderson, 22.4; Morgan, 22.4; Sevier, 22.7; Monroe, 22.8; Hancock, 23.2; Grainger, 23.4; Unicoi, 24.2; Cocke, 24.6; Hawkins, 25.4; Claiborne, 25.6; Johnson, 26.9; Carter, 27.6. Twenty out of the thirty-three counties of East Tennessee have thus in the male whites able to vote over 20 per cent illiterate — an aggregate of 13,450. I have not the figures at hand, but if a county like Knox, with the best schools, has Compulsory Education aud the Southern States 1 1 14 per cent of such illiterate population, certainly the other thirteen counties would show averages from 14 to 20 per cent, and swell the aggregate of illiterate voters in this grand divi- sion of the State to over 20,000. Certainly the problem of edu- cation is not of distant lands. Do not understand me to assert that this mass of illiterate voters is not in many ways educated. They are shrewd, ob- servant people. They are industrious and thrifty. Their in- telligence in many respects is large. Yet, unequipped with ability to read and write, deprived of the illumination of the written word, out of touch with the progress of the world, what a tremendous obstacle must they overcome in the struggle for life! Consider what the economic, political and social upilft of a State would be if this population were by read- ing able to improve itself. In 1906, a candidate for Governor of Tennessee on an illiteracy platform, and receiving the united support of all the illiterates, would not have been the third man in the contest. The fault in our school system seems to lie not only in the failure to secure the enrollment of the child, but more especially in the failure to secure his attendance after enrollment. Of the scholastic population in Tennessee, with which State the writer is more familiar, which in 1905 was 762,894, there were 507,000 enrolled, 537,000 including private schools, but the average attendance in public schools was only 348,000. When we re- member that the average school year in Tennessee is only 116 days, and consider that less than half the school children are in school even half that short period during the year, we may appre- ciate why the condition is staggering. On its face the enroll- ment is creditable, but the irregular attendance and short terms of school make it impossible to cope with the mountain of igno- rance, which to cut down needs heroic efforts. If Germany, with less than one half of one per cent of popu- lation illiterate, requires a ten months' school course for all pupils from six to fourteen years of age, how will Tennessee ever reduce its illiteracy to the same degree with a 116-day course, and one-half the pupils in school? It has been asked, "If 242,- 498 children were not enrolled in the public schools in 1895, and 1 2 Compulsory Education and the Southern States 265,471 were not enrolled in the public schools in 1905, how long will it be until all who are eligible are enrolled?" and "If 382,- 293 were not in average attendance in 1895 and 424,206 were not in average daily attendance ten years later, and the per cent of such attendance is now 68.7, how long until the per cent of aver- age daily attendance begins to show an increase?" And, it may also be asked "If there were more illiterate voters in 1900 than in 1870, when will there be none?" The campaign for education in the South has accomplished much. Tennessee, for example, is spending nearly $3,400,000 a year on its public schools. This is not quite $5 per capita of scholastic population, but it is a considerable increase. Yet many States spend $15 to $20 per capita. In general, it may be said that the school terms have been lengthened, the teachers paid better salaries, better buildings and equipment furnished. But does this suffice? Are not even more heroic remedies needed for a condition manifestly so dangerous? At present there is an average of only thirty-six pupils in the schools to one teacher, in Tennessee. At least 50,000 more pupils could be instructed by the teaching force. It is argued that we must have more schoolhouses first. But we had no public schoolhouses before the public school system was established. Let the pupils trudge to school, and accom- modations will be made for them. The matter of the present bad attendance is shown in the reports for Knox County and Knoxville. The scholastic popula- tion of Knox County for the year 1905-06 was 28,204. Of this number, 10,682 belonged to the City of Knoxville, and 17,522 to the rural districts. The enrollment for the city was 5,833 and for the rural districts 12,225. It W1 U thus be seen that the per- centage of enrollment was 54.6 in the city, and 70 per cent out- side the city. The average attendance of all the scholastic population was 43 per cent in the city and 42 per cent in the country districts. Those figures enable us to point to the sore spot. The schools in the city kept 179 days, and those in the country 157 days. The enrollment was good, but owing to lax interest of parents, only forty-three out of every hundred chil- dren of school age in the city attended, and less in the country. Compulsory Education and the Southern States 1 3 To show how the attendance drops off year by year, take the Knoxville schools by grades. In the First grade there were 1,797 pupils; Second, 775; Third, 811; Fourth, 694; Fifth, 504; Sixth, 461; Seventh, 291; Eighth, 261 ; Ninth, 150; Tenth, 89. Look at the little army of nearly 1,800 diminishing to one-seventh its number before the high school is reached. How many reach the University ? How many any technical school ? Less than 5 per cent of our boys and girls acquire an education which we would consider average "common school." In Germany, or under any efficient compulsory educational system, the full course to the high school at least would be required. I have been unable to secure statistics on the proportion of our population with a very meagre education, but these figures would indicate how little average schooling was being received. It is, of course, better for the child to secure even two or three years' rudimentary training than none at all, but certainly it is a wrong for the State to allow the unworthy parent to permit the child to leave school with such a small equipment for life's battle. How little, comparatively, we spend on education, despite our great advance of late, may be gathered from the fact that if the average teacher in Tennessee worked the average number of days at the average salary he would earn only $158.40 a year, and yet we are ahead of several other States. Considering the remuner- ation, it is truly astonishing that so many devoted and pains- taking teachers are obtained for the work, but of course on the average the instruction must be inefficient, and few men at- tracted to the work. I am free to admit that while compulsory education is an ideal condition difficult to be realized, and that a further development of public sentiment in favor of universal education must precede it, just as every reform, moral, political or financial, must come as a result of general conviction ; nevertheless, with the mass of ignorance to be coped with in the South, our efforts seem futile unless we arouse the States to such an extent that by a mighty effort, under a compulsory system, supported by the intelligent people of the South, the illiterate population not of an age beyond the reach of the schools is brought under instruction. 14 Compulsory Education and the Southern States In some quarters, where there is a large negro population, the cost of compulsory education is urged as an objection. But it would seem that as the negro is to be here, he ought to have the right sort of training. It is probable that results up to this time have not repaid the amounts spent, but this is no doubt due to the nature of the education. The negro child, as does the white child, needs not only the technical instruction in letters, but more, he needs the discipline and character-forming influences of the schools. In my opinion, the greatest mistake ever made by the South was when it turned the instruction of the negro in churches and in schools over to his own race. The race is in the position of the man trying to raise himself by his own boot- straps. If by means of compulsory education the Southern white man could regain control of the instruction of the negro, the opportunity would be cheap at the price. It is true the South could not fairly be expected to expend as much as other sections on schools. Its per capita wealth is not nearly equal to that of other sections. The South's progress for the past twenty years has been exceedingly rapid, but even yet, in some regions of the South, the wealth is not as large as that previous to i860. To understand the relative financial ability of the South as compared with other sections, the following will aid: In i860, the average per capita taxable wealth of the United States was $514. This had increased to $1,314 in 1904. The per capita wealth of New England had increased from $594 to $1,498. Of the other North Atlantic States, from $500 to $1,763. The per capita of the South Atlantic States in i860 was $509. In 1904, it was $716. The Southern South Atlantic States, however, consisting of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, had decreased from $562 in i860 to $474 in 1904. In 1870, the per capita wealth in those States was only $278. The South Central States had a per capita wealth in i860 of $598, and in 1904 of $659. Tennessee's per capita wealth in i860 was $445, and in 1904, $520. The Western Division now has a per capita wealth of $2,228, and the Pacific of $2,290; being the richest regions in the United States per capita. The South, it must be remembered in considering these figures, has about one-third of its population negro, and if the Compulsory Education and the Southern States 1 5 per capita wealth of the whites alone were taken, it would make a somewhat better showing compared with other sections. In the problem of education, however, the children of all the popu- lation must be trained. The whites, with the bulk of the wealth, have submitted to taxation to pay for the education of white and black children. It is estimated that the whites have spent over three hundred million dollars for the common school education of the colored children, with little return from taxes on negro's property. The inability of the South as easily to spare as much money per capita for education as in the North is very apparent, but inasmuch as the need here is so much greater, therefore the question presents a different aspect here. Shotdd expenditures for education be based on proportionate ivealth or on proportionate need? Indeed, these figures of per capita wealth, while they do offer some excuse against heavy taxes for schools, also ought to sug- gest a more important deduction. Let us ask ourselves, If the South had had universal education since 1870, would not the great losses caused by the Civil War have been the sooner repaired, and would not our section, in the wealth of its people, now stand a better comparison with other sections? Those figures showed that in i860, the per capita wealth of the South was about equal to that of other sections. An immense amount of property was destroyed during the Civil War in the South. In 1870, the per capita wealth was not quite half what it was in i860. The percentage of illiteracy in that year was also very great. If the people of the South could have been gifted with prophecy as to the burdening effect of ignorance, it would no doubt since that time have spent twice as much, or more, for schools than they have done. Since 1880 the effects of the loss during the Civil War have not been so evident in the South, and the progress of this sec- tion has been fast. But even during that period of two decades in actual increase of wealth we have not made as great advance as other sections. It is somewhat humiliating to examine the "graphics," displayed in the census reports showing the wealth of various States of the Union. How far behind are we may there be seen at a glance. The average capital of the Eastern 1 6 Compulsory Education and the Southern States States is at least ten times per State the capital invested in the Southern States. Our Southern people have great pride of race and of history, and are strengthened thereby. Those are pardonable prides. They also, due to criticism, are sensitive. They do not like to look conditions in the face. They have not reached the point where they can with equanimity analyze their own conditions. Too small a proportion, owing to comparative poverty, have travelled in other sections. They do not realize our needs in an educational way. It is to be expected that the illiterate and ignorant have no conception of this need. But many who know better, also are indifferent. It is a lethargy which grows out of a long-continued condition, one that needs superhuman exertions to overcome. The task is great. But even though the South is still behind, the wealth is certainly sufficient for educational needs. The value of property in Tennessee increased from $498,000,000 in 1870 to $1,400,000,000 in 1900. The day when any State of the South was unable to tax itself for schools for both races to accomodate all the scholastic population has passed. With a per capita wealth of $620 Tennessee ought to spend more than $1.50 per capita on its schools. In Germany the tremen- dous stimulus of general education has caused that country to forge ahead of other European nations, whose natural resources are greater than Germany's. To overcome the advantage of wealth which the. North and West possess over the South, no policy would be complete without the institution of a more gen- eral, and more thorough system of education of the masses, as the first requisite. To secure such general instruction neces- sarily compulsion must be considered. Argument is made that compulsory education is monarchical. It can hardly be called so, since it had its origin in this country. A second argument has been advanced against it that it enlarges the powers of government. Even if the American precedent could not be quoted, the right to compel attendance at school might, in a republic, be defended under the general head of self- protection, along with quarantine and hygienic regulations. It has also been urged that it interferes with the liberty of parents. No more than laws punishing the parent for the abuses of the Compulsory Education and the Southern States 1 7 child, or for depriving it of necessaries which he is able to pre- pare for it. In compelling the parent to send the child to school, the State does no more than to secure to the child his right. Often the objection is heard that it deprives the parent of the labor of a child, and that in some cases the parent cannot afford this, or give the child decent clothes or pay for school books. This, in nearly all communities where compulsory education prevails, is looked after by the State. The community can much better afford to pay for clothing and books than let the child grow up in ignorance. Strong pleas may be made for compulsory educational laws on the following grounds: The State taxes all classes for the support of the public schools, whether they have children to send or not. The State owes it to these taxpayers to see that the taxes collected shall be used for the purpose for which they are levied. This is impossible unless it compels the attendance of all children at school. The taxpayer then, has a right to insist on a general law, on the ground that it is necessary in order to enable the State to perform its duty to him But, it may as well be admitted, that something more than the passage of a com- pulsory educational law is necessary to secure general education. In several countries, and in some of our States, such laws have not proved more effective than voluntary education. Certainly it is essential that by a system of factory laws the opportunity of the child to attend schools must be made, and in addition there must be such a general desire for education and pride in its possession in the community as to induce a general acquies- cence and co-operation in the enforcement of the law. In addi- tion, the schools themselves must offer the best advantages. Prussia, the classic land of compulsion, provides in its school laws for an abundance of school-rooms, well equipped school- houses, and a high grade of teachers, and her compulsory system is successful. In Turkey, Greece, and Portugal, where these essentials and the education-loving population is lacking, the laws are not so successful. As a general statement, however, in the countries where compulsory education has been adopted and enforced, general education has been secured, illiteracy reduced and the stimulus to all sorts of educational work great. As we 1 8 Compulsory Education and the Southern States have seen, the progress of Germany has seemed to be due more largely to its elementary schools than any other one factor. In this country, New England first of all the sections provided for general education of its youth, and that region's wealth and influence on the country, considering its meagre resources and trying climate, has been attributed largely to this educational habit of its people. Now, a word in conclusion: There are two very strong argu- ments for such a system which especially appeal to me. The first of these is on the higher ground that the State owes to the child an opportunity. It is a day of altruism. Temperance legis- lation is, in a sense, an infringement on personal liberty, yet the movement spreads. First, because it is felt that the community has a right to protection against the nuisance and danger of the intemperate; and second, because the State ought to protect the man with such inclinations against himself. If the intemperate man is dangerous, a breeder of poverty, vice and crime, so is the ignorant man. The State must be protected against the dragging down influence of the ignorant. Statistics show that the ignorant commit many more crimes in proportion to their numbers than the intelligent. Many more such are dependents. It is a burden on the State to prosecute crime and to maintain jails and almshouses. Their vice and idleness weaken the com- munity in which they live. A parent who permits a child to grow up in ignorance is committing an offense not only against the child, but against the State. Every consideration of the welfare of society, of good govern- ment, of the advancement of civilization, demands general ele- mentary education, and as a corollary, more general higher edu- cation. But there will never be any material growth in educa- tional progress until the root of the system is nourished. With universal elementary education, the higher institutions will more largely flourish, and an intelligent society develop the technical needs which require schools of instruction in the mul- tifarious industries and commercial interests, which form the economic life of an enlightened community. The economic value of education will appeal to some even more than the mat- ter of duty to the child and to society. The wealth produced by Compulsory Education and the Southern States 19 a community composed largely of illiterate or barely literate people is manifestly small compared with that of the same num- ber of well educated, and technically trained people. Experi- ence has shown that, while some ignorant men win success, the mass sinks into the ranks of those who do not know from whence the next day's bread is coming. Countries with the highest average of education are certainly marked for the greatest progress to-day. Great as it is, our own growth in wealth does not nearly equal theirs. The economic progress of the South, the development of its splendid mineral and agricultural re- sources depends more than all else on general education of its people, and I do not exclude the negro population, though their education should be of a different character, as suited to a race which can for centuries do only the simpler labor of our section. Education must be not only such as to remove the stigma of illiteracy, but it must be adapted to promote the greatest efficiency of each race. Only one acre of ten of cotton lands in the South is cultivated to produce a billion dollar crop. Not one hundredth proportion of our mineral lands is exploited. We do not manufacture anything like what we consume of manu- factured goods. I have cited the conditions. I have pride in what has been done, but I would not, out of pride, endeavor to deny that we need tenfold more zeal in application to the educational problem in order to break down the barrier of illiteracy and the igno- rance which exists. As I have said, I do not know that compulsory education is immediately practicable, but I firmly believe that it ought to be the end to which we shall work during the next few years, and when some Horace Mann or Thomas Jefferson arouses the peo- ple of our own and other Southern States to their duty, there need be no longer any doubt of the future of the South. LIBRHKT yjf i.uwji\toj L 021 331 880 9