320 



GEORGIA. 



railroad' tei7i269,"<)44.11; rent Western and At- 6.3 per cent, since 1893; the percentage of white 

 lantic Railroad, $420,012; liquor tax, $142,452.24; illiterates is 6.7, a decrease of 4.6; and the per- 

 hire of convicts under the old lease, $25,000, and centage of colored illiterates is 18.9 a decrease 

 mder the new lease $50,304.32; insurance tax, of 8.3. The enrollment of colored children in the 

 $5S JOM2; temporary loans, $100,000. schools is 166,450; the average attendance , 9|973. 

 The bonded debt of the State Sept. 30, 1898, Suit was brought by colored citizens of Rich- 

 was $8031,500. On Jan. 1 the second installment mond County against the Board of Education 



e i on** t Aitn nPTita Ki-ioyrl n Q r\ ^lr*aorl Tno r*rtl rVH nirrn c^*nr\rkl 



nds~~issued "under act of 1887 became due, This board had closed the colored high school 

 and was paid off with the sinking fund then for want of funds, leaving a white high ^school 

 in hand, amounting to $100,000, leaving the valid 

 interest-bearing debt, $7,031,500. The rates of 



-bearing _ _ _, 



interest on the various issues vary from 3 to 7 

 per cent., and the total amount of interest is 

 $339,380. The assets of the State include $20,700 

 of Georgia Railroad and Banking Company's 

 stock and $10,000 of Southern and Atlantic Tele- 



still in existence, and the suit was instituted for 

 the purpose of securing an injunction to prevent 

 the collection of taxes for the maintenance of 

 the school system generally. In passing upon the 

 case, Justice Harlan said that the education of 

 tKe young had been remitted to the several States, 

 and that it should be generally left to their con- 



crsiph stock besides the public buildings and the trol. The court had not been able to discover 

 Western and Atlantic and Northeastern Rail- that the Supreme Court of Georgia had erred in 

 roads, none of which are estimated. refusing to grant an injunction; hence the de- 



The aggregate value of real estate as reported cision of that court, which was adverse to the 

 in 1899 was $235410,751, and of personal estate petition of the colored people, was affirmed. 

 $137 516,326, making a total of $372,927,077, which reviewed the testimony at length, saying th 

 is an advance of more than $3,000,000 on that appeared that the school board was confronted 



with the necessity of closing the colored high 

 school and turning the high-school building over 

 to the negro children of the primary grades or of 



He 

 that it 



of 1898. The whole amount of tax on polls, pro- 

 fessions, and property, after deducting defaulters, 



was $2.372,246.84. The aggregate value of prop- ~~ ~~~ r ., ~ 



erty returned by colored taxpayers was $13,447,- leaving the latter without educational facilities. 



423, a decrease of $271,777 from that of 1898. 



Education. The report of the State School 

 Commissioner for 1898 shows the number of 

 schools of the common-school system to be 7,547, 



Preparations have been made for a summer ses- 

 sion of eight weeks at the university, to which 

 any white person qualified to pursue any of the 

 courses of instruction may gain admittance. 



and those of local systems 384. The number of Thirty-four courses are offered, in order that the 



teachers of the former was 8,629, and the amount preferences of students may be ascertained, 



paid them $1,231,307.67. There were 948 teach- Andrew Carnegie has offered to give $100,000 



ers of local systems, receiving $442,765. The for a free library in Atlanta if a site is provided 



county school commissioners were paid $62,304.95 and a fund for maintenance of not less that $5,000 



and local superintendents $27,675. 



The enrollment in common schools was 421,237, 



a year. 



The Normal and Industrial College, at Milledge- 



and the average attendance 231,060; the per ville, had a total attendance of 382 girls in the 



capita of expenditure estimated by enrollment 

 was $3.26, while in the local schools, which had 

 an enrollment of 47,870, it was $11.78. The en- 



college classes and 60 children in the model school 

 during the session of 1898-'99. The students came 

 from 99 counties in the State; 165 were prepar- 



rollment in common schools in 1898 was 34,414 ing for teaching in the normal course, 61 were in 



the collegiate-industrial, and 31 in the special 

 industrial classes. The normal graduating class 

 in June numbered 18, and the collegiate 4. 



During the session of 1898-'99 the North 



more than in 1897, and the amount paid to teach- 

 ers was $290,698.24 greater. 



The amount of the fund received from the State 

 by the common-school system, including balances 



from the previous year, was $1,404,832.88. The Georgia Agricultural College had 237 regular stu- 



local systems received from the State, includin 

 balances, $206,318.14, and $356,068.36 was raise 

 for them by local taxation. 



The sources from which the school fund for 

 1899 was derived and the amounts were as follow: 

 Direct appropriation, $800,000; half rental West- 



dents, of whom 51 were women, representing 60 

 counties of the State. The cost to the State was 

 $30 for each student. 



The enrollment at the State Normal School, at 

 Athens, in 1899 was 714. The average attendance 

 is not more than half the enrollment, because 



and Atlantic Railway, $210,006; liquor tax, many students attend for five months and teach 

 $104,659; net hire of convicts, $13,622; tax on for five months each year till their course is 

 shows, $6,000; dividend on Georgia Railway finished. There are 10 instructors. The appro- 

 stock, $2,146; fees for inspection fertilizers, $16,- priation, which was $22,500 for 1898, was re- 

 749; fees for inspection oils, $15,000; poll tax, duced to $16,000 for each of the two years next 



$230,000; total fund, $1,398,122. 



The amount received from the Peabody fund 

 was $7,156. 



succeeding. 



Prisons. The second annual report of the 

 Prison Commission covers the year ending Sept. 



The value of books in use that were bought 30, 1899, the commission having been created by 



before July 1, 1898, was $107,369.45, and the legislative act in December, 1897, when the old 



value of those bought during the year 1898-'99 lease-contract system was given up and a new 



was $97,765.34, many new books having been system was established, under which the State 



adopted. These figures are from reports" of 97 

 counties. 



There are 94 school libraries, valued at $10,- 

 918.31. 



From a statement in regard to illiteracy in 



resumed control of the convicts. A farm was 

 bought, and the 60 women, 23 boys under six- 

 teen, and 75 old or infirm men were removed to 

 it, leaving 2,022 to be placed at labor for con- 

 tractors. The expenditures for farm expenses, 



the report it appears that, though the number including pay of officers and guards in charge, 

 of illiterates has increased in the past five years, transportation, clothing, etc., amounted, to $15,- 



