and that there are large numbers who are not to be
grouped with the average men and women whom we seek to describe. It may
even be true that there are communities which have gained a higher
level. Any statement of the social environment of 8,000,000 people must
necessarily be false if applied strictly to each individual. The
existence of the higher class must not, however, be allowed to blind us
to the condition of the rest.

The average Negro boy or girl is allowed to grow. It is difficult to
say much more for the training received at home. We must remember that
there is an almost total absence of home life as we understand it. The
family seldom sits down together at the table or do anything else in
common. The domestic duties are easily mastered by the girls and chores
do not weigh heavily on the boys. At certain periods of the year the
children are compelled to assist in the farm operations, such as picking
cotton, but most of the time they are care free. Thus they run almost
wild while the parents are at work in the fields, and the stranger who
suddenly approaches a cabin and beholds the youngsters scattering for
shelter will not soon forget the sight. Obedience, neatness, punctuality
do not thrive in such an atmosphere. The introduction to the country
school a little later does not greatly improve conditions. The teachers
are often incompetent and their election often depends upon other things
than fitness to teach; upon things, indeed, which are at times far from
complimentary to the school trustees. The school year seldom exceeds
four months and this may be divided into two terms, two months in the
fall and two in the spring. School opens at an indefinite time in the
morning, if scheduled for nine it is just as likely as not that it
begins at ten thirty, while the closing hour is equally uncertain. The
individual attention received by the average child is necessarily small.
The schools are poorly equipped with books or maps. The interior view
given on page 61 is by no means exceptional.

It may not be out of place to mention the fact that recognition of these
evils is leading in many places in the South to the incorporation of
private schools, which then offer their facilities to the public in
return for partial support at the public expense. Public moneys are
being turned over to these schools in considerable amounts. In some
counties the public does not own a school building. Without questioning
the fact that