Report of Board of Visitors to the Georgia School for the Deaf, 1904

REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF VISlrrORS
OF THE
Georgia Academy
FOR THE
Deaf .

ATLA TA., GA..

-""V. GEO.

HARRI 'ON, TATE PRINTER

The Franklin Printing and Publi hing Company

]904

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REPORT OF THE BOAkD OF VI ITOR OF THE
GEORGIA ACA.DEMY FOR THE DEAF.
To Bis Erccellency JOB. M. Terrell, Governor of Georgia:
The Board of Vi itor to the Georgia Academy for the Deaf, recently appointed by your Excellency, beg leave to report that on May 19th a majority of the Board, together with II'. W. J. Griffin, Chairman, and Dr. Ja . W. Taylor, a member of the Board of Trustees, visited the in titution at Cave Spriug.
A careful investigation was made of the dormitorie , school buildings, work hop and other structures upon the place, and, so far as we were able, of the workings of the institution. l\Iea Ie had broken out among the white pupils and promi ed to become epidemic, so that two days before our arrival the white cholars who were not affected had been. dismi ed and carried to their home. At the chool there were reported ix boys and five girl in the ho pital departments uffering with mea les. We per onally visited the boys' ho pital and found the patient in neat, clean bed, well cared for and well attended. A com parion of the unoccupied dormitories of the boy and girl ati fled us that the girls who were ick were being thoroughly well cared for. In this connection we will taLe that while, in point of neatne and per onal comfort, more is expected of and more accorded to the girls than bo ys we think time and money is well spent in gi ving urrouodings to boys that encourage self-care and self-respect.
In examiniug the dormitories in the white depattment and receiving the statement of the number of pupils who had occupied them we are ,atlsfied that entirely too many pupils occupied the rooms provided. The overcrowding will be relieved, to some entent, when new the dining-hall and

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work8hop for the girls is completed. orne of the pace in the main building, now u ed for other purpo es, can then be u ed for dormitorie. This addition now being erected will not, however, provide for all the deaf mutes of the State. The Superintendent reports that he has thirty white applicants which he had to decline for want of room.
We find the white dormitories very much in need of repair; pIa tering has fallen in many places, signs of leak are apparent and other indications showing the neces ity of renovation. When the additional dormitory room i obtained, new bed, bedding and other furniture will he needed for the p~oper accommodation of the cholars.
In the negro department we found thirty-one pupils, all. in good health. We witnessed exercises in writing aud arithmetic, and were much pleased with the results of the in tructinn giveu. pecimen of the ewing work of the girls were hown in feminine apparel and uniforms for the boys. There were no experts in the eewing line upon our board, but to the uututored eye of man the work appeared to be well done.
The kitchen and dining-room in this department are'entirely inadequate, and we must express urprise that a remedy has not been applied before. The building is out of repair, hole show through the roof, and need of attention i apparent to the mo t ca ual glance. We quote the language of the Board of Visitor of 1897: "The diningroom and kitchen con ists of a small wooden structure,. detached from the main hou e about fifty yards, built of rough planks, 'up and down,' un ealed and somewhat airy. We think an anition should be built to the main hou e two stories high; the fir t floor to be devoted to diningroom and kitchen, and second story to dormitory room ." The same ~ugge tion as to an addition to the building has been in every report of a. Board of Visitors made ince the year 1 97. 'Ve can do no more than again call attention

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to the conditions and recommend that the addition he made.

Many thing might be added which would increa e the

efficiency of the in titution; but we will urge in figures

only those. thing which we consider of imperative, present

nece sity.

In order to cover nece ary expen e we recommend that the re~ular appropriation of 1905 be placed at the um of

32,OUO.00.

As pecial appropriation we ur~e amount as follows:

For immediate repairs

$2,000 00,

For furnitnre, bedding, etc. __ ... .

50000

For addition to building for negroes

7,000 00

The State has an ideal pl,ace for the institution; a health-

ful climate, abundant water upplyand good drainage. It

has also an efficient and fai th luI corp of teacher', who are

giving their besi thought and best effort to make useful

and brighter lives for tho e who are entrusted to their care.

It is only t-y per onal ob ervation that one can appreciate

he difficulty under which these teachers labor. The fact

tbat ordinary method of communication between teacher-

and scholar are cut off, and that the varied meaning which numbers of words have, accordin~ to their context, present

a task that ouly well applied kill and patient labor can

overcome. We take plea ure in tating tbat the e condition

are well met by the efficient uperintendent, Prof. W. O.

Connor, and bis excellent corp of teachere. Profe ,;01'

Connor's long service bas given bim the skill neces ary for

the difficult ta k, and bi reputation in the community in

which he is known, a a man of upri~ht and forceful cbar-

acter give a guarantee that bis skill will be well applied.

It is not nece eary to argue to your Excellency, and we

trust to few citizens of Georgia, the importance of the in-

stitution wbieh we bave visited. The honor of the appoint-

ment as visitors was un ought and it is a labor without

compensation; yet ucb is _the intere t in this call upon the

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inetincts of humanity, that twelve out of fifteen who were-

appoiuted from all parts of the State made the visit; eleven

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on the day selected and one afterwards, who concurs in this

report.

Georgia is not alone in her care for the deaf, nearly all

of the States of the Union have public in titutions of this

kind. The official reports how by comparison tbat we are

not extravagant, but thoron~hlyconservati ve. Most of tbe-

State have a larger per capita investment in buildings and

only a few any lese. Referring to the table of statistics of

of 1902 and 1903 as to the per capita cost of maintenance,.

we find that in Georgia the cost is oqe hundred and thirty-

seven dollars per annum for each scholar, and that out of

forty-four institutions of this and other States only one has

a cheaper rate, to wit, Tennessee, which shows a rate of one

hundred and thirty-three dollar pel' capita. The cost of

the others run from one hundred and fifty-three dollars to four hundred and '~ixty-seven dollars per capita.

Argument upon the question whethel' tbe e unfortunate

children of our State should be cared for belongs to a bar-

barous past. It is conceded tbat care sbould be given; it

is known that only in a well equipped and well managed

institution provision can be made for proper care.

It remains for the wisdom of the executive and legi, la-

tive departments of the State to determine how aUfI to what

extent this shall be done..

Tbis 30th day of May, 1904.

HAL TED S~HTH, Chairman; DUNBAR RoY, Secretary;

PRICE EDWARDS, R. II. BLALOCK,

W. A. ENTERFI. ,.

C. M. LEDBETTER, CrrAS. F. 1CWILLI.AM, A. S. IIARRI ,

1. V. BALLARD, T. O. TABOR,

W. H. LUMPKIN,.

J. C. BEA CHAMP.