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[?]at in the elementary unit at Red-
stone, allthough the strike by high
school students was still in prog-
ress.

Lohr declared that the walkout
had "seriously interrupted" the in-
structional program at Thompson,
and he expressed the hope that the
parents of the strikers would not
decprive their children any longer
of the instruction being offered at
the schools."

He said that students will ex-
perience difficulty in making up the
time lost, and declared that he "per-
sonally" felt "the strike is unfortu-
nate for the cause."

Lohr said that he was aware of
unsatisfactory conditions" at the
schools, but asserted that his "main
interest is getting the children back
[?] school."

Meanwhile, County Manager E.
[?] Butler said that more than $167,-
[?] 0 has been in the bank since July
for the construction of Negro schools.
But just try to build something
now," he said, in explaining that
the shortage of building materials
has been felt by all the schools.

The money in the bank is part of
recent Robeson County bond is-
sue.

Lohr said that "some minor re-
pairs are being made to the Negro
school buildings, but I doubt if we
have authority to do even that as
both buildings are privately owned
and only rented by the school sys-
tem."

In reply to statements that boards
and old doors had been used to fill
window spaces at the Thompson In-
stitute, Lohr said that no classes are
held on the third floor of the build-
ing at Thompson where most of the
boards and old doors are used, and
that the window sashes, which are
scarce, was taken from the third
floor and installed on the windows
of the first and second floors where
the classes are held.

Statements Exaggerated.

Lohr said that some of the state-
ments made by supporters of the
strikers have been "terribly exag-
gerated." He said he realized that
conditions were not satisfactory as
far as the conditions of the build-
ings are concerned.

"I think, too," Lohr asserted,
"that all of the publicity focused on
Lumberton is going to hurt a lot of
innocent people."

Holdout Appeal.

Officials of the local unit of the
National Youth Council for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People, spon-
sor of the walkout, appealed to the
students to remain away from the
classrooms "for a few days longer"
and said that they believed the
strike would result in improved
housing conditions at the two units.

Gus Bullock, the Council adviser,
said no word had been received
from the Robeson County Board of
Commissioners, who have been
asked to add modern facilities at
the schools, but he said he had been
informed that a State investigation
of the buildings will be made here.
He would not identify the investi-
gating authorities from whom he
said he had received the promise,
however.

N. C. OFFICIALS COMMENT
ON STRIKE AT LUMBEERTON

The 400 protesting pupils of Lum-
berton's two Negro schools have
cause to protest but conditions can-
not be improved by continuation of
the present strike, State school offi-
cials here agreed last night.

Officerts of the State Board of Edu-
cation reported that the two school
buildings admittedly are badly in
need of immediate repair. They ex-
plained, however, that Robeson
County authorities are "fully aware
of the problems and have been at-
tempting to make improvements for
the past four years."

"The situation is every bit as bad
as depicted," W. F. Credle, State
director of School House Planning,
admitted, "although county officials
are not as much at fault as the
reports might make them seem."

Comptroller Paul Reid of the State
Board explained that school build-
ings in a majority of communities
need repair.

Dr. J. Henry Highsmith, director
of the Division of Instructional
Service, pointed out that the Red-
stone Academy and Thompson In-
situte, centers of the Lumberton
school strike, "reflect conditions not
uncommon in too many school sys-
tems."

Shortages Blamed.

"The most urgent repairs are be-
ing delayed," he claimed, "as a
result of the inability of authorities
to obtain labor and materials."

"It is a deplorable fact," the offi-
cials said, "that Negro schools have
some instances as white schools,
but this is not entirely the case in
Lumberton."

"The parents and pupils involved
in the Lumberton matter should try
to see the real facts and return to
their classes," they contended. "This
strike won't speed improvements
since everyone is doing all possible
to provide them with better school
facilities."

Plans for two new Negro schools
in Lumberton have been under
study for at least four years by
Robeson County officials, Credle
said, and "between $100,000 and
$150,000" has been set aside for the
buildings.

"According to my information, the
buildings will be erected as soon as
materials and workers can be had,"
he claimed.

Privately Owned.

Credle pointed out that neither of
the two buildings now used as
classrooms for Robeson County
Negro pupils are owned by the
county, and therefore cannot be
renovated with public funds.

The Redstone academy, a former
Presbyterian school, is "in the hands
of some local business or enterprise,"
he explained, and the Thompson
Institute is rented to the county by
"a Baptist Association."

"Neither of the owners are will-
ing to make the needed repairs,
knowing that the School Board
plans to drop its leases as soon as
new buildings can be built," he said.

"Perhaps, repairs might be made
by the owners, if the local officials
would undertake to increase the
rent."

Credle claimed that except for the
Lumberton schools and "isolated
cases in other parts of the State"
Negro schools were the equivalent
of white schools.

"The matter is not racial," he
stressed. "It's financial."

Depression Hangovers.

Credle said that the bulk of the
school building problems facing the
State were hangovers from the de-
pression, and that most schools had
been neglected because of labor and
material difficulties since the start
of the war.

"We were able to build approxi-
mately $15,000,000 worth of new
white and Negro schools under the
Public Works Administration pro-
gram and make approximately, $3,-
000,000 to $4,000,000 worth of repairs
during the time of the WPA, but
we still haven't been able to make
up for conditions which occurred
during the depression," he said.
"We will need nearly five years of
State and Federal aid to do that."

Once conditions permit, he added,
the State hopes to undertake a pro-
[??] 693
rural Negro schools counted in a
recent survey into 491 plants, most
new andd all vastly improved.

"In the end, Negro students may
be provided with facilities superior
to those of white schools," he siad.

"But nothing can be done now."

Plymouth Strike.

The Lumberton strike, he noted,
recalls a similar deadlock in Ply-
mouth, where white pupils staged a
walkout on grounds virtually iden-
tical to those protested by the Negro
youths.

Repeated effort have been made
to build a new school in Plymouth
since the strike, he said, but "so
far not a contractor has been will-
ing to undertake the project--even
at on a cost-plus basis."

The Plymouth students returned
to classes.

Picture on
other side

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