The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-10-08
The Public-School System.

Inc Radical organ Ill IIllS Cits has Scfcta'
tines used language in regard to the public
school system Of Virginia which The facts
do rot justify. IN lis issue of Monday it
Gp!-HcrodS HHEGr. and writes its own con.
domination. Here is what il says:
"!n tie living document to which we
referred on Saturday, ana which Is being
rrc,!ltcd by the Bourbon Ecntral Commit
tee over the stale. III" Conservative party
takes IN" entire credit to itself OF inaugll-
ra,j,r orr ircr-~chool system. and carrying
t,,r same into effect This is not simply
taking 10 the mIriI"> il Is piatlng /"
moan-culye> There i not II lilan with =
rhilulIlr,lll Of Intelligence in the state who
does not know That this claim is false, and
That the pal,y making it ought 10 be branded
- An Dpcu AMI >hatilc:cs: ful-itier OF the
record. Tie ,,nr people OF the state
are entirely indebted 10 the Republic
cau raIty for the inc>tlt,b!c AMI price
less priyilc.n Of free schools. What the
CONSERVATIVE. barry has really dOnc Is TO de-
.t.at. is far Il possible. The pIovi>ion.of The
Constitution Of tie state which create, them.
Bv their partisan legislation thes have en-
Guided from the benefit OF The puoiic schools
Ill children Who.r parent are TOO poor 20
pav their taxes. Poverty Is made not only
the badge of iriamy by them. but the chill
drcn Of poverty are cuI>ed for the ml,ior-
tunes, rot the >i!t. OF their parents. IBIS
uIljl.iin" blot on the cSctitcleon OF the State.
AID not the glory OF our t"cC-School law. II
What the Conservative party can rlghtiully
boast of rs it, work. Let its leaders bang
their diminished heads OH this subject, and
admit hat burning shame, aud not crown.
ing honor, is theirs.
These statements Of The STATE Journal are
harmless. There is not an intelligent man
in Virginia who does not know that the
public-school system was put into operation
under laws passed by Il Conservative Lcgis-
laturc. and that the money which pays the
teachers and keeps up the system Is almost
al collected from Conservatives. Indeed,
the bove.quoted paragraph denounces the
Conservatives because they require male
parents to pay each even one dollar to sup
port tie Dublc->chool system. The UNDER
WOOD Constitution did not require the SIS-
TEN TO be put into operation throughout
the State until the year 1876. But there Is
provision would have had no
effect in the absence OF legislation, and no
system could have been e>tab-
lishcd against the will OF the Conservatives,
nor could it be supported one month with
out the money contributed to lis >uStellta-
ton bv Conservatives. Besides, its has been
proved. the Constitution is easily altered
and if the Conservatives Of Virginia were
really opposed to the existing school system
the way to rid themselves of ii is plainly
pointed out in THAI Instrument. These are
facts that cannot be disputed.
The Jovuu! anrm> in the most positive
manner that by their partisan legislation the
have excluded from the ben
cit OF the public schools " all chstdrca ,rhoSc
pnrcntS are TO" poor 10 pay heO' fnre$.'
This is not true. The state law requires no
parent tc Ir,y more than the capitation tax.
which is only one dollar. The parents may.
and in fact many parents do, pay only this
tax previous to entering thdr children as
pupils in the public schools. Some parents
pay one dollar. and enter from three to six
children.
As to widows. no capitation tax Is as
scsscd upon them, and of course they can
not he required to pay any tax before enter
inc their children in the public schools OF
the State. so as to children without pa
rents. They cannot be compelled to pay
any tax if they do not own property
and in this case we suppose that even INC
state journal would not object to making
them nav taxes upon it, unless indeed that
journal thinks that schools can be kept UP
without using money. The Journals ap-
,,.,,I> arc y discreditable electioneerlng trick.
{. The to,rcso it rails against consist OF notE-
;nr more than capitation tax Of one dollar.
In using the phrase . their taxes, that paper
either did 80 knowingly, and with intent to
deceive, or else isnorantly, and therefore
inexcusably. That phrase includes oil taxes.
No State law requires any other than the
capitation tax to be laid, aud we take it for
granted that the Joaludi would hardly be so
unfair n to attempt 10 hold kEMpEE, WITH
ERS, and DANIEL. or the Conservative party,
responsible Tor any local ordinances thatmay
have been passed by Lynchburg, Richmond,
DanyiIle, Or any other place. ..
As to the children of pauperS. even if
the paupcrs are males, there is no State law
requiring a tax to be paid by them or their
children, us il prerequisite to entering the
latter as pupils in the public schools. .
But finally, this capitaton tax is provided
for by the UNDERWOOD Constitution itself,
the very instrument to whose operation the
Stale Journal would attribute, We suppose,
the establishment of our public-school Sys-
TEN. We quote from the Constitution:
Art. I. Sec. o." The General Assembly
may levy tax not exceeding one dollar per
annum on every male citizen who has at
tanned the age of twenty-one years, which
shall be applied exclusively in aid of public
free schools"
4 man who complains because he has to
pay one dollar per annum for educating his
children belongs naturally to the Radical
party. He is contemplate nobody. With
this remark, We dismiss him aud his allies
and apologists. 80