The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-06-15
FREE SCHOOL QUESTION.
PRO 81 Con ExcAtly Who the
Voters Are liz II the lnten-
ton Ia Establish One ar
More schools
free sehooIs. Tneir Range anp scope
Why We sNouId Isiabiish Them
po ti,o EdItor ofThe ueTaldi


10 the Edltor ofThe lleraldl
The question has been asked through |
the columns Of lnf limAp, who are the
voters qualified 20 vote on the PROPOSE !
lion for imposing u tax OF two ana a +,
half mills on the property IN the Guy OF
Dallas for public sohoolR
The constitution Of the state, the
highest law on the subject, answers IN
this wise
Article VI, section 3, u In
nll elections TO determine expenditure
of money, or assumption of debt, only
those shall be quallhed To vote who pay
tarcs an propry in said city or inoorpo-
rated town,
This does not say milo pay mr@ ON
rai estate or property but who pay
taxes on properN' etc,
llntl IL is,shown that personal prop
orty IL not property, all persons paying
taxes on personal property Of amy des-
cripli0n Whatever, are entitled 10 a vote
provided they are qualified electors in
other respects,
In case of contested vote the usual
oath would be required Of the party of,
lerng his vote, aud IL lac was afterwards
shown 10 be incompetent rs m elcctor
by reason of his being assessed az n
payer OF taxes in the assessment roll,
his vote could be thrown out
The law only oxompts from taxation
household and kitchen lurEiturc, not
exceeding at their true and actual value,
an amount of two hundred and fifty
dollars, in which may be- included one
sewing machine Chapter lb1, section
g. general laws of Toxns, 1876. city taxes
can be paid between this and Septem-
Der LIST,
All who own moro than two hundred
and fifty dollars worth Of household
and kitchen furniture must be assessed
for the excess and all who own any
species of personal property other than
that above mentioned, should be assess.
cd for taxation ON such property, The
owner of watch, horse, or any other
personal property, must be assessed to
the true and actual value Of such
chnttol.
Persons in the city must not wait for
the assessor, but are compelled by law
to 90 to thnt officer and report their
property Tor assessment, and are liable
to fine if they fail to do so,
1t follows then, that every citizen
should 90 to Ogden, the city assessor,
to have his property assessed for two
reasons First TO enable him to vote at
the coming election on the school tax
question and second, to avoid being
dragged up before the court rs u
violator of the law
The approaching election on the 10Th
instant is one of very considerable im>
portance to our city. Those of our
citizens DESTROYS Of instituting system
of public education here are alarmed
ut the organized hostility of number
of respectable and influential men,
1t il OF no use to say they are long'
horns and Moss~backs,' for MAJ y
of them are sincere and honest in their
opposition to the schools although none
whom we have met have had any OPP,
portunity to witness the workings OF
the great system of public instruction
now in practical operation in nearly all
the great western and southwestern
states. And yet their objections must
be respected and respectfully consid
cred
OF the petty shanty-owner who per
haps has no children to educate, and
is too thriltless to pay his present
taxes, and who delights, by virtue OF
his little patch in mumbling abou; the
taxation to be imposed on landed pro,
prietors, (of which he is one,) we have
nothing to say His motives are APP
parent and his pretentions to baronia
Importance are simply laughed at
| But to men who have property o
value, and who oppose the small tax
on the ground that it would be ,
! grievous burden to them, we woulc
reply: To whom would you rent, i
not to non property holders Do you
wish to encourage them ostay2 WoulC
your property in real estate be wortl
anything to you unless you could rem
| it2 lfyou drive them away, could you
not kill deer on Main and Elm streets
before the end of the year, Do you
not think, then, that something is due
to those people who, not only apprcci.
ate your property by their presence, but
are able to depreciate it 10y their de
parturcP
Doyou not know that itrequires quit,
u sum of money to send two or tire,
children to private schools, and tina
very many poor people here can not dc
it : And lastly ON this point, do yoi
not know that education to poo
mans children is rs precious as to you
own 1t would cost you but II pittanc,
when the tax is generally distributed
but now times are 20 hard that yo,
complain of taxation on what you have
How do you expect them to educat,
their children by paying n tax equal t,
that which you pay on thousands
When the fire bell startlos you from
your bed at night, do you not know tina
the mechanic and laboring man is rush
ing to his company to save your prop
erty2 And when the tocsin of war i
sounded the great body of lon.propert,
owners form the rank and file of tn,
army sent forth to repel the invader
| The late war will be the last when ther,
is rich mans war and poor man,
} fight" if the great burden ofpublic pro
lection is to be borne by mere peas
antry, who fight and die to save tn,
property of others. The orphans of tn,
soldiers will be left to grow up in ignor.
ance and vice, and eternal hatred i'm.
\ planted in their breasts towards thos,
for whom their fathers died.
But you say, there il already sohoo
fund" So there is, and that is .n adj
ditional reason why it should not b,
wasted. You cannot manure an acre o
ground with bad breath, nor can YOU
make two dollars and eighty.fye cent.
educate child for a year; but it is
something and will so far to tighten tn,
taxation needed for the education OF {
child for year This is great adj
| vantaua 4 N family and ono urk;ch I'LL