The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-10-10
The school Fund.
Huntington Advertiser.

mer is composed OF the taxes anu-IeVles
which golnto the treasury for the pur
pose of maintaining the public schools
from wear TO year, and Is annually dlstri-
button or spportioned 10 The different
counties according, or in proportion, to
the number OF children enumerated TO be
educated. The latter is composed 'ot the
existing invested school iund, or monies
, received By this State from the State OF
Virginia at the time of the formation OF
this State, which then belonged TO what
was known as the Literary Fund OF Vir-
ginis, together with such monies as have
since accrued from the sale OF forfeited,
delinquent, waste and inappropriate
lands; all grants, devises, or requests
made TO the State for educational pur-
poses; estates of persons dying without
heirs; taxes levied on corporations, etc.,
and which have been, for the most part,
invested in United States Bonos--a small
portion of it being loaned to the State of
West Virginia.
The constitution requires that the
monies ACQUIRING to the treasury, from
these sources, shall be invested by the
Board of the School Fund composed of
the Governor, Supt. of Free Schools,
Auditor and Treasurer IN the Interest
bearing securities of the United States, or
of this State, or, if such securities cannot
be obtained, then in such other solvent
securities as may be approved by said
Board.
Now the people Of this State would
have laughed at the makers of our con-
stitution if they had put q provision in
that instrument to the following effect:
"There shall be levied upon the people
OF this State and collected, tax which
shall amount TO the sum of $4,000, an
nually, which shall, from time to time as
it is pad into the treasury, be loaned By
the Board of the School Fund, to the
United States Government, or this State,
upon their bonds, or If there be no such
bonds, then to any person or firm or cor
poration who may be willing to borrow
The same; and the interest to be received
from these loans shall be transferred into
the General School Fund and be subject
TO annual distribution"
We say they would have laughed at
the very righteousness of such u propo-
sitlon; laughed at the idea of people,
occupying territory which for the
most part is still in q state of nature,
raising money from their scanty means
to loan to the great United States Gcv-
erament; at the idea of people who
have not capital enough to clear out these
great forests of ours, or to embark in the
necessary enterprise to develop our min
ereal resources Ms TO build the most crude
mud pixies, (oauing money to the State
or others for the qualification of getting
simply the interest TO add to their scanty
general school fund. II would have been
considered huge JOKE and they would
have maintained that the convention
was trifing with them in the very ex-
treme.
Well, the provisions in our coRstitu-
ton, under which this school fund is be-
ing accumulated from year to year at the
rate OF about S25 900, annually, contains
practically the provisions embodied IN the
foregoing proposition. The monies arts
ing from the sources enumerated above,
are invested from time 10 time in U. 5.
bonds, or, in other words, loaned TO the
L. S. Government; and the merriment
this business inspires is increased by tie
TACT that we are required to pay from e
TO Is per cent. premium upon the bond:
aforesaid, in order to get them at al; SC
That we are practically Withdrawing thi:
amount of money from the people anuu
lily and loauing it at about four per
cent interest. This must be a great
&c nAncnlutinr n riaip p
citizens when they have their individual
notes discounted ut the bank, at about
twelve per cent when they are obliged
10 raise little money for business or cur.
rent expenses
The State of Virginia adopted some
such plan II great many years ago, lol
reasons which no body could ever ex.
plain, and so at the tine of the separation
Ofthis State from that State, our SolonE
found little accumulated capital OF
hand, which had been raised under thi!
system, and which had to be disposed Of
in some way. They therefore determined
to follow the beaten path which their
fathers had broken, like the boy VINO car
ried the stone IN one end Ct the sack tc
balance the grain in the other.
The Convention of ~, likewise found
this system on hand when it came to de.
lberate upon our constitution of that
year, and fearing 20 authorize anything
which might be tortured Sy lis enemies
into an attack upon the school system
then in vogue, they re,sdOpted it after
increasing the sum to be raised for this
purpose by small amount. So it is that
the Board of the School Fund find them.
selves confronted with the duty of in
vestiDg this money, from time to time
in U. 5. Bonds at rs per cent. premium
or losning it to the State, upon any pos
sible. pretext, to avoid the payment oil
this ruinous rate of premium. The fact
that our State treasury is u borrower, fur
nishes the Board the Lecessary reason
for preterring this States securities over
the U, 5. Bonds and in this particular
instance, furnishes an additional argu-
ment to prove that State debt is State
blessing.
Instead, therefore, of subjecting the
gentlemen who compose the Board of the
School Fund, to untriendly criticism,
when they inteiligently accept tie OPP
pOrtuDlLy anu lHNtSJ Luo luuuS dCCuluu-
lating in State securities, the people
should feel obliged to them for faithfully
caring for their Interests rs faithful
agents ought to DO.
The Legislature passed an act some
years ago, requiring certain of the bank
stocks, which belong to the school fund,
to be sold and the proceeds to be invest
ed in United States or State securities.
Heretofore the Board hesitated to exc.
cute this law, because the bank stocks
were paying 10 per cent. dividend snnu-
allv, and it seemed like folly to change
tbs sort of an investment to per
cent. one, especially when they were
required to pay % per cent. pre-
mum for United States bonds. The
necessities OF the State treasury, growing
out of the present Indebtedness, furnish
ed relief from this apparent dilemma,
and we are not surprised to find the
board disposed TO avail themselves of the
opportunity. Ii the bank stocks are not
to be sold and the proceeds invested for
the relief OF the treasury, or if the people