Arizona citizen., 1878-10-12

" was Hldu6 pAtdUlc to CisIct Noi Emerentia, of St JOseph's Academy, in Tucson, because Df their failure tnl
 get the $500 appropriated in 1871. This act was compromise. Many trurI friends of pgelic schools contended that The Sisters nsd an equitable right
 10 $500. because nf he previous sp-
 Ir"printion. but the legislature would
 n i've it i0 them out of the school
 fmnb. nor out of the general fund un
 less i were done al Ihe expense Of Pi
 ma c'ulty and SiIhout prejudice tOI lhr other counties. Hence the act giv.
 jag each county $500 "ut of the g-ner.
 Al fund, for school purposes. There
 being considerable money in the gen
 ersl fund not required for Territorial purposes, snGtLs-' set was passed, and
 approved February 14. 1873, appropri
 ating out of the general fund sl 900 loi each of the five counties foreduca
 tional purposes "--noi even requiring
 that it should be used exclusively lorI
 public schools, although it was un-
 doubtedly all expended tor them. This
 act was regarded by impartial and cor
 rect observers as unfair to some of the
 counties-Pima and Ysvapsi in par
 ticular. Mohave paid hardly any tax
 es and had but very few children, and
 at that time Maricopa amounted to but ! little in comparison to Pima, Ysvspsi
 and Yuma. But save the $500 to the
 Sisters school, no funds were appro-
 priated at this session for private
 schools, and this $500 only 10 make
 good what seemed to have been the real
 purpose of previous legislature. At
 ihe same session SD act was passed
 amending the public school law, and
 under this amended scl public school
 fund of any great amount was for the
 first time levied and collected in Ari
 zona. The act of 1871 did nol compel
 the boards of supervisors to levy above some fraction Of a cent on $l00; but the act of 1873 compelled levy and
 collection of g cents on the $100 for a Territorial public school find, and a like levy and collection fot county pub. lie school fund. Under this act pub lie schools sprang up and havs been
 since ,maintained in almost every
 neighborhood.
 At the sesslon of 1875, the public school system was for the first time con fronted with danger In Arizona. But ! two general acts. however, were passed upon the subject, and they both were designed to promote, and have promot ] ed, general education. One was an ac
 concerning compulsory education, and ], it's only financial feature was that cer
 tain fines be paid into the public schOo l fund. The other was a general public school law. IL changed the rate O. r levy for the Territorial public schoo r fund from 9 to- i5 cents on each Sl00 l and the county levy from 25 b 35 cent - leaving the aggregate amount jus r the same ss before. This was jus ? change. Al this session. February s,
 bill was simultaneously introduced 1T ? the council and assembly, by Messrs 2 DeLong and Elias, of Pima county !. entitled "an act to provide for corpo e " raiIOns for educational purposes.
 This was aimed st & division of th' !. school fund. It permitted every tax
 payer to say at the time he paid hi tax to what corporation " he desire' r the school tax he paid to be applied 2 and, under penalties, required tax col !. lectors to advise each taxpayer of hi privilege in this respect. IL also re |. pealed sec.ion 34 uf the act of 1871 n ,rnhibiIing ihe Use of sectarian book snd tracts in schools under the law, sn, denominaiionsl teaching. At first thi Q bill WAS drawn to apply to the whol |. Territory, but was amended before 1T e tr .duc,ion sn as 10 apply 10 Pima cour n ty alone. This bill came up in the cour [. cil on the sth of February, and "n m' . tion of MT. Hsrgrsye. was indefnitel '. postponed by this vote: Ayes-MeSsr Campbell, Davis. Hsrgrsve, Steven and Zeckendorf: Noes-Messrs. Br' e dy, DeLong. Redondo and MT. Pres dent, who was Mir. Woolsey. The sam V disposition was made of it in tn Q House, ca the 9th, Mfr. Drachman nal e Ing the molion. The te in the hous o was not recorded, and hence we cal :, not now tell who voted for, and vh ,l against it. Thus the bill was kille " for the session, and neither it nor sn r. bill for similar purposes has since bee 1t introduced for passsge.
 Il At the session of 1877, there was . V Legislation relating to the public scho' il fund. If any attempt was made to a IS vert the general or school fund in b -s half of private or sectarian schools ,e does not appear in the records of th' n session.
 ,e Thus it will be seen that Arizon -eI never appropriated one dollar out ID the public school fund to aid priva ,e schools or sectsrfan teaching, and alt c pether gave only s55o out of the gene T. al fund-s95O in 1864 and sSOO in 1S7 o There is a principle involved ID the e ry ucationsl question, and as it Is cer'al \. to be put to toe test now and then' U