The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-12-04

Ssseto "uS.o hShuicdutS anu tfampS are
almost unknown, and where the laboriug
class is always able to find en,ployn,ents
4 O healthy public opinion would compel 4
man to send his children 10 SCHOOL and
pay moderate fees for them; especially
as the State has already contributed so
iiherally TO the expense, aud 1t is ready
to help him to bear the burden.
.. The power TO levy o local tax is liza.
able to many znd great abuses, which /
need not enullerate. The consequences
of the exercise of this power few years
ago in this State are s.iil remembered by
our people. a ~ i -
4. Local taxation ia not suited 10 an
| agricultural State like this. where we
have few large towns, but where the vast
majority of our people 1.-Two In email
towns, hamlets and iaolated homcsteads.
II is well adapted to Charleston, but
Charleston is in this no criterion for the
reat OF the State, for this reason: the rule
In local taxation is, schere the tds. Is lar0.
est in its rate per child IL is smallest in its rate
per dollar. The child is paid for best
where the dollar is taxed least. That il,
the burden of local taxation is iightest
where population is deIsest. This is no
theory this is Q fact which figures prove.
For instance, the city Of Boston with
l ~
dollar contributes for the education Of its
children an average of Sle per oap;ta.
In rural Massachusetts,, ON the contrary.
where there Is heavy local tag Of 2.7S
mills on the dollar, this raises only Sc Der
capita. A similar disproportion Is found
everywhere else. So glaring is the ine-
quality that in New York State, while
| the cities and towns support their schools
by local taxation, the school fee system
obtains exclusively in the rural districts.
Before asking our Legislature to pass q
local taxation law, let us ask ourselves if
Ee are willing tn imnnaa on nnr own
shoulders o burden which we are unable
to bear.
THE COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
throughout the United States is about 90
per school-child; Q. g., 50 in st. Louis,
$l5 in Baltimore, sic in Boston, SO in
Cherleston-not to speak of the $50 per
capita among the Cherokee Indians
Now, our two mill tax, zits our poll
tax. yields only 1926 for each child nc.
tually attending school, or 81 Go for each
child of six to sixteen years. AS we can.
not expect to have public education at a
cheaper rate than in the economical
North, we must be ready to pay 50 pef.
capita g. g., we must furnish 1915 ad-
dittonal for each child actually attending
school. Ii this is to be raised by local
taxation, local levy of four or FIVE mills
would have to be made. This added to
the existing two mill tax would mako our
school tax not less than six or seven mills
on the dollar. Nor is this all. When
compufsory attendance 10 insisted on, as it
Will be and ought to be if by local taxa
ton the public schools shall be made ah..
/ nIxy fsr1 q j =
nnce will require an increased fund and
the $l.65 already furnished to educate
every child in the State will have to he
increased to 50. To do this our school
tax will have to be raised to nine or ten
mills on the dollar. Surely our people,
will not ask that so grievuus a burden be
placed on their shoulders; and 1t ia the
duty of those that are ia fay Dr. of local
taxation to count the cost before thsv
pray for its adoption.
Let us now consider what 1 believe to
be N '' -
THE BE5T MoDE-THE FEE Bill. sYsTEssss. !!
By system of school fees, tuition fees
or rate.bills, as they are varionsly called
money is paid by the parent directly to-
the teacher or school manager; j. e., those
pay directly who are directly beneftedi
The school fees may DO made payable
monthly, quarterly, or for the session.
The following are fen of the advanta.
ges of this system:
l. 1t Ia fair aud just to all, to rich and
poor alike. It enables the poor man TO
get State aid from the public fund and OF
the samo time to help himself. He is
thus prevented from becoming an educa-i
tionai pauper.
Z, i encourages in tine people a livelier
and healthier interest in education. Peo-
pie do not saiue highly what they get for
nothing. The man who pays five OF ak
dollars year for his child's education
takes o higher and better view Of educa.I
ton than does the man who whose child
is educated wholly at the public'expense.
A popular sentiment in favor Of educa-
tion and popular determination TO pay,
for education, are nobler product Of a
public echo0l system than the mere abil.i
ity to read and write.
! o. 1t prevents the unnecessary multi >
Iplication of schools, which is one of the
many evils of an absolutely free systen.
fWhen people pay echOol fees they dis
tcover that to have fewer. schools, and
ithese more numerouslyc attended reduces
the school fee. When they pay nothing
except in the interes. form of taxation,
there is constant clanor for additional
schools, until in many districts we see
three or four times too many schools
with the unavoidable result of lowering
| the teachers standard and pay, and OF
shortening the school session.
4. Itelevases the standard of the teach
er. People who pay fees will see to it
that they employ teacher who will give
them the worth of their money. At
Ipresent the public fund seems to be re-
garded by many as pension fund TO be
administered not SO much for the educa-
ton of the children as Tor the benefitand
reliof of those who, whether competent
or not, are fortunate enough to get en-
ployment in the public schools Estab.;
lish n school fee system and much more
care will be taken by both school trustees
and parents in the employment of teach
ara hevnritisn. .,eno.is... I'd Il . CO.
compassion will then have no room, for
there is no atfectionin business.
| s.. "A school fee system is the cheapest
in the end, as it naturally diacolragSs
any waste of money. Only that work is
paid for which il done. 1t 10 not 40 easy
to be extrayagant with private money as
with public funds. a facile and lavish.
lgenerosity Is moro closely associated wish
the public purse than with the private
purse. I, asks
ii 9. It is spreferable to local taxation be.
cauge 1t renders unnecessary tho enforce
ment OF o compulsory attendance law,
which Is the attendant aud conccmitant
of q local tex law. It Is wiser and better
to pay out sonie of our private money
than to give up some of our personal
| liberty.
ID n PRACTTcABLR2
.