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

almost unknown, and where the laborine
class is always able to find employment
healthy public opinion would compel g
man to send his children to school and
pay moderate fees for them; especially
as the State has already contributed sc
literally to the expense, and it is ready
to hel p him to bear the burden.
8. The power to levy local tax is liza.
able to many and great abuses, which
need not enumerate. The consequences
of the exercise of this power few years
ago in this State are still remembered by
our people.
4. Local taxation is not suited to an
agricultural State like this, where we
have few large towns, but where the vast
majority of our people live in small
towns, hamlets and isolated homesteads
1t is we'll adapted to Charleston, but
Charleston is in this no criterion for the
rest of the State, for this reason: the rule
in local taxation is. achere the tar is larg.
est in its rate per child it is smallest in its rate
per dollar. The child is paid for best
where the dollar is taxed least. That is,
the burden of local taxation is ligh.est
where population is densest. This is no
theory this is fact which figures prove.
For instance, the city of Boston with
its light local tax of 1.02 mills on the
dollar contributes for the education of its
children an average of SIG per capita.
In rural Massachusetts, on the contrary,
where there is heavy local tax of 2.7s
mills on the dollar, this raises only Sc per
capita. A similar disproportiou is found
everywhere else. So glaring is the inc
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 a
local taxation law, let Us ask ourselves if
we are willing to impose on our own
shoulders a burden which we are unable
to bear.
THE COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
throughout the United States is about 50
per school-child; e. g., 50 in st. Louis,
SIS in Baltimore, Sic in Boston, 50 in
Charleston-not to speak of the S36 per
capita among the Cherokee Indians.
Now, our two mill tax, plus our poll
tax, yields only 1925 for each child ac-
tually attending school, or 81 .65 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 per
capita: e. g., we must furnish 1915 ad-
ditional for each child actually attending
school. If 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 make our
school tax not less than six or seven mills
on the dollar. Nor is this all. When
compulsory attendance is insisted on, as it
will be and ought to be if by local taxa
tion the public schools shall be made alb.
solutely free, then the increased attend
ance will require an increased fund and
the $l.65 already furnished to educate
every child in the State will have to be
increased to SO. 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 grievous burden be
placed on their shoulders and it is the
duty of those that are in favor of local
taxation to count the cost before they
pray for its adoption.
Let US now consider what I believe to
be
THE BEET MoDE-THE FEE. BILL SYSTEM.
By system of school fees, tuition fees,
or rate-bills, as they are variously called,
money is paid by the parent directly to
the teacher or school manager; j. e., those
pay directly who are directly benefited.
The school fees may be made payable
monthly, quarterly, or for the session.
The following are few of the advanta-
ges of this system:
l. 1t is fair and just to all, to rich and
poor alike. 1t enables the poor man to
get State aid from the public fund and at
the same time to help himself. He is
thus prevented from becoming an educa-
tional pauper.
2. It encourages in the people livelier
and healthier interest in education. Peo-
pie do not value highly what they get for
nothing. The man who pays FIVE or six
dollars a year for his child's education
takes higher and better view of educa-
ton than does the man who whose child
is educated wholly at the public..expense.
A popular sentiment in favor of educa-
ton and q popular determination to pay
for education, are q nobler product of q
public school system than the mere abil-
ity to read and write.
3. 1t prevents the unnecessary multi
nlication of schools, which is one of the
many evils of an absolutely free system.
When people pay school fees they dis
cover that to have fewer schools, and
these more numerously attended reduces
the school fee. When they pay nothing
except in the interest form of taxation,
there is a constant clamor 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. 1t elevates 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
present the public fund seems to be re-
garQeu by many aS pension Iunu 10 De
administered not so much for the educa-
ton of the children as for the benefit and
relief of those who, whether competent
or not, are fortunate enough to get en-
ployment in the public schools. Estab-
lish school fee system and much more
care will be taken by both school trustees
and parents in the employment of teach
ers. Favoritism, nepotism and misplaced
compassion will then have 10 room, for
there is no affection in business.
5. A school fee system is the cheapest
in the end, as it naturally discourages
any waste of money. Only that work is
paid for which is done. 1t is not 50 easy
to be extravagant with private money as
with public funds. A iacile and lavish
generosity is more closely associated with
the public purse than with tho private
purse.
6. 1t is preferable to local taxation be-
cause it renders unnecessary the enforce
ment of a compulsory attendance law,
which is the attendant and concomitant