The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-02-03

and many visitors 10 Texas, for tho purpose
OF ascerialning how large tracts Of pasture
lands for stock and farming lands
TO found colonies In tho west could DO
purchased, and II IL reasonably certain that
many times moro land could have
been sold than was sold, II sales
could have been made without the
limitation of quantity that was imposed.
The woodlands and those that have valuable
timbers, should only be sold for money paid
down, and not on credit, Ms otherwise the
first payment may be made The timber cut
"a and the purchase be abandoned, leaving
the .land vaueless. The great body vf the
lands might we'll be sold on long time with
interest lower than 10 per cent, rs it is now.
To carry out these objects, l respectfully
recommend that an Office be created to be
filled by bonded officer, to be styled "the
state land agent" to be in the land office,
where he can have free access to the records,
who shall, under law defining his duties
have charge of the sale, subject
10 the direction Of or to rules
prescribed by board of executive officers,
of which the commissioner of the general
land office shall be one, of the school lands,
the different asylum lands, the university
lands, the lands for the payment of the pub
lie debt, and of all other lands that may no
appropriated to public uses under the contrtl
of the state government.
Should this plan succeed TO increase all of
the funds belonging TO these institutions the
taxes for their support might be proportion
stely diminished, and at the same time the
state government might be placed in staa-
ton to increase the annual term of its com.
mon schools without burdening the people
with onerous taxes, which will have
TO be done even to maintain them
at the present standard if those lands are
of all of these lands would tend to the same
result. They being sold and the funds in
ERASED by the purchase money being in
vested and drawing interest for annual use.
the lands thereafter being taxed to raise
revenue and the public debt being dimin-
ished, and ultimately extinguished, and our
country being settled more densey so that
provision can be made for the rural school
districts taxing themselves as the cities and
towns can now do, and good teachers trained
at our normal schools, being scattered all over
the country in the echools; then, and not
until then, can il reasonably be- expected
that our public schools can be brought to o
thorough and efficient system, and sustained
Just AS they are in the older and more dense.
ly settled states, and then, too, all Of our
educational interests will have been eleva
so as to rebound to the benefit of and be
pride of our own people. and to com
tsvorAbly with similar Institutions in
states.
That they may all be built up together in
harmonious cooperation, / respectfully re-
commend that they be put under the Same
supervisory control and government by the
creation of board of education, embracing
not only executive officers, but also distin-
guishei citizens in fferent parts of the state
with authority TO forn an acting directory, OF
which TIE secretary of the board or suprien.
tendent of instruction, as be NAV be called,
shall DO part and be also an officer with .
salary.
desire to call attention 10 few facts that
constitute On improvement to the success OF
our system of public FREQ schools, and pre-
vent them from having the full sanction and
encouragement OF the whole community.
First: there is large number Of persons
who object on principle to public taxation
to educate other peoples children as we'll ~
their own, if they have any. Now, If we
could raise an endowment fund of thirty or
forty millions of dollars by the sale of our
school lands, surveyed and to be surveyed,
amounting estimated at our forty mil
lions Of acres and our taxes for school pur-
poses be thereby diminished, and the great
benefits TO society arising from our educs-
tiopal efforts, be exhibited and recognized,
this objection would be greatly, if not en-
tirely, removed. And IL by more rapid
sale of the lands IL can be seen in advance
that this is the object aimed at, and practi-
cally attaipable, that itself will tend TO pre-
vent active opposition long before the object
itself is fully attained. Second: the clause
in our constitution which prevents any part
of the public school fund from ever being
appropriated to or being used "for the sup
port of any sectarian school" causes OBJ
iections TO be raised in two ways, to.wit:
that practically il is evaded by teaching
forms of worship and precepts and psrtic-
ular religions tenets on the one hand, and the
other, that it excludes any religious or moral
training in the schools whatever. And hence
there are large number of schools in the
the state that do not receive any benefit from
the public free school fund, snd number Of
persons who will not send 20 the public
schools, for one or tho other OF the reasons
above mentioned, aiaa0ugh lhey nave 10 pay
taxes 10 support them. This provision hiss
been construed from its Literal import, to
exclude schools that are under the control
of any denomination Of organized relgionists
of whatever character, from receiving tho
benefits of this fund, because they are sec
tartan schools; that IL, the school Of a sect,
notwithstanding they may rot profess 70
teach in said schools the particular teents
of that sect. think and therefore submit
that the phraseology Of that provision is
unfortunate in not properly expressing what
was most probably intended by II, which
wss to keep church and state separate, and
uot.to ignore the necessity and importance
of teaching any religion IN the proper sense
cf that term, which embraces the duty and
relAtions Of man 10 man 10 society, and the
duty and relation Of 1nsn 10 bis Maker.
Surely the precspts contained in the ten
commandments, in the Lords prayer, and
in the sermon on the mount, taught in
school TO pupils, could not be matter Of
objection BY any classes Of religionists, ele-
waited above The retsliatory and reveDgeful
creed Of favsCe Indian or and unciYlized
barbarian. Residing them out Of a partic
ular book, or the practice 10 the schools of
any forms of Worship, or The inculcsfion in
any way the peculiar tenets CT any creed
Whatever, are very different things
That is soctarianism and il not
religion in its broad sens, common 10 civil
lied mar, which ought 10 be taught Cor the
kn~,~nf ~ the ririrr 1rnorafinn ororvu hn-o