Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-03-14
BETTING MATTERS RIGgE.

boundaries. A bill then pending in the
Legislature to change the manner of dis
tribution was vicious measure end struck
at the most vital part of the free school
system. It drew out our observations and
was defeated. Last week it dawned upon
the San Francisco Bulletin that San Fran
cisco was paying more to the school fund
than she receives from the State. It fol-
lowed up its discovery with long and al
together remarkable article, severely criti-
cising the method of distribution, and
solely on the ground of its inequality"
called. 1t pointed out what is unde.
niably fact, that in some years there are
changes which place some counties first
on the debit, and then on the credit side of
the account, while a few counties are
always on the credit side, and notably go
San Francisco. The conclusion drawn by
our contemporary was that the whole sys.
tenn was wrong, and to give force to that
judgment it used this language: "They
lthe counties which pay in excess) are the
thralls of the State. II would
be more equitable and economical for each
county to support its own schools" Sur.
prised and panied at this remarkable state
ment from 60 able and usually clear-sighted
journal, we expressed our regret that it
should have taken position that must
class it with the enemies of the public
school system. Perceivipg that it had
hastily uttered an unwise thing, and voiced
sentiments wholly at variance with it's rep
utation as friend of free institutions, the
Bulletin, in its leader of Monday, kastens
TO set itself right, but we are unwilling that
it shall do go at our expense. Itsays: "The
RECORD. UNION, unintentionally, perhaps,
does us injustice when it intimates that
we are opposed to the distribution of
money by the State for the support of the
common schools. There is no apBropria.
ton within the bounds of reason which the
Bulletin is not prepared to uphold. "We
are pleased to see our contemporary place
itself properly on record in this matter.
We intimated nothing in cur first arti-
Gle; we simply quoted its own language,
concerning which there can be no mistake.
To compel each county to support it's own
schools, as the Bulletin expressed it, is to
deprive them of State aid. The wealthy
communities would thus unduly enjoy free
educational advantages not possible to the
| b LII :. d.
we have no disposition to go over the we'll
worn ground again. The system is right
one, and any attempt to break it up will
find in the RECORD UNION an uncompro-
missing enemy. The Bulletins criticisms
as to the faults of the school census and
the possible mistakes of Census Marshals,
and the carelessness, even the possible
criminality Of some of them, are
proper enough. If there are er.
rors in the method of ascertaining
the number OF census children, let them
be corrected. All human institutions are
fallable, but that is no reason Tor their de.
struction or abandonment. We have al.
ready shown, however, that there is, in
fact, 10 substantial ground for the obiec-
tions raised by cur contemporary. It de-
duces error solely from the fact that the
census reports vary 80 much from year to
year as TO place some counties at one time
on the debit side of the balance sheet, and
at another on the credit side. This is due
to the peculiar character OF our population,
which is not settled one, and which, in
the sparsely populated regions, shows from
year to year remarkable changes in popula-
ton. The sta tisticsl showings of older
countries upon which actuaries base their
calculations do not obtain here with Ger.
tainty. For instance, the group of chill.
dren within school age Is to ~ does not
replenish in exact proportion with ex.
haustion the proportion between adults
and minors is not here found to be the
same rs in other sections of the Union, ETC.
But while on this subject, and since the
Bulletin thinks that San Francisco con-
tributes undulY to the school funds of the
State, in which opinion it is certainly in
error, let us call its attention to the fact
that San Francisco avoids and escapes the
payment of her just proportion to the
school fund. Instead of being Is the thrall
of the State, she deliberately and con.
stantly cheats the State. 1t is not prob.
able that her School Census Marshals are
more honest, or imbued with higher moral
sentiments than the Marshals of the rural
districts, which are, at least POLITICALLY,
considered to be the abiding places Of the
highest forms of virtue. But if we may
admit that metropolitan Marshals make
perfect records, and report the exact num-
Der of children for whom the State funds
are to be drawn, while the country Mar.
shals falsify and report children as yet IN
born, in order to increase the per capita
aggregate, will the Bulletin explain how it
is that San Francisco falsely reports her
poll tax collections. The poll taxes
go into The school funds, the dis
tribution OF which 30 troubles our
neighbor? According to the last report
of the State Controller San Francisco, with
~, 739 poll taxes admitted for 1882, paid
into the State Treasury but SAL 255 25 in
stead of SS5,47S, which she should have
paid. But she even cheated the State in
her report of poll taxes, for she cast, say
A, 600 votes, as a low figure. Now it is
established that the aliens liable to poll
tax in San Francisco far exceed the voters
exempt by reason OF having reached the
age of GO. But admitting that the one
class offsets the other, and still San Fran
cisco returned in 1851 but 80, BAT poll taxes
against A, 600 voters, and in 1882 but H.
739, against 1900 voters. We believe
that thus far Chinese are not permitted to
vote in the city by the sea, although they
are required to pay their poll taxes with
promptness that frequently astonishes
them. On the other hand Sacramento,
casting in 1850 6, 100 votes, reported in 1881
| :. 426, and in 1897, GAG poll taxes, and