Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-01-11

'o,N.h ivy !" viz pups Withlu tux
Scholastic nge. Ii, the ordinary
branches of a common education, 4.
In photography. reading, writing
English grammar, composition, geog.
rapby and arithmetic" by permitting
scholars, not of the scholastic age, to
attend the schools upon payment OF
tuition, and 10y regulating the man
ner In which towns and cities can in
stitute their own schools, and have
them taught for longer time than
could be taught by the money fur
nishcd to them by the state in It's an
nual distribution.
Thus our school system has been
identified and connected with the civil
government throughout. and made
part of 1t, with its immediate control
localized where its benefits are to be
realized.
That this system, ever since its
adoption, has worked well and has
continued to improve from year to
year, is demonstrated, not only by the
reports of the board Of education, but
by the gradual withdrawal of public
opposition to free public schools, 10y
the increased and continually increas-
ing interest taken in them in all parts
OF the state, and by the confidence that
has been generally inspired, that
a good and efficient system OF public
free schools can be built upon the
foundations already laid, without an
unreasonable burden of taxation, If the
leading features of the system are pre-.
served and improved upon as the
financial ability of the state and the
increase of its own school fund may
justify it.
i q "A 4
sary to have thus presented this sub
ject at the close eff my administration
but from the fact that for years there
have been and now are, in this state,
persons who have been, and are, ac-
lively engaged in the effort to over
turn this system, or to fundamentally
reform it SO rs 10 conform in effect to
the system established in Texas under
the constitution of 1859.
The leading features of the system
attempted to be imposed upon the
state are the creation of separate de-
partment of the government, the APP
pointment OF state superintendent,
district supervisors and county super
intendents, with power to control the
whole machinery of the schools and
matters relating to them, and with
competent salaries for their support:
also, special tax levied TO support the
1 schools, and their vast independent
machinery of officers, for nine or ten
/ months in the year, with an increase
| in the period of the scholastic age, and
u consequent enlargement of degrees
of education to be paid for by the state.
4 Such separate scholastic establish
ment would annually cost more than
| the whole amount of taxes collected
off of the people of Texas for all the
expenses of the government. Itwould
/ lead TO central control that would
! supersede the local control Of the
schools. There are now seven thous-
and teachers of those schools, with q
regular increase every year. This
numerous body of teachers would be
embodied in common purpose of self
ACKNOWLEDGMENT by this central con-
trolling power, and would exert an in
tiuence all over the state for more and
greater advantages for the whole class
of persons engaged in this business
The taxpayer would grudgingly pay
his special school tax, rs it would in
crease from time to time, and it would
| become odious, as most special taxes
for the benefit of a class of persons are.
| Other interests in the administration
OF the goveEnmcnt, that would be less
| favored, would combine and make war
on it as political machine working
! for class legislation. 1t would finally
be abandoned, If not las a similar sys-
tenn formerly eXistingl in disgust, ut
least, as impracticable.
The moving cause of this effort is
not that four, five and six months, as
now taught in the common schools
| auch vanr FIR six van ~. IL not SItffi Giant
TO teach children reasonably well in
the branches of common education
heretofore named, but because il does
not give constant employment and adj
equate compensation to competent
teachers, and the standard of common
education is not sufficiently high.
These objects are certainly very desira
BILE, when their attainment shall be-
come practicable.
But the question is how, and by
what means, shall their attainment
become practicable. Surely, the state
is not bound to provide for higher
standard OF education for the masses OF
its people. than that which will fit
them for intelligent citizenship in n
republican government, The stan
dard fixed in law is certainly high
enough to enable the masses of people
generally, who receive the benefit of
it, to have that general diffusion Of
knowledge, which is Essential to the
preservation of the liberties and
rights of the people" That Is the
object, indicated by the constitution
and of necessity fixes implicitly Il
limitation upon the power and duty
of taxation for that object. Any
thing in excess of that is beyond any
established theory or principle of the
state to promote the general
education of the masses of
its people. Something else,
than an increased and special taxation,
must be resorted TO. Our many mil
lions of acres of school lands may be
utilized by sale or lease, so as 10 largely
increase the available school fund, 10
be annually distributed, as il has been
doing for few years past; still ii will
be found when that fund Is fully ma
tured, the rapid increase of our popula-
ton will, before many decades, have
caught up with il, so that its proper
ton to the scholastic population will
then he no greatel than il il now, after
which time it will gradually get less.
The only practicable, permanent
remedy for the attainment of the de-
sirable objects that have been named
will be found in the encouragement Of
more towns and cities to assume the
control of their own schools; in the for
nation of permanent school districts I'm
the counties, wherein the residents can
tax themselves when the popu-
lation becomes sufficiently dense
(which will require a change in the
a