The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1885-11-19
Superintendent Spencer Answers
ENQUIRER.


How much money does the county of
Lincoln get from her saloons ! What per
centage is it of the general school fund
And how long would it, of itself, run the
public schools of the county Also how
much of the money raised Oh the saloons
of Brookhaven goes directly into the cor
poratiOn school fund
Will the Superintendent of Education,
the Treasurer of Lincoln county, ana the
Treasurer of BrOokhaveu furnish the
' - " Enquirer.
Editor Brookhsven LeidS
The above inquiry appeared IN the
columns of tho LEADER of September,
1873. | would have answered sooner but
absence from home and business engage
ments left me no time in which to make
the investigation necessary to give the
desired information.
am surprised to see that enquirer"
has heard it asserted that "the public
schools would be stopped if the saloons
were closed"
While it is true that the license money
from the saloons goes into the school
fund, yet the amount of that fluid distri-
buted annually would not be decreased
one cent by the closing of every saloon in
the State of Mississippi even under the
present law.
Section IA, Code of 1880, and amend
ment thereto in Laws of 1892, page Il,
fixes the amount of the school fund to be
distributed annually at the sum of three
hundred thousand 1890, 000) dollars, and
provides that said sum shall be distribu-
ted annually among the several counties,
pro rata, according to the number of
educable children III said counties; and
provides further that whenever in any
year that amount is not in the treasury
to the credit of the school fund, then the
State Treasurer shall transfer from the
general fund to the common school fund
sufficient amount to make the sum of
SAID school fund $500, 600.
The license money is paid into the
State Treasury and the deficiency, what
ever that amount may be, is taken from
the general fund and added to this license
money so as to increase the total sum to
three hundred thousand dollars.
So you see, Mr.. Editor, that our public
schools would not be affected in the least
by the success or defeat of Prohibition.
Now, as to the first query-that is, How
much money does the county get from
her saloonsi q suppose Enquirer"
meant to the credit of the school fund.-
The amount received by the State
Treasurer and placed to the credit of the
school fund from the license on saloons
during the year 1884 from the entire
State aggregates the sum of Sl4o.3OO
The amount taken from other
funds to make up deficiency
was. Observation-Disclosures .$lol.|uO
Total amount distributed. $500, 900.
This last amount was distributed
among the several counties pro rata upon
the basis of the number of educable chill
dren in each.
OF this sum Lincoln county received for
said year of 1884. ...... 1922 SO
Making the proper proportion
between the amount derived
from the saloons and the amt
taken from other funds as per
statement, we have the amount
received by this county from
saloon license. 81 ,5SS IA
From other sources. ,624 80
Which hes above Sum of 81 l2 OJ
Take the above sum of $1,55S IA and
deduct Treasurer's commissions of 3 per
cent and divide by 6,410, the number of
educable children in the comfy, and we
have about "a cents as the amount that
each child in the county is to receive.
This amount would send scholar to a
First-grade school days; to a second,
three and nine-thirteenths of day, and
to third, four and four-fifths of a day,
the rate paid being respectively 8, 81 aud
cents per day for each scholar.
The last query, "How much of the
money raised on the saloons of Brook
haven goes directly into the corporation
school fundW is not, l imagine, exactly
the question enquirer" intended to pro-
pound, for not one cent of it goes directly
into the school fund.
But if he desires to be informed how
much the school fund receives, the follow
ing statement will, I think, give him the
information.
During the year of 1884 the city OF
Brookhaven received as her pro rata OF
the public school fund from State distri-
button. .................. '.''1oSo Id
Deduct per cent for Treasurer's
commission. .................. III &c
And we have. ......Sooo ~
as the net amount received.
Making the proper proportion between
the amount derived from the saloons and
the amount taken from other funds a per
statement given, we have the following
Amount derived from the saloons. $3.50 Al
From other funds. 1874 81
Making total of.................S3S5 "a
So you will perceive that the amount
raised on the saloons of BrOOkhaven by
the license system which goes into the
corporation school fund is the sum OF
$3.50 45.
I have taken the statistics of the year
1884 as basis for my answer to EN-
ouirer" for the reason that the year OF
1885 has not closed, but l am Informed
that the license money will be less the