The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-01-22
Mere School Tax Needed.

For the CITIZEN.
l am glad to see some enthusi-
asm on the school subject and hope
that every intelligent man in the
county will keep agitating this sub
iect until we get ten months school
in the year. The county court has
levied an additional ten cents, but
tits far from sufficient. 1t will only
run months, that will leave over
half the year for children to be from
school and forget. With the same
number of schools and the same
salary paid to teachers as last year,
it will require fifty cents on tue
500 worth OF property to run ten
months, and since the public
schools have rendered private
schools an impossibility, we must
make them good, and nothing short
of ten months will supply the ne
cessary demand. You hear from
ali parts of the county, "give us
more school or stop taxing us en-
tirely and let us have subscription
schools" l think that the court
ought to have levied this tax or
submitted the proposition to the
people to be decided at the ballot
box. l am sure it will carry The
minimum of opposition is fast dis
appearing, and if this measure was
once adopted, it would soon become
almost universally popular. 1t has
wherever tried. See Nashville and
Columbia, There are some croak-
ers, always will be, who say they
don't want to be taxed to pay for
the education of other peoples chill.
dren. A moments thought will
convince any reasonable man that
this is not only wrong in sentiment
but in figures. Suppose John
Smith has three children land II
bet he has eight but say three. II
the private school system $3.50 pei
month is the average tuition. 3x-
24-74 and 10x74-S74,1 Mr.. Smiths
tuition for 10 months. Now the av-
erage farm for Giles county is il
value less than three thousand dol
lars, hut say his farm is taxed q
5000, his school tax will be SIS
$I5 from $50 leaves $50 that MIR
Smith has saved by the transac
ticn. Now, sir, if Mr.. fCroakel
sends his three children to schoo
ten months and makes $50 beside
don't his croaking because he ha!
helped the child:of poor tenant OIL
his place come in very bad grace
| But one says, "to base your calcu
lations on a $4,000 farm isn'G right
there are some large farms in thi
county" True, and the larger tn,
more children. If the land lort
hasn't got them, his tenants hav,
and in every code of right I eve
read the landlord is responsible 70
the moral and intellectual status o
bis>tenants. When you convinc
the croakers that they don't los
any money by the above PROPOSE
ton, then they get very grave anC
serious, and their elastic face
stretch out as long as a post effic
petition and they say swat, wait
you will ruin every thing by tot
much haste" It's this proerastina
ting bosh that has kept the school
down to three months for the las
ten years. Another one says, "let'.
see what congress will do abou
that seventy million appropriation
bill. May be that will obviate tn
necessity of any more tax Ny
humble opinion is that you will
never get the national aid you ex
pect and ought not to. If the gov
ernment has surplus funds, let her
as Mr.. Randall says, pay her debts
and stop the interest on bonds ant
also duties on necessaries. w
don't need her aid nor her horde @
northern satellites that leok afte
and manipulate national appropria
tions or donations.
But | am not writing an essay OF
politics. We want ten month
school. We are able to have it, anj
we are able to have it now. AM
believe that nineteen TWEEN tieth
of the people Will vote for it, i
the prosition is submitted to them
This measure will be obnoxious t.
few but let them show thei
hand. | have already been cen
sured by some of my friends 70
what l said in the court room OF
the lst Monday in January. b
that as it may, I neither claim thu
praise nor deprecate the censure o
any man. / speak what think t.
be right Let's hear from all ad
vocates of public education.
ED. r. Cox.