The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-07-29

OFFICE OF SUPT. OF PUB. J~sT.
TALLAHASSEE. Fla, July "a, 1886

L.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla, July "a, 1895 !
Edubrs Floridian Through the watchful
kindness of Mr. J. E. Ingraham, President of
the South Florida Railroad, now sojourning at
Clifton Springs n. u, received the enclosed
clipping from the Boston Herald, being the most
complete tissue of unprovoked msrepresenta-
tons ever perpetrated upon community any
where. What pest these idle scribblers are'
Now the facts Of the case are, that there are no
such groves as this writer describes, no such
force employed on any one plantation engaged
in fruit culture of any kind, and every one
knows that there are no orange groves in Leon
county of much shipping importance and that
at the time this person writes Of eight weeks
prior 70 the 18th of this month"; no grove, or ascot
alton Of groves, had oranges to chip from any
part Of this State.
Again, you will obse. We that this pessimsf,
a..er having stated that within nine miles OF
Tallahassee, the capital city, group OF l6O
children who are absolutely destitute OF the
commonest education makes this paragon OF
teacher, in one day at school, lead these abso-
lutely ignoran, children into the study Of polti-
cal geography, and discovers that absolutely
IBuOIdul, rs Uc uhS dIICauf OccLIlUCu tuCIA,
they knew the facts of the founding Of the cities
of St. Augustine and jamestown. and the pre-
else dates of the same as will be seen in the
writer's parenthess. But Why deal with tissue Of
lies like,this unless as propose, to request you
to mail copy of your valuable journal to the
Boston Herald addressed to Mr.. F. E. Whiting,
Herald Office, to inform that paper of the truth
regarding our school work.
In Leon county, the scene of this writer's ex
ploits, there are in operation ffty-two public
schools, about equally divided between the
white children and those Of the eolored people,
the expense Of which is borne almost entirely
by the whites through taxation. Within "a
dius of nine miles around Talls hassee there are
twenty-five white and colored schools, some
operated eight months and none less than five
months in the year; there are enrolled on
the school registers OF the county 1929 children,
remarkably large percentage of whom are in
daily attendance. These are facts from the re-
cord.
More especially for the benefit of the Boston
Herald and the New York School Jeurual will
add, that for the school year ending September
Both, 1885, there had been in operation 1924
public schools in our State, with about 20 900
school population. with $1,000 enrolled and
about 5000 of these 10 daily average attend
ance, larger per cent think, than any other
State in the Union can show while there was
raised by taxation and expended 1886, 900 for
their support, besides some. $50 900 of the gen
eral fund.
1t does seem strange that when a man dwell
ing among our beautiful hills, and valleys so
fertile, and under our magnificent skies and
glorious sunlight, and in the midst OF gener-
rous hospitality, and kindness and confidence,
should perpetrate 80 unqualified SANDER that
God does not strike him with sudden destruc-
ton as Ananias ar Sapphire were stricken for
the sin of lying.
One word more If there is such firm in the
the city that employs such a clerk and OWLS
such orange or pear groves as require such a
force to gather, sort and ship their fruit in the
middle of May (the writer states his events oc-
CURED eight weeks prior to the date of his let
teri the firm had better at once demonstrate
with their young man. and admonlsh him that
it will at least be unpopular to so wantonly
belle a good people in the midst of whom he
dwells. Respectfully,
A. j. RUSSELL