The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-08-18
Letters On Public Affairs.
NgatBER II.

SCNBER II.
THE COMMON SCHOOL FUND-DEBr TO
UNIVERSITY - AGRICULTURAL coll
LEGES--ISsURASCE DEPosITS-wHo TO
BLAME FOX THE PRESENT ISDEBr-
EDSEss.
The State of Mississippi, by the re-
ports of the State Treasurer, is shown TO
owe TO the common school fund SSl7,-
646 10. This debt was contracted in
plaiu violation of the constitution, or
rather the money paid into the treasury
IN pursuance of Section 8, Article s, of
the Constitution of this State has been
illegally Withdrawn. The Constitution
of lo69 provided that the proceeds of
certain public lands, and all escheated
lands, tax lands, and the clear proceeds
OF all fines, and all money received for
iiquor licenses, etc, ETC., shall be secure
~ invested in United States bonds, and
be perpetual fund, which may be increas-
ed, but shall not be diminished; and the
interest of which 'shall be inviolablv
appropriated for the support of free
schools" Ii seems that in 1876, this
fund had reached, on the tredsUrer's books
sSlI ,646 40. This amount should now
now be in the vaults of the treasury at
Jackson, but instead of being invested
IN United Sta.es bonds it was spent, and
the State is reported as owing this debt
TO Itself | think the Treasurer who
allowed it to be spent in violation of the
constitutional provision, and the Audi
tor who drew it out, and their sureties,
are responsible for the fund. | do not
know when nor how it was drawn out
My impression is, however, that IL was
done prior TO 1876
By an amendment to the Constitution
OF 1876. the amount of money arising
from whisky licenses. lands, etc, since
1876, Is distributed annually for school
purposes, and forms part of the annual
distribution of 100000, which is given
70 each county in proportion TO the mum
Der of edueable children in the county
IL appears by the last report of the Audi
Tor OF the State, that there is in the
State 449 BIS eduoable children, and
l0.SoS In Holmes county. OF this $500,
900 distributed annually, about $l20,00t
Is derived from whisky licenses, and the
balance Is made up from the genera
revenue of the State and from fires anC
forfeitures, etc.
While this debt of SSl7 ,646 46 was
created by the illegal and unconstitu
tional use of that amount of money, il
Is debt due by the state To herself
which will never be paid, and should b,
eliminated f ON the estimates of the
States Indebtedness.
The State also is accredited with owing
the University OF Mississippi, at Oxford
s544, 06l.2 This amount was fixed by
an act of the Legislature some year,
since. My attention was directed t,
an examination of this debt. 1t wa
stated to me that in arriving at tn,
amount, the State had been charged
large rate of interest for years, and M
credit given her for the amount of he
appropriations during these years.
was unable to find the papers or repor
of this matter but considered my in
formation AS reliable If this is true, i
should be corrected by the Legislator,
and the proper amount should be ascer
tanned.
Upon this debt the State pays annu
ally 8 per cent. interest The State il
also reported by the officers to owe Agri
cultural College bonds in amount t,
| 1927 $50 90 1t was made the duty O
the legislature by section s, article s o.
the Constitution of Mississippi, as soor
as practicable, to appropriate the 2l0,-
900 acres of land donated to the Stat,
by an act of Congress of July I'd, 1865
or the money arising therefrom, to tn,
establishment of an agricultural colleg,
or colleges. These lands were sold anC
there was realized therefrom 1927 $50
and that sum is represented by bond
| of that amount due in 1896. The State
has already appropriate much more
than that sum to the erection, main
tainance aud support of agriculture
colleges at StarkviIle, Columbus, anc
the AlcOrn University. So that in trutI
the State has contributed tor these pur
poses, much more than she owes Sh,
has contributed to the A. & NJ. Colleg'
| alone 100000.
The other debts which the State oweC
on January LIST, 1876, are the Mississippi
per cent. bonds of 1926, 900; Insuranc,
Company deposits, $4,000; swamp lane
funds, 1888 900; Mississippi per cent
bond, $l22, 900: interest on Chickasav
school fl nd, S10,428; common schoo
fund, to be distributed, $95, 796 46: out
standing warrants, $40, certificate,
of ebteduess, $2,S47; bonds du,
January 1st, 1878. $3.50; interest OF
bonds, 1902; railroad tax for distribu
zion, $50, 1923. And the State had il
her treasury ON January LIST, 1876, only
81 400 40, with which to pay her indebt
edness, and to run the State government
during the year 1876.
1t has been the habit to blame tn,
administration for this deficit, and fol
the accumulation of the large indebted
ness of the State in the last four wears
but by examining the acts of the Legis
lature for 1882 aud "a, it will be seer
that That body has increased the ex
penditures, and reduced the revenues oil
the State, to such an extent that the
expenditures exceeded the revenues 4.
about 1923 900 annually. And while il
Is right and proper and the true policy
of the State that taxation should be
reduced as low as possible, consistent
with a proper administration of public
affairs, honesty demands that expendit.
ufes should also be reduced in CORE
spending degree. The plain fact is thai
the Legislatures of 1882 and 'S4 are
alone responsible for the larger portion
of this increased debt. The Democratic
administration viii be financially sue
cessful or will fail in proportion as they
are supported by wise, economical and
judirious legislation. But they should
only be blamed for their own short-com
ings. Respectfully,
J. E. GwIN.