Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-04-29
THE BLAIR MN AND MR. DRAM


his opposition 70 the Blair educational
bill further than Is warranted by The ma.
fure Of the proposed law In sreech
on the labor arbitration blil no ia.er1ected
an attack on the Blair bill from which
we quote:
"Seciion Of tho Blair bill provides
that Ia each state and territory, and In
the District OF Columbia, III which there
shall be separate schools for white aud
colored children, the money received in
such state or territory shall be nppor-
toned ana paid out,not In the proportion
Of illiteracy, but IN the proportion that
the white and colored children between
the ages OF ten and twenty-one years,
both included, bear TO each other, rs
shown by the census; and, further, that
this provision shall not affect the appl-
cation Of the proper proportion of said
money to the support Of all common
schools wherein white and colored
children are taught together; so that II In
separate schools there are 1000 white
children and 5000 colofod children, the
latter will receive i've times as much as
the former; but where both classes are
taught In the same schools, the money is
distributed per capits among them Ton
the basis Of illiteracy)"
Mr.. Grains construction of the law is
very strained 1t Is quite true that II
there are thousand white children and
five thousand colored children taught IN
separate schools, the colored children
will get FIVE times as much as the white
children. But reverse the proposition,
and put the case thus; II there are five
thousand white and one thousand colored
children taught In different schools, the
whites viii get five times as much as the
colored. If there were more col
ored than white children attending
school, Mr.. Grains objection might
have some virtue; but as the excess is on
the side of the whites, they, and not the
negro children, will be the gamers by the
provision that Mr.. Grain finds fault with.
For instance, there were enrolled In the
Texas public schools for the year 1880 of
white children lSl,Gl0, and Of colored
children 44,G29, The proportion OF the
national educational fund going to Texas
the FIRST year is $3.50, I46, which will al
low each person enrolled about 81 80.
AT this rate the white children will secure
S267 $50 and the colorcd children SOL
0Ss. If, on the othor baud, the money
was paid on the basis Of illiteracy, as Mr..
Grain seems TO desire, the IS, 1895 white
illiterates between the ages Of ten and
twenty-one would have but about $780,
900, while the 70,G98 nliterate negroes
would receive about $4,000. Plainly it
l. to the interest Of the whites that the
bin should pass as IL stands.
Another fault that Mr.. Grain discovers
is that the bill provides that no state shall
receive a larger sum OF money from the
government than is raised by local taxa
ton for the public schools. He sees in
this clause danger that states may be
compelled to increase their rate OF local
school tax, in order to raise an amount
equal to that apportioned to It by the
federal fund. Suppose Mr.. Grain apply
that argument to his own state He will
find that Texas is raising by local taxation
considerably more than million and
half dollars for schools, while her part of
the federal fund the first year is less than
one.fourth that sum, There is no sus-
piclon of danger that in this state we win
have to advance our tax rate 10 enable us
10 enjoy the full benefits of the federal
educational fund.