The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1888-04-19
The Separate school Districts Ought
20 80.

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MESSENGER 10 the injustice done
the masses BY the separate school
District law, which authorized
cities and towns to appropriate TO
their ewn use all Of the three mill
tax paid BY them in support Of
free public schools. The selfish
ness Of some people residing in the
separate school Districts may
prompt them to deny that the law
is unjust, but no intelligent man
can successfully controvert the
proposition that the operation Of
the law, as It now exists, is in d.
rect violation Of the theory upon
free public education is based.
In the formation Of the present
constitution which in 1868 was q
stencil In the nostrlls Of every
Democrat in Mississippi, but which
is to-day Landed and upheld by the
State House ring as a most excel
lent document. so wise in its con-
ceptiOn and SO liberal in its pro-
visions, that in the Judgment of
our Governor it would be unsafe
to allow the people to say whether
or not they would hold a eOnven-
ton to revise this relict of carpet
bagism it is provided that the re-
tail liquor license, the fines and
forfeitures and the proceeds Of the
sale Of swamp lands shall consti-
tute a common school fund for the
education Of the children Of the
State. This fund the law says
shall be distributed to the several
counties of the State in accordance
with the scholastic population OF
each. Under carpet-bag rule the
taxes we're so enormous, that no
body wanted the public lands al
any price and hence the amount
collected from other sources was
not sufficient to run the sehoolsthe
four months required by the con
stitution. To supplement tn e
school fund, theie erore an act was
passed authorizing the Boards Of
Supervisors Of each county to levy
a tax of three mills for school pur,
poses. 1t will be observed that
the constitutional provision rails
ing funds for school purposes re
garded the whole State as one
school district and this fund was
and is distributed equally to the
several counties and to the town,
in said counties on the basis of the
number of educablo children ir
each. The three mill tax is levied
upon the property interest of the
county as a whole, is paid into the
county Treasury to the credit o.
the common school fund, and the
law originally provided that i
should be distributed pro ratc
throughout the county, irrespeo
tive OF corporation lines. Thii
therefore was purely county tax
and to this extent the law regard
ed the county as q separate schoo
district, but five mistake not, M
division less than a county wa
recognized, until the representa-
tives of the large towns began I,
clamor for separate privileges
upon the pretext, which at frs
appears plausible: That the city
pays this tax and the city's chill
dren should have the benefit Of il
Tho first innovation made, if W,
reoollect Alright, was to pass an &C
authorizing cities and towns 0
1000 inhabitants or more to organ
ize in separate school districts
This act was subsequently amend
ed so as to allow towns of 1000 in
habitants to constitute a separate
school district, and in 1856, MI
: Preston's form, style and volum
school law, reduced this numbe
to $50. At the last session of tn
Legislature it was proposed, tha
any incorporated city or town, re
gardless Of its population nigh
constitute a separate district, an
; this proposition set US to thinking
} and We we're not long in reachinI
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