Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-07
Will or viii Not the People he
Taxed for School Purposes!
A Question for the Delegates )
TO Discuss This Week.

to give the outside world clear idea Of
the conflicting interests involved.
Mississippi expended last year for
school purposes the sum of $1,ll1,lll.
Of this amount there was paid in sal
aries to white teachers, $685., 400; 10 col
ored teachers, S34l ,0U0, The remainder
being appropriated 10 the erection of
school buildings ard the payment of
incidental expenses. CT tins sum the
state contributed $300, 900, distributed
pro rata among The counties according
TO the number of eduMtable children
therein. 1WC-thirds of this $500, 900
was derived from liquor licenses, and
fines and forfeirures. The remaining
$H0,Gt0 was transferred TO the general
state fund, and is The proceeds OF direct
taxation.
Think They Pay Too Much.
1t is now sought by delegates repre-
senting the poorer counties to increase
the amount contributed by the state
from $3.50 900 to 500, 90, and they are
met by determined opposition oa the
part of delegates from wealthy and pop
ulous sections, who adopt this line Of
argument:
"Of the $3C0,000 now raid by the
state" they say, 1T is evident that the
veal hicr couAies pay more than is 10.
turned to them. The state distribn.
ton will not maintail the scho )ls
mora than thirty days, or enc
third of the term. TIE counties are
helefore, required to levy tax sulii-
cient to pay for the other two-thirds of
the time, this levy beiEg retained by
each county for the supp OFT Of its owl
schools Thus, in measure. the state
seeks to e4udlizo the burden Of taxation
for free schools while. at the same time,
she encourages and fosters more literal
support of them by taking adva taae
of the willingness of thu people 10
build up home enterprises. Ii this
county levy were collected by the sta o
and distributed pro rata, the wealthiest
counties wouli be overbnrdenel, and
would make every effort to keep the
levy as low us pc sible. 1 he very prin-
cip.es that justify the retention, of the
three-mili levy il the counties led to
the establishment of separate. school
districts, and apply Particularly to
them.
rhe thirty-fve separate school dis
tricts have nearly one-tifth of the prop
erty of the state, hence of the S1GO, 900
transferred from the general fund to
make up the deficit in the $500, 900 state
distribution, they pay one-ifth. or $20,-
600, in liQuo licenses. which 90 to the
common school fund. Thus of the
$300,0 900 of state distribution they ay
$3.50, ,000, OF more than one-third. These
towns have less than one-tenth of the
educatable children of the state aud
actually receive from the state distribu-
tion only $23, $3.50, leaving $7G,G69 that
they contribute for the support of
country schools. They cannot in JUS
tice be asked to contribute more. and
are entitled by every principle Of equity
to retain their local levy.
"These towns are furnishing high
school privileges to half the counties of
the state. are educating not only their
own children, but many from the coun-
try; are building elegant school houses,
and are sustaining graded schools in
which many teachers are trained for
the country districts. They are str oing
steadily forward, arousi0g and connlm-
ing an educational interest among their
immediate citizens. Reports from sew
enteen towns show an enrolment of
/ 1,40l country pupils. Estimating the
other eighteen towns at 1.00J we find
our separate school districts carrying
2, 100 country pupils, or II l-2 per cent.
of their entire attendance. The counties
pay the tuition Of these pupils for four
or five months, and the towns let them
continue il the schools the rest of the
season absolutely free of charge in many
places, and at actual cost OF tuition in
the others.
The conclusion is inevitable that
these towns are bearing more than an
equitable share of the cost of the public
school system, even when they, along
with the Weather counties, are allowed
to retain their local school levies. Their
contribution Of $4,000 TO the support of
country schools is equal to twelve and
one-half mills on their property. This
is not all; the counties containing sep
arate school districts pay 81 1900 plivi-
lege tax, of which the towns pay at
least 80 per cent, or $9i 200, or more
than half of the total privilege tax OF
the state. That this is an additional in
equality in the burden f taxation can
not be gainsaid. Underlying the state s
policy for raising school revenue is the
principle that communities, like indi-
viduals, will do more for themselves
than for the state at large. An equita-
bic distribution Of the burdens of taxa.
ton demands that counties and sep
aIate school districts shall retain their
school levies.
What the Poorer Counties $ y.
In answer to this plausible presenta-
ton of their case by the wealthier
counties come the champions of the
cause Of the poorer counties, and say:
"You overlook the most important
factor of the problem. The irrepressi-
BILE negro plays an important Part in
this controversy and in every phase of
our social life. You think it unfair to
pay 100 cents into the state treasury and
only get back about seventy cents under
the distribution plan. but, in justice,
you ought not to get back over fifty
cents, for the simple reason that it costs
only s, to educate the children in the
rich counties, where it costs So in tho
/ poor counties This is due to the pre-
/ ponderance of negro children in the
1 counties whose education Is in the hands
I of colored teachers, whose services are
secured for a trifle more than half the
/ price paid white teachers.
/ Another point: In enumerating ed
/ ucatable children, colored and white
+ children are counted indiscriminately,
/ and the fund is distributed pro rata
upon the hnsis of that enumeration.
But it is n notorious fact that while 80
per cent. Of enumerated white children