St. Landry democrat., 1891-07-11
TEsgI sgEEO9s. FUNDS.
Alexandria Times.

Alexandria Times.
The Like Charles Echo recently had all arti-
| Gle on the subject OF SrhOo! funds which should
| command the attention Of all the friends OF ed
| ucation i'll the State. At the last Session of
| the legislature Mr.. 5hattuti, Of CacaSicu, ill
| trUtiucc-i Il Joint resolution To amend Article
| 229 OF the constitution as to provide for
| what tic Alliance and the teachers Institute
now demand. Tie resolution passed both
| houses by considerably over a tWO-tLildS vote
| hut was vetoed ny tie GOVERNOR 1t embraced
among 0;hcr provisions for the benefit OF the
| publiC schools the following;
The legislature may appropriate to the
| same funds tie proceeds Ill whole or i'll part
! of the public lands lot DESIGNATED for ether
| purposes, and shall provide that every parish,
or every school ward III each parish, may levy
a tax for tie public schools therein, Which sh,sI!
| not exceed five mills on the dollar, the vote on
| sucn tax to he decided by the majority Of the
| property tax payers of each parish or ward or
municipality Ill each parish, i'll value and i'll
number, voting ut said election, aud all monies
| SO collected to be expended il the school ward
where levied. All collections under this act
shall be ordered by the police jury OF the parish
i'll Which the tax Is proposed to be levied
Tie Echo very pertinently urges that in this
case there was no prctence OF fraud or changed
Journals no claims that the proposed amend
ment embodied legislation; and that us all five
OF the supreme Judges iii the lottery case were
unanimous III the opinion that a resolution pro
posing an amendment to the constitution did
not require the governors approval, the Sec
rotary OF State Is bound to publish and submit
lncut under discussion. III commenting upon
the subject the COlfaN Chronicle suggests that
the Association of Teachers which Is to meet in
this city i'll August take UP the subject and
give an explicit plan OF procedure
All this is well, but, i'll view OF the heavy tax
alton under which the people are already labor
ing, were it not better tor our contemporaries
casting sentmentHlity to the winds and com
ing down to the practical, to so to work and
assist i'll the adoption OF tie lottery amend
ment? That amendment provides s55o,O0o an
Dually to the public school fund and i'll add
the purvieW Of the Legislature to turn the lat
the magnificent amount OF S60O0OO a year for
the education of the children OF the State vino
are growing up in depl0rable ignorance. Aud
this applies with special force to the white
children, because, paradOXical as it may be,
cOlored parents are more ready to contribute
means to exc out the insufficient amount drawn
from the State for the education of their chill
dren than are white parents.
When it IS remembered that this $500, 000 sup
plenentCd by the comparatively small amount
already contributed by the State, would give
nine months schooling i'll the year to all the
children III the State OF school age, it seems like
midsummer nights madness to reject it. It
may do for men il good circumstances, who
are able to pay for tie education OF their Chill
uren out Of their own pockets, to indulge i'll
such mock scntlinentatlty, but can the tVlling
masses afford to sacrifice the future OF then
children Oh such a fiimsy arSumentl 1t would
be gross injustice to the little Ones-an ill.,
justice the parent has no moral right to III
tict,