The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-04-19
To the -PauerS of Madison

JUNlOh.
To the Tax PauerS of Madison
Gentlemen, will you kindly lend me
your attention for just five minutes?
If so, then lay aside everything that
has tendency to divert your mind
figures and facts, which may perhaps
have the influence to awaken you to
the great responsibility that now con-
fronts you. Gentlemen, it is evident
that crime is on the increase, and do
you know that it requires ten cents
per capita in the state of Mississippi to
prosecute criminals? This is a fact, no
fancy. This money must be provided
for by taxation. Now to this. there
can and must be remedy in our next
Legislature. Let us have the crimi-
nal law so amended by extending the
jurisdiction of the Justice Of the Peace
and Juror, and make the decision final
for criminal offense of certain ma
ture. BY SO doing you will no. only
reduce crime, but you will reduce the
taxation to support the criminal courts
to one-half. Now then in order to en-
force and carry out the law, you must
locate your Poor-house and County
Convict farm within five miles of the
county site in order that when a crimi-
nal IS convicted you can, within six
hours after his conviction, have him at
WORK on the farm, thereby saving the
county the expense OF feeding crimi-
mails in county Jail to serve tern of 30
to 30 days aud be discharged or re-
main in jail to await the Circuit Court
tor trial, which trial requires from one
to three days, at a cost to the state OF
from one to two hundred dollars per
day, and after you have convicted
tuese criminals what have you accom-
plished in the interest OF the tax-pay-
ers OF this county. 1. in all candor.
say that you have fostered on your
own hands, under the present state OF
things, a worthless convict to be sup
ported at the cost of the Taxpayers of
the state, and, gentlemen this money
must come to feed these men and wom-
en- who have outraged the civil law, If
your children go hungry and poorly
clad, and if not paid as required, then
You must surrender your possession OF
The old homestead to satisfy the Crap
ping thirst of this monster. Taxation
Is commonly but wrongfuily called JUS
tice Now let us take d glance at the
boiling caldron of the state, the free
school system. What per cent do you
suppose that the colored population
pay into the free school fund TO edu-
cate their children? Would it surprise
you when say they pay one-ninth, and
That they are in the majority with ed
ucable children S6,406, which gives
them the advantage in the school fund
of S3O5, S77.24, as it requires 1894 to
each child enrolled. Now to this there
must be remedy, !by, compelling the
colored people to pay their poll tax,
which is direct school fund. The
Legislature can do this to some extent
by adding a moral qualification clause
to the school law. First, compel the
applicant to teach school TO obtain
from the Justice of the Peace in the
district in which he, the applicant, re-
sided the year prior to his application,
a moral certificate setting forth the
facts that he or she is of good moral
character and has paid all taxes due
the county and state for the year prior,
and let this certificate be the applica-
ton for examination. This will en-
force the moral law now dead, practi-
cally, and will collect large number
of poll taxes. The U. 5. census for 1890
shows the population of the state of
Mississippi to be as follows. White.
$40, 7O3, colored, 747,720. Now with
the possibility of increase before you.
do you think that under the present
system of school law, these taxpayers
whose shoulder is at the wheel can
even hope for better, no, then / say
let's have a change. Now Mr.. Ego
from east Madison, what say you to
this, and as to taking before or after
the primary, will subscribe to either
lust SO we receive the' desired effect,
and after the people have made their
choice, in my opinion the first instruc-
ton given to your representatives
should be to secure such special legis-
lation as would reinstate the people of
the town of Flora, and unless this is
secured, this instance will be blacken-
ing to the history of Madison. Now in
let me say that don't wish
To monopolize the columns of the
ZINES. / submit the above for your
Respectfully,
]. II. PETTY
Canton, Miss.