The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-08-12
I'D MCIY.
Public Schools.
and ten years Of age ought to be in
school &C Yast eight mouths.

school &C YAst eight mouths.
To those woe say that no III )rs
money is led, would say una
70 far As | have seen. not a puolst
school in tue country has = suH lie al
supply OF biackboArds, aud uo'
many have comfortable seats, such
NJ n civiliz I'd people ought to have
To those who say that the teachers
get as much as they are worth,
would say, then you ought to gel
better teachers.
To those who say they don't want
to pay money to educate other PEG
pies children, 1 would say you don't
pay the tax for the benefit Of the pa
rent, but for the benz fit of the State,
which is dependent upon intelligent
citiz snship.
To those who say that they d mi
want to educate tue negro, that il
ruins him Ms laborer, would say
that II q dog or horse or any other
animal is more valuable by reason
of good training, | do not believe
that the negro is the only exception
in the animal kingdom, aud that,
moreover, | don't want to starve
the negroes. The Supreme Court
decisions make it impossible to ap-
ply white tar to white children aud
negro tax to negro children. We
must educate both or neither.
To the man who says We are toe
poor, / would say that we are no,
naturally SO poor as Scotland OF
Germany or New Eogland. We are
TOO poor not to educate.
When the average man visits the
circus he spends more than this tax
would amount to. When be drinks
one gallon Of liquor, he drinks more
tax than his school tax, and he chews
up more tax with his plug tobacco
than his entire school tax, State and
local, would amount to.
To the man who says be docs not
mind the small tax, but does not
think it would be well applied,
would say that that argument would
indicate that he would like to take
all the school fund away and abol.
ish the school system. All the 10
cal tax will remain in the township
where il Is voted, and will be ma a
aged by the five school com mittee-
men OF that township, just as the
funds at Charlotte, Raleigh and
Goldsboro are managed.
Six seventies OF the tax payers,
each Of whom represents about fl We
people ina family, would pay less
than So 40 in three years, and If the
money raised by the tai is not man.
aged satisfactorily, then it can be
easily repealed.
Let every township in Mecklen-
burg vote this tax, thus increasing
its school facilities about 70 per cent,
and take its place as the leader Of
the 06 counties of the State in edu
caticn as it has done In public roads
and in revolutionary history.
When Thomas Jefferson began
his legislative career his first bill
was for the abolition of slavery, and
his second, for the establishment Of
q school system for Virginia. His
first effort was for the abolition of
physical bondage, and his second
for the abolition of intellectual bond
age. How happy Virginia and 9TH
or Southern States would have been
had he succeeded! When he reached
Old age, be wrote some such words
as these in reference to his work for
education, "Apd so my last work
shall be, as my first was, for the es-
tablishment of q system of schools
for Virginia whore all the children
OF the rich and the poor alike shall
come together into their common
schools, and their learn the eternal
principles of Democracy, aud-.h,s,
brotherhood Of huma nifty