The age-herald., 1897-09-25

authority originally gransed it in the premises:
 To the Ofice.s and Members of Wash fngton Ccnclaye No. 1, Regents of the White Shield:
 Your committee appointed to inquire into and investigate '.lle status of the public schools of the city of Birmfng ham, Ala, for the information of the men- bers of this order, relative ito an appar- ent discrimination between 'the, rates Of ltuaion cha ged white and colored pupils beg to submit the subjoindd report:
 For hhe scholastic year of 1S96-97 there were received and dsbuTsed the follow ing sums of moriey. ',o-wtlt
 By the city of Birmingham. ..$ 2000 GO By the sl ate of Alabama.. .... 6725 2i By the county of Jeerson.... .. 4,501 AS By colored poll tax. 1,o9S 0V By white poll taX........ :. 3993 O9 Tuition, c0lored and white S4S3 S5
 Making a sum total of.......$27,S 1881 57
 The sum due from the tax collector to the public schools, under what is known as the "OBrlen Law" and which amounts to $7.SO9.12 was paid oyer to the public schools, withl.ard3ng the said OFBren law was, by the supreme court, held unconstitutional and void. But lbt- tie of this sum was paid back to the persons paying tt thus making to0al of S35, ,19069. The tstal enrolment of pupi numbered 2,356 whites and 99S colored, and they were taught for eight monlths; thus, without estimating the withdrawal from the white and colored schools tn. cost of educating lIhe pupils of the public schools amounted to about $11 per cap ita.
 
 When demand was made upon the par ents and guardians of the pupils for tuition to supplement the public school fund, there were about 25 per c=Dt with drew from the white schools and about 3S psr cent from the colored schools. We are informed by some that these with drawals occurred solaly from an inabl- ity to meet the demands for the tuition; although it may be true, as we have also been informed, that no pupil was discharged or expelled by reason of his or her inability to mset this demand. It would seem that many of the parents were justly sensitive on account of their poverty and took their children from school although they would have had the advantages of the balance of tha session had they continued to go to school as we think they had the legal right to do
 And right here ws respectfully submit that, in our opinion, the public school funds derived from all sources belongs to each and all of the pupils within the legally established age, and that no child or children can be lawfully de prived of his legal rights to his just share of the benefits accruing from said fund because of the fact that the public fund is supplemented by the board of trustees, in requiring additional tuition fees to be charged. All the children alike have an equal interest in ths pub lie school fund and none should be de- prived of this interest by laying restric- tions or making exactions which many of the poorer are unable to comply with or conform to. True enough, our high 1y generous mayor has said that the children of poor parents, if made known to him, should not be debarred from en- tering the schools. We submit that, in our opinion, they need not make them selves known to him, as they have ths legal right to attend the schools without such humiliation, and it's attendant em- barrassment, modification, rldiculs and disadvantages to parents and children.
 You will readily see from the facts above statsd that one-fourth of the children who were entitled to the bene- fit of the public school fund last ses- sion were cut off from a partial educa- tion, and doubtless they belong to that class which most needsd 1t. We are informed that similar arrangement is to be pursued for the season of 1897 9s.
 We have no doubt but that our distin- guished citizens who control the educa- tional matters of the city have exercised and do exercise their most excells mt wisdom in solving this complicated ques- tion, but we must disagree with them and are inclined to the opinion that the rights of the poorer classes, who are unable to pay tuition, are initiated against and that the parents of some of these are members of this order, and by its t=nets we are pledged to protsct, uphold and yindicate their rights, so far as in our power lies.
 TO rectify what we conceive to be an error, we suggest that the schools be opened and taught for the period of time that, with reasonable comps nsation to teachers and superintendent, the pub lie school funds will msintain, and the funds be collected for tuition be col lected after that time, and used to run the schools for those who pay and can pay tuition.
 7 We are strongly welded to the op.ni n that there should be.equal rates charged
 (Contjnued on Eighth Page)