The age-herald., 1898-08-28
AGRICULTURAL AND
 MORTAL, SCHOOLS
To the Editor of The Age-Herald:

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 As one who takes a. lively interest in the public schools of Alabama, have read with great interest your many excellent arti- cles on that subject Your article in the issue of August 23 entitled "The Ala bama Schools, in which you show up the inequality existing in the distribution of the public school moneys between the nor nal and agricultural experiment station schools, and the common schools, was es- pecially fine, and will meet with the hear ty endorsement of the people of the state generally.
 With your permission, would like to make a few remarks along this same line. At the outset I wish to be understood as favoring the abolition of all the normal schools in Alabama, except the one at Florence, for the white, and the one at Tuskegee for the colored people. These two schools (taken in connection with the numerous other colleges in the state) are amply sufficient to furnish all the teach- CTS necessary to take charge of the public schools.
 As to the agricultural experiment schools, they are simply an incubus upon the school
 
 money for the support of these schools does not come from the public school fund. This fact is not disputed; but the further fact will hardly be disputed that the mon ey for the support is derived from the fer tilizer tag tax, paid by the farmers of the state. which money could, and should, be appropriated to the support of the com mon schools in Alabama. Either do this, or let the farmers retain the money they thus pay as a tax on the fertilizers they use.
 There is no questioning the fact that the public schools in Alabama need improving. The people who live in the cities have but little idea how devoid of school facilities the rural districts are. I honestly believe that the present system is a positive in- jury to those districts. Schools last, in most instances, about ninety days, some times not so long. However, everybody waits for the free school to open. Were 1t not for these little short sessions of the free schools, I believe the parents in the country would quit depending upon them as a means for educating their children, and come together and employ teacher to conduct six or nine months school in the neiSnDoTuOOu. Dut tuCy VIII ASNci uO it as long as the vain delusion of having free school in the community is held out.
 It really begins to look as if the time was near at hand when these country districts will have no free schools at all. The Good book tells us that Ito him that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not shall be taken away, even that he hath"
 I heard a story once to this effect: A young man, recently returned from the war, was telling his mother how, in bat tie in which he took part, the shot and shell were flying thick and fast the can- non was booming, and the dead and dying were strewn on every hand. My son." said the mortified mother ''my son, why did you not get behind tree?" With d look of supreme disgust upon his counten- ance, he replied: HI ma, there want trees enough for the officers"
 And, so, if succeeding legislatures are as liberal in the establishment of normal and agricultural experiment station schools as former ones have been, there soon will not be public school money enough for these institutions-let alone any for the education of the children of the state gen. orally.
 Alabama has no use for these extra out side patches in her school system. Let me illustrate what I mean by an extra, out side patch: In the agricultural country, whenever a man takes a mortgage on a crop, he always adds after the words lon my crop to be grown on such and such lands," this sentance land also on all ex- tra outside patches of cotton, corn, peas, potatoes, etc., which I, or any member of my family shall raise in said county" The mortgagee has to do this in order to be sure he has a mortgage on the mans crop All in the world the average negro wants is an unmortgaged one-acre patch along side of thirty acre field, the crop to be grown upon which is mortgaged In the fall of the year it will develop that the little one-acre patch hasn't done thing but produce about ten bales of cot ton and a hundred bushels of corn. When asked about the thirty-acre field he will look as sad as funeral procession, and say: "Fore God, boss, de dry drouf struck dat field and 1t didn't fotch a thing" So the extra outside patches had to be killed off, and all will readily see the reason for it.
 Now, 1t seems to me that these extra, outside patches in our scho& system are