The age-herald., 1898-02-17
Judged by Their Fruits.

The official attitude of Alabama towards public schools has generally been favora- ble and encouraging. Gov. Bibb in his first message to the territorial legislature which
 met at St. Stephens in ISIS, recommended
 the establishment of good schools and good roads as the two fundamental require
 ments essential to the progress of the new state. During the eighty years that have elapsed since Gov. Bibb's declaration, the chief executives of Alabama have been more or less outspoken in the encourage ment of education. More earnestly and emphatically than any of his predecessors, Gov Johnston in his first message to the general assembly sounded the keynote of progress and dwelt upon the importance to the state of the development of it's com> mon schools.
 The several state superintendents of edu- cation in their reports have also from time to time, declared their faith in public edu- cation, and have made excellent sugges- tions. From the establishment of the school system in 1851 and the administra- tion of Alabama's first state superintend ent of education, Gen. w. F. Perry, to the present incumbent, Hon. John O. Turner, the state superintendents have been pro- fessedly advocates of progressive meas ures. The reports of Superintendents Me Elroy, Box, Armstrong, Palmer, Harris and Turner have indicated warm sympathy with popular education, and some of them contain excellent suggestions with regard to revenues and administrative reforms. Superintendent Turner in his first report in 1896, repeats the recommendations made from time to time by his predecessors, urg- ing the necessity for local taxation. quail ifications for county superintendents, the erection of permanent school buildings, and offers a number of admirable suggestions for the improvement of the system.
 The trouble with the Alabama schools is not to be found in official attitude of the chief executive or of the superintendent of education. It is evident that the inef- fciency of the system of common schools in the state must be traced to the gen. eral assembly, The legislators of the state, it is reasonable to believe. will be infiu- enced by the state superintendent of edu- cation more than by any one else in the matter of school legislation. Whether not the present incumbent at the last gen eral assembly made an effort to enact into laws the recommendations of his report of 1896, it is to be hoped that he will be pre- pared to urge upon the next legislature the adoption of a bill which shall incorporate his own suggestions as well as the recom- mendations which shall be made by the committee of teachers representing the State Teachers association.
 The attitude of our chief officers, judged by their official utterances, is all that could be desired. The people must see that the attitude of their representatives shall be equally favorable. The Age-Her- ald, however, has long since learned that something more than profesed sympathy is needed to secure great popular reforms Passive sympathy has never won a vic tory for the people. The needed reforms in our school system can be secured only by the intelligent activity of our officials and representatives. By their fruits ye shall know them.