The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1899-04-05


o1ul1 - 6orhtfnl tntoFpEp(n1 IN,
notxftnstanding t(,ot ~ word
ssshall'' y repps1od1y usod - this
c1aPtoe - - 3 mako e absclutoEy
obligatory and not digcfetiOnnxy
upon ~ Logislat,lre, ~ 0ovornor
entogod into an eIab0cato etKunnent
n HE nseuaGe 10 the special DoG1ion
en6eavoring - show tkaf Il wao d.
interested not d fhis, thereby IN
viting The Lagia1aturo 70 concur
with him IN deliberately violating
the Constitution and robbing the
school fund.
The Govsrnor did not attsnpt to
answer this charge but simply ~
serted that I was endeavoring to
prejudico the school teachers a the
stAto against him. In 1897 when
this mysterious plan commenoed to
b discussed ! took pains TO write TO
. humber AZ County 6uporintond-
snts In many Of the large Counties
Of the state asking them what would
be the eject Of such . piscs Of leg
islation. I win note for your infor-
nation and to show that the Gov
ernOr - mistaken when he said that
! was endeavoring to prejudice the
school teachers against MIN, ex-
TRACTS from sOme OF these letters.
One Suporiuteudent writes n fol.
lows: Prom my understanding Of
the reading of Section / of this pro-
posed Act the teachers are to lose
the June distribution Of the school
fund. II that IL 90 it would b .
great piece Of robbery to this co1n-
ty. My schools now under the law
have been taught the fun term with
but few exceptions and We have re-
ceived about Is, 900 from the Janua-
~ ditribution. The June distribu-
ton for this county would Be about
$1,000. This amount is now due to
the teachers of the county and they
are working for the money to come
in June for Us to pay. II this dis
tributiop is omitted the county will
have to shoulder q debt of IS, 900.
No scheme or plan ought to be even
conceived in the mind of our Gov
ernor to defeat the payment Of hon.
est obligations.
Another County Superintendent
writes as follows:
"H the effect of it will be to di-
vert the ensuing June distribution
from the public schools and apply
the money in defraying general ex-
penses of the state government then
its operation will be to perpetrate
an injustice and outrage upon a
number Of teachers and school dis
tricts of this county" Further on
he says:
IF there be no money distributed
in June then the schools that were
closed to be taught in the summer
will be without funds, the children
will be untaught and the teachers
will be thrown out of employment,
leaving out Of view the effect of the
bill as to the future scholastic terms
the immediate effects win be such
as to array every man, woman and
child who appreciates education,
against it. Our faithful, painstak-
ing teachers, 95 per cent Of whom
are the cream of the women of our
country, do not deserve such treat
ment, our helpless children do not
deserve such treatment and there
will, i hope, be enough Legislators to
join hands with you and prevent
the passage of such bill"
Another County Superintendent
writes as follows:
81 am much astounded at the in
formation your letter contains and
cannot express to you my great
alarm which the passage of such q
measure excites in my mind. I see
in it the wrecking of my schools in
this county. Our people have aided
me to build up a fine system Of
schools In this county by taxing
themselves nearly "a, 600 annually to
supplement the state fund and to
cut our term in half, which the pas
sage of this bill will do, will retract
our work and will prove as disas-
trious to our system here as the cre-
vases have in their way done to the
financial an social interests Of tho
delta. In other counties many of
the schools remain closed until May
and the passage Of the measure will
deprive them fully of the constitu-
tional. guarantee Of four months.
Those teachers now employed for a
specific period will have their con-
tracts ruthlessly annulled and
thrown out of their schools. do
not believe the people Of Mississippi
will submit to such an outrage"
] have letters from other County
Superintendents Of the same tenor
and terms, and yet the Governor
after he had had his attention called
to this. deliberately invited the leg
islature to join with hum in violat-
ing the Constitution and in perpe-
trating this wrong upon the pub
lie schools Of Mississippi and in this
effort to wreck and ruin them.
TIE CAPITOL MATTER.
The events leading up to the con-
alteration of new State Capitol by
the Legislature at the Special Ses-
sion of 1897 are more or less famil-
lar to all Of you and to the people Of
Mississippi. It is known to all of
you that during the session Of 1896
the Legislature considered for many
laws tha pronrriotv of huil6iuw =