The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-03-22

I
was answering that question. n
you will read my letter more
carefully, you will observe that |
used the following language near
the close of my letter:
do not understand, please,
that | would take from any child,
white or black, in the state, that
which the Constitution intends he
shall have, for believe that ed
ucation is the panacea for nearly
all of the ills from which society
suffers, but the conditions forced
upon a large majority of the
white children of our state by the
operation of 206 impel me to in
sist that the school fund should
be equitably distributed
1.-THE negroes are entitled to
four months tuition under the
Constitution, but they are not
entitled to four months, as they
receive in many counties of the
State. ! would not be unjust to
the negro, but would protect the
white children of the state at all
hazards. If you will refer to page
2 of Mr.. Preston's Report for
1892-93, you will observe that he
uses the following strong LAM
guage:
These contrasts suffice to show
the disastrous inequalities conse-
quent upon the change in the
revenue system for public
schools.
He uses other strong language
on this subject, which you will
find on page 2 of his report. -
The Superintendent of Educa-
ton of Jefferson county is not
only one of the most efficient SUI
perintendents in the state, but he
has been student and close OBJ
server of the neutrality-suspicious.
of every phase of the school law.
Here is what he says in the JEFF
ferson Buzz Saw:
1.-THE present appropriation for
the public schools is $3.50, 090,
including the poll taxes, which
are retained in the counties where
collected. The Auditor wrote me
June II, 1897: Amount OF polls
reported January 10, and May 10
1897, S287 713. .66. Take this
from the S950,000, leaves S662, :
$780, "a tax on the property own
ers, of which the negroes pay
about ten per -S66, 223 so.
Now if section 243 of the Consti-
tuition were so amended as to
make the poll-tax collectable,
there would be about $3.50, 900 in
polls taken from the 81, 900, 900
which will doubtless be appropri-
ated for each of the years 1900
and 1901; this would leave only
S420, 900 to be raised by taxation
on the property of the state, and
would make the negroes pay a
larger part of the school tax than
they now pay. AS the law now
is, the whites, out of their own
pockets, are educating the ne
| groes up to the franchise qualifi-
cation, and just as soop as they
get to that point, you will find
that they will pay their pcll taxes
register and vote. Take the town
of Rodney in our own county: 1t
| gave three Republican majority
at the congressional election in
1898. There were 1862 polls as
sessed in Jefferson county in
| 1898; Of these 1852 were refunded,
leaving 3400, at $500 each,
equal to S6S00; whereas, we have
only collected to January Is,
| 1899, S3036. 90, and the sheriff
had to fight hard to get that
amount. If the poll-tax negroes
of Jefferson county were forced
to pay their polls i could run the
negro schools OF this county FIVE
| months on their own money, and
not touch a cent of the white S
money to do it; but SO long as
they do not pay their polls, and
| have control of the funds, un-
der section 4031 | will pay the
minimum price for their schools,
according to their grades. So
4 you negro teachers car tell your
| patrons if they want first-class
teachers, and terms longer than
four months, they must pay their
i poll-tax.
! ''It is the duty of every citizen
to pay his taxes to the govern
ment that gives him protection;
and / do think that the best solu-
ton TO Mr.. Kincannon's "sNew
Basis is to amend section 243 SO
as to force the collection of the
poll-tax. | don't care if they do
pay the poll-tax; they cannot
x-ofa until +baxv r,o N +bo booth