The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1900-10-25
.LooTrvG" THE SCHOOL FUNDS.

Tsfi.,.. il one thing above all
o. ..ers the democratic party OF Mis-
souri, haa to be proud OF in it's con
troll OF state affairs for the past
twenty-five years. it Is the manage
rDept OF its school funds, whereby to-
.Islv Missouri has one of the largest
| school funds OF any state in the
Union and pays fOr the education oi
the children % the state -iX per cent
of the full capital.
| The republicans, after eXhausting
I heir ISSUES III Il vain eudeaVOr 70
carry the state and again come in
power in the state government. which
| proved such splendid picking when
rlav bad control. now goes back
over twenty years and by Juggling
figures pretend to find that the
school fund, the most sacred AMI the
one nearest the people, has been
looted" No one knows better than
he leaders who raised this silly cry,
nat If any officer or set of officers
4slI .'looted" any fund TO the
amount OF three to four million dol
ars, that they would now be wearing
stripes aud doing service for the
safe without compensation.
Tie foundation for this agitation
appears to be that away back in
1916 when the democratic party came
iHto power they found that the
,hool fund. nothing like so great
an amount as now. was invested i'll
! nlted States bonds. These bonds |
were at a premium OF ST. and state
bonds, issued by republicans, could !
~ purchased at 80 cents No one. |
not even the ultra republicans now
!Oing the bowling, will deny that the
-5ate bonds We're ample security. SO
T Ie government bonds We're sold and
safe bonds We're purchased, making
or the school fund nearly $1,000
a. t'iI u HaFH4'i- vow Sidlc bODuS
ike all Others We're for d limited
inc. In order To make the school
usId IL permanent endowment at &
per cent interest, alongiu 1881 these
ponds were changed to certificates OF
Indebtedness OH the state TO run in
definitely. Was there any footing
here? The money secured from the ,
'dle OF the government bonds went
. buy state bonds issued by repub-
icans. Ii there was any looting it !
vas III the issue Of the state bonds
Certainly nothing more completely
flutes the silly twaddIe about mis-
pprOpr1atlng the school fund than :
he fact that in 1870 there We're 53 !
ents distributed from the state
reasury for every child in the state.
Il 1900 there was 81 per child dis
ributed.
The amount paid by the people
40 the state treasury in 1870 was
:, G43,OlS, and only $3.50, 567 was
attributed to the counties for school
next yeIr The amount
aid into the state treasury in 1899
rs 2,40S, 1S1 and of this 5000
30 was distributed to the counties
n the support OF public schools. In k
$40 about 13 per cent OF the Il
mount paid into the state treasury c
ent TO the support of the schools Ct
lille in 1900 there was distributed c,
bout 1 per cent 81
The office records show that in C.
$40 Bates county paid into the d.
ate treasury S16,3S5 and received 10
the next appOrtionment of school
oney 81, 12 about 80 per cent OF ~
mount paid in =
The same records show that in 81
800 Bates county paid into the n'
ate treasury the sum of $2G. 963 OF
ID that s. ,S33 were returned to it h.
r the support of the common 81
hOols which was about :}3 per cent.
1t the republicans had Thought =
ere was anything wrong in the
ate carrying its own Indebtedness. 7'S
permanently endowing its public 60
lools, this cry would have been :,
lde when the act was committed. RI
ago. ar
pi,