The Forrest City times., 1900-01-19
FORREST CITY ARK, ,FRIDAYAFTERNooN JANUARY 49, 1901

in any one year, for school pur-
poses"
In the previous articles of the con-
stitution to which have called your
attention you will readily perceive
some things which are clearly incon-
sistent and contradictory.
1. The state is committed to the
maintenance of a system of public
schools, "a general, suitable and eff
cient system"
2. he taxing power is so restrict
ed and limited that it is utterly inn
possible to secure the money necessa-
ry to maintain an efficient and gen.
eral system. To put it plainly, by
one provision of the supreme law of
| the land, we are commanded to erect
and maintain public schools and by
the very next provision such a limi-
tation is placed upon taxation that
an efficient system OF schools is an
lmpossibility. We are required to
make bricks, but the straw is denied
us. If in any school district the two
mill tax, the per capita tax and the
full limit of the five-mill tax are in
adequate to the maintenance of a
good school for more than three or
four months in the year, what is the
remedy. To secure the additional
funds necessary in such a school dis
| trict (and lnere are hundreds of
them-perhaps a thousand of them
in Arkansas) we must add to our rev.
enues by an increase in local taxa
ton, or provide the money from 9TH
er sources. So far as other sources
of revenue are concerned, / must
confess that they are not in sight. A
little fund here and there may be
diverted to the school fund-moneys
derived from certain penalties, privi-
leges, fines, etc., but such revenues
are precarious and not to be depend
ed on in the maintenance of a well
ordered and substantial system. How
then shall we get the needed reve-
nues? The only feasible means ap-
pears to be in the increase of the
general school tax fund from two to,
say, four mills, and like limit of the
local option tax from five to eight or
ten mills. / confess that 1 am decid-
edly in favor of an increase in the
limit of both the state and the local
tax. l am indebted to our able and
efficient superintendent of public in
struction, Hon. j. ]. Doyne, for GER.
tain statistics as to school revenues
in Arkansas that bear upon the sub.
| lect under discussion. / find that for
the year 1898 the receipts from all
sources amounted to $1,S61 ,2O2. rs;
the receipts from the five-mill tax
amounted to $762, 2,110.55. When we
inquire what length of school term is
afforded by the total amount of rev.
enue raised in Arkansas we find that
it gives an average school term OF
three and half months-a period
certainly too short to fill the require
rnents of the constitution, "a suita-
BILE and efficient system of free com
mon schools" Now suppose we ad-
vance the local tax levy from five
mills to seven and half mills, an ad-
vance OF so per cent-what will it
give us? 1t would produce a revenue
of S1,143,1 ,110.5s, and instead of an av-
erage term of three and a halt
months it would give us an average
school term of five months. Certainly
this would be great gain-an i'm
mense stride in the direction of bet
ter schools and better teachers. 1t
would be another milestone passed in
educational progress in Arkansas
which would unerringly point to our
duty in Arkansas in the matter of
raising money for the cause of pub
lie education? If we are let us
point to the facts and figures with
the just pride that follows duty well
done; if we are falling short in that
duty as compared with other COM
monwealths, let us candidly face the
facts, acknowledge the truth and
profit by it. l take just pride in
everything in Arkansas that marks
the spirit of progress and develop
ment. Every citizen recalls with
pride the fact that in 1897 Arkansas
stood third among the forty-five
states of the Union in the number of
miles of railroad constructed and
that thus far for 1899 we are first in
the list. 1t is sure sign that a
brighter era is dawning for us.
l recall with great professional
pride the fact that Arkansas has a
larger number of newspapers accord
ing to the population than any of the
| southern states except Texas and
Florida-that she has more newspa-
pers, according to the population,
than either Delaware, Maryland, Vir-
ginia, Tennessee or Kentucky, which
are not strictly southern states. l
recall with great pride the splendid