The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1900-10-06

copies of the proposed amend
ments are here reproduced in full
To so amend Section 2o3 that It will require tn
poll tax to be retained IN the counties wher
the same IS collected, and not distribute
amang the counties and separate school dls
trot in proportion to the numberof eduoabl
children In each. The section as amended /
read as follows:
Sec. 211. There shall be a county commo
school fund, which shall consIst OF tho poll Ia
tax, to be retained In the oounties where tn
same Is collected and State common schoo
fund, 10 be taken from the general fund In tn,
State treasury, which together shall be suflcien
TO maintain thu common schools for the the tern
of four months in each scholastic year. But an,
county or separate school district may loyy az
additional tax to maintain Its schools for longe
time than the term OF four months The Stat
common school fund shall he distributed amonp
the several counties and separate tchool district
In proportion TO the number OF eduoable children
In each, to be determined from data collected
through'the ofllce Of the State Superintendent,
OF Education In the manner TO be prescribed by
! law.
To amend Section 2jo a. to provide for a new
apportionment OF Senators and Representa-.
|
| sfollows:
Section 25Gi The Legislature may at the flra
session after the Federal ccnsus OF 1909. and de
cenially thereafter, make now apportionment
of Senator'S and Representatives. At each ap.
portionment each county then organized shall
have at least one Representative The counties
of Tishomlngo, Acorn, Prentiss, Ice, Itawamba
Tippah, Union, Benton, Marshall, Lafayette, Pom.
"
Grenada Carroll, Montgomery, Chootaw, Web
ster, Clay, Lowndes, and Oktibbeha, or the ter
ritory now composing them. shall together never
have less than forty four Representatives. The
counties OF Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Kempor
Lenke, Neshoba Lauderdae Newton, Scott
Rankin. Clarke, Jasper, Smith, Simpson, Copiah,
Franklin, Lincoln, Lawrence. Covington, Jones
Wayne, Greene. Perry, Marion Pike, Pearl Rlv,
er Hancock, Harrison and jackson, or the terri
tory now composing them, shall tegether never
have less than forty.four Representatives, nor
shall the remaining counties OF the State, or the
territories composing them, ever have less than
forty four representatives. A reduction in the
number OF Senator's and Representatives may be
made by the Legislature II the same be uniform
in each OF the three said divisions; but the mum.
Der Of Representatives shall not be less than one
three, nor the number of Senators loss than
thirty, nor more than forty -ive, provided that
new counties hereafter created shall be given at
least one Representative untl the next succeed
ing apportionment.
The first IS important and should
be voted upon so as to cause its
adoption, The second explains
itself. Why the first should be
adopted is explained in a commu-
nication to an exchange, ,as follows:
Should the proposed amend
ments carry and become part of
the Constitution, then the poll
tax becomes county common
school fund, and each county re-
tains its own poll tax for its own
schools, and no part of this fund
goes into the general State distri-
button rs under the present Law.
The white counties, where large
amount of poll tax is paid, win he
benefited by the change; but the
black counties, where, consider
ing the population, but few polls
are paid, will lose by the change.
The State now appropriates an
nually 100000 TO support the
public schools. and the poll tax
which amounts to about $3.50 900
goes to make up part of this fund.
Under the present law this mil
lion dollars is distributed on the
basis of so much to each educable
child; but under the change
sought to be made, the State will
distributed $750,000 on the basis
of the educable children, and the
$780, 900 poll tax will remain III
the counties where paid.
The problem of distributing the
school fund so as to give equal
justice to all the children of the
State has been II difficult one, and
every State Superintendent of
Education since the adoption of
the present constitution have urg-
ed change of Section 206 so that
a fairer and more just distribution
may be made.
The densely and thickly settled
portions of the State draw more
than sufficient.money to run their
schools beyond the required pc
rod of four months; but the
sparsely settled counties of the
State can hardly maintain their
schools the constitutional period;
after burdening themselves with
an extra heavy tax which is added
TO the fund drawn from the State
That you may see the exact status
of the working Of the present
school system, / give you COM
parison made by j. r. Preston in
his report of 1895, of ten white
counties and ten black counties.
"Comparison - l. The white
counties have 744 schools, for the
support of which they receive
from the State distribution $89,.
463, or 1920 for each school. The
mean average of schools in these
counties is SO days for country
schools, and the average SALARY
per month for teachers of botl
races is $2l.76. The average sala
ry in nine of these counties is les,
than $22.00 and in Pontotoc $25. Il;
which is the highest.
| SO. The black counties hav,
! 882 schools; receive for each $3.50
have term of Ill days, and pa,
IN country schools an average sal
ary of $29.95-the highest beins
$34 in Bolivar county.
/ "3. The black counties have A,
per cent'longer terms and pay 81 \
per cent. better average salaries
but they enrolled GA pupils to eacl
school while the white countie
nj