Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1901-02-16
! MISSISSIPPI MATTERS. !
s NOTES OF PAST AND CURRENT EVENTS.
By J. L. POWER.
The Political, Educational and Social Status of the
Negro in Mississippi
By J. L. POWER.
saeasa5aasAsas@sasn!e'AeiaaaeAsaa7


augural address, says upon this subject:
There Is no danger SO great to the affairs
oil any republic as an ignorant, factious
citizenship whose tendencies hive always
been to overturn social order political sys-
tom, liberty, justice and right Mississipps
grf1atest relief from this source Of evil has
hs. r many years found in the efficiency
o. 'ief free schools and her colleges. Tho
Iberality, therefore, of the legislature in
the past, in providing funds for their proper
maintenance has been both wise and pa
trotic, and heartily commend the CON
tinuation OF the same liberal spirit toward
all the States educational interests and in
stitutons The free school fund is now dis
trlbuted among the counties per capita Of
the educable children in each. The relative
attendance upon the free schools in the
white is much greater than in the black
counties, and hence, by reason Of the fewer
schools required for the accommodation of
the attending pupils in the black counties
affords those counties the use of the funds
set apart to the non-attending children
therein; hence, those counties are email ed
from said fund to eXtond the terms of their
schools taught and to pay teachers bottor
salaries than can the white counties where
the larger proportion of the children at
tend the schools Since the manifest pur-
pose Of the law is to favor equal educational
facilities to all Of the children Of the State
alike, | would commend to the legislature
the submission Of an amendment to section
2Oj of the constitution, so as to require the
State free school fund to be distributed
among the counties according to the actual
attendance upon the schools, rather than
per capita, as now
There has been some urgent iusistence for
the submission by this legislature of an
amendment to the constitution to provide
for the distribution of the free school funds
between the white and negro schools of the
State, so as to give the benefits thereof to
each race in proportion to the school taxes
which it pays. Though it may seem little
outside Of the governors expected preroga.
. tive tospeak of the matter here nn advance
of legislative action on the subject, shall,
nevertheless, at the risk of being considered
.
that no such amendmendt will find ap-
proVal at the hands of the legislature.
( Without stopping here to discuss the con.
stitutionnl conflicts which would 9e brought
about between the State and Federal con-
stitutions, or, if it be admitted that there
would be no constitutional vice in such
amendment because of its class or race dis.
/ tlnctiOn, its effect, which would he to take
school benefits largely from the negro chill
I dren would be contrary to that broad and
deep philanthropic spirit that has always
moved the great common heart of Chris
tian man and womanhood in Mssissippi to
love of justice and fair play toward the
weak and needy, whoever and wherever
they are 1t must he borne in mind that
the negro is our neighbor and is here to
stay that he is the dependence largely of
the white people for labor: that it is also
in great measure due to that labor that
in the past the Souths cotton, sugar and
rice industries have brought the sections
greatest wealth, and given it commercial
importance in every land and country
where the nations flag protects the Amer
lean shipping. Besides, he is OF our citi-
zenship, and being of weaker race be-
comes a ward Of the white people Of the
State, and they should not violate the trust
by taking from him the benign Influences
of education, which help to make him
better man, better citizen and better
Christian
So far from there being any discrimi-
nation against the negro in the dis
tribution of the school fund, Gov.
Longino shows how the distribution
operated in his favor Hence the con.
stitutional amendment proposed by the
Legislature Of 1909, and adopted at the
election in November last by a vote of
As, 121 to 1888. Here is the section as
amended:
Sec 90G. There shall he county com
mon school fund, which shall consist of the
poll tax to be retained in the counties
where the same is collected, and a State
common school fund, to be taken from the
general fund in the State treasury, which
together shall be sufficient to maintain the
common schools for the term of four
months in each scholastic year But any
county or separate school district may levy
an additional tax to maintain the schools
for longer time than the term of four
months The State common school fund
shall be distributed among the several
counties and separate school districts in
proportion to the number of educable chill
dren in each, to be determined from data
collected through the office of the State
superintendent of education in the manner
to he prescribed by law
This makes the poll tax a county
school fund instead of State school
fund 1t is retained and used in the
counties where collected instead of en-
tering into and being part of the one
million dollars annually distributed by
the auditor and pro- ated according to
the number of educable children in
each county. This ought to stimulate
more general payment of the poll tax, |.
by both races, and the white counties .
which have complained that the poll .
tax paid by them was distributed to .
the black counties, where but little poll |
tax was paid, should now see to it that
every man pays his poll tax. 1t will +.
stay in the county for the education of
.he children OF that county. The legis-
lature may always he counted upon to
vote sufficient sum to insure the con-
stitutonal free school term of four