Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1902-12-06
OF State Policy, the School Dues
ton an Agricultural Department
AND OTHER INTERESTING QUESTIONS
He Opposes the Exemption of Cor.
porationS From Texation.

would not attempt to formulate a
party platform, but there are certain
practical questions which the people
should consider, and concerning
which they are entitled to know what
are my views.
/. In my canvass four years ago /
earnestly urged that such changes
should be made in the school laws as
would give better school advantages
to the white children of the white
counties of the state; and suggested
as one remedy for the inequality of
school privileges between the white
and black counties an amendment to
the constitution providing that the
poll tax of each county be applied to
its own schools, instead of paying it
into the common school fund for per
capita distribution throughout the
state This constitutional amendment
has since been adopted, and will be
made effcetual by it's insertion in the
constitution by the next Legislature.
In addition TO the poll tax each
county is to have its per capita dis
tribution from the state school fund.
The advantage thus secured to the
white counties is ON account Of the
fact that the poll tax is paid by
very large per cent of the whites and
by very small per cent of the blacks.
The philosophy of the school law
is that education is public neces-
sity, and should be secured at public
expense Hence it follows that the
rich must help educate the poor, and
the richer counties must contribute
something to the school funds Of the
poorer counties; otherwise our public
schools would be practically failures
in the poorer counties.
2. Four years ago advocated the
passage of law providing for uni
form system of school books for the
entire state; and time the experiment
in other states have but deepened my
conviction that such law would be a
great blessing to the tax payers and
school children Of the state. And
there should be such amendment to
the law as to make it possible to
change school books as often as they
are changed under the present system.
3 1t matters not what our per-
sonal views upon that subject may be,
50 long as we have public schools at
all, we are forced to provide schools
for the negro and it is not within our
power to limit the negro schools to
the taxes paid by the blacks. The
first section Of the 14th amendment to
the constitution of the United States
provides that no state shall "deny to
any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws. 4"
So no law can be enforced that dis
eliminates the merge. This is the
decision of the supreme court of Mis-
sissippi, the supreme court of the
United States, and of every court in
the union that has passed upon this
question. Amy law that seeks TO take
from the negro the school privileges
given by law to the whites would be
in violation of this section Of the 14th
amendment, and void; and any law
which requires the taxes paid by the
whites to be applied to the education
of their children, and the taxes paid by
the negroes to be applied to the edu-
cation of their children would be I'M
constitutional and void.
If it were left TO my choice would
modify the law as TO the negro educa-
ton, but l have no such choice; there
fore, if I should be elected governor,
/ could not favor the plain violation
of the constitution Of the United
States which constitution every gov
ernor must swear he will faithfully
support before he can enter into
office. Under these conditions, it is
unfortunate for the race issue for the
question Of merge education to be
raised in thiscanyass.
4. The matters of the greatest i'm
portance in the coming state election
are the normal, educational and bus
mess interests of the state. We
should have rigid enforcement Of
the federal aud state constitutions and
the laws; and-we should extend and
improve our public schools and col
leges rs we advanced in financial
prosperity The executive and the
entire state government should do all
IN their power for the advancement
of agriculture, commerce, mannfac-
turies and transportation and should
do all in their power for any and
every line of business advancement
and internal improvement.
5. favor law providing for a
commissioner of agriculture, manu-
factories, fisheries and immigration -
making this new department in our
state government.
6. am opposed to the exemption