The Tupelo journal., 1902-11-07
Division Of School Funds.

1AORoAOA Va
school funds between white and
colored children according to what
each race pays, is not a new one
in this state nor elsewhere. In
Mississippi it has been mooted
time and again. In Kentucky and
in North Carolina about 20 years
ago those propositions carried
those states were enacted in the
laws by their legislatures. In
both states, their own courts, with
Democratic judges, held the laws
were void and that the taxes could
not be collected for schools from
either race. In Kentucky, the
opinion was delivered by Gen. j..
Fl. Lewis, a gallant Confederate
officer and an unfinching Demo
crat, in the case Of Dawson VS..
Lee, SO KY, Rep. 49, In holding
the law to be void, Gen. Lewis
speaking for the Supreme court of
Kentucky, said: cit has been held
by the Supreme court of the Unit
ed States that discriminating leg
islature by a state against any
class OF persons, or against per-
sons of a particular race or Iation
in whatever form it may be ex-
pressed, deprives such class of
persons, or person Of such partic-
ular ace or nation of the equal
protection of the laws, and is pro-
hibited by the 18th amendment to
the Constitution"
In a case involving school tax,
appealed from the state of Georgia
| the Supreme court of the United
States held that as long as the
public schools were maintained by
both races, they would not look
into the question of the exact
amount each race received, as that
was the question for the stat e
school law officers, but Justice
Harlan, speaking for the whole
court, said: call admit the benefits
and burdens Of public taxation
must be shared by citizens with
out discrimination against any
class on account of their race"
Cummings V. County Board Ed
ucation 175, U. s. 545.
The poole of Mississippi elected,
in 1890, many of its ablest LAWYERS
and best men to settle the race
question by a new Constitution.
Judge Calhoun, now Supreme
Judge, Gen. j. q. George, Judge
WiIeyP. Harris, Judge E. 0 Sykes
Judge j. b. Christian, Gen. W.
I. Martin. Judge E. Mays and
many other distinguished men,
intending Fl. S. Hooker, Col. J..
g Hamilton and DR.. w. l.. Kern
from this county, worked on the
race problem for months and pro-
ducel our constitution which has
been the model for all the other
Southern states. Though attacked
before the Supreme Court of the
United States upon the ground
that it excluded negroes from all
public positions, it was upheld
because there was nothing in the
Constitution nor oar state laws
which made any discrimination
on account of race and color.
lll!terateS, criminals, aud tax de-
linquents were excluded from
voting and that took nearly all of
the negroes, and gave to the white
people all of the offices in the
state. 1t is left almost entirely
to the county superintendent of
education to say what part of the
taxes each ace gets, for he fixes
the pay of each teacher and the
school board the number who at
tend each school. The negro
schools r much larger than those
of the whites and their teachers
are much more poorly paid. This
is just because the negro teachers
can live cheaper and their services
are worth less. The very object,
that of just dealings for each race,
sought to be attained by laws
which have been set aside when
ever made and which stopped the
schools of both races till they
were set aside, can be obtained
through county superintendent
who can take into consideration
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