The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1903-04-18

to follow long established examples and I
enlarge them far il may he in you
power so To do. In your liberali,y t,warc
the Industrial Institute. by which Lafayet.
has become an educational centre in tn
State, you have given inrisputabie evidenc
of your high appreciation of the value o
education and am conf lent that you will
not weary in we'll doing, when you askee
t" display the same degree of hberality fo
the common schools of the parish, for tn.
common schools are the nurseries of the
high schools, the colleges and the universe
Fties
Public education. rather general edu-
cation, is indispe nsa bic to the preservation
of liberty and the manifold blessings that
| liberty bestows upon its votaries. General
education is SYNONYMOUS with progress and
! will all the Virtues which ennohle manhood
! and womanhootl. 1t guides the hand IF the
husbandman and the artisan in the intelli-
gent and fruitful operation of the farm and
the workshop. 1t beautifles and elevates the
home. 1t equips the professional man with
the knowledge that achieves success and
increases his usefulness. II is longer
disputed that the wealth, the power, the
greatness and the success of nation, are
proportioned upon the degree of education
that it assesses. This rules applies
to communities. Hence if you would have
your industries and avoca.ions prosper, if
you would have your parish rank with the
most progressive and successful in the State,
you must look to the constant improvement
of your schools. The common schools form
the base of the educational structure. They
ought to he the pride of every locality, AMI
be aided and frequently visited by every
public spirited person. Our system of
public education, in par,icular, should be
directed toward the fostering of the local
ture is AMI must continue b. the chief
industry, the school house should be made
Il fucrum of influence TO promote its inter
ests and development toward perfection.
1t should labor for good roadways, to make
country life al tractive we'll remunera-
tive, and by these means check the tendency
of the young people to abandon the irsle
pendent life of the fields for the depeuden,
and too often fruit!css life IN the cti-s.
But there is division of sentiment in
regard to the benefits Of education. The
question with which we have to deal, and
which l was invited To discuss before you
has reference to the manner of providing
the means for the maintenance and improve
rent of public education in this and other i
localities in the State. We all know that
he civil war and the political upheavals by
which it was accompanied, deprived the |
81 ate of the endow en- is that it would other
wise have had to sustain its educ ational
In consequence, i:
horn of the principal revenue that, in other
states, exceeds the requirements of educa-
ion. We depend almost entirely, upon
public taxation for the support of educa-
ional Establishments, and from the six mills
flowed by the Constitution tor all par.
oses, we must draw support for the public
chools. At this moment. greater amount
applied from this source for public eolu-
alton, than at any other time in the States
istory. Vet, this amount without local
would be, and is, inadequate.
IRE we to cenrralize our schoo! sy>'cn by
using the Constitutional limitation, shall
e adhere to the more independent, more .
,:isfactory system based upon the home
lie idea, of local taxation and self help?
the entire State tax of SIX mills APP
lied to public schools alone-and not to I
wees and the State debt and the State
lucational and charitable institutions and
lie general expense of the government,
ou would have very small amount more
ian is now being given by the State and
cal communities together. T
The consensus of opinion, in which fully y
incur, is for State aid supplemented by |
cal taxation and local management and t
pervsiun.
In support of this plan the Bulletin of the +
,uthern Education Board for Deccm!e1, Il
)o2, says:
''Local support brings the schools home :
the people OF 4 community and increases ,
eir interest in them nothing else can. l.
hools which permit the fullest and freest
pport.'
In message to the Legislature of Geor- !
4, Governor Gambler expressed himself as l
Flows:
''For many years past the funds collected
: TAXATION for the support of the schools
any given year have had to be applied +
most entirely to the payment of teachers L
r work done the year before, thus leaving n
1t little to support the schools for the cur :,
Mt year y + \
.lieve to be solution Of the problem.
lvised that change be made in the mode L
raising revenue for the support Of our t.
ee schools as to divide the burden
tween the State and The counties. I said, u
I'd now repeat, that sit will be found on
vestigaton that Georgia pays larger :,
of her total revenue to the sup =
,rt of her common schools than any other n
ate in the Union, while local commune :,