The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1903-03-03

work TOR operatives OCtNNOh tS 81 " NO
- and 60 requires an affidavit from parents or
Guardians as to the age of children employed.
vorv important measure was that introduced
:, both Houses Thursday by direction of Super
;ntondcnt Joyner. Under the law the proceeds
from the sale of public lands have been turned
into the State Treasury from year to year until
e9oo 600 has accumulated, there being an under
standing of some kind that this swamp land fund
boIonoed to the public schools. But only the in
+ercst has been available, and there has been the
oror-prcscnt danger that the Legislature might
seize on it for some other purpose. Superintend-
emf Jovner therefore has wisely recommended that
# be made a permanent loan fund to aid in the
erection Of better school houses. One-tenth, or
$4,000. is to be loaned each year to county school
boards. the county boards in turn to lend to dis
+rict schools to aid in building houses, the loans
TO be for periods of ten years and to bear 4 per
cent interest. This measure promises to be of
great value to the educational interests of the
State. and there should be no opposition to it's
adoption. It has already passed the Senate.
=
The Joint ommittee on appropriations has de-
cidcd to recommend that the agricultural build
inc at the A. & M. College be paid for in this way;
from the State Treasury, $4,000 a year for four
year-$10,OOO in all; from the funds of the Agri-
cultural Department, $4,000 a year for four years
$4,000 in all.
This Is not such treatment as the agricultural
classes of the State should have. They have paid
half the tax money that has been used to erect
and equip the magnificent textile and mechanical
buildings. but now the textile and mechanical in
terestS are to pay practically nothing toward the
Agricultural Building. The cotton mills of the
State were not required to build. the textile build
ing, nor the factories and shops of the State the
mechanical buildings, but the farmers of the
State, after aiding these classes, are to be required
to pay practically all the expense of their build
mg-tor the fertilizer company is only the mid
dIeman that collects the tonnage tax from the
farmer and pays it into the Department.
There Is danger, too, that this will cripple the
great work that the Department of Agriculture
mas mapped out and is doing. It has a remarkably
efaclent group of officials. and the State could i'll
AFFORD the loss Of any of them. But however this
may be, the fact remains that all classes have paid
taxes to equip the mechanical and textile depart
"'nt~, and the farmer should not be required to
D'f aIon" the burden of equipping his branch of
the work.
Inc Raleigh correspondent of the Charlotte
observer reports that three quite noteworthy
n"',|'S IN the public school law are likely to be
I"r' III" first changes the apportionment of
VI. Iona. Heretofore the amount that might be
"I''a Tor school buildings has been unlimited,
- ~ lett to the discretion of the county boards
''''a,on. The bill limits the amount to 25
-" iii counties where the school fund is I'M
''' 20 per cent when under $4,000. IS per
fn '''r 10000. Second, one-ffth of the school
F. must tie set aside for bringing weak school
iro ~ up To a four months term, and equaliz-
U,u. >'n"oI taxes in the various townships.