The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-04-28

terest funds and interest on other school funds, giving a total of sl150,000 available
 for school purposes. It will be noticed that there will be no great increase h | the available funds.
 Advantage of Reserve Plan.
 "The great advantage, however, of the
 present plan over the old plan is that the school fund is guaranteed by eonstitu-
 tional enactment and is not subject to
 the whims. preiudiees or passions of
 every legislature. Under our present | constitution 30 cents on each S100 of taxa | ble property in this state Is set aside for | school purposes. Under the old constitn | ton the guaranteed fund was $1000d0. | Under the new constitution the guaran- | teed fund, with the present taxable val
 ues, will approximate ss52000. In addi-
 ton to this the present constitution pro-
 vides that 1t shall be the duty of tho | legislature to increase the public funds l from time to time as the necessity there ! for and ,ne condition of the treasury
 and the resources of the state may jus | tify
 "our present cshool fund Is permanent. l No legislature can decrease It and yet | patriotic legislature, if the states fln- | ances justify, may increase 1t. Do you not | think that the sentiment that forced the | constitutional convention to give to the public schools as a permanent school | fund almost one-half of it's revenue de-
 rived from direct taxation shows that | the public school spirit is abroad in the | land?
 The Alabama Condition.
 "The state of Alabama as state Is
 at present doing all she can consistently
 do In the way of appropriations for pub
 lie schools. Despite all this, in many
 sections the schools often languish for | support. Teachers are poorly paid, al-
 though all state appropriation, less per cent for supervision, goes to them; our
 school buildings are poorly constructed and kept, and supervision is too fre- quently indifferent. This is not true. how | ever, everywhere in the state. Some of
 our county superintendents are well
 qualified, enthusiastic and progressive.
 In some counties the teachers are well
 paid, school houses are well built and the
 entire teaching force Is imbued with that
 enthusiasm which comes as a natural re-
 suit of love for the work.
 An important law. fixing the mini mum limit of the public school term. was
 passed by the legislature of 1901. Before that time public school contract could
 be made for three months. The legisla- 1 ture referred to extended the minimum 1 limit of the term to five months At
 present some of the counties in the | state have not school with a contract for less than six months and the average in the state is more than five months.
 Alabama's three months school Is a
 thing of the past
 Local Taxation.
 For the first time in the history of Alabama the principle of local taxation is recognized in the constitution. Under
 this constitution counties may, by a
 three-ffths vote of the people, levy tax nf 1olI ha
 machinery for levying this tax has been
 provided and the question is now being agitated in many counties. The senti-
 ment in favor of local taxation is grow ing fin the state every day and the de-
 mand for a constitutional amendment all lowing local taxation by districts Is be- coming strongly noticeable. Local taxa tion by counties will prove very ad-
 vantageous, but provision should also be
 made for taxation by districts. The funds secured by county taxation would enable the county boards of education to
 make valuable improvements in the rural
 schools not possible at this time.
 Another enactment of the legislature of 1903 which shows a growing entiment in favor of public education and of pub He schools was the passage of law
 chasing school houses as public build ings and authorizing commissioners. courts. and boards of revenue to sell
 bonds under certain limitations for their construction.
 "Tt should be stated that what has been stated In regard to rural schools
 does not apply in all instances to the schools in the larger towns and cities Under the new constitution a number of towns in the state are given the right to levy a local tax for school purposes.
 Several of them have already levied the tax, among which are Gadsden, Gull fno and Naw Decatur Many tba cities and towns appropriate funds from their general revenues for the support of
 the schools and many of them have built
 school houses which would be a pride to any system.
 Provision for Teachers.
 Alabama has made excellent provision for a supply of well qualified teachers.
 Four normal schools for white teachers. three for colored teachers, nine district agricultural schools, girls industrial school at Montevallo, the Uni-
 versty of Alabama and the Polytechnic institute all supported by the state, and at which tuition is free, is Alabama's contribution towards the demand for well qualified teachers. In addition there are in the state many denomnational and private schools and colleges which do excellent work and send out into tho state well prepared instructors. The state has generously made an annual
 appropriation of s5Ooo. which fund has
 been supplemented by the trustees of the state university, for conducting at
 that institution six weeks summer school for teachers. The first session will be held the coming summer. The very best available talent has been se- cured and great good Is anticipated. De- spite all this there Is a lack of well quail fled teachers.
 "It seems that this condition will con- tinre until provisions have been made to pay teachers better salaries. In Alabama, as elsewhere, teachers are paid a lower
 wage than any other class of brain
 workers Our people still pay to officers to convict and punish boys moro than they do to employ teachers to train them in such a manner as to prevent them from doing wrong. Our court houses and jails arc still the best public buildings found in our rural counties Examination Law.
 'erhe trend of sentiment among our people for better qualified teachers. for better salaries, for better school houses, and for better supervision Is upward. In connection with this question of teach
 CTS I feel that I should state that Ala
 bama has what Is considered the best
 examination law in any of the states
 taking 1t as a whole.
 School organization in Alabama has
 aiuyava haan defective. Under the con-