The Springdale news., 1906-08-24
Amendment
 Number s

Representative ;. ;. Abercrom- bic of Saline county, contributes the following to the Benton Times-Courier in eXplana tion of proposed Amendment No. $:
 Last week we. attempted 10 show you the necessity for every voter to thoroughly understand "Amendment No. s" before the election. and because the time has come when our supreme court has already said that there can be no neutral votes cast on amend n1endments to our constitution. We also called attention to the fact that .'Amendment No. s. consists only of two points, the first is l mill raise in the state school tax, the second IS grant ing tdsthe voters ot each district a mill wider range than they now possess in determining what district tax they shall pay for the benefit of their own children. We also pointed out the fact that the passage of Amendment No. Sn wouldn't raise the school tax in any particular district, be- cause the voters of each district have the privilege of lowering their district tax to match the one mill raise III tie state school tax. We further tried to show you that the raise in the state school tax is for the special bene- fit of the rural schools, because 1t brings about a better distribu tion Of the corporation and rail- road taxes into the rural dis trlcts, where they are most need- ed.
 Let LIS now consider, briefly, the second part of the amend ment, that Is. the right being conceded to the citizens of each district 10 vote upon themselves any district tax they see fit not exceeding mills. Who can be more interested in the welfare of any community than its own cit zens? Who can have | truer feeling for the interest of the children of any neighborhood than their neighbors or parents? Who can understand the intellect ual conditions and the intellect ual needs of the children of any district better than the people within its borders1 Then can you discredit the sound judgment of the citizens of any community who believe that they should give more time and attention to the educational interests of their own children? Can you distrust the the motives and actions of the spatrons of any district. who say by a majority vote that they are willing and desire to pay high CT rate of tax for the culture and educational training of their own children? Remember that liberty and freedom are principles upon which our government k based; the same principles for whichour forefathers bled and died; the same principles which brought about a separation of the colonies from the tyranny of England which established ou tl4is conti- nent governmen. of the people. for the people and by the people. Now let us extend that fundament- al principle by granting to the various districts of Arkansas greater freedom in determining what they shall do for their chill dren. Arkansas has always granted absolute freedom to her citizens in making private invest ments; but when 1t comes to mak- ing an investment for the eduea- tional benefit of the children Of Arkansas, that freedom to her citizens has been restricted for thirty-two years by a standing limit. We think that in jusuce to the various communities of Arkansas, and for the best in- terests of our state, it is high time for more 1ihartv and ,rraa4ar