The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-11-18
UNREASONING PREJUDICE.

late effort to establish an agricul-
tural high school in Lincoln coun-
ty, The Leader wishes to speak of
and to one factor Of the opposition
which, undoubtedly, contributed
much to the defeat of this worthy
project at the polls on the 3rd inst. !;
and we do this in the hope that the
same mistake may not be repeated,
should this or any similar PROPOSE
tion in which Brookhaven is inter-
ested ever come up for considera-
tion again. We refer to the unrea-
soning spirit Of prejudice and envy
which led many farmer voters to
vote against their own and their
children's interests under the err
roneous notion that they were spit
ing or injuring Brookhaven.
It will be remembered that when
bids for the location of the school
were invited by the County Board
Eof Education, the people of Brook
haven and immediate vicinity
offered a cash purse of $2,700 and
sixty acres of valuable land situated
three miles southwest of town,
which the Board accepted, because
| it was regarded as the best and
most satisfactory bid offered.
Brookhaven's bid was in the nature
Of a straight-out donation to the
educational interests of the whole
county and for an institution in
tended primarily to directly bene-
fit the farmers and farming inter
ests of the county.
Now a few words about the
three-quarters OF mill tax-levy
that was voted down principally by
the farmer vote. In a strong,
clearly expressed article published
by Trustee S. P. Oliver the week
before the election and widely cir
culated, it was shown that Brook
haven has an assessed valuation of
E$2, 709, 800; the balance of the
county, exclusive of railroads and
other corporations, $685. ,959; the
county, exclusive of municipalities,
81 ,583, 1879. At 3-4 of a mill on the
dollar, Brookhaven would have paid
for the maintenance of the school,
81, ,032; the balance of the county,
exclusive of railroads and other
corporations. 81, ,795 Broolxhaven,
including other municipalities, rail-
roads, etc., would have paid 1898.
Therefore. if the high school tax
had not been voted down Brook
haven, leaving out of account other
municipalities, the railroads. tele-
graph, express and telephone COM
panies, would have paid more tax
for the support of the school than
all the rest of the county put to-
gether. And right along with this
lndisputable fact was another, to
wit: If the school proved a sue
cess, the farmers of the county and
their children would receive the
greatest and most direct benefit
from it; if it proved a failure, that
failure would cost Brookhaven more
than it would any other part of the
county, because it would have put
the most into it.
The Leader has never been one of
those to endorse the arraying of
town against country or country
against town Such a person, in
the long run, will prove an enemy
to the best interests of both. Town
people and country people are mu-
tually dependent ! upon each other,
and above all is this true in an
agricultural country such as ours,
a fact the people of Brookhaven
and other Mississippi towns, and
we believe most of our country
friends. are ever ready to recog-
nize. Being the county site, sit
uated near the geographical center
of the county, an important rail-
road junction an educational and
commercial centre, it would seem
that every sensible, right-thinking
citizen in the county, be he farmer
or what not, would feel pride and
interest in the continued growth
and prosperity of this city. In an
important sense every citizen of
the county is interested in the
growth and prosperity Of Brook
haven, whether he 50 recognizes or
not.
Not only was Brookhayen ready
to show her interest in and friend
ship for the farmers by contribut-
ing to the establishment and sup
1port of a county agricultural school
for farmer boys, as above shown,
but whenever county fairs or stock
shows have been proposed they have
received from Brookhaven ready and