The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-08-26

IAACO1 yeN9F w 2 AllleA CileSG CAiO OLNSC 10
now giving the white children of
some communities only four months
while it gives others eight months
of school without local taxi that
the former have teachers who are
paid in some counties as low as
$130 per annum, while the latter
are taught by those who receive
nearly $500 a year. We find also
that these children who are thus
Disseminated against in length of
term and quality of teachers have,
as rule, poor accommodations in
the way of buildings and equip
ment, while those of the other sec
tions are well provided in this re-
spect. We find that many Of the
children Of the State have not ac-
cess to High, Schools; that thous-
ands Of our children in the rural
tdistricts are being taught by in
competent, inexperienced teachers;
that the matter of supervision is
sadly neglected in some counties,
Notwithstanding the general i'm
provement that has been made in
this respect in recent years. We
find that in some counties there are
no school libraries; that many of
the counties have no local levy for
the rural schools, to supplement the
State appropriation, and that in
hundreds of districts the people are
content to see the schools run only
a few months in the year, under
poor teachers, in wretched houses,
while they have not taxed them
selves locally one cent to improve
these conditions. We further find
that the very hearts blood is being
drained from our rural sections be-
cause of the superiority of the town
and city schools.
Finally, we find that our State
stands today the only civilized spot
on the globe that has failed to pro-
wide for the professional training
VI IuTdl LSdcIlerS.
In view of these facts, we. earn
estly plead that the time has come
when we must improve these con-
Editions. We must have a. more
uniform method of distributing
school funds appropriated by the
State; we must have (2) not less
than six months school for every
white child in Mississippi lit
should be nine months. We must
provide 81 comfortable and attract
I i've buildings and surroundings in
every community; we must have (4)
scholarly and we'll trained teachers
for all our children; we must have
| % intelligent and energetic super
vision in every county; we must
have (6) library in reach of every
school child IN the State; we must
have (D better salaries for our
competent teachers; we must have
80 more local taxation, for this
is the basis for longer terms, bet
ter houses and better teachers.
Most of these improvements are
directly in the hands of the people,
some of them rest with the law
makers. But the people are the
Lawmakers in this country, hence
the responsibility for all these mat
ters rests on their shoulders. 1t is
necessary that the conscience of the
people should be aroused on this
important subject. Let US not rest
content with the advances we have
made, but remember that nothing
is too good for our children in the
matter of preparation for the strug-
gle of life. Let us not be deceived
by the cry that we are too poorl
No people is too poor to educate its
youth. Is it not better to spend
money to make men and women
than to sacrifice children to save
money!" Shall we continue to be
dependent on other sections for
trained men to plan and construct
our buildings, to superintend our
factories, and to furnish the brains
to work up the raw material of our
wonderful resources into the finish
ed product? Shall our boys grow
up to be .'hewers of wood" only
because we refuse to place them in
a position to compete with brain
instead of muscle? Let our people
arouse themselves to the fact that
conditions have changed since the
time of our school days. True, we
went to school in log houses and
sat on split logs for benches; so,
also, did our ancestors ride in stage
coaches. But neither of these facts
is an argument why we and our
children should not profit by the
advancement that has been made in
civilization.
The world calls today for prepar-
ed men and women to do its work.
The lawyer of tomorrow must be a
man Of educated mind and broad
knowledge; the physician must
possess a trained mind and hand
the merchant must know other
books as well as his ledgers; the
farmer must be able to delve in the
printed page as well as in nature /
1soil. The time has passed when
natural aptitude and mere force Of
Twill and energy can nlacn man in