The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-18
ALABAMA MAKES
 A FINE SHOWING. At Conference for Education In
 the South H. C. GUNNELS' REPORT. Per Capita Increase In Appropriation For Schools In Eight Years Is $2.5o From 4ac-Work
 of Conference. #
H. c. GUNNtLS' REPORT
By HERVEY ". LAIRD.

Montgomery, April L-(Special. )-Ala- bama is congratulating itself on the very ! excellent reports made at the conference for education in the south, held in At lanta this week. by State Superintendent , Harry C. Gunnels. His statement of the work done for secondary schools and the upbuilding of the rural schools was re- ceived with enthusiasm by all who heard him. He received applause when he re- lated that in eight years the per capita appropriation for schools in the state had increased from 43 cents to $25O
 MT. Gunnels called attention to the fact that s50,O00 had been added this year to the general appropriation, which is now S350Oo0, besides the 8 mill taxes and the income of $175,00O year on lands. Forty three counties have levied the 1 mill tax. and this, with the poll tax money, is used in such way in the counties as to bring the most good to the needy schools. In addition to the 1 mill tax Baldwin county, by local act and an old law levies mills. and Jefferson county one-half of 1 mill By increased property valuations, re- suit of the tax commission, the amount of the taxes has increased $30OO0O in the last year.
 Under the new laws, 8 high schools have been established and 23 put into ser- vice with handsome buildings which did not cost the people a cent. Over $350 000 has been spent in building and repairing rural schoolhouses, of which the people gave all but s67,OO0 or so. There is feel i1r for existed, said MT. Gunnels, the fire hav- ing spread into every section. He be- leved there would be no great trouble, with continuous good work, in getting the legislature to pass a law for better su- perintendence and local taxation, a result of the education of the people to the needs of this improvement in the state service.
 MT. Gunnels also spoke in enthusiastic terms of the progress made in school inn provement work, showing that the condi- tions had been marvelously improved in the country as well as the city schools. Mrs. E. D. Thames of Greenville, who made the report for the state, aroused so much interest in the features of it that pr. P. P. Claxton, chairman of the cam paign work paid Mrs. Thames the com pliment to say that 1t was the best report made at the conference.
 we have done so well this year that I hardly see how we can do better next" said Mrs. Thames. '"There has been an in i terest in the work that has never been shown at all. Even the most lowly com munities call for associations, and the fire has gone so generally abroad that the people are organizing of their -bwn ac- cord. We are going to divide the work after this, giving each club director so many counties to look after, in this way assuring ourselves that no section will be neglected so far as initiatory work goes.
 Other AIabamians.
 That Alabama has been very much to i the front of late in educational affairs was illustrated In the active part taken by men of the state pr. J. H. Phillips su- perintendent of the Birmingham schools, was able to tell that his city now has the most modernly equipped high school plant in the state. J. J. Doster, professor of secondary education at the State uni- versty was made a member of the gen eral board of the work in hand, headed by Dr. Wallace Buttrick secretary of the general education board. He will have part in shaping the whole policy of the work for high schools.
 Dr. J. w. Abercrombie, president of the university, was made one of num- ber of college presidents to secure sup port for a movement for the education and training of high school teachers He, with others, is now taking up the mat ter of financing the plans with pr. Wick life Rose, general agent, and the trustees of the Peabody fund. This is a natural outcome of the progress in Alabama for high schools, service for which Dr. Aber cro,nbie began in the legislature many years ago.
 Ousley From Alabama.
 Clarence Ousley, who told of the great movement for education in Texas, is an Alabama man, a graduate of Auburn, who has made not only fame, but much of fortune. in the years he has been in that state As president and editor of the Fort Worth Record, companion paper to the Houston Post, he has travelled over much country and is known for the in terest he has taken in educational prog ress. After the Atlanta meeting he went to thesannual session of the Associated Press in New York.
 Some of the most recent local work of MT. Ousley Is a series of articles on the prohibition laws of Georgia. He does not believe that the Alabama and Georgia acts will hold good in cities. On the other hand his study of them has convnced him that they are not best for the cities, and some other plan will have to be adopted He is not sure what is best, but does believe that there must be a limited sale of some kind in the cities. or utter disregard for the law, the effect of which will be a growing contempt for all law.
 MT. Murphy III.
 It is a source of great regret that MT. Edgar Gardner Murphy, former secre- tary of the conference, is very ill. He was forced to give up the work last year because of bad health He came to the meeting this year but was unable to sit up any of the time. The outlook is that he will be no better until he secures a long rest, which he hopes to secure later in the year in trip to Germany. He has been one of the leaders of the movement and the originator of the conference in that they have been held under his di- recton from the first.
 Associated with MT. Murphy have been Dr. B. J. Baldwin and MT. w. F. Fea- gin of Montgomery MT. Feagn, though not seriously il was kept away by sick ness from the conference. A result of this was the failure for the time to adopt any special policy for work this year in Alabama However, MT. Murphy will have a substitute on the Alabama edu- cation committee and the plans will be made out at a later meeting, to be held In Montgomery.