The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-07-23
InlflY SUCCESSION.

A1IAdElY SUCCESSION.
DEPAR MENT aF PUBLIC EDUCATION,
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
Jackson, Miss. July Is, 1909.
Board of Supervisors,
Gentlemen:
The time is approaching when
you will fix the tax levy for an
other year. l hope you will pardon
me, if in this connection, / take the
liberty of making a plea for better
opportunities for the children and
for the development of the agricul-
tural resources of your county. The
State Department of Education be-
lieves that the establishment of an
Agricultural High School in each
county will 60 far toward solving
our rural school problem. The
State gives 81 600 90 annually
toward the support of one such
school in each county. The re-
mainder must be raised by local
taxation supplemented by the usual
amount the School District, in which
the Agricultural High School is To-
Gated, receives from the state and
county. A very small tax levy in
most of the counties will be suffc-
lent to maintain such a school.
| submit that these schools are
no longer experiments. Massachu-
sets, whose agricultural resources
are extremely limited, maintains
twenty such schools. The people of
Wisconsin, where there are numbers
of such schools, have developed
their agricultural resources and are
educating their children in these
schools. Numbers of western and
northern states are dotted with ag-
ricultural high schools. The inter-
ests of the people of Mississippi are
o largely agricultural than in
any other state in the Union. Shall
We not develop her resources? Shall
we not give her children better ed
Gcational advantages? Can you af-
ford to make this levy? Is it not
better to spend money to make
strong earnest influential men and
women than to sacrifice children to
save money? Do you want the rural
schools in your county to be slim
ulated and encouraged? If so, pro-
vide this school in order that the
boys and girls may have better op.
rortun;ties to look forward to when
they complete the course of study in
the rural schools.
You will appropriate money for
bridges, good roads, courthouses,
jails, courts, etc., and this is right,
but why not appropriate money to
be invested in the childhood OF your
county? You believe with all
thoughtful people that the only in
telligent and logical system of ed
ucation is that which carries the
best school advantages to all people.
Will you not help develop such a
system? Are we not educating our
people away from the life around
them? Are we not training our
children to become lawyers, doctors,
preachers, school-teachers, orators,
politicians and statesmen only?
More than eighty per cent. of our
people are engaged in agriculture.
Would you reach the many as we'll
as the few? Do you not think the
time has come to give intelligent d.
rection to the hand as we'll as the
mind? Do you not think we ought
to give dignity to labor? Shall we
not develop u agricultural re-
sources through these schools as
other states are doing? Finally,
shall not the children of Mississippi
have opportunities equal to those in
any other state?
| beg that you will give this mat
ter the serious consideration it mer-
its, and if your county has not al
ready established such a school, will
you not use the influence at your
command and the power placed in
your hands to give to the struggling
childhood OF your county a better
chance in life?
Fifteen counties have already
taken advantage of the splendid op-
portunity the State offers. Why
not yours?
Very respectfully,