The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-11

sonal property.
 Looking at the subject of our expendl- lures as compared with other states and fl om another point of view, the same authority shows us that we rank third from the bottom in the list of all the states in our amount expended per capita of total population, only South Carolina with SLOT per capital of population and | Mississippi with 9Sc per capital being less than our expenditure of SIPS.
 | This comparative study of Alabama with other states educationally compels | the conclusion that either We are doing | too little for our children, or most of the other states are doing too much for theirs. There Is absoutely no reason to doubt tn estatement that we are doing to little for our schools in Alabama. There is certainly no just reason for believing that the voters of Alabama are less trustworthy when imposing upon them 1 selves charge upon their own property, a tax levy for the support of their own schools, than are the voters in all the other states of the American union. The | legislature ought to~submit for ratiflca- tion In November 1912 an amendment to the constitution permitting a tax levy in each county of not more than 50 cents on eao s100 of taxable property and of a tax in each school district of what | NfNA AaNC liiSN. AAlhy Sce Ill AOA AAC SuR- port and maintenance of their own local | public schools and schoolhouses. If the people of any given county do not want | to levy a county tax, they would not have to vote the tax upon themselves. If the people of any school district do not need or want local district tax for school | purposes, there is no power that could make them levy the same. But what good reason exists, we ask, for not al- lowing the people of a county or of a district, to vote tax upon themselves 1T they desire to do it. If they want to invest some of their property in the edu- cation of their own children, why should not they be permitted to do so? The democratic platform calls for local option. Is there any good reason then why the people should not be entrusted with the power to invest some of their money in the education of their children? They have been trusted these years in the selection of their officials and certainly one could prove by any of the state or county officials elected that the people made no mistake The people can be trusted. Let's give them chance, an opportunity of levying local taxation up- cn themselves for school purposes and, if they do not use their opportunities but allow their children to grow up in com parative ignorance, they and they alone will be responsible.
 County Supervision
 It is absolutely necessary to change the law relating to the office of county su- perintendent of education The law ought to point out specifically what duties these men are expected to perform and if they perform those duties they ought to be paid more than some of them now re- ceive. In my opinion, the county super intendents of Alabama are growing more efficient with each recurrent election and. in fact, with each passing year. The present law, however, does not require them to devote their time to the super vision of the schools. If these men arc capable of rendering efficient public serv- ice as supervisors of the public schools. their time is too valuable to be spent in doing the clerical work in their respec- tive offices performing the routine duties which could be done just as well by a woman for s30 to $40 a month. If they are not strong men, men capable of su- pervisng properly the public schools, the people can be trusted at the next election to find men who can do the work pro- vided the matter is called to the atten- tion through means of proper legislation pointing out specifically the duties of the county superintendent
 t'aAft Ahu HUT ccnOOfnOuSfs
 The present law which appropriates out of the tag tax fund, 5000 annually to each county, to be used in building and re- pairing rural schoolhouses, ought to be changed to appropriate 5000 or s2500 an- ually to each county for similar purposes allowing S400 as a maximum to each dis. trict instead of $2o0 as now provided and the law should allow the transfer of this fund to other counties if the county to which it was appropriated each year does not apply for 1t in a reasonable time before the expiration of the fiscal year
 The time is approaching when our peo- pie in the rural districts will see the wis dom of having fewer but better school houses with larger attendance of chil- dren and much stronger teaching force in each school. Hence the necessity of beginning the construction of better schooihouses with a reasonable require ment as minimum distance between them.
 Compulsory Education
 The writer is among that number of citizens in Alabama who have believed until recently that we were not quite ready for compulsory attendance in the public schools. In my opinion. however we never will get entirely ready for 1t until We undertake it. The law ought
 
 without further waiting. It ought to be reasonable. It ought to be practicable White men will make it. White men will enforce it. Every state and territory in the union now has compulsory attendance except Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louis jana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tex as-seven.
 The period required for attendance on the part Of those who ought to go to school, in my opinion, be the full term of the public school in any given commun- ty. The proper local authorities will. of course, exempt those who, for good req son, ought not be required to attend.
 More Efficient Teaching Force
 It is universally admitted that the teaching force fin Alabama is growing stronger with each passing year, that their efficiency today is strikingly in ad. vance of the standard maintained 10 to IS years ago At the same time every observant man who takes an interest in the educational welfare of our state will readily admit that the general average of efficiency now maintained by the teachers of Alabama must be raised, and without delay. The teachers in the rural districts in the one teacher schools and sometimes in schools of two teachers, are those who stand most in need Let 1t not be forgotten that in the rural dis trlcts, among these same schools, are