The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-08-18

Hill Ferguson, who at one time was reporter on The Age-Herald, but who re- fired from this work to enter the req estate field and who has become moi only one of the most prosperous but pop ular citizens of Birmingham mas ailo"ee his old newspaper instinct to lead nm U write The Age-Herald card Tn WHICH he assumes to read it curtain lecture severely criticising this paper for Its ed ucational policy
 MT Ferguson, with all his higher edu cation. acquired in the Alabama un1versi tv so far forgets himself that he use' a baseball phrase to call The Age-Her aid a ''lxnocker"
 Tn his card in The Age-Herald yester day morning MT Ferguson charges tha this paper condemns the alleged extraV agant appropriations of the last legisla ture for the University of Alabama, th' Polytechnic institute at Auburn, ana tn' Girls Industrial school"
 In view of the fact that I was on the ground at the last commencement exer cfses at the university ahead of MT. Fer guson. the ardent supporter of the insti tuition. and came away on the same trair with him. wrote numbers of articles or the good work of the university, later at tended the commencement exercises al Auburn, writing as enthusiastic articles ali by direction of The Age-Herald, ane fin line with its persistent editorial DOT icv it is hard for me to understand MT Ferguson's reason for his vicious attacK  The policy of The Age-Herald since my connection with it for more than sii years. and long before. has been to en courage education in all departments O the states school system The Age-Her ald has always contended for the rlght of the common schools, those primary in stitutions of learning where the grea mass of the children of the state are com pelled to get at least start In education Thousands of children get no farther tnaf these common schools, and they shoule certainly get their share of the state support.
 While MT. Ferguson calls The Age-Her aid to task on no particular expression editorial or otherwise he may and prop ably does refer to the following extrac from an editorial which appeared in Th' Age-Herald of August g.
 Governor Conner did propel ever. snarable dollar into the educationa functions of the state, and something beyond. but the dollars that ne pro pelled went largely to three institutions that only 6O0o attend, not to the pubii' schools that 100000 should attend.
 The administration would have muci hotter case if it could show when an' where before it's numerous ieglsiatiV sessions the executive had propelled constitutional amendment permittinl eacb school district to tax itself at it discretion for a better school. or ha' nropelled a statute providing for the SC lection from the ranks of teachers O county superintendents. At presen county superintendents are selected iron the ranks of politicians, and some them, it is said. cannot read or write Few of the 67 can magnetic teache into better work. Scarcely one of then is adapted to the task he has sought b. the political route
 If the administration could show twhel and where it has favored local taxation or competent superivision it would 1iav something better in its favor thai rhetoric. It would have something tha would excuse the immense appropriation that has been propelled to three insti tutions leaving the little public schoo without material increase in its appro priation.
 The time has surely come when tn roo 900 children who cnn attend the pub lie schools only should have nor statutes and more money. The. selec few have had their inning and now tn numerous children who were born to without college training should hay public attention and a well-deserved op portunity.
 The Age-Herald would like to see tn university and the other high educations institutions get even more money tha they have already received, but the 700 GOO children of the state who may neve be able to enter these institutions shoul be taken care of.
 MT Ferguson argues that "educatio begins at the top and works downwar instead of beginning at the bottom an working upward" This is good in the ory. perhaps, but must the poor childre in the rural districts be neglected and b allowed to grow up without their jus