The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-07-07

misrepresented him. in an ar
ticle in the paper May 9Th.
The article is before me, and fail
to see any misstatements | said that
instead of lands almost doubling in
value under local school taxation in
this county, as his had done, it had
gone off. Thus: ''None to sell at
$500 to $500 before it WIS voted
on us, and now no buyers at $500 to
$1,000 per acre" I shall not try to
prove that local school taxation is the
whole cause of the slump, there are
other causes; one is a tight money
market. People do not, as rule,
change from one place to another
without money with which to buy
land, and are certainly not going to
change without being benefited by
getting cheaper and better, or cheap
Or better lands and lower taxes. Local
school tax at $500 per thousand is a
big help to pile taxes on us, there
fore has helped to keep out investors
If I might draw on my "Hideous
inauguration" would say that "The
hit dog 'hollers'," and from the wall
which he sends up that the stick I
used was a little heavier than I
thought it was.
He says he has. borne his share of
keeping up the schools, and gives list
of property on which he pays tax to
do so, also gives references to prove
that it is so. I shall take his word
for it, and not write to parties. But
will Mr.. Jester just give me his ear
a minute, has he paid anything vol
UNFAIRLY? Anything that was not
forced out Of him by taxation? Tax
collectors have mild way to legally
make a man pay these things.
Doesn't he think he has got value
received, in the education of children,
for all the money paid to keep up
schools? or does he think his neigh
bors should have done more, through
local taxation, to help him? He ar
CUES like a Socialist Pool all prop
erty belonging to the other fellow,
and let me have a grab at it.
In educating his children he has
drawn out fully as much, probably
more, than he has paid in.
In his ''Hideous inauguration"
(nOt drawn on), Of me, that I have
done mot much for schools, he
seems to want me to tell him what I
have done. I admit I have done not
much, but not much helps my neigh
bOrs more than his much does any
one but himself. He has children to
use up his much, [ have no children
to take up mot much
Now, Mr.. Watson, as to the public
schools. In my letter published May
9Th you or any one else might think
that I was opposed to public schools,
as they are now, am, for in my opin-
ion, they are not fairly distributed.
The districts, especially, since last tax
systems inauguration, have been
consolidated to SO great an extent it
cuts off the children in the rural ter
ritory, leaving them so far from the
schOol-house they are unable to get
any benefit from the school. This
county, and particularly this district,
may be an extreme case. The law
gives them sixteen square miles, plac-
ing the house as near the center as
practicable. In this district (FOWls-
town. the schoOl-hotlse is four miles
from the north line, three from east,
two from the south and four from the
west lines, making a forty-tWO square
mile district A child less than ten
years old can't walk more than
mile to school and be in condition to
study until he or she has rested an
hour or two. Older children should