The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-07-04
PLANS HUGE PETITION
ORANGEBURG TEACHER STARTS
GOOD MOVEMENT.
Wants the Voters to Petition to Give
$125,O0O OF Clemson's Tag Tax
to the Rural High Schools.
Editor The Times and Democrat:

Editor The Times and Democrat:
1 am launching a movement that
promises TO be the means of reyolu-
tionizing the educational status of
this State, and I accordingly earnest
ly request you to aid in giving the
matter all the reasonable publicity
that the Importance OF the move
would seem to urge. After consider
able thought on the subject, 1t ap
peare6 best TO- start the scheme by
petition and whatever force it prov
ed and the amount of interest that
would be taken in it would govern
future definite plan of procedure.
The petition Is:
eve, the understand voters of
South Carolina, do hereby petition
our honorable Legislature to pass the
necessary Act or take the necessary
steps whereby the income from the
fertilizer tax shall be directed In part
to the maintenance of an agricultural
course in our rural schools in the fol-
lowing manner: That sum of not
less than one hundred and twenty
! five thousand dollars of this tax be
expended on our rural schools and
tbs remainder go towards the main
|3enance of Clemson College, 1t appear
az to us that the farmers Of the
State, from whom this entire amount
is collected would derive more appre-
ciable benefit than under the present
arrangement"
Now, Mr.. Editor, shall ask you
for some considerable space to ex-
plain fully the motive that prompted
me to do this and endeavor to answer
the many why's" and "whereforss'
chat will be asked by the readers
of this article. To the average farm
er, however, the full justice of this
proposed distribution Of the fertilizer
tax money is very obvious. I am sat-
isfied that very nearly all the farmers
of the State, who actually live and
farm in the country, are heartily in
favor of the move and it is mainly
for the benefit of the city folks that
any explanatory paragraphs are nee
essary.
One of the most serious handicaps
to the progress of our great State in
the past has been the strange lack
of sympathy and understanding Oh
the part of the city folks and the
country folks. I was raised in town
and have lived in town all my life
excepting the past school terra, when
I was principal Of one Of the largest
rural schools in the State, and 1t was
while living in the country and doing
my delightful work in a splendid
rural community that the above
thought occurred to me. 1t was
while engaged in upbuilding the Pine
Hill High School that the great in
justice in regard to the distribution
of the fertilizer tax became known to
me.
Pine Hill High School already en-
joy,d an extra levy for school pur-
poses and the school being crowded
and the necessity having arisen for
fourth teacher, after some agitation
the citizens voted an additional levy
of three mills, {there was one dissent
ing vote,) making their entire extra
levy seven mills, or including the
constitutional tax, their total school
tax is 10 mills. This is fine record,
yet with it all the school would be
powerless to run were it not for State
aid in the sum of $500 IN round
numbers, which is given annually in
accord with an Act of the Legislature.
While the people of Pine Hill District
are paying almost the constitutional
limit in school taxes and the sum is
barely enough, they are annually pay.
ing to Clemson College a sum nearly
twice as large and there has been al
most no patronage from the district
to Clemson in ten years!
Let it be said to the credit of the
farmers of South Carolina that they
have borne this annual tax of (this
year, s261,O00 with patriotic pa
tience and every little murmuring.
They do not wish to cease paying the
tax altogether, but they are almost
unit in wanting to see some of
this money expended where they will
get some direct benefit. BY setting
aside s125,00 annually, by some
plan to. be afterward devised, and
which a few of us interesed in the
work are now planning, it would be
possible to maintain well equipped
agricultural high school in nearly ev-
cry township in the State. This has
been the dream of our common school
educators and others interested for
years past. How the rural commu-
mites would take on new life and
what beautiful pastoral rustic scenes
would our State not present when the
thing is adjusted in accord with the
petition above!
We do not wish to destroy Glenn
son. We do not wish to cripple Glenn
son. 1t is the boast and pride Of our
State! But we are more interested
in developing the populace generally
than We are in evolving that great
monument up in the red hills of our
State. Then, if we do not wish to
cripple Clemson, will not this move
ment if put into effect cripple it i'm
mensely? Yes, but inasmuch as the
farmers alone support Clemson and
IFS great benefits are shared alike by