The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-05

Oul, the Jury maintaining the secrecy
 which was inaugurated from the start.
 Among other important witnesses who were examined were Justice of the Peace
 Ira Dement, and Walter Jones. The latter is jointly charged with killing John Hol-
 
 acy and rival the most prosperous states
 of the union in wealth and in her indus trial development.
 While the south has made commend
 able progress in her appropriations to
 educat ton, fin 1906, the last figures I have examined, the per capita revenue raised l for each child of school age in the entire
 south was only s 4l, and in Alabama only g 39. Alabama was then the lowest in
 rank and while we have made commend | able progress since that time, much yet remains to be done.
 Local Taxation
 "The most important step then, in my | judgment, in the educational progress | of Alabama is the constitutional
 amendment permitting an adequate | county and local district tax for public schools. The 1 mill tax now authorized
 for each county is wholly inadequate and when once levied should be au- l thorized by legislation to continue until
 repealed by an act of the legislature. Under our constitution no district or l local tax is authorized. At present practically the whole fund for the maintenance of elementary schools high schools, normal schools and high CT state institutions of learning is de- rived from the state treasury In ad- dition to the and 4 per cent fund,
 poll tax and the mill tax authorized by the constitution, there is alo ap- propriated about $500, 900 annually from the general revenue for the public schools Alabama, therefore, contrib utes more from her general state rev enues for the support of the common schools than any of the 10 southern
 states. the amount being 67 per cent in l 906, and with the present appro- priations in excess of that figure Yet
 while leading all the southern states in the amount of her state appropria- tions, the percentage of revenue de- rived from local taxation for the com mon schools is less than that of any of the 47 states of the Union, except Louisiana and Mississippi The neces-
 sary result of this policy Is that the
 appropriations now made for the main l tenance of our elementary and high l schools constitute so severe drain upon the state treasury as to make 1t | impossible to provide adequate appro-
 priations for the support and equip
 ment of our normal schools and higher l institutions of learning. An examina-
 ton of the statistics recently published | by the state superintendent of educa- ton shows that the larger and more | prosperous states of the Union rely almost entirely on local taxation for | the support of their elementary schools. It Is only in those states where local taxation Is relied upon
 for the chief source of revenue for the elementary and high
 schools do we find the highest eduea | tional development and progress. Ala
 bama then is one of the few states
 of the Union that denies to her peo- pie the privilege of contributing locally
 to the support of their elementary
 schools. Such policy Is contrary to
 the language of experience and IS
 without support in the forum Of de-
 bate or logic It tends to prevent a
 local effort and to lessen local Inter : est, and Is contrary to the principle Of local self government on which our in- | stitutions are based.
 1 'I advocate local taxation because if
 will provide more adequate equipment.
 better schools, longer terms and better
 teachers. It will stimulate local pride
 and create that local rivalry which in-
 spired by no spirit of antagonism seeks | only to excel in the opportunities for educational advancement It creates | that spirit of self reliance, independ- ence and cooperative effort and that sustained and vigilant interest. with out which the highest development and educational progress of the state is im- | possible.
 l It will secure a larger attendance in
 our elementary schools and will enable every man to give to his children the advantages of elementary and high school education al home, without the necessity and expense Of sending them away to boarding schools. thereby giving to the i children of the state the restraining and refining influence of home life and en- vironment It gives to each citizen a
 sense of individual responsibility and re-
 moves the idea that in educating his
 child at the public schools he is the
 recipient of public charity or the public ] bounty. It encourages immigration and ! makes rural life more attractive Re
 move the constitutional barrier that now checks the progress of our elementary and high schools and the growing in terest in the cause of education now so evident in the state will increase in in- tensty until Alabama takes her proper
 rank alongside the most advanced states of the union.
 "At the next meeting of the legislature all the powers and influence of my ad-
 ministration will be used to secure the passage of such a constitutional amend ment as will enable our people to ade- quatelv maintain proper system Of ele-
 mentary schools. Dr. Wickliffe Rose