The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-21

public conscience / may be pardoned for
saying that, in this great task of Great
ing and focusing public opinion, the wom-
en- have done and are doing infinitely
more than to play the part of rooters at
baseball game. They have in large
measure saved the day. Some one has
said that, in New England, wherever a
group of fine women is gathered to render
public serysre you will generally find one
or at most> o men behind them, where
as, in the sd : IL you can locate one at
tractive, inti ent woman, you will find
behind her zen men ready to do her
bidding. re that the women of
Alabama Wild e In the past by their
sacrifice and erected granite shafts
to the memorA ur dead, are going to
become the MOI werfnl agency of the
future in the york of dedicating
schoolhouses to aiming of the living.
There Is a reason I this. That reason
has been strongly | by good wom-
an who recently sa\ at while, legally
a child's parent is \ ther, from every
other viewpoint thA 4 has but one
parent, and that is n ,ther.
Problem of icy
-. The next problem shall mem
tion is The problem of 1ey. | haye
heard prosperous men argue that we are
too poor to maintain better schools. That
is precisely the doctrine that has kept us
poor That is the doctrine of the aims
house and the howell That is the doctrine
that has kept away from Alabama more
men and more wealth than any other
political doctrine ever proclaimed. 1t Is
q fact that Alabama Is far below the av-
erage American commonwealth in per
capita wealth 1t is also a fact that Ala
bama. measured by the amount of money
expended for schools for each $l00 of
wealth, ranks forty-hfth in the catalog
of the states. II is also fact that in
the matter of iliteracy of our white pop
ulation, without any reference whatever
to the negro, the showing is quite as
shameful. Is there no connection between
the high percentage of illiteraey In Ala
bama and the low percentage of per capita
wealth? Is there any explanation that
we can give to the world that will justify
the high percentage of illiteracy in Ala
bama so long as what we have is out
of all proportion to what we spend? IL
Is not a question whether we have IN
creased our school expenditures. That has
undoubtedly been the case. The ques-
tion Is: Have we increased them in any
such way that, considering what we have,
we have kept pace with other states in
what we spend? Alabama has no prob
lem that is not shared IN common by the
other southern states. Its bonded debt
is only one-third as large as that of Vir-
ginia. If our population Is largely rural
so is the population of Georgia. II our
territory is sparsely settled, so is the ter
ritory of Mississippi. If our problem is bi-
racial so Is the problem of North Car
olina If we were submerged by war and
reconstruction, so was Tennessee.
Power of Taxation
mo one can censure The people merely
because they fear the power of taxation.
Surely II is a dangerous power. 1t has
bred war and revolution. When used In
any other way than for the common good
1t is a curse. But when used for the up
lift of the people II Is the most beneficent
contrivance for the advancement of civil
izaton. Only the savage escapes taxa
tion; and, In order to escape II, he denies
himself civilization. On the other hand,