The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-07

and from a local tax of one mill now
authorized is wholly and preposterously
Inadequate.
As a result we have schools for white
children, many of which are limited to
four or five months. and the majority of
which are limited to six scholastic months
in the year. Now, as there are 13 scho-
lastic months in every year and as the
average school term in the country dis
tricts-that is excluding the towns and
cities-is. less than six months, it is OBJ
vious that efficiency under such condi-
tions is impossible. The normal child
would forget in the long vacation a large
part of the little he learns in the short
term. Moreover. the average salary paid
country school teacher, when paid for
only six months in the year. is wholly m
adequate if we desire and expect to get
the best service. do not doubt, in fact
know it to be true, that in many In
stances we have most excellent teachers
In the rural districts. But we are bound
to admit that with the small salaries paid
and with employment averaging less
than half year, persons competent to
teach could not be expected to make such
a profession a lifework. In consequence,
we have frequent changes of teachers,
each teacher bringing in a new method
and large proportion of them being IL
fitted for the task. The sole remedy for
this condition is the lengthening of the
term so as to practically give the same
inducements to a country teacher taking
up the business as a profession as is done
III the towns. To do this requires mors
money. We have reached the limit OF
state aid. Much more than one-half of
state revenues are now devoted to pur-
poses of education. The only relief lies In
permitting the counties of the state, cr
school districts, the right to levy an ld-
ditional tax for this purpose. No question
before the people of this state today Is
more important and there is. no question
which could be submitted to a vote of the
people which would receive more over
whelming majority at their hands.
Necessity of Reform in Poll Tax
l believe in the prepayment of the poll
tax as a condition precedent to the right
to vote. l believe it ought to be required
to be paid several months in advance of
the election. But that the present pFoVl-
sons of our constitution on that subject
need amending seems to me to admit OF
no doubt An intolerable condition now
exists in this state. Almost one-half OF
the qualified votercs of this state-that is,
those who possess all of the qualifications
fixed by the constitution, are technically
disqualified, or are not able to supply epl-
dence of their qualification owing to the
absurd requirements of our present law
on this subject
If man subject to the payment OF
poll tax moves from one county to an
other, in order to vote he must first re-
register and then be able, to prove that
he paid all the poll taxes to which he was
subject in the county from which he came.
Until he makes this proof and until he re-
registers he is technically an illegal
voter. Frequently he has the appearance
of being an Illegal voter when he moves
simply from one precinct to another in
the same county But this is not all II
he has paid his tax for II of the last 12
years and has failed to pay once he is
disqualified; or if the tax collector has
through some error failed to enter a rec
ord of the payment he is disqualified until
he finds his receipt. BY reason principally
OF the requirement that man must pay
all the poll taxes to which he is subject
since 1901, nearly one-half of the really
qualified voters of this state have an
nually cast upon them the burden of es-
tablishing by affidavit after challenge Or
otherwise the right to participate in a
primary or in general election The
condition is getting worse year after year
Unless this provision of the constitution
is modified, there is no telling where it
will end.
There are two serious objections to tie
poll tax requirements of our present COR
stltution. One is that the taxes are cum-
ulatiye for all the years since 1901. This
condition exists in no other state in the
union, and it is wholly unnecessary in
Alabama. Both South Carolina and Mis-
slssippi have much larger negro popu-
lation proportionate1y than Alabama. Ia
both states, the negroes are in a majority,
While in Alabama the whites are in a ma
jority, and yet the poll tax in those states
is not cumulative | believe two years is
the limit in those states and the prepay
ment of the poll tax for two years ought
to be the limit in this state.
Another objection to our plan is that
the payment of the poll tax is voluntary
This is not true in any other state where
the payment of the tax Is provided for as
a condition of suffrage. In both South
Carolina and Mississippi the poll tax is
lien upon taxable property In boIn
states the revenue derived from this tax
is two to three times as great as it is in
Alabama and in neither state is there or
has there been the slightest trouble with
the negro question since the adoption OF
theii new constitutions Our provisions
on this question were written in an excess
of fear which may have had reason at
the time. but subsequent experience has
demonstrated it to be wholly baseless
now.