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

danger of bankruptcy; when he builds
over again great stretches of roadway,
though protesting TO the people that the
railroads are on the verge OF destruction.
Lei us huri back to him the answer that
| the principle that moves him in his own
business Is the principle that must move
him In education; that he must put more
money in in order to save what he has
already invested and to guarantee effi-
cheney of production. sometimes thinf
that our business men forget that the
| teacher, after converting their dollars
| into ideas and turning over these ideas
| to be translated again into dollars, Is en-
| titled to share In the dividends. They
ought to be willing for their own sake and
| for humanity's sake to re-invest faii
share of their profits In the business oi
creating other ideas, and If they are moi
willing, society ought to take hold OF
| them rudely and make them do 1t.
"3. Another problem confronting us In
Alabama Is the problem of effective school
| legislation. Two radical constitutional
amendments are needed: First, ar
| amendment permitting an adequate ioca
| tax and, second, an amendment guaran-
/ teeing an equitable distribution of schoo
| funds on the basis of the number oi
teachers employed and the aggregate days
of attendance of the school children
/ One of the foremost men in American ed
| ucation recently remarked to me that
under the present constitution of Ala
bama, good schools are an impossibility
| that our system of school legislation and
our methods of taxation need to be com
pletely revised. Why should the people
be denied by constitutional prohibition
the right to provide money for training
their children? Does any rational mar
fear that human beings are going to ex-
eroise this right In any reckless way,
II Is high time to wipe from our coustitu-
tion the blighting restriction against ar
adequate local tax. What is a constitu-
ton? Is 1t an instrument of destruction
or is 1t an instrument of construction
From what school of political philosophy
did we get the notion of an effete con-
stitution? Was it from Thomas Jeffer-
son? Or was 1t from Alexander Ham
ilton, the man who struck his desk with
his fist and declared that the people were
a great beast? Verify, Hamilton feared
and distrusted the people, and his fol
lowers have written that fear and distrusi
into our constitutional and institutional
life. Let us wipe 1t out.
Doctrine of Local Taxation
1.-THE doctrine of local taxation is a
doctrine of Jeffersonian democracy. 1t Is
the paramount issue in Alabama today
1t is the one way out of our troubles
The percentage of revenue for public ed
ucation derived from state taxation Il
higher In Alabama than In any state in
the union. Yet Alabama stands at the
foot of the list. The states that rank
highest in the scale of educational effi-
cheney are those states that rely chiefly
on local taxation. Massachusetts,. rank
ing second in the list, derives nearly 81 per
cent of her school revenue from local
taxes. The state of Alabama, standing al
the foot of the list in educational eff
cheney, derives less than % per cent of her
revenue from local taxation. There Is
sound philosophy behind the local tax.
Men take more interest in things, put
more into things. and get more out OF
things that depend upon their own initia-
tive, and for which they are directly re-
sponsible. They prize them more highly.
1.-THE distribution of school funds on the
basis of the number of children OF school
age, in the absence of the enactment OF
law providing for compulsory attend
ance, is unwise, unjust and fntolerable.
There is no law of reason or OF right
that can Justify legislation that In effect
permits the policy of appropriating from
state funds intended for both white and
negro children, three times as much per
capita for the training of the white chill
dren of one county as for the training of
the white children of another county.
The injustice of such a policy becomes all
the more evident when it is understood
| that some counties in Alabama are not
only paving for the education of their
own children, but, in addition, are ac-
tualIy contributing to the education OF
children in other counties whose per CAPT.
| ia expenditure is far in excess of their
| own Is that right? Is 1t wise? Is II
tolerable? The result of the present poll
cy is not only unjust to the counties In
which the children actually attend school;
but In the last analysis, 1t Is unjust
to the counties where the children dc
not attend school. It puts a premium
upon actual wrongdoing. 1t makes II
to the interest of the teacher to actually
discourage school attendance. There
should be enacted law compelling
| school attendance, or else constitutions
al provision requiring the distribution
| OF school funds derived from the state
treasury on the basis of school attend
ance and the number of teachers en-
ployed-preferably, the latter, in my
| Judgment, since the matter of compul
sory attendance In Alabama will prob
ably be an evolution of slow growth. WITH
certain local option provisos, before il
reaches its final contamination.
Into Legislative Enactment
|
have already been settled In the arena
of public debate, and perhaps also in the
court of public opinion. We must nov
| see to it that they are translated into
Legislative enactment. hear from time
to time the complaint that too mucF
time Is consumed in the legislature oi
| Alabama in dealing with educationa
matters. This is far from true 1t /.
| a fact that in Virginia three years agc
nearly one-half of the time of the legis-
| ]ature was devoted to education. And
why not? Is not the education Of the
| people the chief business of a state.
Some one recently said to me that prob
| lems relating to railroads and corpora
tfons and taxation should have the righ
OF way in the Alabama legislature. !
told him that any conception of legis
| lation that has regard only to the ma.
terial side of our life would some day
And expression in the ideal suggested
nv Mr.. Hume to Lord Russell in tn,
| following colloquy:
Lord Russell: What is the object O.
! LEGISLATION
"Mr Hume: The greatest good t.
| the greatest number,
| Lord Russell: What is the creates
NUMBER
"Mr. Hume: Number one
| I am sure that no such character
Iization can. in fairness, be applied t.
the men who are making the laws o.
Alabama. Such situation would be {
rejection, not only on our lawmakers
hut also on the people who elect mer
Ito public office. 1 believe that the mer
Iwho are elected to represent us will
never fall to truly represent us 4
Ithev only know what we want I be
iifave that we ought to tell them wha