Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-08-08
FROM THE PEOPLE.
The Deerbrook oIidated School.
Editor Of the Beacon

feel justified In Quilting the facts In thu
light Of all the argument that have
yet beard against It. -
Under date of June 10th W H. Smith
Of Jackson wrote me setting the Law
out regarding school consolidation. The
course prescribed was to obtain ma
jority of the patrons of the three dis
tricts to petition the county schoo
board before August LIST. This was
done;..a majority, both in number and
school attendance, of the actual patrons
of the three districts signed the petit
tion. This was supplemented by petit
ton signed by majority of the tax
payers, who would not be school patrons,
within the three districts, favoring the
consolidation On Wednesday, July 30,
twenty-five Of these petitioners ap-
peared in person before the county
school board with the petitions. Only
three of the five members of the board
were present. SO the meeting was con-
tinued until August 10th.
One party says that the petition
signifies nothing no petition ever
means anything, offering in evidence
that 1.-THE country is full of men freed
from the penitentiary by petitions who
ought to be hung today" have no
answer to this, as there is nothing to
answer. A petition is recognized in all
procedure as the instrument shaping
matters toward legal channel.
And it is said that two of the signers
of the petition want to withdraw theil
names. Every patron within the three
4 stricts, with one single exception,
signed the petition. All but two OF
those who signed agreed on one loca-
tion; two signed leaving the location tt
De decided by the board. | have seen
Ill the signers more than once since
Chey signed and none of them have sale
,nything to about wanting to withdraw
heir names. But, should these two
DIN the one party who did not sign
ne outset, the three together woult
ut disturb our majority of patrons,
either in, number nor school attendance
One man said that he did not want t,
Sc taxes. We are not asking fol-
ore taxes. This usually follows whei
!, term is extended beyond the rcgu
five months. But should any none,
needed to supplement what the boar
N furnish it will be forth. coming i'm.
ediately from a fund provided b,
nose who are interested This amour,
An be made $500.
And it is said that private money has
,een put in one of the present schoo
buildings, which those who gave il ar.
not willing to lose. We are are ready
20 refund every dollar of private money
tut in either of the present buildings.
One man said that our bad roads bar
all but short distances in winter. Ny
observation is that where the water is
Kept off our roads and they are dragged
they don't get very bad. We sit and
allow them to become impossible sim
ply because we arrange everything so
chat we can stay inside, and then turn
them over to the weather and the nc :
groes. Would that we had some incen-
tive like getting out children to school
to cause us to get together and keep
these roads passable. Then the winter
months would not be such burden upon
those who live in the prairie.
The location selected by the majority
has been objected to. We have insisted
over and over again that any location
would be satisfactory. The present
Hunter school. as it stands would serve.
However, it is more in keeping with
rogress to have school out where &C.
cess and egress is practical. The only
thing we do insist on is consolidation
concentrating the little money the
county has for school purposes, so as to
have a good school with good teacher.
and with an attendance large enough
that the child will receive that addi-
tional education, aside from books.
which contact with other children
contributes.
One man says he is in favor of better
schools, but had rather keep quiet as
he don't want to mix up in the fight
with them. But l have always been
told that it is counted virture to have
the courage of ones conviction.
To what purpose do we invite out
siders here? Why endeaver to attract
money and men to cultivate and pasture
the thousands of acres now going to
waste, or virtually so i? Adequate
school facilities is fundamental in all
sociology, and make-shift in this line
will no longer serve thanks to the
general intelligence in the United
States. To attempt to transplant
family without supplying this need is as
foolish as to set out plant and deny
it either moisture or light. Noxnbee
county's crying need is for more peo-
ple-not less negroes. but five white
people to every negro now here. Our
STANFORD should be to average having a
resident farmer on every quarter sec
ton. But we must anticipate their
needs, if we are to get them here for