The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-28
Specimen County Cited to
Show How People Feel
About 1t
WOULD NOT RETURN
TO THE OLD SYSTEM
Local Tax Has Proved Popular in
Every County Where 1t Has
Been Tried-Benefits
All Business
By HERvEY w. LAIRD

Atlanta, september 2E-(Spec1al.)-l
asked State Superintendent of Education
M. L. Britain today what had been the
results in the Al Georgia counties that had
adopted local tax for the support OF
schools. He replied that they had been
good, educationally commercially and in
dustrially.
1 then asked him if the plan had proven
popular where tried out He replied that
it had; that in no single instance had
there developed any effort to return to the
old methods.
What about the larger taxpayers? Do
they protest?" he was asked.
mo" was the reply. "Of course, there
are always some who are not quite ready
to acquiesce in this call upon their purse
but they recover from it when they see
what good it does. AS a matter of fact,
the richest men are the most enthusiastic
as a general rule"
The effect, also. according to Mr.. Brit
tain and the records of his office, are to
induce better school sentiment, secure
better school houses and bring out larger
average enrolment and attendance upon
the county schools.
BY WAY OF EXAMPLE
Seeking to find an example of the re-
suits of good schools in a particular sec
ton, I have selected Henry county, al
most wholly rural, and designated 10
cal tax county by the state. Its popu-
lation is given at 10000, made up practi-
cally entirely of white farmers and their
families.
In the last government report on the
county are the following figures: Land
207 26n IN, ,Jti I
farms; value of lands, $40 to s25 per acre
very little that can be bought; value Of
all crops, S2564,035 value of corn 1924, 573:
wheat, $24,303; potatoes. $54, 412; fruit, &c.,
1872; hay, 2676 tons.
The records in the office Of Superintend-
ent Britain show that Henry county has
81 public white schools, with attendance
of 266S and Y teachers. Its free schools
are of seven months in duration, with 40
pupils in the high school grades
1t is shown that the county has "a school
houses valued at $4,000. The average SAL
airy paid white male teachers in the gram
mar grades is ST., females $5164; high
school grades, $106.19, and $50 respectively.
There are three brick school buildings and
81 wooden. OF these 10 are one-rooln
buildings, Il two room and more than
two rooms. There are 81 Libraries with
$3.50 volumes worth $780, Every school
at 1920.
TESTIMONY OF A CITIZEN
Desiring to get at the feeling from a To-
cal standpoint, interviewed Mr. Julian
I. Weems, prominent in both the COM
mercial and agricultural life of the
county of Henry. He is a business man
at McDnoough the county seat, which,
by the way, has only $50 people, and runs
a farm near by.
What do you think of the local tax for
scht OILS in your county," ! asked him
For it. 1t has done wonders for u.s.
Has 1T given you more schools, more
high schools, more attendance and more
school sentiment
TT certainly has"
How about the people who pay these
taxes-are they pleased with it?
Yes. There are a few, of course who
get their patriotism via their pockets. but
they soon fall into line when they see the
good it does"
Would there be any material following
Tor movement to stop levying the tax?''
None to amount to anything. You
know, we had to PASS it by two-th.rds
majority and we beat that by lot"
BENEFITS ALL BUSINESS
Mr.. Weems went on to say that the Of
feet OF the better educational facilities in
ShC SObIly fDccu " awaken a new
spirit of progress. II can illustrate this
in no better way than to say that we are
now to have a real school man, an en-
thusiast on education, for county commits
sioner, called superintendent in Alabama.
Our county has an agricultural So
ciety, with an expert whom we pay to
teach the people. We are raising alfalfa
and red clover to an extent hardly
eoualed by any other like cection. Our
farmers are out of debt and able to take
advantage of the school facilities we give
them. I venture you could not find a
county that all in all is doing much bet
ter than ours, and I believe that our SUI
perior educational facilities are back of
it, 1t is pointed out that the feeling of
the Henry county citizens is indicated by
the $4,000 which they raise by lo:al tax
They are anxious to do more and more
the better the conditions the better the
people want them to be. This is, after
ALL the great victory of educational prog
ress, the real outcome of that feeling that
makes local taxes possible