The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-07-09

sufficient school advantages a pupil
who undertakes to win one of these
scholarships in a competitive exami-
nation has but a poor chance. Those
pupils from the good schools always
win the scholarships while those
who should receive the assistance of
the state rarely receive it.
Another consideration is that a
great many people are receiving the
bounty of the state who r per-
fectly able to educate their own
children. The ability of a man to
educate his own children is deter
mined by the amount Of property
which he has on the tax books. This
property in a great number of in
stances is returned for taxation at
ten per cent. of its value. There
fore, a man who, on the tax books,
appears to be worth about n thou
sand dollars is in fact worth ten
thousand dollars, and is perfectly
able to educate his own children.
The scholarships are given to those
who no more deserve them than did
a great number of students who
formerly obtained free tuition in the
state institutions. Some of the
wealthiest people in Abbeville and
elsewhere have educate their chill
drn at the public expense. A list
of those who have received the aid
of the state would prove that the
needy have rarely been helped.
The proposition for the state to
lend money to deserving pupils for
the purpose of enabling them to OBJ
tain an education, while nor de-
feasible on theory; is hardly more
advisable. We will have too many
deserving pupils we fear when once
the state begins to loan money to
minors on their own notes.
The truth of. the business is that
the state is now doing enough to
encourage attendance on the insti-
tutions of higher learning, unless it
were doing more towards giving the
pupils. the right foundation to en-
ter these institutions. The legisla-
ture should first provide for better
schools in the country districts, re-
quiring every community to pay
for it's own schools. It is wrong in
principle for the school district
which has taxed itself to the limit
to run its own schols to be further
required by a state appropriation to
support schools in other districts.
Every school district should have as
sessed against the property in it a,
tax sufficient to run the schools
therein for a period of five months.
If the people want to return their
property at ten Gems on the dollar,
the tax rate may be raised to such
a rate as to get the money. When
taxes in this amount r raised the
people in the district will see that
the money is not wasted. The re-
suit will be that there will be good
schools in all the country districts.
Boys and girls may be prepared
there to enter the colleges of the
state. And a boy or girl who has
sufficient education to enter the
colleges of the state does not need
to borrow money to get an educa-
ton. If he or she is worthy of an
education it may be had through in
dividual efforts.
The people whom it is intended
to help by the free scholarships and
long time loans are now coming in
to their own. The day of the la
boring man is here. His labor is
commanding more money than ever
before and the opportunity to edu-!
cate his children in the free schools
of the country, and then to send
them to college is as real as it is
to any other citizen. There is no
need to extend special privileges to
anybody. One of the first things to
be learned in the school of expert
ence is that debts must be paid, and
they should be paid as we go. A