The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-10-30

been the policy of the head pundits of
the teachercraft is so plain that even
he who runs may read.
The Star has never characterized
practically all of the high school work
as junk" A great deal of our public
school work is junk, as any we'll post
ed man outside the teaching profess
sion, and good many in it, will ad-
nit
If this junk was cleaned out, we
would have better schools and they
would cost less, and the Stars dec
laration that it should be cleaned out
is the sum and substance of its Of
Tending against Mr.. Brinson's princi-
pies, The people of Florida know they
are not consulted about what shall be
taught their children.
Take the average boy, send him f.
public school and let him stay there
until he has learned to read and write,
add, subtract, multiply and divide and
then put him in good private school
and he will beat the boys in his classes
that remain in public school into col
lege Or business life by two or three
years. According to the almost unani-
nous advice of the teachers, when a
boy or girl graduates from high
school all he Or she is fitted for is-to
go to school some more. In view OF
the fact that the great majority Of
young Americans are not able to go
any further than the high school
only minority can go that far-isn't
the Star right when it says that only
what is certain to be useful to all
should be taught in the public schools.
1t isn't that we know so little about
the schools that irritates Mr.. Crimson.
1t is because we know so much about
results that causes him to protest 50
much. He would have you think We
are the only incendiary that threat
ems his misft temple of Diana. Many
journalists and some teachers in the
United States take the same position,
and our reasoning on this subject was
started number of years ago by the
president of one of the biggest col
leges in Florida.
Mr.. Crimson says Mr.. Lights arti-
Gle is a tumble of figures. The truth
of some of his figures is self-evident
and Mr.. Crimson has not disproved
any of them.
The population of Marion county is
less than 10000. According to Mr..
Brinson's figures, the per capita ex-
pense of $2.73 should aggregate less
than $4,000. The school revenues for
this year are estimated at over 1884,
600. Then what does Mr.. Crimson want
with the $4,000 that the extra ten
mills would bring in. We should think
Mr.. Brinson's figures would drive him
crazy.
Mr.. Burke's figures will not occur
to the unprecedented reader as being a
maze. His statement is very concise,
and if it is wrong it will be easy for
Mr.. Crimson to disprove it.
We did not assert that all moneys
paid to the University of Florida, etc.,
would have to be refunded because
they were public schools. What Mr.
Brinson refers to is the following,
which was in Mondays Star:
"The supreme court has decided that
the legislature cannot appropriate one
cent for the general maintenance of
the public schools.-St. Augustine Re
cord.
eff such be the case, all the money
appropriated for the University of
Florida and the State College for
Women will have to be refunded, fol
they are public schools"
AS you will see by this, Mr. Brinson
has tried to twist our remark-a bad
habit of his in carrying on an argu-
ment. We have consulted both the
constitution and an able lawyer on the
subject. Mr.. Crimson had better do the
same if he thinks the state university,
state college for women, ETC., are not
a part of the public school system.
We have been citizen of Ocala and
Marion county for twenty-five years,
in most of which time we have been
in close touch with public affairs and
ought to know something about them,
and as for our position on this ten
mill amendment it is notable that
nearly every county officer agrees
with us in it and several of them have
supplied US with the figures to use in
the arguments against it.
That is very pathetic picture Mr..
Crimson draws of the soldier coming
home from the war and finding that
the Star has denied his little brother
and sister an education Mr.. Brinson
is strong on pathos. 1t is his long suit
He should be sob sister on the Ameri-
can Schoolboard Journal He can
think up enough pathos in five min
utes to make himself weep for two
hours. We are some pathosister our
self. Let US draw the opposite picture
from Mr.. Brinson's. If we don't try to
keep taxes down little, the American
soldier will come home to find his
father and mother in the poorhouse
and his little brother and sister SO
weak from short rations that they
will hardly be able to carry their
books to school. Exaggerated, of
course. So is Mr.. Brinson's. Take
your choice.