The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-21

SUPERINTENDENT CRIMSON
BECOMES SEVERE

Editor Star: In your issue of the
9th, you have one more of your reck-
less TRADES on the ten-mill amend
ment.
In discussing the matter few days
ago you spoke of my talking through
my hat in discussing the school situa-
ton and could not help thinking how
much like demagogue running for
the legislature you sounded. You
make a powerful howl about the bur-
den of taxes when you and every citi-
zen of intelligence know that you cam
not reduce taxes without reducing
public improvements and facilities
and conveniences.
AS to the propriety of the pro,
paganda in furtherance of the ten
mill amendment, / will say that it is
eminently the proper thing and the
cartoon published by the Ameri-
lean School Board Journal, the lead
ing publication of the kind in Amer
lea, several months ago, simply fitted
the case so completely that the cam
paign committee of the Florida Edu-
cational Association thought it a
most timely thing to present to the
state.
So far as I know there has been no
arrangements made for paying for
the printing of the cartoon and if the
Tampa Tribune, the paper which
printed the cartoons by courtesy of
the School Board Journal, is donating
this service to the splendid cause, it
is amply able to do SO and it would be
a most commendable act of public
spirit.
No, the school boards and superin-
tendents and leading educators and
leading papers of the state are not
being made catspaws of by some mys-
ferrous something or other that you
conjure up in your mind as smacking
it's chops for the fine choice hunk of
graft that your minds eye sees.
Please, Mr.. Editor, be a little spe-
cifc and tell just how or even just
about how you figure that this nice
juicy slice of graft is going to come
out of the ten-mill amendment.
There is not thing to conceal or
camoufage about it. In the future as
in the past any information that may
be in the Office here or that 4 may
have is at your service and is avail
able to the public. l invite you to
call for any item of information that
may occur to you as serviceable.
i will volunteer this much informa-
ton which will probably serve as a
good text for you. AT the meeting of
the Florida Educational Association
at Daytona about the first of last
January there was a resolution pass
ed asking the school boards of the
state to contribute $40 each as a per-
fectly legitimate educational expendi-
ture from public funds for the pur-
pose of informing the people of the
state of the necessity for and the
purpose of the amendment. When the
regular annual meeting of school Off
GERS and high school principals was in
session in Gainesville on May 10 the
question of the number of the coun-
ties that had contributed their quota
was raised and number of the most
progressive of the counties of the
state had already sent in theirs and
on June 5 the board of Marion county
authorized its contribution and war
rant for this amount was drawn to
the credit of c. R. M. Sheppard, sup
erintendent of Volusia county, who
was treasurer of this fund. They
have gotten this much of your seven
mill levy but / don't contemplate that
they will get any of your ten-mill
levy. This action was endorsed by
the superintendent and board men,
bers from all over the state and by
the state superintendent.
1t is possible that portion of this
fund has been used to pay for the
printing of the cartoons that so very
fittingly represent the dilemma that
you can find the Marion county school