The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-07
1T is TAXATION INSTEAD
OF EDUCATION

1T is TAXATION INSTEAD
OF EDUCATION
Editor Star: A few days ago you
published list of the high school
text books prescribed for use in the
schools of Florida that was furnished
by myself, under heading that
would carry the impression that this
price list would have something to do
with the proposed ten-mill amend
ment.
This list of books has nothing
whatever to do with the funds secur-
| ed by taxation for the maintenance of
the public school system.
This list simply covers the books
allowed to be used in the high schools
of the state and are at as reasonable
rate as they can be bought anywhere
and the pretense that the price of
books is keeping children out of
school or that the number of books
they study is keeping children out of
school is the thinnest kind of moon
shine and there is absolutely nothing
to it.
In few of the counties of Florida
and in many states the text books are
furnished to the pupils from from
public funds and there is no place in
the world from which to get public
funds except from the public and
that through taxation.
Surely there can be no person of
anything like approximate intelli-
gence who would at this critical
stage of the worlds history advocate
letting down the standard of Ameri-
can intelligence and substituting Z.
haphazard condition of ignorance. 1t
would be criminal and would invite
a condition of illiteracy similar to
that experienced during and immed-
lately following the civil war in the
southern states for which you have
probably heard hundreds of apologies
upon the ground that there were no
schools in those days. In other words
there was no public school system
and thousands upon thousands of peo-
pie grew up in illiteracy.
Is this an encouraging or patriot
ic picture to hold up in front of your
self and the youth of the land?
Very truly yours,
J. H. Crimson.
We are afraid we shall have to list
our good friend, Mr.. Brinson. among
those people who maintain that if
anything is not white it is black. They
will not concede there are seven col
ors in between, and an object that is
not white may be blue or red or gold
or brown. No, they insist, if it isn't
white it just perfectly can't help be-
ing black. Also. they insist, if one
is not with them IN everything, he
must be against them in everything.
They will not allow you to agree with
them in so or 70 or 80 per cent of
anything. You must 60 the whole
hog or you can't have any pork
Publishing the price list has this
much to do with the proposed ten
mill amendment, that the cost of the
books is great and that man who
has to pay for them is already loaded
heavily without another 80 cents per
annum in taxes stuck on every hum
sdred dollars worth of his property.
The cost of books and the ten-mill tax
may not have anything in common,
but they have this in uncommon, that
they are both excessive and both
have to come out of the Taxpayers
pocket.
The books may sell at as reason
able rate as anywhere but the people
might prefer to think it is unreason-,
able rather than reasonable. At any
rate, it is very high, and it is no con-
ISOLATION to the overtaxed people to
tell them they don't have to pay more
than anybody else. We are under the
impression, however, that they are to
be obtained at lower rate in some
other states. We have heard a great
many school patrons complain of the
price of books. A man with large
family, and who is too proud, as
many are, to let his school district
supply his children with books, has
problem hard to solve when school
time comes around. Mr.. Crimson to
the contrary notwithstanding, we
have known the price of books. COM
bined with other adverse circum-
stances, to keep a good many children
out of school. There is not such a
thing as free books anywhere. Eve
ry self-respecting man prefers to pay
for his children's books. If he can't,
his neighbor has to help pay for
them, and in either case, one or the
other pays an average of $3.50 for
books that should cost him 81.
However, we can't get away from
the price of the books. The book
trusts have us where the wool is
short. But we can refrain from vot-
ing any more taxes on ourselves.
Mr.. Brinson converses thru his hat
when he tries to give the inference
that we favor letting down the stand
ard of intelligence and returning to
the conditions that existed at the
close of the civil war. He knows that
the Star has always stood for educa-
tion Mr.. Brinson is now not argu-