The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-10

poorly tralned teachers the need for bet ter training school facilities cannot be denied. The state cannot make the greatest progress on farm, in factory or in the professions without an educated citizenship and it is the business of insti- tutions of higher learning to train for leadership. The war has emphasized at never before the supreme need of educa- tion, and the increased attendance in our institutions of higher learning, which has been relatively much greater than in elementary schools. is an argu- ment that no thinking man can over look. It should be remembered that the rich man can send his son anywhere, east, north, west, to Harvard, Chicago or Wisconsin, but the great mass of our young men and women will never secure a college education unless they get it in Alabama and simple justice demands that we make our colleges the best we possibly can. I feel keenly. therefore, that the time has come in Alabama when, as chief executive and chairman of your respective boards of education, I ought to urge you to look at our edn- cational system in big way and with d due sense of proportion. The official records SOW that Alabama, as compared with the other forty-seven states of the union. spends relatively a considerably larger amount for her public schools than for her institutions of higher learn- ing The explanation of this is that our local tax amendment to the constitution hss. within the last three years. increased by more than 100 per cent the revenues of the common schools, and while this additional increase has not been at all adequate for our public schools, it has at least been relatively greater than the increase given the institutions of higher learning during the year 1919 But this is only part of the story The Increases from ad valorem taxes will exceed year. ly by three quarters of million dol lars the estimated receipts from the state tax of three mills, as shown in the official budget for the current quad rennium This increase. with the condi- tional appropriation of a million dollars to the public schools. which l sincerely hope, and have every reason to believe, win be able to release, the doubling of our poltax receipts and the correspond- insly larger returns from county and local taxes, insure for the public schools q total increase during the next three years of more than six million dollars, an amount which is twelve times as much as the appropriation proposed in the bill and twenty-four times much as it carries for institutions of higher learn ing My sincere belief therefore, as indicated in my message at your open ing session and in subsequent one, Is that good business principles would not be followed in reducing the appropria- ton to institutions of higher learning. II feel confident that if you had the same information about our entire school situation, which necessarily comes to the governor from membership on all state school boards, you would reach the same conclusion that has been forced upon me, namely, that you should amend the bill. Should you see fit to do this you will not only meet my objection. but I have no doubt the wisdom of your act will be abundantly justified before a new ad- ministration begins in January, 1923.
 Respectfully,
 'sTHOS. E. KIRBY Governor.