The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1920-10-16
COLFAX. GRANT PARISH. LA.
Safety First.

d than fly to others we know not OF. -
4 The voters in the election Nov. d
next Will vote on great number
a proposed amendments to the State col
stitution along with a proposal to l1o
= constitutional convention in 1921 Il
3 the purpose of making a new constit,
q ton. Considering the extraordinay
conditions existing at this time, / i,
convinced that the safety of the cit
I aens of the State depend upon the III
\ conditional and unqualified DEFEA,
of ALL the proposed amendments an
the contemplated new constitution. !,
We are fallen upon strange times
SO strange in fact that, so far as pub
! lie affairs are concerned. we are mon
ing in the dark. Some, if not all til
lights we discern in the midst Of til
darkness are false lights-will o. thi
wisps purposeIy calculated to lead u
away into the wilderness of disastej
and destruction. For long and for lon{
the people of Louisiana abided by. a.
held and supported the plain, simpa
and true principles of the America1
government as delivered to their des,
cendants by the founders of the grea1
democracy. Now vast Efforts beina
made to lead US away from our familiar
surroundings and from our normal con-
ditions and circumstances, into re gions
OF thought and action about which we
know nothing and in which we cannot
hope to do any thing better than to
iounder and blynder and finally sink
INTO insignificance and oblivion.
The amendments should be defeated
in part and in whole-jointly, several
ly and in toto-because if any or all Of.
them seem to possess any degree Of,
virtue, the important fact is thew
seem to" Appearance is one thing.
Reality is another.
To illustrate, one of the amendments
would vote great sum of money into
the State public school fund. That
proposal seems good to some people.
Such people look only at the surface
OF things. To others, who weigh and
analyze, it makes no appeal. for thevf
understand that while ii IS perfectly
easy and feasible to put the money in
70 the fund, the process of applying
money SO that it will benefit the schools
not only is not easy and feasible, but
on the contrary. is extremely difficult,
not to say actually impossible. Doyou
want proof of this? Then look over I
the history of the public school fund
OF the State during the last ten wears.
Really it is not necessary to 90 into
those records. Go into any community
IN the State. Examine the school
houses, the teachers, the faculties.
ascertain all about the cost of the
building and equipments, the salaries
md all that. You will learn that the
houses were built and equipped by To- :
al taxes-that the teachers are paid
ut OF the local taxes. Everywhere
'ou will find that some money has come
own from the State school, fund but :
gu will be astonished to see and real
se how small and insignificant that
honey is in comparisio1 with that OBJ
aimed by means of local taxation.
his observation points two moral les
'ns: No. one-If you want school
ouses and schools you can obtain them
local taxation. No. two-Putting
Ioney into the State school fund is
ne thing. Getting it out of the State
'hool fund and using it for the bene- p
OF the public school is another thing,
political, theoretical thing. :.
'unded not on fact, but created by Is
ending imagination with hope.
What IS true with public schools is n
SO true of public roads. We speak :,
hlghways--we are greatly interested "
highways. When we get a high =
ay is when We build it. Exactly that :,
ID not otherwise. All offers of out =
iers, politicians, proletariats, philan- =
ropists, nabobs and the rest to set up W
hools for US or to build roads for us. .
we always been, are now. and will =
ntinue to be neither more nor less
an pretense. The offer made by the =
ate to take your taxes and set up
nools are no more than pretenses.
u have already learned how to get =
1oois and maintain them. By fol-
wing the lead of those who are max
the proposals now pending, we be- iol
series of experiments with all Oh
indications and precedents pointing 20
certain failing. SIC
Is for the new constitution, while it !.
true that the existing constitution oh'
a ragged and torn document, possess SET
only slight resemblance to the origi-