The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1921-09-30

is net entirely necessary for. the cause
of education.
There was knowledge before there
were minis. There was culture be
fore there were coins. There were
great teachers and great schools
when the pupils lived as peppers, de
pendent upon the charity of people
and when the teacher lectured in the
shadow of the church or gathered his
pupils around hin in tie field.
Roger Bacon and Francis Bacon
had few appliances for education, but
they got into history as two of the
profound minds of the world.
The ancients had no theodolite and
no travelling cranes ana yet they
built the pyramids, the Coliseum and
ROADS, if you please, which, after
1000 years, under the hoof beats of
the cavalry of races who have lived
and persisted, are still better than
those which arc built to-day and will
be ground into dust next year.
Benjamin Franklin had no labora-
tory, but with a kite and a bottle
he made some remarkable expert
ments in electricity. Ben was edu-
Gated in a printing office, but Amer
lea, after $50 years, has produced no
sounder thinker than this philoso-
pher and statesman.
Millions of dollars every year are
being poured into the great univer-
stiles of the North and the East be-
cause the North and the East have
money, which we have not. Our
money was wasted during and after
the war The North accumulated
money during and after the war.
Southern universities are poor in
funds. Their equipment is inadequate,
according to modern standards. Yet
out of our field schools and out or
our academies and our denomination
al schools, all poverty-stricken, and
out of our meagerly-supported State
universities have gone men and wom-
en- who in every field of endcavor and
culture have borne themselves with
great Memphis Commercial
Appeal.
In tie foregoing article the Com
mercial Appeal has once more given
full play to the courage of its convic-
tions. No doubt this will meet the
disapproval of large contingent of
the school party in Tennessee. There
arc others maybe who are willing to
acknowledge the truth of the state
ments. The Commercial Appeal has
directed its rer1arks to the achieve
ments of the public school system in
Tennessee and the value of those
from an educational
and n oral viewpoint. The deduc-
tons are indeed extremely disap
pointing. The point is, whether the
failure is attributable TO the public
school system or to extraneous con-
ditiCns. But whatever it is, one
thing is certain: We have the
schools and the conditions as they
are.
We have taken only that part of
the editorial which refers to the ed
ucational value of the schools. The
other is important, but most of our
people have probably read it.
We want to add a few remarks to
the business end of the proposition.
The key to the discussion was the
neglect of the child in the manage
ment Of the public school system of
Tennessee. This was brought out
at "a meeting in Memphis which |
the remarks in the Com
mercial Appeal.
One point in the outset, and that
point is unassailable. Three-fourths |
of the entire revenue-taxes, ETC., |
are appropriated by the State of Ten
neGsee to its public schools.
We cannot at this time quote the |
revenues of the State, but from fig |
ures made in some of the public dis
cussions in the last arnpaIgn the
State will probably collect this year
In revenue from all sources about |
seven millions of dollars. If that is
the case then the school revenue is
five millions. Out of this one-fifth |
or more of the entire amount goes to
the University of Tennessee. A large
bulk of the remainder goes to the
State Normals and the Polytechnic
School, Appropriations, we under
stand, have also been made to the
Peabody School at Nashville.
Now this paper hopes at some
time to be able to quote the correct
and the divisions of the
fund set apart for each of the
branches of the public school system
in Tennessee.
To undertake to say that the Rob-
arts tax system is responsible for in
creased taxation in Tennessee is
tnnract mica nnrnhn nsiou The, Pnh-