The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1922-01-13
SENATOBIA PAPER ASKS
PERTINENT QUESTIONS
Believes in Schools and Good Roads
But Seems to Think School Appro-
priations are Worked Overtime.

The Senatobia Democrat of Dec.
%, had the following Editorial under
the caption, "Big Brothers to the
Child, which The Sentinel gives to
its readers for their consideration.
one does not have to entirely agree
with the Democrat editor to recog-
niZe that there is much of truth in
the position he assumes. In truth,
there are many, very many, sane,
sensible and leading men in Missis-
, slppi just now who are thinging
along the lines he writes. The States
ablest and best school men would do
well to give consideration to what
the Senatobia paper says:
I'm recent years we have heard
much from public speakers about be-
| friending the child. At Jackson there
is maintained an Office for the State
| Superintendent of Education which
gives employment to more people than
it took to run the whole State Gov
ernment twenty years ago. This is
of course done in the interest of the
child. There is State Text Book
Commission which selects the books
which are to be studied in our schools.
They, too, are working in the inter-
est of the children. SO much so they
signed a contract forcing the parents
of children in Mississippi to pay
$1.16 for geography that can be
bought in Tennessee for "a cents.
They forced the parents in Mississip-
pi to pay sc cents for Child's World
4th Reader that can be bought any,
where in Tennessee for 38 cents. So
much were they interested in the wei
fare of our children that they raised
the price of books for the 9th grade
from 1915 to $500. But these are
not the only people at Jackson who
are interested in the welfare of the
children of Mississippi. We have a
long string of public officials who are
drawing fat salaries from the state
treasury and whose job it is to "raise
the standard of schools in Mississip-
pi." They 60 about this by organiz-
ing state wide teachers association
that is more like a union than any
thing else we know of having domi-
cile in Mississippi. The first step in
the platform is to raise additional
money for education and then more
money and then some more money.
They constantly compare the four
dollars per capita provided by Missis-
sippi with the thirty dollars provided
in the State of California and then
distort what that state is doing and
make it read sixty dollars that Cali
fornia is putting up. They compare
Mississippi with one-ffth of her lands
IN curyatiops (aHa very poor cElti-
walton at that,) with the State of
Iowa with four-fifths of her lands in
cultivation. They say nothing about
the hundreds of thousands of negroes
who have who pay no taxes. Ac-
cording to the theory of some of
these state educators it is better for
the parents of these children to go
in rags and live on bread and water
with one meal a day than it is to
stop this wild rampage of none,
spending which has been undertaken
by the favor of education. This paper
has stood for better schools for
twelve years 1t made fights and sac
rifced when the cause was an un-
popular one. That was before the
profession of teaching had been COM
and had grown so power
full that men feared to combat it.
We have no apologies to make for
our support of a better school system
in Tate County and we are, proud to-
day of the schools in this county and
of the men and women who run
them. But just as we believe in good
schools so do we believe in good roads
and good churches and good homes.
In fact we are in favor of the good
nome first. The Democrat has labor
ed increasingly for fears to bring
about a more profitable farming sys-
tenn in Tate county. We are suffer
ng today from an over burden OF
because our production
failed to keep pace with our improve
nents. We are beginning to realize
hat the schools are not cure all;
hey are not what we had hoped they
would be. We probably built too
many schools and made the support
ng districts too small. But it is too
ate to cry over spilled milk. Our job
S to increase the profits of the farm
n to, the point where taxation will
lot be confiscatory. While this is
,eing brought about every unneces-
airy expense must be eliminated.
Men who are not vitality needed to
,eep the state school system running
hould be dismissed. The support
und at Jackson for the Superinten-
|ent's office can be cut about one
alf without any damage being done
ccording to all reports from there.
he Legislature can very profitable
ook into the matter of school book
ontracts. The glaring inequality of
rice of school books between this
tate and Tennessee is too open to
o unchallenged. If the facts are as
-e state them then fraud is evident
nd someone should be punished. It
the legislatures job to find out if
here Was fraud. This matter of
,hool regulation and appropriation
job of large proportions. 1t is
,mewhat like cancer. 1t has been
lently gaining strength and sap
ing the financial stability of the
ate without anyone paying very
uch attention to it. It will probably
Ike about three months of newspaper
scussinn to hiring out all of the