Pocahontas star herald., 1924-05-16
To the Voters of Randolph
County

am writing you to call your at
tention to what | think is the most i'm
portant election that you will vote on
during this year. l have reference to
the Annual School Election which will
be held next Saturday, May IA.
There are fifteen schools in this
county that gave their children only
three months of school during the past
year. Six of these districts are in
contiguous territory.
am familiar with the financial con
ditions of every school district in the
county. | know something of the kind
Of teacher each district employs. l
know something of the length of school
term i'm each district With this in
formation at hand, | believe l am right
when | say that every school district
in the county should vote a 12 mill
tax. 1t win take this to secure a
capable teacher for period of eight
months. Certainly We do not want to
give the children less than this.
Recently | received a letter from
Mr. Hill, State Superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction. He said that we need
not expect more than twenty-five cents
for each child from the Riggs Income
Tax Law. As you know the Parnell
Cigar and Cigarette Law is in the
courts and no doubt will finally be
held illegal This being the case, we
are just about where we were before
the legislature met, so far as the
schools are concerned.
If each district will vote ~ mills,
IL will have done all that can be done,
even though, in many instances, this
will not be enough to give the children
the school they deserve.
| know 1t may be said by those who
oppose a good school that taxes are
already high enough l ask those who
may feel this way about the matter
this question; What is the most i'm
portant thing in the life of child?
Is it saving few dollars for him? If
you neglect to develop your child's
mind have you not incurred debt
that you can never live long enough to
pay?
Ii has always been strange thing
to me why anyone should oppose a
reasonable tax for education. 1t is
especially strange that one who will
pay only few cents for education
should do so. This is often the case
nevertheless. and sometimes we find a
rather well to do man who will can
vass his school district just previous to
the school election against the little
children who are his neighbors. l ask
you If you do not think that a man
who has accumulated a considerable
fortune, and who takes this attitude,
II not selfish? Is he not against the
best interests of his country? Should
he not "jar loose from some of his
gold in favor of the little children of
his community?
1 quote you from recent speech on
education made by Honorable Jim G..
Ferguson:
I'VE must develop our man power
as well as our water power, horse
power and candle power We must
not forget that we have vast stores of
undeveloped mental wealth as well as
quantities of undeveloped material re-
sources. We may astound the world
with our discoveries of oil and pro-
duction of bauxite and yet fall short
of accomplishing those higher pur-
poses which count for real advance
ment along the lines of better citizen
ship and more ldealistic life. Our
most worthwhile raw material is the
stock Of boys and girls in the land and
as we train them, and shape their
characters, so win our position as a
state be fixed, socially, intellectually
and economically.
"Children are our great asset. They
offer a better investment than stocks
or bonds, lands or chattels. Money
put into the schools returns ten-fold.
community can better be without
factory than school building.
"The free school is an American in
stitution. Il was born In this country.
1t is older than the declaration of in
dependence. older than the articles OF
confederation older than the constitu-
tion: 1t is older than the flag itself.
II is the most ancient of all our Ameri-
can institutions. Its purpose is to de-
velop citizenship. Democracy cannot
continue without the help Of the free
schools II Is the only point of con-
tact the state has with the hearts and
minds of It's people
"Back in the rural districts Is the
purest of American stock, the plastic
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