Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-05-24

others wrote from $50 years ago
through all the history Of this ma
ton to the present nour.
LEGAL Support Talk
They should gather up and burn
every book that has written in il the
constitution Of Texas, for in that
constitution was written more than
80 years ago, that "a general diffu-
sion Of knowledge being essential to
the preservation Of the rights and
liberties of the people, the legisla-
ture shall establish an efficient sys-
tenn Of public free schools"
In this day. there are some So
called educators and pseudo states
men. who repeatedly declare that
local support is basic in educa-
tional affairs.
The doctrine that local support is
basic is the outstanding fallacy of
the age in educational effort.
Those who persistently declare
their belief in that doctrine regard
children as they do cattle and
horses, sheep and goats. as the prop
erty Of their parents and as belong
ing TO some restricted locality. They
pretend 10 believe that IL the voters
of n locality desire their children
educated, they should first show by
providing for substantial local fl
nancial support. II they refuse such
support. then the children should be
deprived Of equal educational Oppor-
tunity and should be allowed 10
grow TO manhood and womanhood in
ignorance. 20 hereafter become a
menace and a curse to this country.
They pretend 10 believe that chill
dren belong 10 the locality in which
they are born. when. in fact they
belong to the nation. | was born and
reared in the state Of Mississippi in
an obscure locality, far removed
from any city. ! did not belong to
Black Hawk school district nor to
the state Of my birth, but to the
nation.
Back TO Nature Waltz
One night in Texas, not many
years ago, the sheriff of a county
was notified that the law was being
grossly violated in a s~choolhouse in
a district in his county. He and his
chief deputy repaired to the locality
and when they arrived on the scene,
they found the desks in the school
house cleared away and a dance in
progress, participated BY 80 or more
white men and women, dressed as
Adam and Eve were in the Garden Of
Eden. In that community, the chief
product was children.
Children who will grow 70 man
hood and womanhood to become cit.
izens Of this country and the fathers
and mothers of other children.
Those who are welded to the doc
trine that local support is basic pre-
tend 10 believe that those children
should be allowed to grow up in n
Semi-barbarous, uneducated eondi-
ton, because their parents may not
be willing to provide local support.
IN such communities the stale
should establish a school and place
therein the most efficient teachers
and instruct those children, not only
IN the subjects included in the cur
rlculum, but should teach them IN
all that constitutes good character
and good citizenship.
Will Not Hold Water
II local support support il ba ,ic
and the children are TO have equal
educational opportunity. then there
must be an equal distribution of
property, so that there will be back
Of every scholastic the same taxable
values, or there must be some pro-
vision made by the state By and
through which such opportunity will
be established.
In Smith county. in one school dis
trlct IN which there are about 50o
~scholastics, the taxable values per
child are approximately $685.. n
another district in Smith county
there are over 1000 s~cholastics and
there IS a valuation Of over g. 5O0
bacs Of each child. In Dallas there
back Of each scholastic approxi-
nately $4,000 in property, assessed
In \ first. I per cent tax would
raise S5.35. which. added 10 the zta-s
apportionment. would amount 10
How II Worked Out
IN Dallas, a ] per cent tax would
produce $40 which. added 70 the
state apportionment Of SIS would
make SCI for each scholastic.
IN other words, IL / per cent tax
levied in each case, the scholastic
IN the Arp school district in Smirh
county would have S20.35 to pay for
educational advantages. In TYLER.
III. The child in the Arp district has
about one-half the amount the child
n Tyler has, and about one-third thc
amount the child in Dallas has.
" we equalize educational advar-
ages by applying the doctrine THAI
local support is basic and give ~
the child at Arp the same backing
the scholastic in Tyler has, the
.ax IN the Arp district must be Al
5 per cent. If We give the Arp
scholastic the same backing az IL
given the scholastic in Dallas. We