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Show ANOTHERPROTEST The Legislature Asked not to Pass the Measure REDUCING SCHOOL FUND The Enactment cf the measure Into Law Would be a Staggering; Blow to the Educational Interests of the Territory EOouncilor Seaman Pledged to Help Us A brief item in The Dispatch of Tuesday upon authority of Superintendent Superinten-dent Christensen announced the fact that if the leeislature, as it threatens, tiukerB with the tax law so as to trans fer the money of the school fund to the general fund, many schools in this and other counties will have to close for the greater part of the year. Since then the following petition bas been circulated circula-ted and heavily signed: To the Governor and the Legislative As sembly of the Territory of Utah : 'Your petitioners respectfully protest pro-test against the passage of the proposed measure by which the territorial school tax is to be reduced from the three-mill basis. "We believe that any decrease in the territorial school revenue will be a staggering blow to the educational interests in-terests of tbe territoiy; and that it will result, beyond doubt, in closing for the greater part of the year many of the schools of the smaller districts, thus depriving the children of the benefits they should enjoy. "The theory of our American public school system is, that the child is the war d of the state in educational matters mat-ters and that it owes him an education; but such change would render impotent this cherished notion. "In our opinion this proposition is wholly in the interest of those portions of the territory where the wealth of the whole peonle is centralized. It would be the means of increasing the taxes in localities where "children are numerous num-erous and wealth is scarce," where the people cannot submit to increased taxation. "Our free schools have made phe-nominal phe-nominal success during their short ex-1 istence. Why nip them in the bud?" This has been signed bv all the county officers except Judge Jones who refused re-fused to sign, Hon. S. R. Thurman, Kon.-W. H. King, E. A. Wilson, A. L. Booth, E A. Wedgwood, D. D. Houtz, Deputy Marshal Henry and mauy others. . Ooun ilor Seaman has promised' to present resolutions and ubp hia influence in onr behalf. The trustees of the Jcounty are unalterably un-alterably opposed to an y reduction in territorial revenues. The county court yesterday paseed the following, Judge Jones casting tbe only dissenting vote: "Resolved by the county court of Utah county, territory of Utah, that the proposition pro-position now before the legislature to reduce the three-mill territorial school tax, thereby throwing the burden of educating the child upon each locality, would be detrimental to the educational interests of the whole people and at variance with the free school idea, and if adopted would do a great injustice to the rural districts of the territory. Resolved, That we protest most earnestly against such proposed action or any messure that will reduce the territorial revenue for school purposes, and be it further "Resolved, That a copy of thes9 resolutions reso-lutions be forwarded to the governor, the president of the legislative council and to the speaker of the house of representatives." |
