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ESTABLISHED 1866. VOL. XL. ~ PROF. GREENE DECLINES. Letters explaining Themselves. Villauow, Ga., July 17, 1907. The Jesup Sentinel, Jesup, Ga. Dear Editors : explain I enclose herewith copies of letters which themselves. You are at liberty to use litis information iu any way you think proper. "■Please make it clear to my friends either through your paper or personally that I accepted another position only after I had given up hopes at Jesup. I would have willingly accepted on the spot, if the Board had fixed my salary at 1900 when I was first re-elected. I do not believe my friends at Jesup will censure me for this, un der the circumstances existing. Certainly it is not intended to ex press the least ingratitude for the splendid support which the people of Jesup have given me. truly, Yours very \V. D. Greene. >• *** %* Board of Education, Jesup, Ga., July 16, 1907. Prof. A. D. Green. Villa now, Ga. Dear Sir:— read . , betore e the .. Your letter of the 8th of July was Board of Education yesterday aftern uon and the following motion made and carried. E C. Crummev, U. W. Tindall, aud Jos. A. Morris still agree to carry out their promise to make Piote-s-jr Greene’s salary $900, regardless of length . ol . ti e atLool , , 1 erm . Col .Clark concurs in the order that the members of ihe board under promise fnltill their personal obligations. information and request that I am instructed lo send you this vou reply at once and inform the board if your resignation still holds good. Yours truly. James Steele, Sect’y. * * *** V.Uauow, Ga. July 1, 1907. Board of Education, Jesup, Ga, Geutlemeu: Secretary’s letter of the 16th iustant stat I have your "the ing that by action of Board toe Superintendent’s salary has been placed at $900 regardless ot lengih of school term and requesting me to inform you at once whether I occept under that condition. Since receiving notice of your action on July the first reduc.ng my salary to $850, I have been offered position of Superintendent of the City Schools of McDonough, Ga. at a salary of $1000 for nine scholas tic months which I have already accepted. Iam sorry that circumstances render it impossible for me to avail myself of the opportunity offered by your considerate action. Yours very truly, W. D. Greene. Picnic Notice An Educational Ral'y and Bas i ket Picnic will take place at Hope well, five miles north of ant, Wednesday, July, 81st, 1907. Couuty School Commi-siouer B. D Purcell and Mr. 1. B. Hartig will deliver addresses ou education iu general ami particularly ou local school taxation. A general invitation is extended to the pub lie. School Closing: The Pine Grove School, about five nines from Odum, wilt close on Tuesday, Julv 80th. Besides the school exercises, County School Commissioner B. D. p u cell a. d Mr. T. B. Hartig w,H de liver addresses. In the afternoon State Organizer W. W. Webb will speak in be:. all of ihe Sea 1-laud Cotton Gtowers Association. The public has a cordial invitation to atteud. Mr. J. L. Hill, the Cash Gro cery man, has mooved his large stock of goods into the new YVb;.ley Block, where, having more room, he can show them to his custo mers to better advantate. He invite a his fri-i ds to call on him in his new Icsttj) {Sentinel ♦ “WE APPLAUD THE RIGHT AND CONDEMN THE WRONG.” Our Public Reccords The greatest safeguard to t’e property owners of a couuty is to have their public records correct and complete. To do this proper ty requires not only time but also the necessary ability in the “ree cord offices” of a county, so that all legal couveyancee, such as deeds, mortgages, leases, bills-ot sale, etc., be recorded in the right place, iu a correct manner, in dexed so the same may he easily traced, and placed there legibly aud in substantial books of record In this particular the property holders of Wayne county are most fortuuate. The office of the Dlerk of the Superior Court here is a model. Old record books have been transcribed into new modern ones, indexed so that deeds and other may easily be Surprise Party 0n Wt , dnpgt j a y night. the 28rd, j ngt j mrt y u f y ( ,ui,g people cull ^ o|) Mr> „ ud Mrg R L . Bennett q U j t0 unexpectedly tor a surprise J>ar jy Jo honor of Miss Annie Lou p,,pj„, rj ,,t Florida, Mrs. Bennett’s There were in the parly Misses Susie Surrenev, Lucy In K a t*. a)) d Lila Fulcher, ,j.j )eu (j ouyergi Connie Spell, Ray | West berry. Bertie Benuett, and M,ller ’ Me8srs - K ‘ F I We8t ‘ 1 berry, A. L. Bunch, Joe Austin, Archie Goodbread, Mercer Eddeu field and John Brewton. After arriving at the house and the ex teinent which usuallyaccompan ies a suapr.ee party passed over <he indulged in various social games unt>l a late hour when through the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett the party was escor :ed i<> ihe ice cream parlor of the Jesu > Drug Co. where lce cream VY2I8 set ved, returning to Mr. Ben net's hum-, thanking them for Kind hospitality, the entire party v< t d a iii<i-t pleasant time. Now is a mighty good time to good from Winn . buy you a buggy – Co. JRSUP, GA. JULY 35th, 1907. found, aud all this has been doue in such a business-like manner that stamps our clerk, Mr. Ira M. Ravbon. as one who has not, onlv ability and energy in this partic ular line of public work, but who actually strives to do all in man’s power to protect the interests of the people, who have placed this important, trust into his hands. Wayne’s citizens, when they visit the courthouse, should call at this office nnd see for them pelves. No county in the state lias a better set of records, or a man in ehiirge a£ them who has more ability along this particular line, or wh<> more faithfully per formed his official duties than our Clerk. In this connection, also, the people should remember that all the>r deeds should be on rec ord, for without this no abstract would be complete, If any one has heretofore failed to do this, they should attend to the matter at once. The property-holders of Wayne couuty should feel fortunate that they have such an able Clerk iu charge of their records, and above all, appreciate the fact that it has been, in a large way, the efforts that he hes exerted during the past five years which has their public reccords into such fii.e condition. Picnic At Ritch. About twelve hundred people gathered near Ritch Saturday aud had an Educational Rally and Sea Island Cotton Growers’ meet ing. County School Commissioner B. D. Purcell and Mr. T. B. Har tig spoke on Local School Taxa tion and were well received. Rev. W.W'. Webb, State izer, spoke in behalf of the Island Cotton Growers’ ton. An Organization of the waseffeetd as follows: President, Capt Ben Milikin. Vice Pres T. B. Hartig, Secretary, H. W. Harris. A ca U will soon be issued a |t , co tton growers to assemble at j esU p a „d effectively organize. Notice There will be a combined Ice Cream aud Basket Supper at the Red Hill school house on Friday evening Aug. 9th, 7:80 o’clock. Young geutlemen aud young la dies, come and contribute thing to the great cause of t tion, -R<s Nichols, ectiully, Teacher. L. A. SUBSCRIPTION f 1.00 PER YEAR BO, 39. LOCAL TAX A TION FOR SCHOOLS - BY - HON. WILLIAM G. BRANTLEY. In 1870 the number of illiterate whites in Georgia ten years of age and over, was 124,089. In 1800 the number had been reduced to 114,691, and in 1900, the year of the last census of the U. S., the number had been still further reduced to 101,264. The peicentage of our white population in 1870 that was illiterate was 27%. This percentage in 1893 ha l been reduced to 16.8%, and in 1900 had be >n further reduce 1 to 11.9 per ceo-.. Thes > figures are gratifying and encouraging. They give us much ctuse to rejoice over the progress we have made. SVe eunn »t forget, however, that in 1900 there were more than cne hundred r,Inman 1 illiterate whites in our State; nor can we overlook the ugly fact, that while in 1900 we had reduced our percentage of illiterate whites to 11.9 per ceut, this percentage is nearly double the average percentage of white il literacy in the United States. The average percentage is only 6.2 per cent. Until, therefore, we have reduce ! our percentage to some fig ure at least approximating the average, and until we have in large part wiped out those figares of one hundred thousand white illiter ates, we cannot afford to let up iu our efforts to extend and increase educational advantages m our State. The important question is, how are we going to do it? We are all interested to know the easi est and most direct method of bringing about the desired end. Undoubtedly, local laxation is the most direct, if not the easiest method to pursue. It has the advantage to > of being founded on jus tice und of being in entire harmony with the basic principles "f lo cal self government. It is not meant thereby to lessen th v duty or decrease the assistance of the State. The-purpose is simplv to sun* pliment the efforts of the State by adding thereto the help of t.h e coun ties and municipalities. In the tormatiou of our Republic, it was not design'd that the Government should d > everything for the people, it was designed that the Federal Government should perform certain duties, the States certain other duties, and that still other duties should be performed by the people themselves. The true theory of our Government is that each citizen shall be free to pursue happiness m lus own appointed way, lestiioted in his natural rights and privileges only so far as may be necessary for the common good ot all and for the preservation of law and order. Under this theory, it has b-en contended by some that education is a matter of personal choice and desire, aud that the onlv duty and power of the Government in reference to it, is to protect such citi zens as desire it in their efforts to secure it. Clearly, it is no con cern of the Federal Government, for that Government is one of lim ited and enumerated powers, and in the list of the powers conferred upon it, there is not one sanctioning or OQ it to £ control, cr in anywise interfere with th EX - State. It is equally clear that education does directly coucern the State Government, and it is the duty of such Government to foster and lencourage it. The matter of educating the people of a State is pure y a matter of domestic concern and comes within the operation of the police power of Buch State, or in other words, the power to reg nlrtte its own internal affairs. Education is not simply a matter or col cern and in the c intention to th- ; contrary lies the vice of the argu , The road ment that the State has no duty in regard to it. to pros perity. liberty, power and influence is through the school house aud college, aud for any people to reach these desired ends, not one, but many of them, must travel this road. One educated man or woman in a commnntity does not make an educated community ar.y more than one rich person makes a rich community. Tim intelli gene", character, power and standing of a people are measured not by the condition in this regard of one of their number but by the average condition of all. It is the education of the masses that is d< sired, not merely the education of a few individuals. If therefore, we would live among an educated, progressive, enlightened and religeous people—and surely all of us desire to live among such a people—we must stretch out our bauds tnd lift up all those around and about us. We must aid iu the education of our neighbors children, the same as iu our own, and we can only do this through some organiz ed forces of our government cr church. The, State is directly interested, because by education, the stan dard of citizenship is raised and Government is made easier; protec tion of life, liberty and property, which protection is the paramount duty of Government, is measurably increased; respect for law aud obedience to law intensify and grow under its influence; ambitiou is stimulated; enterprise is promoted, capital is encouraged aud la bor rewarded thereby; while every effort looking to the moral aud material advancement of the people and the State is strengthened and sustained. The interest of the State thus being established, the State should help educate the masses of the people and should help in generous and substantial fashion. Our State doei help grandly and magnificently, but more help is needed. Shall tho State furnish the additional help? Can the State do it? Let us see if the counties and the town haven’t a duty and a high duty in the matter. If they have such duty, it requires no argument to demonstrate that many of them, particularly the countieg, indeed the most of them, have been derelict in the performance of it. None will contend that all of them have measured up to it. A brief glance at the formation of our Government shows that the guiding principle therein was to fConcluaeU on ■au page)