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m* ep» &JL o SAMPLE COPY The Grady County Progress VOL. 1. CAIRO, GRADY COUNTY, GEORGIA, FRIDAyT AUGUST 12, 1910. NO. 4 NOT COMING SHORT In Their Prorat Share of Ihe School Fund. WEATHERS MAKES REPLY "A Citizen” Did Not Know Wl»t He Was Writing About or Will lully Pekverted tbe Truth to Carry a Point—Invited to Make a Personal Investigation. Cairo, Ga., August 8, 1910. Mk. Editor: Dear Sir: — In last week’s Cairo Messenger there was a coinmunition under the title “Communicated” and signed by “A Citizen,” which, but for the fact that it contains statements that •are untrue, would be unnoticed. Who the Citizen is, I do not know; and why he makes these istatements is not for me to inquire; and were it not for the fact that someone would believe him, his letter would be passed unnoticed. What is said here applies only to his statement in regard to the school system, I do know something of the schools of Grady county, and but for the injustice done to the school system in this articl®, I would have nothing to say. The writer of the article characterizes the school system in the following words: “One of the most damnable im positions that has ever berin-impdsed upon the white people of Georgiy since the days when the Bilie Coats walked the streets of Atlanta in the days of the sixties, when our fath er’s created the law by which reve nues are raised for educational pur poses . Their motives were doubt less pure, and the appropriations were intended to go for the special benefit of tne children, but they have been perverted and are being used to pay Book Committees, County School Commissioners, In- stiiute Experts, Boards of Educa tion, etc., until the report of the State School Commissioner and ■other evidence show about one half ■of the appropriation leaks out be fore it gets to the teacher for the benefit of the children.” When the author of the article goes before the public and makes an assertion to the effect that about one-half of the;, appropriation for the public school is used up before it “goes to the teacher for the ben efit of the children” and relies upon the “report of the State School Commissioner and other evidence” to sustain him in this contention, the public at large will be interested in haying him point out definitely where 1 ‘the report and other evi dence” can be found. Unless the writer of the article can and. does show the grounds for this accusa tion, I think no sensible man can fail to see that he speaks either without knowing the truth, when he might have known it; or he shows a reckless disregard of the truth. He is amazingly ignorant of school conditions here and elsewhere, or he is willing to state a falsehood with some ulterior motive in view. First, let us look at the State Ad ministration. The State School Commissioner in his report to the general assembly of Georgia for 1908 (and I would use 1909 but I do not have it in my office now) on page 29, says “The salary roll' of the department of education 84,100.00 per annum, or a little more than one tenth of one per cent of what passes through our hands'. The entire cost of operating the de partment will not reach five-tenths of ono per cent. In other words, the State Admin istration of the Department of Edu cation costs not more than fifty cents on the $100.00. So much for the State Administration of the school funds. Let us now see about the county administration for Grady county, for the year 1909. The report of the county school commissioner to the state school commissioner for 1909 shows that there was disbursed in Grady county from the public funds $17,612.90; the expense for operating the county school were as follows: Salary to county school com missioner $700.00 Salary to the members of the board 120.00 Stationery, office rent, post age, express, institute ex • perts, and other incidentals 186.94 Making the total expenses $1,006.94 Deducting the total expense from the total amount disbursed we find that the teachers of Grady county actually received “for the benefit of the children” $16,605.96. Or in other words, the cost of the county administration for the school system was $5.71 on the $100.00. Or to be even more exact, deduct $5.71 from '$100.00 we find that out of every $100.00 the teachers of Grady county actually receive $9J 29 for the benefit of the cbildrea. Put' ting together the cost of the state of one-half, as this irresponsibl par ty affirms. Where did he get his facts? The only place they are ob tainable is from the county school comnrissioner and the state school commissioner. The state school commissioner’s report for 1908, as well as the oounty school commis sioner’s report for last year shows that his statements are utterly with out foundation, and can only come from the mind of one who does not know the facts, or from one who is willing to misstate the facts to meet the exigiences of a political cam paign. Now this party makes this fur ther statement that “in fact, as the records will show, those commis sioners and boards of education (referring to the commissioners and boards of education of Grady and Decatur counties) have robbed the rural districts for the special bene fit of the town.” As to that state ment I wish to submit some figures which I take from the records of the Grady county schools for this year. Dividing the appropriations to the schools by the average at tendance for this year. I find the average cost per pupil for the five months term just closed to be as follows: • Alpino school $1*.71 Court house or Ragan school. 8.12 Calvary school 9.43 Woodland school... 7.91 Hickory Head school 13.88 .'Prwnee school 8.33 Cairio school 8.07 Whigham school... 9.80 PROCEEDINGS OE son Full Board Was Present at Last Meeting. APPLICATION FOR AID FOR PAUPERS Further Investigation to Be Made OI Condition ol Applicants Be' lore Board Will Act—Several Accounts Ordered Paid. Board of County Commissioners met pursuant to adjournment. Present: Thomas Wight, J. M. Sasser, Henry Mitchell and Albert Powell. On motioil the minutes of the previous meeting road and ap proved. Josephine Pyles made applica tion for aid from pauper fund of county. Application referred to Commissioner Mitchell for investi gation, and report to next meeting of the board. Application of Spott Reed for aid from the county pauper fund re ferred to /Commissioner Powell to investigate and report back to the next meeting of this board. On motion Richard Gore was placed on pauper’s list of the coun ty to be paid $2.00 per month. Application of Mrs. Avie Finney to be placed on pauper’s list refer red to Commissioner Sasser to in vestigate and report to next meet ing of the board. and county administration . we,^.sgp P n P 1 ® it takes approximately one-six- counts ,■■</.: a teenth of the entire funds, instead : IS 00 28 26 50 8 00 8 00 1 00 11 00 3 25 Account- Albert Powell,nails for bridge $ 165 E. T. Dollar, jail fees, per diem at court,, etc— $102 10 Albert Powell; 4'days look ing after bridge Whiaden & Lang, lumber.. W. C. Barrow, work on bridge J. B. Watts, 4 duys service City Court bailiff E. G. Harrell, 4 days service Eugene Clower, metrical ser vice for prisoner S. M; McKeown, work on bridges _• P. H. Herring, Ordinary, or dering school election City of Caire, light, water and lamps for court house and jail Wight & Browne, vaccine, paints, etc., for small pox J. H. Carter, lumber for bridge T. J. Arline, medical ser vice in small pox cases, vaccine T. J. Arline, attending P. Hoskins and wife. W. R. Hawthorne, repair ing bridge 20 60 J. H Carter, lumber W. T. Crawford, per diem at court, etc... Roy W. Ponder, registering voters and making de faulters list.... W. R. Hawthorne, lumber. R. W. McDowell, bringing back prisoner to county.. On motion adjourned to 15 25 16 10 28 00 6 00 2 69 22 40 11 46 8 13 3 00 meet again on second Tuesday in Sep tember next. Thos. Wight, Chairman. J. M. Sasser, Albert Powell, J. L. Peeples. M. L. Ledford, Clerk. Let the people of Grady county see from these figures whether or not the country schools are being discriminated against in favor of the town schools. I have not taken all of the schools into question, but have only taken the town systems and several of the country systems. they certainly show that the coun try schools are not discriminated against in favor of the town schools, and shall not be so, so long as I am county school commissioner and have influence with the county board of education and the board is composed of such men as it now is. In conclusion, I wish to .say that there are no secrets connected with the administration of the schools of Grady county. The records of this office are open to inspection of any If-these figures ahow anything, citizen of the county at any time upon request. Not only do we not seek to hide things but I hereby in vite the fullest, freest investigation at any time. If the writer of the article did not know what he stated to be untrue, when hs might have known the facts, he is too irresponsible to ap pear in public print; if he did know that what he states is untrue, then, he is unworthy of belief. J. S. Weathers, C. S. C. LEI’S CLEAN UP. Editor Progress; The writer,from personal observation, is led to be lieve that the health of the people of our fair city is in imminent peril on Account of the existing unsani- tarv conditions and sounds this note of warning in the hope that our people may awaken from their lethargy and co-operate with our city officials in removing some of these deadly menaces and cess pools of disease that are to be found right in the heart of our town. Some time ago a mass meeting of citizens was held in the dourt house for the purpose of discussing ways and means of cleaning up the town which much enthusiasm was displayed, a call was made fora oleaning up day, committees were appointed to accelerate this work and perfect plans for permanent cleanliness, a mere glance will con vince the most careless observer that this work has riot been kept up as it should have been. Casually stroll down Broad street going south irnmediately after cross ing thq A. G. L., railroad. There You will See;tth.> gaping | iai(Wth:'.(g.Y sewer filled with decayed Vegetable matter and stagnant water arid the vapors arising therefrom are so of fensive to the sense of smell that one almost has to hold their nose in passing. On the othfer the street just north of the railroad is another pl^ce in like condition at the inter section of Broad and Pearce streets is a hole of water, the, outflow of a sewer; sour and nauseating, in which countless numbers of mos quitoes are breeding. These are not imaginative things, but are to be seen. Other cess pools of filth t co offensive to mention are to be found in great numbers and something should be done. Our mayor and council are trying to improve these conditions tut they can not do so without the help of others. A few cases have been made and fines imposed by the mayor for persons throwing garbage and rotten fish out upon the back lota. ONLY FIVE DAYS BEFORE GRADY DAY Pelham & Havana Railroad to Run Excursion. BASKET COMMITTEE WILL BE ON HAND Those Bringing Baskets May De posit Them In Ihe City Hall- Wagon WIH Be Sent to All the Homes In Cairo for Baskets . aa« Re.tnra Them In the Even- lag. Only five days until the day of all days—then Grady Day—August 17th. Let everyone keep this day in mind and meet in Cairo. It will be a day long to be remem bered by the youngest tot that you bring. The Pelham & Havana Railroad will run an excursion on that day. The fare from Calvary and return iB 75 cents; Reno 50 , cents; Cran ford 30 cents; Gradyville 15 cents. Trains will leave Calvary at 8:50 a. m., and returning will leave Cairo about 4,p. m. It’s going to be a big day. BASKET COMMITTEE’S REQUEST. The Basket Committee will, on the 17th, meet all morning trains, both on the Atlantic Coast Line and the Pelham <fc Havana railroads ard receive all baskets from parties bringing them. People from the r-jqnv.'St the Gity^ Bfali 'wri v . u they will be received, arid if desired returned to the ‘City Hall in the af ternoon, or they may take them to the picnic grounds near the sohool house, where a member dr members of the basket committee will be on the ground to look after same. Wagons will be sent to all the homes in town for baskets, beginning on the north side’ of town at 9:30 o’clock a. m. and the baskets re turned to the homes in the after- All baskets should be carefully marked or tagged, so as to insure identification. A strict observance of these rules will prevent any con fusion and delay and will greatly aid in making the occasion a suc cess. Respectfully, C. E. Mauldin, Chairman Basket Committee. Without imputing neglect to any one one lets get together and clean up. A Citizen. Mr*. Mary Webb, Dead. At the residence of Mr. N. W. Hinson, 12 miles south of Cairo on last Saturday morning Mrs. Maiy Webb died suddenly of heart fail ure. She had been in declining health for a few days but her death was a shock to all. She was above sixty-five years of age. She leaves three daughters, Mrs, N. W. Hinson, Mrs. D. A. Joues, Miss Louise Webb, and one brother Mr. L. R: Rehberg, of Ochlocknee, and two sisters, Mrs. Amanda Shirey and Mrs. Nancy Holton, to mourn her loss. Her retriains were interred at the family graveyard Sunday at ll o’clock,. Rev. M. M. Kinohens con ducting the funeral, noon. A Sad Death. Mrs. Mathew Howze, whose ma lignant sickness of some weeks we have mentioned in these columns, from time to time, died Sunday morning last, in spite of all that medical skill, of the best class, could do for her relief. Drs. Walk- sir and Warnell, the attending phy sicians, had Dr. A. P. Taylor, of Thomasville, with them in consul tation, but the disease was of too virulent a type to be controlled. The burial took place at 10 a. m. Monday, at Pierce Chapel. The Rev. Messrs. W. E. Towson, Wal ter Jones, G. T. Hurst, J. P. Swann and J. W. Hines were the ministers present and, besides them, there was a large concourse of sorrowing and sympathizing relatives and friends. There are very many who grieve with the widowed husband, in his great bereavement’; and not a few are praying that he may be saved a further calamity by the recovery of his daughter, Miss Mattie Sue, who is. criti'cally. ill with, the same affec tion that carried off her inother. I