Page:What to do for Uncle Sam; a first book of citizenship (IA whattodoforuncle00bail).pdf/26

22 state, and the voters of your School District may have made your father or mother one of the school officers.

Uncle Sam had to raise money to pay for all this expensive system for teaching boys and girls. He wanted to give them a knowledge of figures, and land, and fine literature, and penmanship, and spelling, and useful trades free. How was he to to about doing this? There must be money for the land, and the building material, and the books, and the teachers’ salaries. He decided to establish a very wise plan. This plan is known as school taxation.

Mr. Brown lives at the top of a hill in a house that is almost as large as a castle. He is rich, and he has only one boy who is to go to school. At the foot of the hill Mr. Jones lives, and works at a small salary for Mr. Brown in one of his factories. But Mr. Jones has several children to send to school. Which of the two shall pay for the schooling of all the children? Uncle Sam’s taxation plan gives Mr. Brown more to pay than Mr. Jones; in fact Mr. Brown pays practically all the school expenses of the Jones boys and girls. It is possible that some person whom you do not know, and who has no children, is helping to pay the taxes that give you your school.

Uncle Sam went into his schools after he had