Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1858-04-24
For the Journal.
THE NEW SCHOOL LAW,

For the Journal.
THE NEW SCHOOL Law.
IL the new School Law constitutional
Had the Legislature power under the new
, Constitution to enact such a law?
Certainly the wording of the Constitution
will not justify such conclusion, nor will
the debates and votes of the constitutional
convention. If any one will look over the
proceedings of the constitutional convention,
he cannot but come to the conclusion that it
was intended by that body to separate the
educational interests of the State from all
political connections whatever, and place
that branch under the control of an indie
pendent body, who might be selected by the
people in consequence of their fitness for
the place, independent of party or politics.
With this object in view, that portion of the
Constitution was drawn up with the greatest
care possible.
The following extract from the Constitu-
tion will speak for itself:
"Article Q. Education and School Lands.
| FIRsr-EDUcA TION.
"Section /. The Educational interests of the State
Including common schools and other educational
institutions, shall be under the management of
IS'ard of Education, which shall consist of the
L. sutenant Governor, who shall be the presiding Of
fcer of the Board anl have the casting vote in
Of . tie, and one member to be elected from each
Judicial district in the State"
| "Scc g. The Board of Education shall have full
power and authority to legislate and make all need
| fnl rules and regulations in relation to common
schools and other educational nsti ions, that
nstiu uted to receive aid from the School Univer
sty Fund Of this State; but all aet-, rules and rg
ulat,ons of said Board may b. altered, nded or
altered amended or repealed. they shall not be re-
enact by the Board of Education"
''Sec. IL. The Board of iucation shall provide
Tor the education of all the youths of the State,
through system of Common Schools and such
schools shall be organized and kept in each school
district at least three months in each year,"
| sec. 10. At any time aft er the year one thou"
sand eight hundred and sixty-lhree QS63) the Gen
eral Assembly shall have power to abo. lsh or re-
! organize said B. ard Of Educat ion and provide for
the educational interests Of the State in any her
manner that to them shall Eeem best and proper.
Could anything be more explicit, and can
any one for moment doubt the unconstitu-
tionality of the new School Law?
More anon. D.
| NIX. EDITOR Il propose to show up some
of the beautiful inconsistencies of the new
School Law. l think it very unfortunate
for the cause of popular education, as we'll
as for the reputation Of the Republican party,
that the General Assembly were wheedled
into passing such miserable, incongruous
law It's very expensive, unjust, unwieldly,
unequal, imperative, and, believe, uncon-
stitutional. 1t is unlike anything else in the
United States-a miserable hybrid, crossed
with modern LOcofocoism. ltwas concocted
in the brain of Mr.. Fisher, State Superin
tendent, and urged forward by him in direct
conflict with the new Constitution. believing
it would be unpopular with the people, for
the ostensible purpose of bringing the Re-
publican party into contempt. Having been
passed by Republican Legislature, the
Democrats will try to palm it off as Re-
publican measure, but it is far from it. Mr..
Fisher pretended all the while that it was
Horace Mann's bill slightly improved, but it
is no more like Mr. Mann's bill than mule
is like Green Mountain Morgan. prophesy
that it will never 90 into operation further
than to allow some Is or 80 County Super
intendents ito draw a few quarters salary.
If it is not pronounced unconstitutional
before the next session of the Legislature,
it will then he repealed.
| have many objections to this new law.
| do not believe that this township district
| system can be made to wsrk we'll in this
sparsely settled country. The duties assigned
the Board of Directors in these township
districts are very onerous, and there is not
one in ten who will be willing to perform
them faithfully consequently, they will be
neglected and the schools will come to
naught. Let each neighborhood attend to
its own affairs, where the people are directly
and personally interested in the matter, and
where they can personally superintend the
matter without so much inconvenience, and
it will be much better attended to, and they
will have better schools. Then, if they do
not have good schools, they have no one to
blame but themselves
Again, it operates so unjustly, people will
never consent to it. For instance, in Mus
catine county, under the new law, there will
be l3 school districts The law provides
that the County Judge shall levy a tax of
not less than one mill nor more than two
and half mills on the dollar for school
purposes, the half of which shall be equally
distributed among the school districts Of the
county, without reference to the number Of
scholars or the taxable property of such
nearly one-half the taxes of the entire
of this law, out of every $1,000 tax paid by
the city of Muscatine into the County Treas,
ury for school purposes, she would receive
back but $2OO-and the cities of Dubuque,
Davenport, Burlington and Keokuk in
much greater ratio. The little township of
Ofono, in the southwest corner of the county,
which cast but 35 votes at the last election,
will receive an equal amount of this TAX
with the city of Muscatine, with 10000
inhabitants.
MIR. Fisher proposes, in his law, for the
purpose of ''training and educating young
men to become teachers in the common
schools of the State,'' to establish 'scounty
high schools" Cat great expense to the Co..
and Scholarships" allowing each pupil
attending such county high school from the
county treasury $50 year, each, for three
years, and tuition free. And for training
and educating young men to become profess
sors in the high schools herein established,
there shall be constituted thirty six scholar
ships in the State University" and "any
student thus selected shall be educated free
of charge for tuition in the State University,
and shall be entitled to receive from the
State Treasury, at the end of each year. for
a period of net exceeding three years $75."
This is certainly very fine operation for
those who draw prizes; but woe betide the
taxpayers
More anon. D.
Posi- OFFICE LAws.-Many persons are