Maryland free press., 1866-07-19

not less than fifteen, as the State Superin
tsndent may appoint. 1.-The annual salary
ofsaeh School Commissioner, and Of eacl
PTsadShs Of every board of School Com
missionefs shall be determined by the
State board of Education, and paid by the
County Commissioners as other officers are
paid, esns.,,,: 60" % ~ ,ia ,-i..,.,
And, that there should be no lack o.
supervision, it is provided, by sec. 3 o.
4sh chap. that the President of the board
Of School Commissioners for each County
be given the General Superintendence Of
all the Schools in the County, and ofschool
houses and district libraries" and the
County board of School Commissioners are
required to appoint Secretary. who shall
also be Treasurer of the board for the
County, and shall receive such compensa-
ton a. the board may direct. I am not
informed as to the amount of compensation
or salaries allowed to the members of the
board of County School Commissioners,
but I am informed that the President Of
the board in this County gets salary Of
either $1,000 or $1,000, per annum, be-
sides large perquisites, and that the Secre-
tary and Treasurer gets 5000 or $500 per
year, besides the use of Office furniture,
and Independent of which he is retained as
counsel, with nothing to do. on extra pay.
The general or State Superintendent
gets an annual salary of $25OO, and large
perquisites arising from the book monopo-
ly allowed by this law; and he is also al
lowed the amount expended for travelling
and personal expenses in making official
visits, and also all necessary contingent ex-
penses for books, postage, stationary, fuel
and light, printing of blanks, and other
matters essential to the organization of his
Office. Besides this, he is to purchase at
expense not to exceed 800 year, rare O,
valuable works on Education, to be used as
books Of reference for the benefit of teach
ers; and he is further authorised to use
$50 q year additional in subscribing for
papers and journals treating of Schools and
Education. These journals Of course will
be obtained from New England, and be
made the medium for propagating yam
kee ideas.
In addition to all this expenditure, the
first act that occurs in the volume of the
laws of January session 1865, is one au-
thorising the renting of an Office for the
State Superintendent in the City of Balti-
more. at an annual rent of $4OO, and ap-
propriating $500 to furnish it. And, in
the general appropriation act of the same
session, $1,000 are appropriated for the
contingent fund of this general Superin-
tendent.
This is but part of the arrangement by
which the peoples money is extracted from
their pockets, and put into that of the nu-
merous loyal sappers who are now enjoying
their places under this law; and while they
are thus pensioned on money extorted from
largemajority of the people they are daily
engaged in prosecuting and denouncing
thosewhesc means they are so ungraciously
enjoying. ....... ....
Hence We can see why the Schools are
closed more than half the year. They are
secondary objects of the system, and the
money goes into the pockets of the officers
controlling affairs. While the Schools are
closed the salaries 60 on without cessation
or abatement. 1t may be safely stated
that not less than from 6fty-fve to sixty
thousand dollars are expended annually
in the State for supervision alone, with its
Incidental expenses, to say nothing of the
salaries to teachers, the cost of building
and repairing school houses, furniture,
stationary, books and the many other OBJ
jects mentioned in the law for which ap-
preparations are authorized.
Our former system, with less than
fourth of the expense, accomplished more
real good to tho people, and then their
money was kept under their own control.