Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-01-15

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accounting officers may be relieve
from the necessity and respOnsibiiit
of annually accounting for them.
The large cash balance remaining
the Treasury on the both or NoVembel
| 1867, mas been used for the payment {
the tWenty-three million loan and fo
the liquidation of outstanding claim
against the State. The investment G
the funds, in one Of the modes recon
mended in my last annual message
has therefore, in great measure beel
I rendered unnecessary for the present
/ But in the event Of large accumula
! tions of money hereafter, the recon
/ mendations therein given are respect
/ fully referred to, aud renewed. When
| ever there may be surplus funds in tht
! Treasury, they can, with safety ami
! benefit to the State, be employed il
/ the purchase ofits outstanding bonds
and in saving the interest on then
which would accumulate prior to theii
maturity,
I regret to state that the lost Legis
iatare, although fully forewarned il
regard to ,lic insecurity aud want ol
proper and sufficient guards for the
safe keeping Of the money Of the Com
monwealth, failed to determine upon
any mode by which the Treasury may
be eifectually guarded against the pos
sibility of loss. The present Legisla-
ture has it in its power to secure for
itself no ordinary honor, by the enact
ment of such a law, strongand efficient
for the purpose indicated. and the en-
joyment not only Of the appreciation,
but the permanent gratitude Of every
citizen.
Notwithstanding the satisfactory re-
duction of the public Indebtedness, as
shown in the forgoing statements, an
immense State debt is still upon us,
requiring nearly two million Of dollars
to be collected to pay the interest ac-
cruing upon it annually. Its e1tin-
guishment at the earliest practicable
period, not inconsistent with other
public interests, is of the highest i'm
portance to every Taxpayer. ] cannot,
therefore, too strongly urge the strict
est economy in respect to every eXpen-
diture and the utmost tretrenchment in
every department.
Retrenchment is emphatically de-
manded by the people, in legislative
expenditures, rs we'll rs in every other
branch Of the government. Their eyes
are open to investigate every transac-
ton, and by their ballots they are
ready to strike down those who will
not take effective action in favor of
positive and radical reform. The mon
ey paid into the Treasury is the pro-
perty Of the people, every one Of waom
has just right to hold his representa-
tives to a strict accountability for every
dollar that may be appropriated or eX-
pended.
l here renew the remarks made last
year on the subject Of "annual apprO-
- to which yCu are respect
full referred. For four successive
years the general appropriation bills
have been signed on the eleventh day
Of April, being about the time Of adj
iournment. The Governor has been
forced either to sign the bills without
investigation, not Withstanding
any objections he may have; suspend
the means to defray the operations of
the government for the ensuing year;
Dr. call an extra session of the Legisla-
lure. / repeat that sit is earnestly de
sired that theapproPriation bill be tax
IN up, discussed and passed at a suti-
,iently early period during the session
examination which its imporfa1,nao@~o o@~ongh
E57,,ol.s.,.s.- common Schools.
The annual report of the Superinten-
lent of Common Schools exhibits the
Of that department in a
highly satisfactory manner. Within
he State there are 1,9IS school dis
ricts; 1876 schools; 2,3S2 graded
ii, ,69S school directors; 70
county, city and borough suPerinten-
tents; 16,77I teachers; and 500, jl5 pu-
1ils. The cost of tuition for the year
vas 50, ,273, ,269 43; Of building, purchas-
ng and renting school houses, 1891 /
81 50; Of contingencies, 1851, 2j3 y. /
These three items, with expenditures
or all other purposes connected there |
With, amount to the aggregate sum Of /
IS, 200, ,537 SO.
These facts are exhibited with great
as they show the average
annual cost for the tuition of each pu-
)il to be about seven dollars and sew
,nty-four and a half cents. The aver /
lge amount paid to each teacher is a.
bout SI95 III per anuum. This, in nay
opinion, is too small a salary to secure /
he services of competent teachers; and /
am fully justified in urging the ne
,essity of increased compensation. 1t
5 but just, and it will have an elcva- /
ing tendency not only upon the teach /
RS but the manner in which their du- 1
les are performed.
Your attention is called to the fact |
hat, Notwithstanding the ample pro- !
vision now made by law for the edu- /
alton of all persons between the ages /
If six and tWenty-Oue years, large
numbers Of children, princip ipally in our
titles, do not attend any kind Of school. |
over twenty thousand of this class are
Ound in Philadelphia, and the num- |
)er in the State is estimated to be not
ess than seveuty-five thousand. These /
grow up in ignorance, fire.
Iuenuy without employment, and
many of them contract habits of vice, |
which eventually cause them to be
to houses of refuge, county
prisons or penitentiarie5. Humanity
,ud sound public policy demand that
be done 10 remedy this
evil, and also that Of the ne
elected condition of considerable num-
)ers Of children in the aims and poor
IOuses in many of the counties.
-Four Normal Schools are now recog-
liZed as State institutions, The num- 1
)er ofstudents attending them during
he past year was ,, ,115, Of whom eighty
graduated. Two additional Normal
schools will probably go into operation
Turing this year, one located at Blooms
rug, Columbia county, ard the other |
il California, Washington county
The value of these institutions to the
Common school system cannot be esti- |
mated. Our schools arecomparatively /
without qualified teachers, /
md such teachers can most easily be OBJ |
aimed from the Normal institutes,
where the art of teaching is made a
speciality.
4 meeting of the presidents and 9th
sr authorities ofa number OF our prin-
,ipal colleges was held in Harrisburg
asst winter, The object OF which was to
lring about closer union of all our
institutions, and connect
oy bond Of sympathy, if not of or
ganic structure, the common schools,
high schools, academies and colleges.
rhe establishment of such an eduta-
ional department seems to be desir-