Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-12-05
Reply to "Economy."

Mr.. EDITOR Since the County
Board of Supervisors has been ar
raigned before the public, for their
late action with regard to salaries of
officers, by your contributor, it is but
fair that few words should be said
IN their defense. Any one at first
thought would suppose that so re-
spectacle body, representing the
county as its legislature. could be
trusted TO direct such matters for
tho people, and that their interests
would be identical with those OF their
townsmen. But Economy" teaches
us that their judgment is much infe-
rior to his. The reduction of certain
salaries might of course be expected
to create few grumblers, but per-
celve by the special stress given to
the latter part of his article, that the
creation of new salaried officer is
the main grievance that brought out
the complaint. 1t remains to be seen
If the illiberal and unenlightened SEN
timept with which he closes, will find
any general response from the people.
1t Is well known that the County
Superintendent system has many
enemies among the ruder and more
llllterate class and there is a variety
OF reasons for their hostility. Men
who think that the most ordinary
country school is good enough for this
country, who know nothing of the
qualifications of a good teacher,-pe.
nurlous taxpayers who grudge the
extra quarter or so each that makes
up the salary, uneducated fathers
whose uneducated children fail. as
they ought, to obtain license TO teach,
foreigners who want to set mp public
schools in foreign tongue or for re-
hgious purposes, and are prevented
by the school law, school clerks who
want some unqualified daughter or
tavorite to keep the school, TO "gob-
be the public funds, keep it all IN
the family and degrade the standard
of education, but who often fail be-
cause the Superintendent can not
legally give license TO an ignora-
mus, all these wish that there was
no Superintendent. Economy
knows very well that since the adop-
ton of the present system, our
rough and new State has been blessed
by constant improvement in schools,
and that even the partial supervision
enjoyed by schools in this county
has been very beneficial. And in
saying that the office is one "of very
doubtful utility he has, for some
demagogue purpose, offered palpa-
bic insult to the intelligence of those
who framed and passed the law, in
this and all other states, and of the
whole host of leading educators who
are unanimous in its support.
Grant county is wealthy and pow
erfnl corporation, with great and
varied interests. Which of these in.
terests is greater,-the care and
education of its children or the acqui-
sltion of money, we leave 80 each
one to decide. Be that as it may, this
great corporation has on it's hands
the task of educating the children,
and employs two hundred and fifty
or three hundred hired men ADD
women to do the work at the cost OF
a heavy sum. Ifthese laborers. in all
their isolated rooms, choose to trihe,
waste time and slight their work,
this great sum is wasted. If penny
wise and unwise clerks employ cheap
and unqualified teachers, it is also
partially wasted. So we hold that
the expense of an additional one
thousand or two thousand dollars for
the supervision of all this work, is q
measure OF economy that is practiced
by every other great corporation or
private employer in America. The
County Board were convinced, like
the mass of thinking people, that in
this field of labor there was great
need of more help; and the reasons
for this conclusion can DO given at
length, if there is any necessity for
it, in another letter Liberal.