The Portland daily press., 1872-01-26
Compulsory Attendance.
THF TRUANr LAWS A FAILURE.

are the truant laws and we all know their inef- /
fectiveness. Even when and where they are |
strictly enforced they fall alarmingly short of |
what is desired and demanded. ----
Truant laws are, at best, but a mere mock |
cry and in fact shoot over the evil which they |
are intended to strike down. They are, for the |
most part easily evaded and, on the whole, de-
ficient in vitality. They have not, certainly,
operated largely in building mp our common
school system. They hardly remaoue excrescen-
ces; much less prevent them The unnatural
growth that would eventually work disastrous
results in any community still eats its way en-
larging, strengthening and virtually poisoning
the entire mass. ...r...
The plain facts touching this branch of edu-
ucation are painfully disagreeable and almost
disheartening. ols1 gtt
1t would appear from some late figures that
the tables are rapidly changing, and that, while
the South with Northern men and Northern
means is encouraging the education of her
Freedmen and extending educational privileges
to her once ignored masses, the North evident
ly is rearing up small yet steadily increasing
class of "poor white voters, and, fguratively,
sits supinely viewing the unwonted perfectness
of her infallible system while her competitor is
silently stealing away her loudest thunder
Educators in Pennsylvania have awakened
to the fact that in both city and country large
numbers are growing up in ignorance who
should properly and rightfully be in the public
schools, and to bring about such result, earn
est efforts will be brought to bear in the Legis-
lature to secure the insertion of compulsory
Il, LOT; TO-
ucation.
There is growing public sentiment that
good, sensible voters in this enlightened age
should be well educated Beecher to the con-
trary notwithstanding. And although he
claims that ignorance is oftentimes embodied
virtue and honesty, yet he frankly admits that
compulsory attendance should and will become
ga plank in our platform"
The experience of European nations goes to
sanction the wisdom and practica5ility of the
measure, and they are in fact almost unit in
its favor France, in her extremity, is for once
wisely following the lead of other countries
and is seriously agitating the education by COM
pulsion of her ignorant population, and will
now, without doubt, make move in the right
direction" Such testimony, however, is moth
ing here nor there except as it bears evidence
of the efficiency of this fundamental principle.
We cannot afford to allow an uneducated class
of voters to grow up in our midst. We have
work enough before us if we faithfully look af
ter the raw material constantly seeking our
shores. The shameful corruptions arising from
their neglect has at times given sad phase to
our national life. Ignorance, with it's long
train of consequent evils, is too great an enemy
to good government to be permitted to exist.
We cannot but admit the existence of this great
evil and its dangerous tendency, but we are
proverbially slow to move in the matter. We
must have something that shall quicken the
whole body into renewed vigor, and 1 advance
the opinion that we shall never reap the fruits
of our system until compulsory attendance in
some definite form be engrafted into its very
life and being BREWSTER
MANAGEMENT OF SAVINGS BANKs.-The
question of the management of Savings banks
is already one of the most important that de-
mands the attention of the Legislature The
Committee ON that subject in the Massachu-
sets Legislature have been considering the ex-
pediency of a general savings bank law and of
increasing the amount that single individuals
may deposit and draw interest on.
large number of men connected with or
conversant about savings banks were present
and gave the unanimous opinion that general
law would work evil and only evil, that the
amount of individual deposits should be set at a
lower rather than a higher figure.
The statement of several parties are given be-
low: rq
Mr.. f. NJ Stone Savings Bank Commits
sIoner, apprehended general system of bank
ing as absolutely dangerous, but thought sys-
tenn OF placing the control of banks under
commission would be advantageous and relieve
the legislature from the passage of special acts
and granting of special charters. He was op-
posed to the increase of deposits The number
of depositors in the savings banks have increas-
ed some seventy or eighty Thousand during the
last year, and these had been largely from a
class who ought not to go near savings bank
He thought it the duty of the treasurers of saw
ings banks to refuse deposits when they knew
they came from wealthy men. The looseness
number of depositors who ought not to have
been allowed the privilege. The State of New
York had general law, but it had been practi-
cally. imperative. If the amount of deposits
was increased, the tax on banks would be in
creased and the banks would want the bars let
down for investments nn
Mr.. D. Ill. Stark stated that the aggregate
amount of deposits in this State was 1858, 000,-
O00, while the combined capital of the Bank of
France and Bank of Eng was only $3.50, 000, 900.
He argued that the greatest good of the COM
munity required that the managers of the saw
Ings banks should be made more responsible
1t would be necessary to keep out irresponsible
men under general law, and he would intro
duce clause for creating capital stock which
should make the stockholders responsible for
its amount, while the Directors should be re-
sponsble for three times the amount. There
was no responsibility upon the trustees of saw
ings banks in the State now. There was $135,-
000,0 600 on deposit in the State last year, and
there was not more than two millions of cash
on hand to meet run, and he believed that of
the $163, 100000 on deposit, it would be impossi-
BILE to realize in a run over 20 per cent. He ad-.
vocated an entire revolution of the savings bank
system. aa
& Mr.. Albert Bowker, of the East Boston Say
lngs' Bank, would like to have the amount of
deposits restricted instead of increased. He
wished no depositor should be allowed to depos-
1t over $500. Large deposits were for the adj
vantage OF the large depositors, and were disad-
yantageous to the small depositors. The small
depositors were those which were of the great
est value to the community and to themselves.
A calamity to any one of the Savings Banks of
was in the hands of the poor people to create
panic which would shut the doors in an in
stant
A. G. Evans, Treasurer of the School Street
Five Cents Savings Bank, Endorsed the views
OF Mr. Holmes. This institution had about 60,
900 depositors, or about one-nnth of all the
State, and of these 10000 were depostors of less
than $100. There were not more than seven or
eight hundred of over S1000 ZACH Tho lar,o