The Portland daily press., 1873-02-21
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM In ADVANCE.

| money tnat Is expended by those who do not
rise it is often wasted and diverted from its
| legitimate channels. Must we not recognize
| the fact that diminution of local taxation.
and enlarged contribution by the State are
not, in any way, calculated to foster the cause
and interests of education among the peopleS
by so much as we contribute from the State,
anu diminish local taxation, by so much may
int %e not reasonably say that we diminish the
thoso s., IN our public schools on the part Of
them? anu snouiu direclv support
b.s aha nun now | come to another point which
las las oee4 suggested by the State Siner;nfen-
u uent' l 10 not suppose that anv af ma he-
anriad sns. ~ tne school revenue is LARGELY mis-
apPhea or wasted. But the last ra,ss'-t go ssts.
Superintendent indicates tia, sSaelp aep1rl OF tne
/ thng not entirely right in this ma,,sr 'oins.
teiis us that over $4,000 of the schacJ -.
nue. OF 1872, which should have been .r.,. ,sse-
priated TO the payment of teachers ma -
other legitimate school expenditure. bs.
been used for repairs, for fuel, for insurance
and other items" That is not a II shopi5
be. 1t is not right. On page 56 OF the same
| report, he states that two instances have been
| brought to his notice where the towns .tsts
! their school money, not for school purpose,
but to iquidate their tax indebtedness,
will not ask you to rest upon even these state
ments Of the Superintendent Of schools a. to
abuses of the school revenue contributed by
tne OtaLe. nOlu IN NY Manu- scttcr &lylng
direct testimony on this point, which has
been received by State official within short
time. 1t bears date January 20, 1878, and
reads thus omitting names and localities: ~
am informed that the treasurer of--is ir-
responsible, ard that he IS converting the
school money to private uses. Also that his
bondsmen are entirely irresponsible" This
indicates something altogether wrong,
| wrong which should not be allowed to exist.
sc, - Al. Aovx Of a eIr
port OF schools be borne by the State and
| taken away fiom the towns and cites, then,
OF course, the State viii insist upon super
vision. The two must go hand in hand.
we all acknowledge that every town has In
IL men wen qualified to manage its own
anairs, and the local authority Ibelieve 10 be
iegltimately there. But gentlemen, .urder-
stand, that If you insist upon the one, the
other must naturally follow
ihere Is misapprehension as to the finan-
cial condition and the taxes and burdens of
/ many of our cities and larger towns. An
! opinion seems to exist, on the part of some,
that most OF the residents Of cities roll in
| wealth, and that general opulence prevails.
! But every city in this State Is laboring to-day
| under load of taxation, by reason OF its sup
| port and aid Of public enterprises and for
| municipal necessities, to an extent which il
not fully understood We have calls upon US
| from one source and another, which are i'm
peratve, but which are none the less oppress-
| i've. Then, too, there are large charitable
| claims made upon wealth in our great cen
| tres, which from the very nature Of the case,
do nof reach the interior districts. Take also
| the item Of valuation. In the city of Port
land our taxes are assessed upon the full cash
value of real and personal property, as have
| it from the chairman of our board of assess
ors. We know that in very many towns in
the State the rate Of valuation for the pur-
| poses of taxation is much less than this.
| These are not fancies, but facts, and they
| should have weight with men of eand0r.
| know that the expense Of educating your
children bears hard upon some of you. But,
] gentlemen, 1t is not all burden, The child
| rem which are given you are the heritages Of
the Lord, and while now they may be a bur-
den and care, by-and by they shall be a pow
er to help aud support you, as they 20 from
you to take the positions Of responsibility and
profit and honor which awaits them in other
and larger localities. The law Of compensa-
ton works here as elsewhere. ~.
| Gentlemen, if this pressure is brought to
bear upon capital with so much impatience
and haste, as indicated by the proposition
now before this House, may it not induce
that very antagonism of property with, the
public schools which our Superintendent
says in his report he desres to avoid ?Fo And
if so, will it not operate disastrously against
our school system and the cause Fof educa.
| ton? do not discuss the constitutionalty
of the proposition now, but put it upon the
basis of equity, and justice; and l also put It
upon the ground of the present and future
good of the cause of education, taken as
whole in our State. 1t may be if this pres
sure upon property is too hasty and severe,
and put it rather as statement than as q
threat, that it will bring unexpected results
and embarass rather than advance the cause
which it claims to promote. .....-.f-,.
Even under more favorable conditions than
now exist in our schools, the cities and large
towns are doing their full proportion Of this
work and should not be asked to do more
We have in this State IA cities, representing
21 per cent. of the population of our State,
and 20 per cent of the school population.
Out of the S22A, 600, result ing from the pres
ent mill tax, they pay little over $4,000,
thirty-eight per cent. / have not been able
to secure figures from Savings Banks to the
extent which desired, but those which /
have, are official, and have received them
from direct communication with the banks.
have reports from nine of the fifty-fve Saw
ings Banks in the State, and find that those
nine Saving Banks will contribute for the
year 1878, $4,000, which i, over ffty-eight
per cent of the S120,000 the whole amount
paid by Saving Banks into the State Treasury
for the support of common schools. p Now
what are the facts in regard to the deposits
in these banks i find that seventy i've per
cent. of the deposits in these nine banks
which pay fifty eight per cent of this tsx, are
made by residents OF cities add towns which
woule be unfavorably affected by the pro-
posed legislation. Were able to complete
this record by reports from other Savings
Banks, believe that could show you that
45 per cent. Oh the whole amount accruing to
the State Treasury from the Savings Banks
and mill tax for the support Of schools, Is de-
rived from the cities and large towns which
z would be disadyantaged by this measure.
UF8 f~Toi'nf~ Ja&li 49, Tui 80
And then, gentlemen, when these abuses
and neglects which have been mentioned end
which are realities shall have been corrected,
when parents in the various parts OF our
4 State shall have demonstrated their zeal and
interest in the public schools by their endeav-
ors for full and regular attendance of schol-
| ars and by their material and moral support
Of teachers, and by doing all that they are
able, financially and otherwise, to educate
and elevate their children--when all this
shall have been done, and It shall be shown
that there is still an increase Of the school
revenue and that it will be wisely expended,
believe that the State, in some wise and
equitable manner, will provide for the sup
port and perfection of our educational system.
Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen, having thus pre-
sented 10 you these facts and arguments /
can but believe that you will coincide with
me In waving this matter, and in opposing
and voting against this measure, and 50 be-
lieving, await the issue. LiDl 2aI loi
4 On - ID nIiE belllnnl1 sgnifl- EIaf
CoRDELIA Wade, of Cincinnati, is the boss
suicider. Upon the slightest provocation
this lady takes it straight and cold, and until
now the policeman on duty in her vicinity, In
addition to his other side arms carries stom-
ach pump for her special accommodation.
Another Of Cordela's peculiarities is the YER
bal expression of her satisfaction a. theatri-
cal performance instead of the mar ner adopt
ed by other people. The other night, Miss
Wade went to the theatre, and, as usual,
screamed out her praise in the most enthusi-
astie manner, and Of course she was put out
| and taken to the station house. But she Was