The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-03-27
Correspondence.
County Supsrintendency.
SAVANNAH, March

SAVANNAH, March %, lS74
Mr.. EDITOR-Should the bill before
our Legislature. abolishing the office Of
County Superintendent, become Il law,
the friends of progression and thorough
education will have cause to deeply re-
gret the apparent crawtish legislation
by which the result will be accomplished !;
and vet. when We take into considcrl-
tion all the facts in the case as they are
presented to us who live in Missouri, we
shall have no good reason to regret the
change.
All appropriations Of public money
for the general coed ought to have ref
erence to the results produced by such
expenditure. or, rs the great Mobilier
had it, it ought To be put "where it
would do the most good" Now let lis in
guire after the results, or the good pro-
duced by the money paid to County Su-
perintendents for visiting schools. by
the law which it is proposed to repeal. .Su-
perintendents are allowed five dollars
per day tor visiting each school in their
county once in each year am in
formed by our County Clerk that the
amount paid for this service is from four
to five hundred dollars per year Now,
for the result First, inquire of teachers
how much they are sensible of having
been benefited by the visits of the Su-
pcrintendent. Second, ask the officers
of the sub-distric: the same question.
Third, and lastly, inquire Of the patrons
of our public schools. That the an
swer to these inquiries will, in some
instances, be in favor of the officer.
have no doubt, but that in nine cases in
ten it will be that these visits. if made.
were of no account whatever, | am
quite certain. Let any good tinancier
imagine himself the guardian of all the
children of school are in county and.
then ask himself if he would be willing
to pay five dollars per day for such serv-
ices as is rendered by the average Su-
perintendents, or should he propose to
educate three hundred or more of these
children in one school building, and
employ for that purpose seven teachers
at fifty dollars per month each, and in
order to secure harmonious and uniform
work he should employ man of ma
ture age and large experience to grade
and superintend said school, at a salary
of one hundred and twenty dollars per
month, and, after trial OF one or more
years, he should find total want of
uniformity in regard to the methods of
teaching, and in addition to this. a sad
want of the usual friendly feeling of
common citizens among his teachers.
and on further inguir should find
that they were almost unanimous in say
ing that they have not only not been
benefited, but some of them seriously
injured by the Superintendency, would
he be likely to continue that supcrin-
tendcnt? Now, sir, while consider
the visiting of schools the most import.
ant work of Superintendent and
work which, if faithfully and well done.
will yield the largest returns to the
county: yet, under the circumstances
in which we find ourselves placed 1T
this time in Missouri, | am in favor of
the bill by which it is proposed to abol-
ish the office. BY the provisions of the
new bill it is made the duty OF the Coun-
ty Court to appoint persons COM
pctent to examine teachers, the Office OF
Township Clerk is abolished. and text
books are not allowed to he changed
oitcner than once in four years. The
latter clause will give universal salts
faction. and be great relief to many
families who have found it difficult to
raise the means to supply their children
with books. 1t will prevent the "I,rum-
mer' of some great book manui:lctory
from entering into collusion with the
principal ola graded sr.lool; and by
misrepresentation weIging his book
into one room mt u time until the old
ones are all forced out.
On the whole. Mr.. Editor, l am in
favor of a vote of thanks to the member
who offered the amendment to the
School Law. y. A. G..