Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-08-22
Our Town perintendents---Are they
"UnprontabIe Servants 2"

"UnprOhtRble Servants
1t appears by an article ON State receipts
and expenditures, copied in last weeks PHG-
NIX from the Vermont Waterman, that the
State paid the oxorbitant sum of $40, 500. "a
for the services Of town superintendent. The
writer Of that article thinks it is too much
pay for the kind of services rendered the
cause of education and wants everybody else
to coincide with the opinion he has express
ed The editors Of The PHHNIx we notice,
take exception to the paragraph in the Watch
man belittling the services of town suporin-
tendents, and we doubt not that all wellin-
formed persons would do the same The
writer condemns the services OF the whole
class of superintendent, from the Ignorance
of the few as shown in their correspondence
with the State Auditor OF Accounts. Sup
pose that we condemn the sci 5ices of al
newspaper men because we notice gram
NAUTICAL error in the sentence he writes about
the quality of timber from which supern-
tendents are manufactured; would it be Just
This journalist, who is made of better timber
than most town superintendent are, writes
'If any one thinks that the service rendered
- we think they are greatly mis-
taken As we arc personally acquainted
with nearly AZ the twenty superintend-
ents of Win6iam county, we venture to make
the statement that any one of the number
can coi:ect his bad grammar. Ought not the
gentleman himself to be Consigned behind n
scholars desk ?" Certainly his grammar
could be improved, to say nothing about his
judgment. The present pay of superintcnd-
ents is one-fourth less than what il was
one year ago n will be seen in the next Ie-
port of the auditor that the amount received
by superintendents for their services in the
cause of education in Vermont for the year
1879 will average about S33 each. Remem-
Der that expenses for the services rendered
viii come out of the average, and what an cx-
travagant sum will remain The intelligent
gentleman says that the State paid 1925
for killing twenty-one bears and one lynx
about S1j each. mighty Nimrod" gets
IN ore pay from the State for few minutes
sport in shooting bear than n superintend-
ont gets for nearly two weeks time spent in
the cause of education. No unfavorable COM
ment was made about paying Slj apiece for
shooting bears. Consistency, thou art q
jewel" Some of the mighty Nimrods in
this pant Of the State would Ike the sport Of
shooting bears for nothing il they had the
chance. The State paid the $40, s22 for the
sc ryices of PAL supeIintendonts. Is it too
much j. G. Holland received $4,000 II
year for his services as superintendent
Of schools in one of the cities of New
England unless the newspaper was in ei or
in which we read the statement Compare
that with Vermont pay for similar service
In Brattleboro for instance the superintend-
ent hires II team half day, that he may visit
n school five or six miles distant from the
vi age, pays the owner of the team two dol
lars and charges the State seventy. five cents.
In whose favor is tho balancey In n town
like Dummerston, if the superintendent ac-
count against the State for visiting the most
distant schools wi" balance the account for
team hire, he may consider himself foi .uuate
How unwise the Legislators of 1878 were in
voting that superintcndtnts should aid the
textbook committee in dociting the import
ant question about what school books sha"
be used in Vermont for five years to come
Such poor timber" ought not to have been
used. The only redeeming feature in their
action is, that the labor Of supcrintendents
was increased while the compensation was de
creased Possibly the Legislators thought
they were doing these officers a favor by
giving them n chance to get rich by going
into the schOOl-book business The Brattle-
boro oxt-bOok committee have respectful y de-
clined. They are fortunate il they have cs-
capped n" further responsibility in the bust
ness by so doing. 1t is unfortunate for the
State that its ample compensation for ser
vices rendered in the cause of education can.
not secure school officers who are able to
write a co -ect business letter to the aud tor
Of accounts What wiz that officer say when
he reads the school repoi IS that must hereaf-
ter be sent him before auditing accounts for
writing the same? Look out for more COM
plants about the Ignorance of town superiu-
tendcnts, D. I'm