The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-02-20
SUGGESTIONS ABOUT SCHOOLS

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. IS, 1880.
Editors Herald:
The amendment offered by Mr..
Jacques to tee School Bill is as coed
as anything We can expect to get
at This stage of the session of the
Legislature. l have always been an
ardent friend of free schools, but the
manner in which school funds have
been AMI by the provisions of the bill
passed by the Council, are likely to
continue to be used, renders them
curse rather taan a blessing, as from
the time the first appropriation was
made upto the present school teach
ere, that is many of them, have
seemed to consider the public funds
as having been given for their especial
benefit, and consequently have in
creased their prices, so that their
patrons are obliged to pay consider
ably more now besides the tax, than
before any appropriation was made,
running up rs high as So per scholar
in some instances, where it formerly
was but So. and thus the poorer
portion OF the community, instead oil
being benefited by the school fund,
have been obliged to let their own
children run the streets, while they
pay taxes to help keep up schools,
where only bankers, merchants.
salaried officers. etc, are able &c
send.
There shonld be some uniformity
in using public funds required by the
law. As it is some districts will re-
quire the pupils to pay four ifths, OF
seven-eighths, of their tuition; others,
with equally eood schools and less
public funds, will have them pay 10c.
per week each, aud still others viii
keep up q good schoolfo nine months
in the year without any tax upon the
pupils. As a rule believe the more
school funds in q district, the more
the people have to pay to receive the
benefit of it, The next best thing t.
the proposition OF Mr.. Jaques, would
be, TO require the trustees to keep
open a free school as long as the
funds would last, and then leave
every one to send where he can pay
for the balance of the year.
Would also suggest that every sp-
| plicant for certificate should furnish
the Board of Examination g ceFtif-
cate of good moral character, and
that that should be all the religious
test required. The habit of some
trustees of requiring a teacher to
subscribe to any particular religious
dogmRs, destroys competition and
works sn injury to lhe taxpayers.
II people want schools taught by
teachers of any particular church, let
them support them by church funds.
If Catholic teachers are to be ex-
cluded don't tax Catholics, and if it
is decided to exclude Methodists,
Mormons, SpiTitaalists OF infdeIs
don't tax those to support cur rights
aud our faith while We ignore theirs.
Every church has a right to use Its
own tands ss it sees fit but no civil
officer has any right under the con-
sIitution OF our common country, &c
require sny religious test in the use
of public funds. I have simply ex-
pressed my own We've, not expecting
sven the HERALD will agree with
them, but if it is argued that the OF
posite has been the custom, as
extended toward us, AID many others,
| will say that you cannot end any.
where, a wrong but what has been
baptized in the waters of antiquity,
but We should be governed by the
golden rule, instead of following in
the narrow paths Of bigosly sDd error.
JUSTICE