The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-09-07

80
termincd to submit a considerable num-
Der of amendments other than those pro-
posed by the Commission, it may be best
to run the gauntlet of a Constitutional
Convention. There is not much to choost
between amendments thai will perplex,
distract and divide the people and a Con-
vcntion that will keep the State in hot
water for at least two years.
-------->dN>- -
LETTER FROM SENATOR N. G.
BUTLER.
His Views Upon Our Free School Sys.
TEN.
EDGErIELp, $. c., August Is. 1881.
Our present school system Is good enough as
it Is, amcnable, no doubt, to some reforms and
improvements as to details. But what hui
man system is perfect? 1t has done. Is tloinS.
and will continue t. do, great good In the
cause of popular education If properly sus-
tained by the people. we hive al the ma,
equipment. very accomplished. competent
and Jealous Stale Superintendent, and, as far
as my knowledge Of them extends, competent
county school commissioners, trustees. n full
corps Of teachers, school houses, n general
school fund. everything essential to place the
school book In the hands, OF every child In the
State. so that It. can acquire ut least the rudi-
then by -if properly sustained by the peo-
ple?" Let ME Illustrate. II you manufacture
world, and leave 1t on n dead level. 1t will not
move. Its machinery may be faultless. 1t
may be fully equipped with all the appliances
and appointments of Il flrSt-clasS en~glne-en-
ginecr, fireman, fuel. Water-and yet IT. Will
not move or be useful or effective unless some
motive power Is applied. The engineer and
fireman and brakeman ma push 1t by hand
and move 1t, but 1t can never accomplish the
npn1s fnr yt.btrI, n hrls npbStrTefnl until tho
proper motive power Of steam has been APP
piled.
50 with our school system. 1t Is not enough
to inJure effective work that we have all the
machinery in order. The great body of the
people, those whose children are to be benc-
fitted, who IN future are to benefit the State, |
must manifest an active. intelligent interest
in education; they must hold up the hands OF
the superintendent, the commissioners, the
trustees and tenchers, by cordially sustaining
them when they are rlghtand correcting them
encourage the children and The teachers-in q
word, apply the necessary motive power to
make the machinery run. This Is what !
mean by properly sustaining the present
appropriation of money that can be made, no
school term that can be devised. no school age
that can he agreed upon, can ever be made
fully effective, or accomplish satisfactory re-
suits without this support OF the people.
1t Is urged that tile school fund Is made.
quatc, and various suggestions haze been nd
NdUCcu W llCICdSC W.. i VII uOb SIlC lllut "
people are in IL condition to justify an In
crease OF taxation for this or any other pur-
pose. The Q mill tax will Increase the fund, as
The taxable vaIue Of the property pro inc cre'1
enforced, will in the near future provide n
very respectable fund. But. Mr.. Editor, s3l9.-
030-the amount expended for public schools
The increase Of receipts for IS77.'7S over re-
celptS for lS77-'77, amounted to sl2B,S4l. and
this increase will continue as taxable values
increase: When it is remembered that large
Iust Indebtedness, 1t must be admitted that
the schools have done marvelously well I'M:
der the circumstances. The general school
best we can do for the present. and should not
be q source of disc0uragement but rather of
ledoubled zeal and interest on the part of the
people. If the option TO increase The locnl
districts, land of the proprlety OF ihls cX-
press no opinion, for have not thought suth;,
GENTLY of It's opcration( the fund for school
purposes may be largely Increased in those
communities, that feel able to sustain in
creased taxation.
Complaint is made in many quarters that
into this, and lest the foundation for II by in
shutting comparisons with other States. Tho
average time of public schools In days In lS7S
In this State q have notn later report OF the
expenditure S3l9.0N. In Penns! lvania the
average time is given at one hundred and
forty-nine days expenditure &r$3'31a: In
Mississippi sevenly-nine dnys; expenditure
S592,Sj. In Ohio the average time Is lO days:
ex expenditure S',J36.S2S. In North Carolina the
average length OF term In days Is forty-six:
expenditure $I2i,2S7. In New York the aver
nine; Expenditure slo,s7t,@5. New Hamp-
shire, average time njGj days; expenditure
$6@8,t55; In Maine. average time In school
anys, iln;! d.ys; eTpendltM LIZ s. 81; ll',Sei; ~
turc $ES $685.. IN Indiana. average time, 10
days; expenditure $751; oil. In Minnesota.
average time ~ days; expenditure si,iG'.6So.
that the school authorities IN South Carolina
have done remarkably well. with the means
at hand. and stand Il favorable comparison
with others IN States having large school en-
dowlnentS, where the substantially
the same as O~urS-laS worked well.
Three months schooling annually to chill
drcn from six TO sixteen-the school age Of
our children-is no slight boon to those who
have no other means ofacQuiring an educa-
ton. Some OF the most useful and distin.
guislled men this county has ever produced
have not had more than three months school.
ing in their whole lives, and In the "old field
schools at that.
Another Point made against the public
schools is that the teachers are badly paid.
Let us ascertain their pay in other States-but
first In S0utl Carolinn. According to the re-
port of ISIS the average monthly pay OF male
teachers in this State Is put down mt S2S.22; fc
male teachers at S25.42. For the sam. year IN
North Carolina the average monthly pay is
S23.lS-of both sexes, | presume, as no distinc-
ton appears In the report. In Alahanaa the
averase monthly ray is si7;g; In Florida siO.
S}l.2. 1t must be borne In mind that Penn
sylvania has un INCOME of IS, SCOT for public
schools. In Massachusetts the average month
~ pay OF men was in 1873. 1854; Of women
$50 o.. This is an unloly Discrimination
against women on account of sex that calls
loudly for Il Constitutional amendment. In
New mhInpShire for men S7,l2. and for wo,
mon Sol " In NjrhisynN fnr intn St1 Al and
for women SIG. l6-anolher instance of u%njusti-
fable rartiality for men. In Maine, for men
SS2G and for women sl592-women are Ger.
iainly held in very low estimate rs teachers
in that quarter. IN Kansas. men S33.6s; wo.
men 81. IL. In Illinois. men S5i.G women
$685.. In Connecticut, Tor men SCI Oh, ard for
women S3ijl: In Kentucky, for men $40, and
for women So. The chivalrous Kentuckians
rate the fair sex a degree only below the men.
In the great and wealthy State of Now York
the average monthly pay of their teachers II
only Si3.ii. SO II will he seen, that although
our teachers are poorly paid, they arc doing
as well rs teachers In others STATES, consider
Ing all ~thinss-better than in some-and that
we make no unfair discrimination against
our female teachers.
would not he understood rs advancing the
argument, that because atsler States pay their
teachers inadcquately, u rs an excuse In This
that this fact of itself ought not TO condemn
the system because II has prOspered else.
where, under similar circumstances. AS to
the competency Of our teachers. | express no
opinion. / have not sufficient knowledge OF
them to form Ill opinion. There can be no
two opinions rs to the importance of having
com potent teachers, and the best taliant may
not be available at the salaries paid, but each
school district might supplement the free
school fund, and In that way secure the ser.
vice of good teachers.
The powcr to lmrart knowledge, the capnc-
lily to instruct others, is n peculiar TALENT and
Is not possessed by every man or woman of
book learning. 1t requires II suitable temper.
ament, discriminating intellect, facility of
expression and aptncss for administration
that very few persons have.
However,, l apprchend our worthy state
superintendent appreciates the Importance
Of good teachers, and Is Tar better able toI
judge OF their qualifications than myself
he has managed to assemble In this State,
must result In awaking an intelligent Inter
est among those engaged In teaching, and re-
dound greatly to the public good and cause
the best and only thing to do now, to help
along popular education, Is to sustain our
present system resolutely, cordially and nc.
lively, with patience and perseverance,. cor.
rccting detects, as far as may be-, when they
present themselves, and reinforcing the pub
lie effort by private contribution.
This appears TO me TO be our only alterna-
tive. Wien we compare our school FUND
with those States having such large endOw-
mcnts. 1t looks like n small business, but IT.
must not be forgotten that many Of The States
INV UCqulIcu lnclT SCloOl luIu lTOJll LuG
public domain, not from taxation.
II is estimated, for instance, that Minncso-
u will have q fund amounting to ST., 0O0. 900
when she realizes fully from the sale Of her
school lands. And | saw stated the other day
that Texas would have n school fund Of one
hundred million OF dollars from her school
lands. This may be an exaggeraiion, but IL
must be immense. This money, however, Is
not raised by taxation. but by the sale Of
public lands reserved for school purposes.
I shall favor, in the Senate, the distribution
~ . Ia 4 - r,-lI I-.1a @,I .~t~-t r~~, |
among the States according to illiteracy, for
educational purpose. A bill to that effect
passed the Senate at its last session, but failed
In the House. The Senate bill, however, pro-
vidcd only for the distribution of the Interest
on sales. The entire fund ought to be disLrib-
uted as the proceeds accrue from sales. The
evil of llliterucy Is upon us now, and e%Xtraor-
binary efforts must be put forth to relieve 1t.
and 1t would be perfectly fair and proper for