St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-02-05

story. / suppose Susy's heartstrings
snapped with the first agonizing sor.
row, and she has never realized it since
am not sure but Uncle Jerry anG
Aunt Polly were to be pitied most"
"Now Jack, yen get some chips and
kindle the fire, Clara and Agnes shall
stay to tea, and while | make the
waffles yon girls may go to the spring
and look for eggs in the nest the
speckled hen stole yesterday. y Nell
C. Ray in Springfield Republican,.
The Town System of Schools.
The Vermont State Teachers Association
| to the People of Vermont:
| The Legislature of Vermont at it's re-
cent session by act No. q, sec. |,
enacted the following: Each town in
which the school district system exists,
shall at the annual meeting of the
town in 1885 and 1886 vote upon the
question of abelishing the district sys-
tenn and adopting the town system.
Among the reasons why the action
required by this law should be entered
upon thoughtfully are these:
Careful observers going from Yer
mont to other states to study schools
bring back the report, "VermOnt is be-
hind in her schools and school system
Intelligent people who come from
other states aud look in to our schools
say, "You are behind in your provision
for the education of your children"
Vermonters of al shades of opinion
every where say, "Our schools accom-
plish far less for our children than they
ought to do with the expenditure we
make for them
In such state of things we are call
ed upon to express by direct vote our
choice relative to two modes of con-
trolling and supporting our schools.
To one of them we are all accustomed
through long use, the other though an
older and a widely used system is less
IdinlllaG TO us.
The town system may be described
briefly as a system by which the peo-
pie of the towns manage their schools
through agents chosen directly by
themselves, and by which they pay for
their schools directly with money
drawn from the town treasury. This
al,
sets in l647 and it is now exclusively
used in Mass, Pennsylvania and 1ndi-
ana, is prevailingly used in several
other states, is increasingly used ev
erywhere, and is the system universal
~ favored by students of education,
because, at the same or less cost, larg
it than by any other system known
among US. This system has been ia
operation in Vermont long enough to
test it, and is now used for substance
in nineteen towns by more than thirty
thousand people. Let these testify to
its merit.
as a provision of her city charter in
1867. She boasts of the best schools
in the state and has never sought re-
turn to the district system. Vergennes
has recently united her school districts
aud now as one body conducts her
schools in the same number and places
rs before. After ten years trial the
people of Waitsfield sustained the town
system by vote of 10 to Al, the peo-
pie of MiddletOwn sustained it by a
vote of 90 to D, and in Hinesburgh no
five years trial in Brighton but two
persons in full town meeting voted
to return to the district system. No
town in Vermont after five years trial
of the town system has returned to the
district system of schools.
During the last session of our gener-
al assembly the committees on educa-
ton fully considered the comparative
merits of the town and district systems
OF schools and recommended the adOp-
ton of the town system. While the
matter was under consideration testi-
mony concerning the working of the
system was received from many of the
towns using it..
The body we represent at its annual
meeting
Resolved, That this association here
by renews its declaration of faith in
the town system of schools as the best
now offered to the people of Vermont,
and urges all friends of education to
unite in efforts to secure it's early ad0p-
ton by the towns.
With our own strong personal con-
victions Of the superiority of the town
system of schools, reinforced by the
opinions of our fellow teach
ers and by the facts of experience part
~ recited above, we come asking our
fellow citizens to consider well what
is the duty. of the hour towards the
of the towns in which they
dwell, and that they will not shrink
from any effort that promises to i'm
prove the educational facilities of our
state.
NJ. H. Buckham, Edward Conant, W. t
Committee.
Effects of Tobacco on Boys.
DIR. Gorgas, a man of distinction and |
learning on the subject