Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-10-15

poor, the widows and orphans of the State,
and it is your duty TO encircle them with
every safeguard and to protect them with
every reasonable limitation and restrlc-
ton as to investment These deposits are
in the highest sense trust funds, of which
the directors, trustees and managers of
| these savings Institutions are but truS-
tees. In the matter of the management
and investment of these funds, every
other consideration should be secondary
to and yield to that of safety. Any de-
parture from this rule is highly censur-
able And bearing on this subject |
quote from the concise and able report OF
the inspector, with my unqualified APP
proval. He says The great underlying
principle which should, it seems to me,
govern the management of trust funds -
and savings deposits are nothing more nor
less than trust funds-ls that safety should
he the first and strongest consideration
actuating and governing trustees" SAY
ings banks were instituted for the pur-
pose of atfordng an absolutely safe place
Tor the deposit of the small earnings of
widows minors and others, who are not
sufficiently versed in matters of finance to
care for their own savings And this pur-
pose is wickedly perverted when trustees
become ambitious to build up great
institutions by paying large dividends
and thereby attracting the capital of the
wealthy"
These plain and well pointed remarks
of the inspector find application and mean
ing III what is reported by him as to in
vestment of these funds in western farm
mortgages" The Importance of the sub
ject and the desire on my part that the
views and recommendations of the inspec.
tor be more widely disseminated lead
me to quote further from this report. He
says: Strictly choice municipal bonds, a
class of investments upon which our say
ings banks have heretofore largely relied
|
net, and many of our savings bank mana
ayers have deemed it wise to discard large
| ly this class of securities and to CORE
spondingly increase their investments in
western farm mortgages, which pay "a
much larger rate OF interest"
call your attention to the recommends
| ton of the inspector that the present limit
(5S l-3 per cent? within which savings de-
poSits may be invested in Western mort
cages, be reduced to 40 per cent. | recon-
mend that the law limiting and restrict
ing the investment of desposits be so
amended as to meet the recommendations
of the inspector. Some of the present re-
strictions are seemingly unjust, or at least
unwse. The well known financial ability
and standing of the inspector, and his
large experience, are, | am sure, quite
sufficient to secure your earnest attention
to his report. His evident solicitude-not
to say anXlety-is fully accounted for by
a careful study of his report.
In the report of the treasurer you will
| find an itemlZed statement of the several
trust funds in his hands for which the
State is accountable, and the official GER
titicates of the auditor of accounts and in
spector of finance that they have eXamin-
ed these funds and found the same cor
rectly set forth i'll the said statement OF
the treasurer.
EDUCATION.
Few, if any, subjects are equal to this
in Importance, and lam pleased to be able
to say that no subject has received more
thought and attention from the General
Assembly and also from the thoughtful
people of the State. And | venture to
assert that it has been long time, il ever,
since there was more thought given to the
subject than at the present time, and 1t is
probable there has never been a period
when there was more, if as much, anxiety
and solicitude concerning it as now The
Importance attached to the subject is easy
to understand, as intelligence of the masses
is absolutely essential to the prosperity
and existence of our form OF government
and its free institutions. But why the
present unusual interest, anxiety and
solicitude The answer to this inquiry is
found in an assertion or proposition not
pleasant to entertain or contemplate, yet
forced upon us by seemingly unquestloned
and unquestionable facts-an assertion
promulgated by my predecessors and also
by the constituted heads of the education.
al dc partments of the State, both past and
present, and cOrroborated by the national
census bureau. 1t is, that TIE people OF
our commonwealth are increasingly litter
acy-that she is losing rank with and fall
ing behind her sister States in that educa
ton and intelligence that can come only
from the common or public schools. The
proposition is as uHwelcomed AS it is
alarming, and | would gladly refute il
could | see my way clear to maintain my
position.
Assuming that this is correct, | am Leo
to repeat the inquiry of my earnest anC
accomplished predecessor, eX-GOvernol
Pingree wherefore are we being left be
hind ~ This is certainlya most important
inquiry, and | address it TO you IN all pos
slble earnestness, trusting you may be
able, not only to answer it, but to find /
cure, and by early legislative action MAKE
vigorous application of it, even though II
should involve radical changes in ON
educational system. Pursuing the sub
ject, put the further inquiry Has there
been in the past, or is there now such ;
want of proper pecuniary support ant
encouragement by the State for the com
mon schools as to account for the trouble
If SO, and you should unlock the treasury
and provide the proper aid it would have
my approval; but | understand the re
verse to be true. The trouble is evidentl.
not here. Looking further, let me ash
you as to the condition and efficiency o
the colleges, academies, normal schools
high and graded schools, and the large
!. and more central of the district schools o
the State. My observation and nforma
/ ton is that these as whole compare ia
vorably with like institutions of learning
, elsew here, and have a corps of instructors
; teachers and managers as competent
efficient and well equipped as any. Thi
being so, we must look farther for tn
, difficulty. Outside of the schools partlc
/ ularized are about 10000 of the schoo
children of the State, exclusive of thos
who attend private schools,-or abou
three fourths of the whole number o
; scholars attending any and all schools
1t is said and do not understand that i
is questioned to any considerable extent
that the trouble is in the smaller schools
schools more or less remote from the vii
7 lagos and central schools Having locate
the trouble, Gf | am correct in my infol
, nation and conclusion) you can NOR
e readily search out the disease and apply
!. cure, and this is your special province.
t In pursuing your investigation, you wi
+ doubtless find that the average number O
( scholars in these outlying districts does nc