The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1888-03-29

question will be the horizontal rule will
be applied, the waees Of the exper.
fenced, the practical, and best qualified,
will be reduced and the inexperienced
will be raised all will be compelled to
come to one common level.
But hard - this feature OF the bill is,
its effects on our schools are not to be
compared with the demoralising in.
fluence that will result from sinking
them in the political whirlpool that
has control Of every department Of our
public service save this one. It is use.
less, gentlemen, to attempt to- escape
from this inevitable result. To do it,
you will have to concede to the very
men whom this bill seeks to deprive Of
mans dearest rights; the men, whom
men styling themselves "public educa.
tors" slander by accusing them Of in.
competency and neglect of duty,) the
possession of spirit OF generosity, not
only above the great mass Of their fellow
citizens. but even above their honored
representatives assembled in these halls.
Think Of the township board Of educa-
ton holding their caucus, and deciding
upon the political orthodoxy Of the gen.
tlemen or lady applicants for teachers; |;
think If one side failed to get quite 20
many cousins or 'wife's relations in %
the other, and should bolt the caucus
nominees, there might be q tempest
raised that our present school system is
a stranger to, 90 far as its practice has
been concerned.
But gentlemen tell we lack officers.
We have not enough salaried employees.
We ought to have township superin-
tendent, q supervisor Of buildings, a
janitor, etc. Without calling in question
the honesty of gentlemen holding these
views, we beg leave to submit that while
we have made our sub. districts as large
as it was possible for all the children to
reach the school. houses, yet many OF
them do not contain more than twenty
five to forty scholars, and yet the tax
payers furnish the means to run these
schools, not only tho number of months
required by law, but all over the State
the schools aggregate nearly eight
months in the year. In our part OF the
State many of our teachers carry ten.
year certificates from our State board
of Examiners, and those that do not, &c
before county boards scarcely less rigid
| We would ask in the name OF reason
what do such teachers a0dnt or need with
some salaried quack around to grade 9
school of from twenty to thirty scholars
from the little b darian up? We
don't hire teachers that are not compe
tent to do that. Beside we don't compe
one scholar to lag and wait that other
may keep up. We don't want any cast
iron rule as that by which to measur,
the boys and girls in the country. Al
to the superintendent of buildings. w,
know of none more interested in havini
an honest compliance with a contract
than the men who furnish the means Il
pay that contract, and no better super
intendent Of buildings than the thre'
local directors in each sub.district. w
use them in oar part Of the State. A
to the Office of jsnitor. Where tn
children walk from half mile to mill
and half to school in the morning, an,
il need be at noon and evening hell
the teacher carry in the coal or wood
and sweep and dust the schoolhouse, ",
have no need to besiege the Legislator
nor town councils for appropriations t
build gymnasiums. While we have al
act permitting these three last name,
offices, we don't need nor use them in ou
part of the State in our district schools
Now, gentlemen, let me beg of you il
the decision Of this question, do not b.
your vote strike down the dearest right
of more than twenty.tw two thousand 9
our fellow. citizens; men who for mors
worth and sterling integrity will nc
suffer in comparison with q like numbe
in any State or Nation ON the globt
Do not, entreat you, relegate our nobl
free school system to the dominion {
politics, which the passage of this bi
will inevitably do. Do not say to tn
twelve or fifteen thousand teachers {
this State, 1--WE will 20 back on the Law
that have governed the world in th
employment of public servants froz
mans infancy to the present day.
Gentlemen, I can not, ! will not, ,believ
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