Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-02-28

4
whatever system might be adopted, Thes
IN hal gone from the rural school district
that dot the bills and valleys of old Oxfor,
and other counties oftae State. and that stan
out IS beacon Ugh TO guide the grpat ship Q
STATE He believed ~e should aihere to ou
sts.u,rds and allo~ the p ople TO have vie
IN these matters of education ami not place
gag up,n them wheaever some partculA
p -rso sugses : what he thinks is reform
legisl ttion The result Of the las ~ouli b,
great expense a'd officially. When tn
change came shst was To be done with tn
old book.: Would the tJwns have them ap
praised an buy them up ani return them {,
tue scholars as the property of the towns
If so, he ~ouli wish 10 be spared from ser
vice on = school commi' tee; bee, ,u,e lie pre-
ticted b re ~ould be such row in ever,
town that few would care 10 meet il. Al
appraisal woah be impractic able. Wul
reference to the COS, to tue State he under
stool that there arr 2iT.&i7 scholars between
the ages of 1 and II, Ui tn 1t number ab1u
10000 Atten school aud who mast be sup
Piled with new DO X ii the bill bee Imes
Law. He estimated that the cost of ne~
books would be at lvsst two dollars to each
scholar, givi, z As the total cost of the change
to the Stale $500 600. The law already pr ,
vides for the free text books to th,se una ME
TO buy them, 80 he saw no reason on thi.
core.
Mr.. Diagett of Piscatsqais advocated the
bill. la the estly history of the country, D.,
We aiop'ed free school system and taxed
the Property of the people Tor that purp ,se
Lsrg- sums of mone, are thus taken
trom the pe hple for the education of The
youth. and the people have y rigat 10 dema ID
that tneir money sh al be ex pen led IN such
a manner a. shall best accomplish the pur
pose for which it is ra sd, Ia purs lance of
this policy the State says school districts
h al huiii ;hool h uses AMI ruse 81 muc
money for the supp ri of schools. not l-av.
ing these questions optional VI, h Il EN- Tn.
friends OF the bill so fur,h,r tasn this
aud claiu. that when the Safe has taken
this money from the peop'e, 1t shall pre-
scribe not only that town. shall huld school
houses and rase money, but furnishes free
text books. He denied that The system
which was followed 80 years ago. is aie
quate to meet the needs of the peopl. today
With reference TO tue argument of exp nse
over the Present system. he said that tn.
united expense of a town is not equal to
the individual expense of the town as di-
viduals u der the present system books
are laId aside as scholars advance in
their classes and so much is lost, whereas,
under the bill they would be used by other
scholars and worn entirely out. In his
oplGion there would be saving of a leas
80 per cent here If there was nu other argu-
msnt but this it would be conclusive with
him. The very fact that ne agents and
of the book syndicates of tn.
country were here laboring against the in
Ieres,s Of the bill was significant, and proof
10 his mind that they expected to sell /, IS
NUMBER of books # the measure became y
law, because they would DC worn out instead
Of simply laid aside.
MIR. Poor of Cumberland fel, great inter
pst the subject, but thought as many SEN
itors were absent in the other branch that
he further consideration of the bill
should be postponed when he wouli like to
say few words, though the ground hal
been very nearly covered by the senator
from Piscataquis.
Mr. Collins opposed delay.
Mr. Ryder of Penobscot m,ved to table
which was opposed by MIR. simpson, and the
n Jtl0n Vas Withdrawn.
Mr. Lord of Penobscot (Mr. Sargent be.
ng in the chair addressed the Senate in
support of the bill. He had listened with a
,ooi ieal of pl a.ure to the senator from OK
ford (Mr. Wrlght) and was pl ased at what
le hal 10 say of the men who h ,d gone out
from Oxford. but did not agree with the in
ference that senator would have the Senate
iraw-that those men were great because
hey had t. buy their own sch ,ol books in.
stead of having them furnished by the towns.
Mr.. Lori sail he hal reason
70 believe many of those men
"ould nave gone Out better fuel for the
Da tie of life # they hui h al the benefits of
he Law proposed here. Noble men indeed
Iai gone from oil Oxford but he felt that
he senator from that county th,y was
Standing in the way OF progress. H.. Nr
Lord believed in the comm N school ~ stem
sTd 'irsred Ia see 1t mt,naIned tie wanted
me boys of the professional man 10 20 to
school ~Ith the boys of 'he M chanic ami
aborer. Ii. wanted the b OF a stocratic
paren to understand that the by of the
D.acksm tn was his equal. II. Santei ev
Try hug done tnat could be to establish
thoroughly the common scho system,
snd he believed free txt books should
b. part of that syst m School
houses, teach rs, ch,rt'. dic,i)n ,r es,
ency clopediss and other .ci tiles for educa-
ton are furnish. d, and sby shouldn't all of
the school books bt' The provision of law
10 furnish books Ms ciarit, is not often taken
of b, cause of pride, and he knew as
4 matter of experience that needy
scholars resort o all manner of expedient-
10 obtain ihrm otherwise. He believed the
senator wrong IN his estimate thu the la.
would cost the State S32o,Dn0 Insteai of
that it would save nearly 500 900 If he
correctly what ha been told
him. he town Of Brewer furnishes its schol-
ars with books at cost of about seventy
cents a -cholar, while the people of l1a igor
have To pay dollar for the same books.
lie believed that II the b II became law II
~"ul save to the p' ople of the State $50
900. which is now being paid TO book pub
li,hers lie did not think that the change
Of the books would com all a. once, a. hal
been intimated by the senator from Oxford
The change would be Y siual
Mr.. Wright replied H- did not think he
stood in the way of progress in relau IN to
education. He be i-vei in the common
sch 'Jls AMI in everything that " tuld advance
III m, but fali. d TO see how they wJul be
benefited BY the hil. 1t hal been argued
that neeis scholars were uIable to atfeii
school for the want of books Hi. exp-ri-
ence lei him to the conclusion that II ~s-
the want Of clothing to compare with that Of
some rich scholars and not Of books. II I'll
friends of the bill were in the line of prog
ress, why not provide fo- clio h 1g as we'll
a. the books lie would not change his esti-
mate OF the cost because ho believed it sub
sta ually correct.