Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-03-06
COMMUNICATIONS.
Waterbury, Vt, Mch. 1st, 1890
EDITOR HERALD AND NEWs.-

4 4
have been using your influence to boom
Vermont by calling attention to the op-
portunities for investment and by gener-
/ ally showing the advantages of residence
in this state. wish that all the papers in
the state would show the same enterprise
and the same interest in their constituent
cy. But ! must say that have been sur
prised at some things, and especially at
your leading editorial in the issue of Feb
N,in which you use this caption . Another
tax to pay Is it needed one? If not
what are you going TO do about it?"
think that you must be laboring under
some misapprehensions else YOU would
not publish such an article for / am sure
that you agree with me in wishing the
best thing done for the educational inter-
ests of the state. Let me call attention to
some of the statements in your article.
/ In speaking of the devices used by a.
| gents TO secure the adoption of their series
of books you say that ''books have been
| freely distributed, among them eight dol
1 lar dictionaries | know of no instance
where any books have been sent to any
member of the board except for the pur-
| pose of examination save in the case of
one firm. / have been told on good au-
| thority that the firm publishing Lippin-
colts readers did send to the members of
the reading committees copies of Worces-
ter's unabridged dictionaries. So far as
know this is the only instance where any
thing of this kind has been attempted
And in this county even such methods
failed to secure the results wished for,
since only one member of the reading COM
mittee recommended and voted for that
series of readers, and it is to be presumed
he did IL because he considered ii the best
series published. So far as the other books !
are concerned, how could the members |
examine them unless they were sent? IL 1
would have cost several times the small a. |
Fa . t.axH -.
purchase them, and charge to the towns /
when we could get them free Of cost. You
say that there are two striking facts no.
ticeable in the selections which have been
made in the counties thus far heard from.
First, that the selections do not show uni
formity among the various counties. Well |
what Of it2 The law does not provide for
any such uniformity. There was scheme
broached last summer by which state uni
iormity should be secured, and delegates
from twelve counties met at Montpelier to
consider the matter But the general con-
sensus OF opinion among those present did ,
not strongly favor such uniformity, tho
committee was appointed to take steps /
toward securing such uniformity as might I
be found practicable. State uniformity ,
prevails to only the most limited extent in !
The other sections of the union. You men, :
ion as the second striking fact revealed /
BY study OF the selections that, where !
books now in use have been adopted for |
he next five years, 1t has usually been I
! revised series instead Of the series in use 4
or the past five or ten years. ] am sur :
irised that you should look upon this as \
IN objection; il seems to me commenda- 4
ion rather. In this age OF progress would r,
'ou have the schools using the same text v
looks that were used ten or twenty years r,
gof Would you have Biographies re- L
aimed in our schools which teach that we "a
ave but thirty eight States, which have cl
he same old map Of Africa studied by pu- ii
ills before the marvellous explorations OF Z
tanley had revealed to us the interior OF ,
he Dark Continent, and which have none 81
I the great changes made in the geOgra- "a
hy OF the nations of the world for the -
asst twenty years? Yet this would have N
cen true il the same editions of the geog- Ia
aphies now largely in use had been re- ec
lined. And this is but a sample of the m
rogress which has been made in most of @,
be other text books. | do not think that, IN
! your printing offices at West Randolph an
nd az Barre, you would be content to use of
ne same appliances for getting out the pa N
er that were used by Benjamin franklin ar
] his day. You realize that this is an age IN
progress in material things and govern in
Ourself accordingly. Is il not an age OF ca
rogress also in the intellectual world? TO
You say that the editions which have We
cen discarded are now in use in thous- We
-
think that you must lbe mistaken. The nj
WINS and cities of other states usually in
ave free text books and, as fast as there ot
al,y great and material change in the IN
ooks in use, they replace them by a later bc
iit.on. Because some of the teachers and ed
ost OF the pupils were satisfied with the ne
)Oks now in use, is no reason why they 90
lould be continued in use, for the great ch
aiority OF the pupils and no small num- ha
" OF the teachers are not qualified TO re,
dge concerning the merits OF a book na
wing never seen many others of the ~
me kind. You say that there is a grave al
lubt as TO the legality OF the selection of nSi
xt books by the present boards of educa- -,
Pm. Section l3 OF the new law provides sl,
r the annual election Of the members OF m,
e county boards at the March meeting, he
e members so elected TO hold office one on
ar. The next section provides that the 10
embers then elected shall meet at the ain
ire town OF their respective counties on ne,
e first Tuesday in MAY following their ter
sction, and shall organize by the choice Nv
pm their number OF a president and the
,retary. According to the text Of the rie
n they cannot organize until the first Tn
esday in May, and vet the selection REQ
lst be all made and ready TO be pub nlS
he'd before the first dav Of the preced- - -
Z sApIl4. ! mink lhal TINS must snow she
? Inconsistency OF any Interpretation of al,
2 law which would throw the response Sic,
ity Of the selection upon a board that I'm,
mot organize or do any business until al
're than a month after the law requires -
. books to be chosen. nnl
fou say that the members of the various for
ards ought to be present at the town scb
citing next Tuesday and ''stand up and bin
counted" am perfectly willing to do lee,
5, and know Of no reason why every IN ,
ler member would not be equally will ~ !
/. You seem TO labor under the inn land
ssion that the Office Of member Of the ssne
lrd Of education is sinecure. not much sins
rk and good deal Of pay. II so, you do
the subject Of a great delusion. The acc
allows US 800 day and we are to pay car,
own expenses. Whenever we meet
have to make journey to the shire
m, pay our own r. r. fare and our own =
el bills Figure up for yourself how
ch the members OF the Orange County art;
Ird can have made after they have de-
ted their expenses from their stipend. slig
} not know how it is with the others a.
/ charge nothing at all for the time
ended in giving a hearing to the a. of :
Is. have had nearly OF quite thirty