The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-02-20
MEMBERS DISAGREE.

school directors to be sworn or affirm
ed before entering upon their duties
was before the House, the following
discussion took place between Messrs
Tewksbury and krckbaum,
We quote from the Legislature Re
cord:
Mr.. Tewksbury 1t seems to me
there is no necessity for this bill. First
school directors are an unpaid body
of men. They do not need to be
qualified or sworn, in my judgment.
AS | say, they are unpaid and | see no
reason why body of men who are
doing so much work for nothing shall
be obliged to pay for having the oath
administered to them. This bill
makes no provision for this expense,
and another reason, we are multiply
ing the requrements of officers when
we provide that they shall be sworn TO
every trihing affair that occurs and
there by, it seems to me, the solemnty
of an oath is beirg very much lessen.
ed in our Commonwealth.
Mr.. Krick5aun Mr. Speaker, my
colleague, | think, is wrong He is
right on the face of things; he is rot
right in detail. When anybody tells
me that the Office of school director
is worth nothing he is simply mistaken.
1t is worth something | tell you. |
know Of places in my own county-and
do not need to 90 out OF his town
ship--Qooking at Mr.. TewksDury)
where there have been contests for
school director and for the Office Of
secretary and treasurer of the board.
THEY generally acd"t to be treasurer
tor the purpose Of getting tie tnD
per cent, and that is scltdt th4y ,cd,.t
to be school directors for.
Mr.. 7e'ok-bwy-Mr Speaker, l
hate to lock horns with my colleague,
especially when we have got to go into
E detail, and | have never been a school
director in my county at all and my
colleague has. He ought to know
very much more about school matters
IN general than do, perhaps, but !
think know as much about school
affairs in the township in which l live
-Catawissa - as he does | do not
believe it is true that there is dspos-
ition upon the part of our people to
get into the school board for the sake
OF making miserable little two per
cent, out of it.
l believe that the people of our
township, (and as he has referred to
my township / think / have right to
defend her9 have the best schools, the
best school houses, the best managed
schools in the whole county, and we
believe as good as there is in the
State. And, sir, our school directors
are not sworn. They may do some
swearing some times, but they manage
their affairs in their own way under
the law. There would be an oppor-
tunity if this act should become a law
for some person through spleen or
spite, or, as Josh Billings used to say,
pure cussedness, to swear falsely in
order that there might be forfeiture
OF the State appropriation. 1t is a
very grave item daughter very
great Item in our State appropriation,
inasmuch as we expect to have that
appropriation increased by the House
to about 50, 1000, 900. We want to be
IN position so that no person, either
through meanness or cussedness, can
get us into position that we cannot
obtain that State appropriation. We
want to keep the schools Of townships
at their present high standing. We
believe that under the present law we
will get upon our board men who are
competent to serve when | say
competent, mean people who have
large broad-guage views on public
questions, and net little matter fel-
lows who want to get into the school
board to make the little two per cent {;
but rather men who are willing to do
their duty without regard to the pay
and do their duty without fear of re-
ward or hope Of punishment. Laugh
ter and applause.
| '' 1A'"ChOtU"I-MI speaker, i
have no interest in this bill. What |
said was all in kindness, and l know
1t to be true. l know that when a
school director makes one hundred
and fifty dollars, three hundred dollars,
four hundred dollars or five hundred
dollars term out of his Office that
there is something in it And that is
what they do not very far from where
we live. | want to correct my friend in
one thing. He says in the township
OF Catawissa they have no trouble /
know of one director who told me
within a year that he had settled a
difficulty with relation to their school
directors That they had fixed the
salary at fifty dollars, and then they
could divide uD or take--rchoked off I