Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-02-24
little the gsn.lsman from llaacccs would

I stttst tut StptttulNlt IEtth it1uteA NVNts
vote for this bill
In the education OF our children is thu
strength of our State. Good schools ough
TO b. our iirst consideration. Bat we are
behind the times in this matter. The gem
! flemaa from HscataQais said jus, nov that
] the schools of sa years ago were ss good
or better than they are now. After this
confession who will stand up in this Senate
and say that We do not need seforms II Is
the strongest argument ever heard ia Ia
yor of the bill. Everything in this bill
points towards progress. There is nothing
in the district system tina, looks bright un.
less you speak of its glorions past
We are behind the other states in this re-
gard. W. have some good schools; We
have good teachers; We have people all over
the State who are devoted to the work OF
education We have State funds. We lack
proper system of conducting our school,
and expeniing the money; a good system
and q uniform system Is what Is needed,
Now, this town system is not myth ~
an experiment. |, has been tried in man,
states and in many OF the towns of this
State. AMI has been found 10 work w,ll
One of the objections - the town system j.
that 1t works 10 the advantage of the larcy
gentleman from Oxford in regard 10 hi.
town is simply the experience of persons il
my town. We want every district to he
well equipped, so that there will not be the
desire to move into the villages TO get y
chance To send children to school, 1t is
said that this is one of the great evils of tl.e
district system.
The gentlemen who have opposed tlii,
| ,,aas,,rn 50 Ear hay, hnat, Very i,,,n,at,,, ,
they have made statements which are no,
quite borne out by statistics, aud have said
that the rural districts are opposed 10 the
bill. So far as know the people OF the
! rural districts are not against this system
| Ii believed that it would work against the
country districts would certainly oppose
the bill. The farming districts ought 10 be
looked after,
| MIR. Shaw then went into statistics at
some length, showing that from the returns
of the State superintendent nf schools that
under the town system the percentage of
attendance had increased in the schools,
the number OF scholars hal increased aud
the towns were enabled to pay better wpsrs
/ for teachers, thereby securing better in-
struction in the schools. Continuing lie
said Whenever iind comparison of the
district and town systems | find difference
in favor of the latter.
| The gentleman from Somerset has al
ready pointed out that teachers of the State
| "a class of people who are harder worked
and poorer paid than any otber) with one
voice say that we need this distric, system
abolished, and that we should adopt the
town system, that is, with practically on"
voice, although believe that the Kip Van
Winkle from Ripley camc here and tried
to convince this Legislature that this bill
was humbug. The opinion of these pco-
pie ought TO have some weight. We can
not expect to know as much as the gentle
man from Piscataquis; but what does the
gentleman from Hancock distributing his
| pills to the poor, or the gentleman from
Piscataquis, collecting his bills from the
poor, know about the needs of the schools
TINT the teachers in these schools do not
know?
| believe that the Republican party can
make no mistake in taking any ground that
is in the direction of progress. II has been
said that it is bad politics, but | am not II
politician. The fact is that il this Ioglsa-
ture should pass this bill there is no greater
deed that it could do; aud If we live for
five years more we shall see the people of
this State point with pride to the Lcgisla-
ture of 1893 which took from them this oil
system of district schools and gave them
the more progressive town system.
| Mr.. Nickerson of Lincoln offered Senate
amendment A.
Mr.. Nickerson: | Gill say that in the
town where reside we adopted the tow
system two years ago, and in relating the
tax where union districts were, there was u
dispute To illustrate we will suppose the
district to be divided by line between
two towns, A and u, which splits the d.
trict into equal parts SO far as valuation IL
concerned. Suppose the total valuation Of
the school property in that district TO We
! $1,000. which the assessors of both towns
agree to, which makes $500 for each town.
The present law of our statute, and nlsn
this proposed law under consideration. pro
vides that the inhabitants of that part ai
the district which is in town shall be paid
for their onc-hsIf of the district school
property which is in town B. Now. then,
the following year. perhaps. the town II
adopts the town system This law says
town B shall pay the $500, half the amount
of the value of the school property. To the
town A. and town shall rebate it 10 lis
citizens living in that part of tho towu
,.;,b;n tho d;s,ric, I;mits "a, Tho Iil
also ,he proposed inethoa the citizens ol
that district within the town of A yer,
n,;J ,,,;ce fo, ,l,a,r ;n,oras, IN iii. s,ho,,
| f 80, - ~ . ''"'
- =, ia
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pmn n.a', :.,. y, D.'.use t''e ''',N'"' % N''
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'ye - w ~ n'a'.' " "'oe
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=. -. st. -. -. =, 49, ''' s""''
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m ~ a'', p''n'N' ,;, ou' wa. III 'n1 'Aa''p'
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O'I"i a., ., a'on =. W -, ,,,.,
-" NV n'o'''" u '' s''hef7on '' '''n
coz, oena'e a'ienih'e.. a Nv va ,it nIol'eu'
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" y, ~ az "'"e''e' " '"'e VI Il
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ne 'o' ""' ~ '''o"'
nm ara n re., li"fs'm
spoIord, Thatcher. w,ggin and wlnsiow
Nays-Amrs, Cook. Gr.ndle. Bdl Iolmp0
ai,s wons ""if'' 'eaH'' 9""h'""' ""'f"'"-
hbsent or not vofing-gradf,rd. cIart Co,Br
Harper, Spear.
The President announced eommnnica
ton from the secretary of State tran.mi,,io
the report Of the State treasurer for 1892
rhich was referred to the committee OF
financial affairs
On motion Of Mr.. Seilers of CUM erlanJ
| thorILsng the W II. Parsons x Co. - loli