The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-04-19

law Of 1888, Act No. 8, had supported their
schools entirely, or in great part, on the
pubic money. use that term here in its
broadcast sense, intending to include all
school FUNDS except those raised by district
taxation, and that, even in spite OF Section
~ OF that act, many districts had continued
the practice, ignoring both the letter and
spirit OF the law, running their schools
principally on the public money. The prac.
tice was to vote such a tax as was required
by law to entitle the district to its full share
OF the public funds and then vote not to
assess and collect the same; or IT, per-
chance, 1t was assessed, the collector re.
ceived instructions to defer the collection,
and in some instances the entire tax has
been abated.
With such corrupt and dishonest prac.
tice in vogue, how could 1t be otherwise
than that many districts should, when the
end came without sufficient warning for
full preparation, find themselves with
troublesome surplus demanding DISPOSE
ton? And from such a practice, Ia it not
perfectly natural that districts should have
reached and anticipated the very concu-
sions recently promulgated by the commit
tee on education, that they g. may by vote
dispose Of the same as they see ftp" IL was
exactly in line with such logic that one
district In the central part Of the state at
tempted to dispose of the surplus by voting
a compensation to such persons as had been
district officers during the past six years.
| OuCu lOreInOuRnJ certainly deserved a re-
ward, but the district still finds itself con-
fronted by condition, as the compensa-
| ton, thus voted and paid, failed to exhaust
the surplus, leaving its last state no better
than its first except in degree. The district
treasurer who called on the selectmen of
Charlotte for his districts share of the pub.
lie money, saying they were going to use
| 1T to buy them cigars with" etc, was also
in line, as were also those districts reported
to have voted to expend the surplus in pic
mics aud excursions during the coming sum
mer. According to the unanimous opinion
OF the committee on education, such dispo-
sition of the surplus is not only proper but
perfectly legal. Is it just and equitable as
well? And whence that unanimity? Not
very long ago one of that same committee
acting az chairman at meeting of the
school directors of certain county, COM
bated with all the force of his logic the
specious arguments OF legal gentleman
present as director from town wherein is
situated an insane asylum, who claimed
that the surplus belonged absolutely to the
districts, regardless of whence it came
whether from the ordinary public money
rent of school lands, interest on the United
States deposit, income from the Huntington
fund, the five per cent state school tax, dis
trict taxation or any other source and
were at liberty to do as they saw fit with it,
this member meanwhile insisting that these
funds were raised for exclusively school
purposes and could not justly or legally be
new light shed upon him.
To me it seems very unfortunate that this
committee should have felt itself of such
Importance as to deem it necessary to come
together to interpret the school laws. They
are intelligent men and possibly have in
mind what they thought the school laws
were to be, but they are no better qualified
than other equally intelligent men to say
what the laws actually are. The laws were
not enacted as prepared by the committee.
\ ttar of funf ,f gnI,.,
laws came from the committee to the house
on the last afternoon of the session, ordered
printed, were distributed very late that af-
ternoon, considered and cut up in committee
of the whole, believe, late in the evening,
and some time during the small hours OF
the last night, after much wranging and
contention, emerged from the din and chaos
attendant on such deliberative ~ occa-
sions, full-fedged laws recognizable per-
haps by their very intimate friends but by
no one else. | submit whether under such
circumstances that committee is any better
able to interpret and explain their meaning
than other thinking men. A law is inter
preted according to the plain and reasonable
meaning of the words used, rather than &C
cording TO the notion of some one who may
have happened to assist in its enactment:
and on the question of the surplus there is
nothing to interpret save absolute silence.
There is something really refreshing in
the solemn gathering Of this committee to
comical and ludicrous il we could be sure it
was harmless. OF this, however, we enter
tain grave doubts. The high-sounding title,
COMMITTEE on Education" will have GER
tain influence with the people generally.
They will naturally feel that when such a
body gets together and considers a matter
and announces its conclusions, it is done by
authority, and that the conclusions must be
followed, right or wrong. In mild way,
they have assumed the official garb laid
| aside mnnfhQ n do for M
before their fellows, dressed in little brief
authority, when, in fact, they have none at
all, and their name shodld give no weight
to their conclusions unless they are founded
on good sound common sense. Their ad-
vice about the surplus may be law, but in
following 1t let u.s. in the words of State SUI
perintendent Stone, ego slow"
The purpose of our school laws is most
excellent. Their intent is to provide a good
opportunity for every child in the state to
acquire good common-school education
Whether this shall be done depends largely
on how they are administered. 1t ought TO
be fully understood at the outset that good
schools cannot be maintained without a
liberal use of money. The directors should
be sufficiently versed in school matters to
realize that as rule, half dozen schools
properly managed can do more and better
work for their towns than two or three times
that number inditferently carried on, and
their aim should be to so combine and con
centrate their schools that they can be made
to do the work they ought. They should
not hesitate to put out money to convey the
children where they can be properly in
structed, Let us draw the veil over the era
of corruption, deceit, dishonesty and plum
der in school affairs, forget that we have
heretofore largely wrested our support from
the public, and become independent, self
supporting, honest and self-respecting, and
join hands earnestly determined under our
new system to have good schools and give
fba phillrau their At 1uaa and No ~ N
fairly doubt that our efforts will be crowned
with success