Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-02-24


less Tids question is all theory there i,
nothing To supacr it. Why is j, that with
q Law on eur statute books for the last Ii
years allowing towns TO sdop, the towa sys-
TEN, three-quar,ers of thea remain unsle.
the district -ys,em, and some of thers thai
adopt the town system go back afterwsrds
to the old district system, as ave towns in
my county have done
| Mr.. Peaks then proceeded 10 give the
( history of the attempts to carry This W.
through the Legislature for the has. 10
years, and containing said
! 'I.et me ask why 1T is that gentlemen in
the Senate year after year undertake TO
! force upon the towns of this State what
they do no, wanty Why is it: Can ANYBODY
tell me: The theory is that We shall have
better schools, 1t is not true. There are
no better schools in the State than in my
town of Dover. We have built new Si2,
600 school house, and We have paid for it,
! Do you want 10 take il away from us now
an! make us help TO build other school
houses for the rest of the town. In Gull
I ford there Is an emphatic vote against the
town system every time il comes up.
I Ii is not fair that the State should conn
pei us to raise our 50 cents per capita and
thtN ttttt W us Aui saN " HSt We Sthli wv
with that money. The senator from SOM
erset says that large smount OF money is
raised by the State. How much does the
State give us in Dover? We are paid
Sll00, but of that amount we raise S61
ourselves, SO that We get sia6 from the
State, Shall the Stste say what we shall
do with all that fund. Iii like giving IA
barrel of -four TO poor widow and saving
that she shall use 1t all as dough, because
dough goes so much further and is so much
more economical than bread. Ii you are
going TO give us this money, let us expend
ii AS we want it.
say the schools of today are not so good
as they were 35 years ago. l taught school
myself 35 years ago. The senator from
Somerset talks of favoritism. There is
favoritisn under the town system also.
know ease of a young woman who taught
a school under the town system, and every
one hoped she would teach ii again, but the
chairman of the boarl had some one else in
view, and some one else taught that school
The reason given was that she was not u
graduate of normal school, The senator
from Somerset tells us that the town system
is economical. Then how is il that the
school expenses have almost doubled in the
last 10 or Is years? lie tells us that this
bill will improve the quality of instruction,
would like TO know how hc knows or how
any body can know that. SO far rs my oh
seryation extends 1t has not improved. We
have in Dover one teacher who has been
with us for three years and another who
has been with us for eight years, and We
would not change for any others.
was much surprised at the statement
that this contest in towns about the adoption
of the town system had caused much bitter
ness. The only bitterness that | have
heard anything abont is this eternal tinker
ing of the laws here ir Augusta. The only
argument that ! have ever heard is that we
don't know what we want ourselves.
Three-quarters of the towns have not
adopted this town system, yet this bill will
make it compulsory. We know better than
the trainers of this bill what we want. We
have had some experience; we have plenty
of men up there who can read. and write.
We have been running schools up there
now for over half century. and has il
come to pass that few gentlemen now
know all about it and the rest don't know
nything:
Now have said all that care to say.
simply ask the gentlemen TO let us alone.
The town system may operate well in some
towns and i'll in other towns. If town
wants to go INTO it it has the opportunity to
do so. If this bill becomes a law yon will
find that it will cause more trouble and dis
salts faction than ANYTHING else this Legisla-
ture has done or'is likely to do.
Mr.. Allan of Washington spoke of the
division of the country into slavery AMI
antl-slavery sections, and of the diff
Guilty of drawing the district lines. Con
tipuing, he said;
Now, it seems to me that there ought to
be no division in our towns and that where
ever the schoohouse is q boy or girl who
is near that schoohouse should be permit
ted to attend school there.
There is another question in this matter
the question of caste. Right in the corner
of some township there is u village of sub
stantial, well-huilt houses, and there is Il
schooihouse. If any boy or girl coming
from some of the smaller houses in the
town should try to go there they are looked
down upon; the girls are despised because
they come in homespun dresses, and the
boys because of their cowhide boots. The
sooner we abolish all caste distinctions the
sooner the Stars and Stripes will be truly
honored.
Who are the people who control the town
meetings! Is it the man who lives far
from the village: No; it is the man who
lives in the village who controls them. AMI
that is the reason why the distinct system
has not been abolished long ago. The idea
of the committee on education is that this
bill will bring the schools of our towns un-
der the supervision of the intelligen and.
educated men of the State, and that under
their care the boys and girls of the outlying
districts will receive the same privileges as
those who live in the villages.
/ believe that il is true economy to hire
! n good teacher and pay such a teacher
reasonable wages. If hired man to look
after my mill would rather have one who
knew all about the work from the founda-
| iion up than one who only had superficial
knowledge, ,and for a teacher would rather
have one who had graduated from nor
NAL school thin one who knew only the A
b C. of teaching. II is a good thing to i'm
plant the idea that labor is honorable, up
right and Just, AMI that is the idea that
normal school teachers cndeavor to impart
to their scholars. 1t il this teaching tha.
will turn out school boys capable of taking
an honorable place in the worll, intelligent.
educated and upright in all the principles
If business and | say that the teachings of
I these Young men and Young women who
COM from our normal schools tends 10
raise the standing of every boy and girl who
attends their schools.
/ Mr.. Hersey of Oxford: Briefly | desire
TO state little experience Of mine anh OF
our town and adjoining towns in the town
/ system Of schools. IL is system which
| thoroughly believe in from nv eyptrien @
of il. And while the gentleman from Pig
catGquis seems 10 have had an immense
amount of experience in the district system
and seems to claim from that experience
that his position is inpregaahle ami must be
| right, desire in opposition to that to give
i some experience of ours, believing that the
| town system ia equally impregnabIs and
! right. In the town of Turner they have
had the town system many years. and i; has
tended to equal re the schooling in every
/ district and to consolidate. AMI make n less
number of districts thsn formerly. thus
sa,ing money TO the town, 1t has tended
to an advancement in that town. The town
of Buckfieid adopted the town system some
some eigh, or ten years ago.
and it has worded well there.
| The system works well in any town
where II has been fairly tried. We hal one
gentleman in Backfeii who claimed TO
know almost as much a. the gentleman
| from Piscstsquis, and one day he came
| down TO town meeting with number of
people from the outlying districts, and they
voted TO 20 back to the district system and
thereby voted themssives out Of so much
schooling. Two years ago these very mon
came down AMI they voted to go back to
the town system; they founl the other was
to their disadvantage.
| Mr. Her-sy then went on and showed at
snsna ler.rfL, the ad 4 nj aaes ernerierf.ad In