Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-01-21

| OF higher grade, embracing normal, prepafaeofy,
Our educational system embraces the common
school. the higher school, the Normal School, the
Agricultural College and the State University.
| intendent of public instruction is commended to
the careful attention of the Legislature for its
| detailed interesting and valuable matter. and
learn that In 1892 there are 912S school districts
| In the state, and 90S school buildings, The re-
| mote and sparsely settled county of Morton con-
school buildings, while the expansive and we'll
settled county of Sumner has 1877 school districts
| and 200 school buildings,
The persons of school age in the state for 1882
reported to be 498 sol; the mum of different
pupils enrolled in the public schools. 3S2, 225,
which is .S45 less than the enrolment for 1871
| is 500 less than it was in 1891. The common
schools may be regarded as the peoples colleges
| and, hence, worthy of all needful care on the
! part of tie lsw-making power of the state; and
| therefore attention is called to the following
| from the aforesaid report: 1T is quite evident
| that the law relating to compulsory attendance
| at school is susceptible of Improvement, and
The time has come in the history OF our state
! for the establishment of truant schools for the
already large and constantly increasing number
of pupils who are In the streets when they ought
| to be in school"
Female teachers are largely in excess OF male
teachers In the state, and while males receive on
| an average S42.15 per month, and females S35:42
| yet in Sumner county the average pay Is the
| same for each sex, aid in Sedgwick females lead
the males on an average of sos per month.
In the list of county superintendent of public
instruction for 1894 there are twenty-three
| females, which is an indication of the lhcreas.
| ing power of women in educational work and OF
| the coming solution of the problem OF equal pay
| for the same work, without reference to who
| may perform it.
There are 257 school districts extending
| through ffty-fve counties in the state which
| have not sustained at least three months school
in the year and twenty-five of these districts are
| in one county. From the beginning of the ex-
istence of Kansas as state, up to 1879 there had
been an annual levy of a tax of one mill on each
dollars valuation of the assessed property of the
state for school purposes But by an act OF the
| legislature of that year it was abolished
From the report of the superintendent of pub
lie instruction the following extract is made,
which bears on this subject: Il believe that the
legislature should at the earliest day
restore the one mill levy by the state to be dis
toned. And if the legislature would make the
levy two mills or even three mills, their action
would go quite long way toward correcting
our present unequal and unjust distribution OF
the money raised for the support of our schools
by the district plan of taxation"
The amount of money of the semi annual
appOrhonment of the state annual school fund
distributed among the schools of the state for
1891 was $3.50 229 A. which was SO cents per csplta
for the February appOrtionment, and 81 cents
per capita for the August apportlonment,
making a total of S105 per capita.
The total amount of money received during
the year 1891 for school purposes S. Oh 299 g.
Of which the sum OF S3,535 $50 81 was received
from county treasurers from district school
taxes. In 1892 the whole amount received was
S. 0l0 981 81, of which $3.50 jS.l1 received
from the treasurers of the several counties of the
state from district school taxes.
CHANGE OF TIME OF ANNUAL SCHOOL MEETINGS.
The statute providing for annual meetings in
district schools on the last Thursday of July
perhaps enacted on the theory that it would give
to furnish the several district school clerks the
amount Of taxable property in their respective
districts that suitable levy of district school
taxes might thereby be made, but the state
port says the annual school meeting should bs
held at earlier date in cities Of the third class
He gives a reason for the change that in these
cities from three to twelve teachers are employed
and it would be better for the schools and the
teachers If teachers could be employed at an
earlier date than is possible as the law now
were such change made, cities of the first and
second class would not be given the first choice
of teachers by reason OF their school boards
being elected at an earlier date.
COUNTY NORMAL INSTITUTES.
These institutes, brought into life by the action
of the legislature of 1877. have been so extended
"a to have an existence in every county of the
state. They have had such 6enehcent influence
monwealth as to be permanent part Of what
may be called our symmetrical common school
system, SO helpful to the great body of the ener-
getic, plain, toiling people of Kansas. At the
sessions of the institute in 1892 the average daily
attendance was fourteen in Morton county and
40O in the county of Jewell. The sessions have
been thirty days in length in most of the lO6
counties. In 1891 there were 210 evening lee
lures, independent of the general work of the
institutes, and in 1892 the corps of instructors
at these Institutes reached the number of 1888.
The state superintendent of public instruction
deemed it proper to require county commission
ers to appropriate not less than $50 for each in
stitute OF four weeks.
THE PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND.
of
fraudulent district school bonds, purporting to
have been issued by the authority of school dis
Norton and Rice, which aggregate $l5, 900, and of
which The state can have no possible prospect of
collecting any part of the principal or interest
of the same. 1nasmuch as the constitution of
the state expressly declares that the permanent
school fund shall not be diminished, l would
recommend legislation authorizing the state
treasurer and auditor of state to cancel these
fraudulent bonds, and duly provide for REIN
bursement of the fund to the amount of these
bonds
HIGHER EDUCATION.
Aside from the Normal School, the Agricul-
tural College and the University of the State the
state superintendent in his report presents brief
abstracts of thirty other educational institutions
which include high schools, academies colleges,
seminaries and universities of different classes.
The State Normal SchoOL-The reports of the
president and board of regents of this institu-
ton will amply repay ones perusal for the in
teresting and valuable matter they contain. The
legislature will be asked to appropriate for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1894, the amount of
$4,000 for an additional wing and assembly
| room. The pupils from the institution come
from Lightweight counties of the state. and out
side of the state from sixteen states and terri
tories.
MIS-. Carrie S. Plumb and family have kindly
donated to the school the valuable private
library of selected public documents which the
late United States Senator Preston B. Plumb
had collected during his public life, which gift
embraces nearly 600 volumes, for the most part
handsomely bound in sheep, but for which the
institution has absolutely no room.
The State Agricultural CoEeoe.-The board of
regents Of this institution, in their eighth bien-
NAL report, declared: :The past two years have
shown more than usual prosperity In the growth
of the institution, as well in its administra-
ton. Although crowded beyond the capacity of
the buildings for most satisfactory work, the
college in every department has been well main
tanned, and the work of educating the sons and
daughters of farmers and mechanics in line with
prominent industries of the state 10 so well
maintained as to make the Kansas State Agri-
cultural College the largest of such institutions
in the country, or even in the world"
Instructive matte in the report is found under
several headings, and particularly under those
of "Exper ment Station" and Farmers 1nsti-
tutes."
President Fairchild, in his report to the board
of regents, says: Fully 20 per cent. of the stu
dents are shown by the records to be from farm
ers' homes SO that of all such colleges in the
United States this stands among the most repre-
sentative in relation to the farmers interest
throughout the state. No other has so large an
attendance, and no other has SO large proper
ton of farmers children. There are pupils