Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-10-23
MR.. STONES REPORT.

MR.. STONES REPORT.
Last Tuesday this journa! made brief
editorial comment upon the bill intro
duced in the House by DR.. Weston of
Newfane, to repeal the charters of the
various graded schools in the State.
What we then said was based upon a
passing examination of the bill as it ap-
peared in few newspapers. We were
at the time informed by parties at Mont
pelier, that this remarkable bill was in
tended to give practical effect to the
State superintendent views and wishes
as expressed in his Report to the Legis-
lature. In other words, we were in
formed that DR.. Weston's offensive
measure really originated with the State
Superintendent of Education. In all
fairness we refrained from thus treating
it, preferring rather to believe that the
bill was primarily due to some legislator
of small caliber, who was perhaps will
ing to introduce anything in order to
make record. State Superintendent
Stones report, however, is now before
us and we find that, as reported, he is
the author and originator of this plan to
repeal the school charters.
This plan is so bold, so populistic, so
revolutionary, so absolutely destructive
of our little States best educational in
terests, that we are fain reminded of the
proverb: Whom the gods would de.
stroy they first make mad"
In no partisan spirit we are bound to
remark that high educational officer,
charged with guarding and promoting
the educational welfare of the whole
State, should be broad enough, and prac-
tical enough not to promulgate such
measure in ignorance, and most assured
ly, honest enough not to advance it for
political and electioneering purposes.
The dilemma has these two horns, and
with sincere regret we say that Mr..
Stone must accept one of them. If he
recommended the repeal of our charters,
| ignorant of the devastating blow he
| struck, he is manifestly not suited to
discharge properly the great admins
trative responsibilities of his office. If
the populistic recommendation was
made as bid or bribe to the rural mem
Der, 1T was not only an act of political
chicanery, but mastery underestimate
of the honesty and intelligence of the
average Vermonter.
Let us examine Mr.. Stones recon-
mendation-a recommendation that
would be unworthy of moments seri-
GUS notice but for the fact that it has
been dignitied by its incorporation into
a dangerous bill. Mr.. Stone proposes to
dlsincorporate the twenty-seven graded
school districts in this State, situated
fNrf fha fNCfY -
do away, as he fllppantly says, with
school oligarchies." He would put
these high-class municipal schools into
the same category and under the same
management as the country schools. He
would legislate out of office the village
school trustees, and not only put the
school management, but the school prop
erty into the hands of the rural direc-
tors.
The property of these graded dis
tricts which these village people, to the
extent of hundreds of thousands of dol
lars, have dedicated to good schools and
sound education, Mr.. Stone would, in a
measure, confiscate and turn over to
other parties who have no part or parcel
in its ownership.
HIGH SCHOOLS TO BE CLOSED.
Report, after detailing his plan for the
repeal of our charters, the Superintend-
ent guardedly points out that his plan
would shut up the high schools, and then
to conceal the deadly character of his
blow at these institutions, he casually
reminds the people that ldUS might be
passed to build them up again. He says:
ITO offset any dereliction on the part of
the town to provide and maintain a suit
able high school such as a village de-
mands, law might be passed enabling
such village to maintain at its own eX-
pense such high school as it demands"
Without commenting upon the inele-
gance of the superintendent language,
let us ask, if villages demand high
schools, as Mr. Stone seems somewhere
to have heard they do, why destroy
those which the villages are now main
tanning at their own expense? Mr. Stone
would not only turn our grade schools
over to the management of others, but |
to do so he openly avows that he would |
strike out of existence every graded dis
trict high school in Vermont. OBJ
serve that he says: "a Ian might |
be passed enabling such UilLdge to main
tain at its OlCn expense such a high school |
as ii demands" Until laws lUere passed |
for that purpose, however, there could |
be no high schools. After the laws,
would come the wrangle and turmoil |
and expense of special village meetings,
for the people to decide whether they |
would maintain high school or not |
Every reasonable man knows that it re-
quires years to enact laws and put them
into successful operation. The PROPOSE
tion to wreck these high schools is the
most destructive measure ever submit
ted by any educational officer to a Yer
mont Legislature. Populism and COM
munism could go no farther.
INCREASE COUNTRY TAXES.
The repeal of these charters would be
a costly experiment for the country peo-
pie. Those remote would have to main
tain their own schools as now, and in
addition they would be taxed to support
our graded schools. That such a meas
ure would increase the tax-rate no sane
man can doubt. What would the coun-
try people get in return? The empty
privilege of sending their children to
school in some faraway village, with the
further privilege of being taxed to put
up new school buildings and to employ
additional teachers, if the present pro-
visions were found to be inadequate. AS
well give the farmers warranty deed