The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-07
ONLY PAPER PENSIONS,
The Fine Teachers Pension
Law That Was Blum
dered Through.
SIMPLY THE MONEY LACKING.
A Provision Was Lost in the Shuttle
and Now the Law Won't
Work.

Since Governor Budd approved the
teachers pension bill passed by the Legis-
lature the teachers have been congratulate
ing themselves that they had fairly good
pension law at last. Many who have been
teaching since prominent men of to-day
were learning to spell words with three
syllables have been considering how much
longer they would stay at the mill, and
contemplating with feeling of comfort
the $40 or $50 month they would retire on
some of these days
Most of the teachers have not read the
law, and know only that the fund is to be
created by the payment into it of per cent
of the salaries of good many teachers.
Now, few who have critically read the
act finally passed are finding big hole in
it.. In fact the law, as it came out of that
wonderful law factory at Sacramento. isn't
worth to anybody the cost OF printing it.
The new law enables teachers to law
fully retire from teaching after working at
it for 20 or Is years, but then they
could do that before. Then it provides
that when they retire after serving that
length of time in this State they may
have $40 or $50 a month for the rest OF
their lives if they can get it, but the pro-
vision for their getting it doesn't promise
to yield two carfares year to any tired and
WORKOUT teacher. But then the teachers
have pension law and that is some con-
ISOLATION, for if this one will not work II
affords promise that it will be repaired
two years from now, and 1t is long step
toward ultimate success. Who was re-
sponsible for the blunder in the bill is not
known.
The campaign for teachers pension
law has been pressed for some years, and
in this city over 400 teachers have long
been enrolled on the Pension Association
and have contributed 10 cents month for
it's expenses. During the last campaign
every Assemblyman and Senator from this
city was pledged to teachers pension
bill. and the San Francisco delegation
would have voted for anything that was
asked.
The legislative committee of the Teach
ers Retiring Fund Association labored
long and evolved bill providing pensions
for teachers of twenty and twenty-five
years experience in the State, and creating
a fund from the public revenues. One
item was the profits returned to the teach
ers salary fund through absence OF teach
ers whose places were supplied by cheaper
substitutes. To this they added percent
ages of two or three license revenues. Mrs;
Nettie r. Craven, Mrs. e. P. Bradley and
Miss Murphy of this city and f. M. Camp
bell of Oakland descended on the Legisla-
tyre early in the session and found many
encouraging friends. Some of these legis
lative friends put in shares of the liquor,
pawnbroker and dog taxes and then oppo-
sition developed.
The committee did some persistent and
brilliant lobbying, but they saw that the
bill would have to be changed. Judge
TYLER labored several days and produced a
different bill, similar to the one passed.
1t provided that the pension fund should
be created from per cent of the salaries
of all teachers who might wish to avail
themselves of its benefits. Ii enough
teachers went into it and paid the tax for
some years before retiring, an adequate
fund might possibly be created this way
when re-enforced with the gifts and be-
quests which, it is provided, may be re-
ceived. AS originally drawn teachers
would have fiocked to it. 1t was provided
that all teachers now employed must ac-
cept the provisions and direct the retention
of per cent of their salaries within ninety
days after the approval of the act or be
debarred from its benefits in the future.
If this provision had been retained prob
ably two-thirds of the teachers of San Fran
cisco, including many who would have to
teach a number of years before they could
retire on a pension if they wanted to,
would have signed the prescribed agree
ment The bill, as first drawn, imposed
the tax and opportunity of the law with
out option, on all teachers employed here
after anywhere in the State.
The bill did not approach final passage
until the rush and disorder of the last
week of the session. Committees tinkered
at it, and when it came up amendments
were fired in from various directions. At
last the bill reached the Governor, suffer
ing from what 1t had been through, and it
was approved.
AS the law stands now the Treasurer
Superintendent of Schools and chairman
of the Board of Supervisors in each county
in the State are constituted board to adj
minister the pension business. They are
to receive the prescribed applications for a
place in the line of future pensioners
award pensions and pay them, and must
hold quarterly meetings. The fund is to
be created by the contribution of l per
cent of salaries and by gifts and bequests.
the State elected hereafter must within
ninety days of their employment sign the
required application if they would look
ahead generation and begin laying up a
pension for the time when the way begins
to get shady.
The law will operate all right on the
teachers that are to be, and if a girl is
elected as a new teacher next week any
where in the State she will have but ninety
days to grasp or let slip an opportunity
that is quarter of century ahead. If
she grasps it her salary will be per cent
short as long as she teaches.
Another section provides that all teach
ers now employed who wish to retire on
the pension in the future, which will be
$40 after twenty years service and $50
after twenty-five years service, must sign
that same document. But the Joker is
that no limit of time in which they may
do so is set. The law says in another
place that any teacher now employed who
retires on a pension within three years
from the passage of the act must first pay
into the fund $500. That is fair enough,
but if a teacher retires three years and two
days from the. time of passage she need not
have paid in dollar.
There is nothing in the law requiring
any teacher to start her per cent contrf-
buttons at any time, except that the APP
plication must be signed before" retiring,
and any teacher now employed is eligible
to get in under the law at any future time,
and then begin the forfeiture of 1 per cent
of her salary and retire month or less
later. SO if a teacher retires within three
years she must pay $500, but if she waits
and retires after that time she needn't pay
anything. The provision requiring teach
ars now employpd To claim thn haua6fs