The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-14

DON'TASE STATE AID
Teachers Meet at Trenton
and Discuss Their Re-
tirement Fund Scheme.
PROPOSED CHANGES IN TIE LAW
Mrs. Allen Of Hoboken the Lead
ing Spirit in the CONTROVERSY
Business Transacted.
PROPOSED CHANGES In TIE LAW

iFttNION, Dec. IA. 1896.-In response to
a call OF the New Jersey State Committee
on Teachers Pensions forty-fve teachers
from various parts Of the State held an
ali-iay meeting in the Senate chamber on
Saturday to consider and recommend
amendments to the New Jersey public
school teachers retirement fund law. The
representation was not very large, when
1t is membere that there are upwards
OF 5000 public school teachers in the State.
Thirty Of those assembled were Of the
gentier sex and the balance of the male
persuasion. The meeting was not confined
to teachers who are already members of
the retirement fund, but was of a public
nature. and Its object was to secure more
interest On the part of teachers in the
fund.
Miss Elizabeth A Allen of Hoboken,
who has been the most active spirit in the
movement since its inception, was the
leader on the floor. Nearly all the recon-
~mendations made at the meeting were
either offered by or emanated with Miss
Allen. She ably discussed what seemed
to be the weak points of the law and sug-
gested necessary remedies. The action of
the meeting was. OF course, in no way
binding. its proceedings being merely a
suggestion to the Committee on Pensions
of what were deemed feasible amendments
to the law now existing.
President s. E. Manness of the State
Teachers Association. who is supervising
principal Of the Camden schools, was
chairman of the meeting. Professor w.
H. Thompson of Orange was secretary.
Communications were read from Profess
sor Harris, principal of the Bayonne
schools; Superintendent Maxwell of Plain
field, and others, containing suggestions.
the chief of which were the reopening of
the doors to the teachers who had failed
to a advantage of the fund, and the
| protection of the fund by making the pro-
visions for obtaining aiu more rigid. The
matter of suggesting necessary recon-
mendations to the existing law was dis
cussed at length.
Despite the many reports to the con-
trary, the first action of the meeting was
to disabuse the minds of the public that
it was the intent of the teachers of New
Jersey to ask for State aid. A resolution
was offered by Miss Allen, and ~eloquently
supported by her, that no amendment be
considered that would ask for State aid
for the fund.
the newspapers had been misrepresenting
the idea of the fund, fret, by saying it
was proposed to ask for State aid; and,
secondly, in stating that any person might
retire, under the law, after twenty years
of service. These, he said, were both abb
Solutely false, and he asked that express
sion of the meeting be very forclble IN
these two points. The resolution, after
many favorable expressions, was unani-
| mously adopted.
The first section of the law was then
taken up. 1t provided that the State Su-
| perintendent of Public Schools. the menu
- - 49, C<AL~ ~a~ 80 tlrLr Ira q md
| two representatives selected by the pub
lie school teachers should constitute the
Board of Trustees OF the teachers retire:
ment fund" Miss Allen thought this
Board would be a very unwieldy one, and
| was also unfair, consisting as it did OF
| sixteen members of the State Board OF
! Education and only two teachers. The
teachers, she said, did not have fair repre-
| ~sentation, and she offered a resolution
| that the Board be changed so as to con-
sist of three members of the State Board
of Education. three teachers and the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Mr.. S. B.. Morse, Of the State Board of
Education, who was present, was asked
to express what, in his pfnlon, would pc
the feleing of the State Board of Educa-
ton in the matter. He said the teachers
had the hearty support of the Board IN
| the matter of the retirement fund and ne
| was satisfied the Beard would be willing
to lend a helping hand, as far as possible.
| at all times. He also Thought the Board
| would much rather have q smaller repre-
| s~entation on the Board of Trustees. 1t
had, in fact, appointed a committee OF
five. of which he was a memb5r 10 act
for the State Beard as trustees Of the
fund, and the only reason they had not
organized was because the Attorney Cen
| eral advised that they could not until the
State Teachers Association had appoint
| ed its representatives, as provided in the
law.
| time service limit adopted by Prof.
| Franklin Thorn of Paterson. The law as
it nov and provides that to secure adj
| vantage of the fun a member must have
taught 20 years and become incapacltated
| from acting as a teacher. Professor
| Thorn thought a limit. independent of in
| capacity, should be made. He proposed
40 wears of service for ladies and 45 for
men, This met with much opposition as
likely to be too heavy a drain on the
fund.
ed 50 as to provide that teachers, who,
by length of service and eligibility be-
cause of inactivity, must pay in 20 per
cent. Of a years salary before they can
Miss Mary Philhrook, the Hudson
| Portia, and sole woman lawyer in New
| Jersey, who was in attendance as coun-
| sci to the Hudson delegation. framed a
| proposed amendment voicing the idea ex-
| pressed by several that there should be
a provision preventing any one from re-
ceiving the annuity provided for by the
| fund II her ~incapacity to teach did not
| prevent her gaining a livelihood through
some other occupation.
This was strongly seconded by Professor
Murphy. who held tina persons might
be easily incapacitated for teaching and
yet be able to do other work. Consider
able argument was made. pro and con,
and the motion was lost by a tie vote.
Nc change was made in the fourth Sec
ton of the law, which provides that any
contributing member for FIVE years or
more, wishing to retire, shall receive
hack one-half the total amount they may
nave paid INTO the fund.
After much discussion 1t was decided
that the one percentum of the te,achers'
salaries to be reserved monthly and paid
over to the State Treasurer be turned over
to the latter quarterly, thus relieving his
office of as much work as possible. Miss
Allen also offered a suggestion, which was
accepted, that the Board of Trustees be
allowed to make its Secretary such COM
pensatson as 1t might deem proper. d
also wanted the Committee on Pensions
instructed to consider the ACCESSIBILITY of
an am1endment requiring boards of educa-
ton to pay into the fund any amounts
deducted from teachers salaries for abb
sence not paid to substitutes. Owing to
the different practices concerning this
money in different municipalities 1t was
not thought advisable to adopt this sug-
gestfon.
on motSon Of Miss Allen it was recon-
nardai that the benefits of fhe law he