The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-12-11

COMPULSORY EDUC cATIoN,-At
the 18th anniversary OF the State
charity organization at Indianapolis
last week, Supt. Charlton, Of the
Reform School for boys, at Plain
vile, made strong argument in
favor of the coming Legislature
passing a compulsory education law.
He said among other things:
"We have common school fund
of $40, 146, ,6SS.9l. Six per cent of
this enormous fund goes to provid-
ing tuition for the children of the
state. There is also a state tuition
tax OF IL cents on the hundred dol
lars levied for the same purpose.
Besides this, the townships, towns
and cities levy other taxes, increas
ing the total amount expended last
year to carry on the schools of Indi-
ana to So, ,634 ,S14. They have pro-
vided 8, 1927 school houses and 49,
500 school teachers. There are in
the state 798, ,917 children of school
age, and yet but 500, ,345 were en-
rolled last year, with an average
daily attendance of but 1872, ,015.
This is only about so per cent of
the children enumerated. With
these facts before us we naturally
inquire why should we tax our peo-
.Iple so heavily and yet allow SO
many to grow up in ignorance?
eli education is a good thing for
children, why do we allow parents
Ito deprive them of this blessing?
Every child is citizen and is en-
: titled to the protection Of the state.
8 If parent for any flimsy excuse
) sattempts to rob the child of its edu-
r cational privileges it is the duty of
the state to protect it from such
( robbery.
Il INDIANA BEHIND IN THIS.
'Our state, grand and glorious as
J she is, is behind other states in this
: matter. OF the forty-five states of
Jour union twenty-seven Of them
t|have adopted compulsory educa-
f|tional laws and but eighteen have
!. not done so. In all of these twen-
;Ity-seven states children between
e certain ages, to IA, 7 to Is, 8 to
s ia, 8 to Is or s to 16, are required
e to attend school, public, private or
t parochial, for certain number Of
!. weeks each year. Penalties are
J. -provided for the failure of parents
e or guardians who violate such laws.
d GAS the superintendent Of the
Boys reform school of this state |
s shave seen the evils of truancy and
absenteeism from school. AS a
t|rule our boys have not attended
school. Most of them come to us
unable to read or write. believe
that the coming legislature will
] pass law that all childIen be re-
e|quired to attend school at least
e|twelve weeks each year. In two
! years | would revise it, making it
3 for sixteen weeks; then twenty
weeks; then twenty-six weeks; and
t tfnally would make it like Massa-
chusetts for thirty weeks. In many
cases the mere passage Of the law
has increased the attendance in the
schools 60 per cent the first year.
: We have been entirely too conserva-
tive here in Indiana.
J 81 have no sympathy with the
|maudlin sentiment that by such
law, we supplant the natural rights
! |of the parent. In all other matters
we do not hesitate to restrict the
'Irights Of the vicious parents. In
this city if parents are raising their
children in vice and crime the Board
,|of children's guardians takes them
away from such parents and puts
them into good homes.
"What the state needs is that all
its children be properly trained for
citizenship. The ideal training is
lin a good home. But not one-half
Of the homes of this country are fit
places to rear child. II is an old
motto, What you would have
prominent in a nations life should
be taught in its schools What
can you do if 90 per cent. OF the
number are never in the schools?"
! If such law could be enforced
lin Jasper it would be great advan-
'|tage to the community generally,
as there are in the town about 80
children who are generally idle
mischief seekers and makers, loaf
ling around the streets, to the dis
advantage Of themselves and every
busy citizen.