The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-05

their cloth every time. In other words.
1t looks to us as If they were trying to
get the most Of the reduction of salaries
that they claim is the only way to
make the big pattern fit their cloth. by
cutting the salaries Of the teachers who
are the most important part of school
work. The most important, we think.
simply because they have the training
of the largest percentage Of our chill
dren.
| Many of us have!sfellowed "the star
of empire along it's westward sway"
and thus have been able to compare the
| schools in the different cities in which
we temporarily resided. beginning with
| New York, Washington. Chicago, Far
go and Omaha looming at last to st,
Paul to find that her schools COMPARED
very favorably with any we had known
before. We found that wise course
had for many years been pursued by
the school board, "a liberal course such
as one might expect to find in this
progressive Northwest, and one suited
also to the spirit of those times But
the truth is that that course was al
| most too ambitious for the real fo,mda-
! ton on which our city institutions had
finally to rest. That. board has pro-
vided some things not really necessary
for good common school course such
| as the largest per cent of the pupils
|
that times are hard and money scarce.
and debts must be paid, could we not
leave off some of these extras without
/ doing our public school system very
material injury?
To go back to the woman smile of
| the pattern and the CLOTH Being in
| doubt as to how her material might
| mold out, the wise cutter would see that
the waist and sleeves and skirt were
| made sure of before she tried to plan
| for the ruff1es and fiounces, the extras
not positively necessary for a complete
and comfortable garment. These are
all right and a pleasure, If fashion de-
mandS, and your purse will allow. But
suppose that hard times made it nee
essary for you to remodel your once
fashionable garment would not reason
dictate that the fiounces be used to
reinforce the sleeves or to piece down
the skirt. instead Of cutting piece after
piece from the already not any too
wide skirt, so as to keep the furbelows
| intact; and yet, that is just what our
school officials are doing. Within the
last four years, they have cut a strip
from the not too big salaries of the
grade teachers. You see it is not as
if these faithful ones were to have
the $40 to $50 that is mentioned as their
pay, every month in the year; for in
truth they get pay for only ten months,
while what some people are pleased TO
| call their vacations, must really be
spent in preparation for the next years
work. They must attend some sort
of a summer school or university, or
enter classes where special lines of
work in which they are interested are
taught; all these things cost money
at time when no money is coming in
We mothers think that we want, and
have got the very best teachers in what
we might call the preparatory schools.
for so small per cent Of the enrolled
scholars ever reach the high school.
At first thought we say all the chill
dren in st. Paul go to the high schools,
because, you see, they may if they
| choose; but, if you look into the mat
ter, you find that only per cent ever
reach that desired haven. And, alas,
considerably less than one per cent. get
through the Mechanic Arts, or what
training school.
Now, as to the class Of pupilsswho
depend upon the grades for an educa-
ton. They are a as rule the children
| of the poor. True. the children Of our
| more fortunate neighbors are there,
too, and they, as a rule, go on through
the high schools, but the child Of the
average wage-earner, when he is
through the grammar grade, and often
before, is compelled by the exegencies
I OF life, as his parents see them, to con-
tribute to the family exchecquer by his
personal earnings. So he is put at
work. But, by reason Of greater wis
dom, some parents, pinch in other
places not so VITAL. just as we want
the school board to do, and send their
children through the high school to
help make up that per cent of the
entire enrolment that enjoy the bene-
fits of the high schools
Now we feel that there is need for
| economy in the management of city
affairs, but let us beg Of you, don't be-
SIN on the real working body of the
poor mans part Of the school. If you
don't believe that this is the most i'm
portant part, just figure for yourselves
the cost of the schools. 1t costs the
city about $17.45 to put child through
the grade schools each year, while to
put him through the higher schools, in
Guiding the M. T., costs S694 49,
1t would be lovely if every one Of the
children In st. Paul could be COM
peeled to take the whole course, and we
had money in the treasury to pay for
1t, but since the case is not so, and
fetrenchment must be made some
where, why not begin at the point
where fewest children would be injured,
not at that where the largest average OF
all enrolled would feel it. Another
point that mothers have been talking
over is the suggestion of equalizing
salaries. This might not be as bad if
you began with the very top and made
the scale equal all the way down the
line: But that would never do" the
particular member Of the board to
Whom you made this suggestion would
say: why, these teachers who are
making the big salaries, have others
dependent upon them. they could not
live on less salaries than they are now
receiving; but what about these grade
teachers, who are having a slice taken
or their salaries every year? Have
tbey no one dependent upon them? My
dear sir, II you We're to look into the
matter you would find things about as
found them in the one school in
WHICH am interested. In this school
there are sixteen teachers, fourteen Of
them are helping somebody else to live,
usually mother, who wore herself
out working that these girls might
be able to fit themselves to teach your
| children and NINE Many Of these
teachers have spent years in prepara-
ton for their work, just as the lawyer,
Coctor, or newspaper man, you see,
With frost freckled head, has at his. Do
you think 1T would be easy for him to
pull up stakes, ifs he is not content in
make another start.--That is what
member Of the board told a little wom-
an who had been teaching in this town
for ten years. to do if she did not like
the way salaries were being cut.
But 1t was equalization of salaries,
began to talk about If principals are
willing to go into this sort Of shake
UP business and come out of the bag
or an equality with everybody else,
all well and good, but don't go to leav-
Ing out all the big salaries, when you
snake, because you see that would not