The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-02-18
teaching profession for many years.
And as the retirement fund is be
raised by an assessment on teachers,

And as the retirement fund is o be
raised by an assessment on teachers
salaries, and not by taxation of the
general public, there is feeling that
if the teachers want such an act, they
ought to have it. The privision of the
bill in question apply only to cities
of $4,000 or more population, and
therefore will affect only Minneapolis,
st. Paul and Duluth-and will not be
in force in any one of these cities
until three-fourths of the public school
teachers petition for it. Thus it is
most thoroughly local option meas
ure. Tt is said that eighty per cent of
the Minneapolis public school teachers
have expressed themselves in favor of
such an act. Some of the younger
teachers oppose it, but they are very
short-sighted in doing so. For if a
young teacher remains in the profess
sion the retirement act will hasten his
or her chances of promotion by retir-
ing the older teachers IRON service
more rapidly; and if they marry and
leave the profession, the creation of
the fund Immediately ceases to be a
a young teacher to contribute small
percentage of her salary while she is
young and strong and more capable
of self-denial, with view of making
provision for old age, and then run
the risk of being thrown upon the
world penniless when decreptitude has
set in? Age and the failure of the
bodily and mental powers is some
thing that cannot be averted. If any
class of workers need the assurance
of a pension, after long and faithful
service, to fall back on, it is the
teaching class, for the occupation is
one of peculiar nervous strain. After
20, rs OF 80 years of such work, re-
tirement with a living competence, is
richly earned.
It has been found, in cities where
the teachers retirement plan has been
in operation for some years, that the
fund is considerably swelled by lega-
cies and donations. The benevolently
inclined find this an attractive and
worthy channel for their benefcencies.
The fund may also be swelled, form
time to time, by benefit entertain
ments of one kind or another. Con-
certs, lectures, fairs, private theatre
calls, etc., Systematically planned and
conducted through a series of years,
might make a handsome addition TO
the money available for pensions.
The Minnesota act proposes to tax
the teachers one per cent of their sal
aries each month. This, OH a salary
of 5000, would amount to 81 per
month; on salary of $1,000, to So,
and so on-not serious burden. A
teacher, on retiring, will receive an
annuity equal to half his or her sal
airy at the time of retirement-pro-
vided, however, that no annuity is to
exceed the sum of 5000. If there is
not enough money in the retirement
fund to pay the full annuity, each an
nuity is to be scaled down pro rata.
We notice, from a carefully prepar-
ed table Issued for the information Of
the public, that the retirement fund
system has been in operation in
Brooklyn, Detroit, Chicago, New York,
San Francisco and st. Louis since 1895,
and in Buffalo and Cincinnati and
throughout New Jersey since 1896. It
was established in Toledo, Syracuse
end Providence last year, but it is
not yet in full operation in those cit
les. In Brooklyn the maximum an
nuity is $1,000; in New York $1,000,
in St. Louis $500, and in all the other
cities 5000, except in Detroit, where
it is $4OO. The minimum service re-
quired to entitle teacher to a pen
sion runs from 20 to 30 years. The
proposed Minnesota act makes it 20
years to secure Il teachers retirement
for disability, and from 25 to 81 years
to secure optional retirement on an
annuity.
The bill seems to be well guarded
in respect to provisions regulating the
care and investment of the fund, and
to prevent favoritism i'm awarding an
nuities. The Tribune believes it is a
praiseworthy measure and would like
to see it become 4 law.-N[inneapolis
Tribune.
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