The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-01-03
sTIRs THEM UP.
Supt. Freeman Gives Supts. a
Shaking.
Resented by Some, But the PIucky
Blue Earth County Man Sticks
to His Text.
st. Paul Dispatch

st. Paul Dispatch
Supt. W. E. Freeman, Blue Earth
county, injected a large dose of ginger
into the proceedings of the Minnesota
Educational association county super
intendents' section today in the shape
of paper upon Inspection of State
Rural Schools - The meeting took
place in the senate chamber at the
capitol.
Mr.. Freeman began tamely emo ugh
with an ethical argument that the
state owed equal support to the schools
in all districts. The rural schools had
not been getting such support. 1t was
notorious that the city schools had so
far out-stripped those in the country
that the latter had become discouraged
and were not being upheld as well at
home as they had been in former
years.
State aid was absolutely necessary
to the rural schools. This had been
recognized to some extent by the legis-
lature. First paltry $40, O00 had been
appropriated to be distributed among
the rural schools. The appropriation
was increased to $40, 900 by the sue
ceeding legislature and the legislature
of 1901 had appropriated $50, 600 for
the rural schools and $25, 600 for the
semi graded schools.
Seeing that there were 1854 rural
schools in the state and 242 graded
schools, Mr.. Freeman did not consider
the appropriation particularly gener-
GUS. This became apparent when it
was considered that the same legisla-
ture appropriated 1858, $50 for the state
university, $245, 900 for the five nor
NAL schools, 1926, 900 for the 115 high
schools and 500, 900 for the 107 graded
schools.
None of the uperintendents who
crowded the room had word Of OBJ
lection to this, but Mr.. Freeman began
to tread on dangerous ground. If the
state was called upon to give to the
schools, it had right TO inspect them,
and he suggested that two state in
spectors be employed to do the work.
cit was admitted on all hands, he
said, "that the principals and super
intendents of high schools were better
qualified for their work than were the
county superintendent throughout the
state. The state inspected high schools
why not rural schools2 Why should
it be left to the poorly qualified super
intendents3'
Mr.. Freeman went further. County
superintendent permitted their judg-
ments to be swayed by political and
personal exigencies. They dare not
eliminate an inefficient teacher with a
pull, lest it react, and make the super
intendent lose his own job. They dare
not run counter to the wishes of the
school trustees, lest the thing be hoard
Ell up for election day. Every rural
school is eager for the money. The
SUPERINTENDENT will certify that the
school is entitled to it, whether it is or
not. Mr.. Freeman made the statement
that not half a dozen county superin-
tendents in the state would have the
moral courage against local boards and
teachers and report to the state that
this or that school was not entitled to
the money it asked for. In other
words, the inspection of local superin-
tendents was generally sham inspec-
tion.
Mr.. Freeman told of a specific case
in which he had insisted upon the i'm
proyement of villianous Clubhouse at
one of the schools. and he expected the
thing to come up against him at the
next election.
When Mr.. Freeman took his seat
others wanted to be heard. Some of
the superintendents, in a mild way,
resented the imputation placed upon
their manly or womanly courage.
Mr.. Dresbach of Rochester, with an
evident talent for statistics, figured
out that there would be 2,776 rural
schools for each state inspector to
visit, and it might keep the inspectors
working overtime during the 300 bust
ness days of the year, to say nothing
about making allowances for the gem
erous vacations given rural schools g.
The murmurs grew deeper and
somwehat louder until A. I. Park OF
the st. Louis county schools, got the
floor. He is young man of substan-
tial build, with locks like Sampson of
old. and he looked fierce, He wanted
to repudiate, he said, the imputation
on the manliness of the superinten-
dents of the state. He had never ap-
proved an application for state funds,
if he did not consider the application
inst. Mr.. Park resented the imputa-
ton found in Mr.. Freeman's paper.
He had good teachers and he got them
by paving them. If they were good
teachers. no matter what certificate
they held, they got $50 or $50 month
in his county,
Mr.. Freeman took the floor in his
own defense. He catechized Mr.. Park.
Mr.. Freeman voice had evidently
frozen up in the last cold wave and
had not yet thawed out, but ne used
it with vehement force, and it cut
home. Mr.. Park had not talked with