Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1903-12-30

dora has as instructors for 942 chill
dren, while the industrial school for
girls at Mitchellville has 20 instruct
ors for 30 children.
Mr.. Barrett has figured out total
of 6,262 rooms in the city and town
school houses and 12472 rooms in the
rural school houses of Iowa. The
number Of pupils of school age in the
state, according to the census enumer.
alton. is placed at 721, 4S6, and of this
number there were enrolled the last
year in the schools 550,202, with 49,.
2S7 teachers to direct the shooting of
the young idea.
There are in the state 1865 school
houses and their total valuation is
placed at $20,3S9,5O5.
The total assessed valuation of
school property in Iowa is put at
$637 1897, 1856, and the permanent school
fund is s4,755,O44.
There was expended for the COM
mon schools of the state during the
year $1O,24S,989, and of this teachers
received $6,242,926 The attendance
at the normal institutes throughout
the state was a total of 1880, and
the institutes cost the state $55, 525.
Library Commission Extends Work.
The Iowa library commission is
about to make a move to further ex-
tend it's work throughout the state
and to take supervision of the libra
ries in all the schools of the common
wealth. This will mean a much larger
field of effort for the commission, and
the members hope it will mean the
betterment of the libraries in many
of the schools where this feature Of
public beneficence has been either
neglected entirely or has been looked
after only in sort of haphaZard and
hali-hearted manner The work of
the commission in this respect will be
something new, too, for there is not a
library commission in any state in the
Union which has attempted to direct
the selection of the public school IL
braries or has made an effort to help
in the work of getting the most good
which can be obtained by the pupils
from this source.
The law permitting the purchase Of
Libraries for use in public schools in
this state, under which the commits
sion, will work has been in force but
few years, but since it's Inaugural
tion the number of volumes in the
schools has grown from few hun
dred to more than 100000 at present
being added annually, and the total
today is said to represent fully 600,-
900 volumes. The queries which the
commission have had before them in
considering the matter are: How are
these books being selected? What do
the teachers know about them? How
are they being used? Are the pupils
profiting from the use of the books?
The work which the commission has
taken on it's hands in directing the
policy of the common school Libraries
is a herculean task, and will be found
far more intricate and difficult than
the directing of the policy of the sixty
public Libraries of cities and towns Of
the state which are free institutions.
State Librarian Johnson Brigham
and Miss Tyler, secretary of the COM
mission have been named as commit
tee to work with President Mclean of
the State university and the board of
education of the state in carrying out
the plans.
Nurses Want Legislation.
Next week convention of the
nurses Of Iowa will be held in Des
Moines for the purpose of perfecting
a state organization and securing the
passage of a law which will protect
them in their work. What the real
text of the bill which the nurses will
ask to have adopted will be has not as
yet been determined, but, it is said, it
board of examiners, whose duty it
shall be to see that all nurses prac-
ticing their profession in the state
shall have been able to pass satisfac-
tory educational tests, which shall en-
title them to certificates. They will
also ask that state registration law
be adopted for all those who have at
tanned the standard required for the
following of the profession. In ask
ing these legal restrictions placed
about their work, the nurses maintain
that it is as much of profession as
is that of a physician, a dentist or
other professional practitioner now
protected by the laws and that they
are entitled to as much consideration
as any Of these bodies.
It will be urged in asking this legis-
lation that four states of the Union
have adopted laws regulating the prac-
tice of nursing. These states are
New York, North Carolina, New Jer-
sey and Virginia A law of similar
character was adopted by the legisla-
ture Of Illinois, but failed to become
part of the statutes of the state be-
cause of the veto power Of the gov
ernor. In the states named the laws
are all similar and follow practically
the same lines. The main difference
between them and the laws governing
the other professions is that they do
not attempt to restrict the practice
to those only who have taken the re-
quired examination. Under the law