Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-20
TEACHERS WAGES
10 Be RAISED
School Board Caucuses Satur-
day Night on Important
Subject of Salaries
AGREES ON 5 PER CENT ADVANCE
Danger of Losing Many Of the Best
Teachers Of the Schools Makes it I'm.
perative That General Increase Be
Met-Tendency Thruout Country the
same-crane's Report.

The school board met Saturday nigh
in IL caucus to come to some decision OF
the important matter of increasing sal
aries of teachers The annual election
of teachers will be held at the mex
regular meeting, on May 5, at which
tine the salaries will be announced
The meeting Saturday night was s
most important one, for the decision
Ito be announced at the regular meet.
ing was arrived at. The general in.
crease agreed upon is about 5 pei
cent.
The conditions now existing in the
school world made it absolutely imper-
alive that the board take action u
1t desired TO retain the present efficient
corps Of teachers, thus maintaining the
standard of Marshalltown's schools
which is recognized turnout the coun-
try to be Of the highest. A general In
crease has been made thruout the
state, and country too, for that mat
ter. Good teachers are in demand, be-
cause there is Il scarcity, and at the
present time there are efforts on the
part Of outside schools to secure more
than half of the teachers now employed
in this city's schools.
Superintendent Crane presented to
the committee on teachers n salar-
les an exhaustive report bearing on
the subject, and the board plainly saw
the necessity OF immediate action. To
each teacher was sent a blank, in which
a number Of questions were asked
These included the present salary, cost
Of living, average expense incurred be-
cause OF illness, cos OF travel to and
from home, how much the teacher is
able to save out OF wages after expenses
are, paid, positions offered from other
serted to the board, to show absolutely
what the conditions We're.
$50 far as known there is only one
grade teacher, out Of the twenty Of
fered positions in other cities, who has
already accepted h offer. Miss Bes-
sic Knight, teacher; Of the fourth grade
at the Abbott school now receiving $3.50,
has been offered a 5000 position in Min
neapolis, and has signed her contract
for next year. In the high school, S o
far as now known there will be two
vacancies, Miss Jessie Wetherhold,
teacher OF English. and Mrs. Alice Bee
sorl- Warner, mathematics instructor.
Both positions have already been filled,
Miss Igerna Getz succeeding Miss
Wetherhold, and Miss Fannie Quaife,
of Northwood, taking Mrs. Warmers
position. Miss Cluaife is a cousin OF g.
E. Quaife, formerly science teacher In
the high school. Miss Bessie L. Beaver,
supervisor OF music in the public
schools, will not return next year, ard
ito succeed her the board has secured
Miss NJ. Elizabeth Pratt. supervisor Of
music in the Cedar Falls schools. Ac-
cording to a contract, made with the
board, when he was employed. the sal
ary OF Principal f. u. Graft, of the
high school, win be raised from $3.50
to $1,000. i
Superintendent Cranes report, which
is an interesting outline Of conditions
as they exist, complied from statistics,
is as follows:
I'm view of the approaching appoints
ment OF teachers and Of the danger inn
pending in the probable loss OF a large
share of our best teachers, I submit to
you the following report. l request a
most careful examination of what Is
stated here in order that you may be as
fully appraised as myself of the condi-
ton of affairs in regard to the matter OF
teachers.
we are all aware that the profession
OF teaching, which takes a long and
careful preparation, and which will, in
the shortest time, wear out the strong
est man or woman is yet the poorest
paid of all professions, altho it is one
requiring the highest skill.
"A candidate for a teachers position
spends twelve years in getting thru the
high school. then two years in going
thru the state normal, then usually sew
cral a of apprenticeship in the
country and smaller towns before she
is able to undertake a position in the
schools of Marshalltown. AT his time,
in the prime of her ~womanhood, she
is able to attain a salary, at the very
highest in the grades, of $4,000 per
year, but in the majority of cases, not
to exceed $4,000 per year. The average
wages OF grade teachers in MARSHALL
town are $4S.21.
This schedule of wages has not been
raised in Marshalltown from time i'm
memorial. Indeed it is legs tina it was
even at a less prosperous time in years
gone by. When kindergartens We're
started In Marshalltown, there were
two teachers in each kindergarten, the
director, getting $65 a month, and the
assistant $45. We pay the kindergarten
teacher now, for the work which once
cost us $4,000, an average of $4,000 per
month.
AT the same time the cost of living
has materially increased. According to
the best statistics this increase has been
from % to 30 per cent since 1896. This
is not al all unreasonable, as the price
of almost every product of American
labor has increased since that time.
THE only field of human effort which
has yet to feel the effect of this era OF
prosperity is that of school teaching.
TT is a well known fact that wages
are not valued by the number of dol
lars that one receives. Fo example
500 in silver in the Philippines al
present, has the purchasing power OF
S3S, and during the civil war it took
S1S to buy a pair of boots worth Sc
Wages are to be valued not at the nom
inal price, but at the purchasing power
Iof the money received. Therefore as
lthe cost of living has increased within
the last seven years, the person recely-
ing the same number of dollars as she
received seven years ago has actually
had the purchasing power of her money
| reduced 90 per cent. LII other words
MrAHEALAH- GEAEa