Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1905-02-02
Washington News Letter.


at times, and right now Is the one Of
the times. The school teachers of
the District of Columbia have been
asking for living wages, and congress
has refused to give them what they
desire. While il is true that good
many of the -crtol teachers of the
Districtsof Columbia do not know
straight up,r as the saying goes,
there certainly is not much incentive
for anybody who does, to take up
school teaching as profession in
this neck o. woods. People who can
make dollar day in an easier way
are going to do it. School teaching
Is arduous work. To deal constantly
with from thirty to fifty different
types of the human animal. male and
female, with their varying intellects
and understanding, their stupidity
and their stolidity, requires tact of
The rarest kind and character of the
highest order. to say nothing of edu-
cational qualifications. Yet it is sad
y true that people seem to think
that any kind of creature will do
for school teacher, and that it, be-
ing, easy work, should recei small
compensation; The mother who is
housed up with two or three restless
little inquiring, insistent and persist
ent children for day or two declares
herself worn to frazzle," and the
father simply won't stand it at all,
and If forced into the position turns
his offspring loose on the neighbors
What, then, of the school teacher
who for eight hours day has half a
hundred of these young imps to con-
troll, direct, guide and teach? School
teachers should be paid good salaries.
and then good men and women would
fit themselves for life work at it, in
stead of having small army of un-
formed boys and girls using school
teaching as a makeshift till some
thing better turns up. Congress
ought to be ashamed of itself. The
the Washington schools will be above
the average in congress now, under
the present conditions.
Just what is going to happen to the
Statehood bill is problematical. H. ii
pretty thoroughly established that
tue people of the four territories are
not willing to accept the proposition
made by the bill before congress. Al
J four want to retain their own name
, and for hundred rea sons each de
: clare against joining issue with any
ritory are willing 70 accept the
present proposition, rather than not
: be admitted at all Judge Pinney, OF
( Arizona, is unalterably opposed tC
the joining of New Mexico and Ari
IONA. He says:
j The Territorial Bar Association o.
Arizona, passed unanimous resolu
= tions in opposition to the joining o
: New Mexico and Arizona as one stat,
: and selected a committee of five o
5 the leading members of the Bar o
that territory to visit Washington t.
: work against the joint Statehood bill
, of New Mexico and Arizona nov
D pending in the senate. The peopl,
t # Arizona are unit against the un
5 ion of Arizona and New Mexico, ant
. they would prefer to remain terri
: tory indefinitely rather than be sub
: ject to the loss and injury that tn,
: people of that territory will be re
= quired to suffer.
: The making of such a state a
: Arizona and New Mexico would ere
4 ate state larger than Iowa, Mich
gan, New York, and all the New Eng
land states combined, and to locat,
the capital in New Mexico, as it il
proposed to do, would require TIVE
: days travel, each way, at an expense
! of railroad fare and sleeping car far
a alone of S75. The people of Arizon;
have nothing in common with tn,
, people of New Mexico; have had n,
business relations with them VI at
ever, and no acquaintance with them
The legislature of Arizona will con
J vene in few days, and it is expected
| that there will be unanimous vot'
of both members of the house an
territorial council against the unit
ing of these two territories as one.
--