Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-05
MANY SCHOOL BILLS
Thirty-first General Assembly
to Make Record For School
Legislation
MAY CHANGE SCHOOL YEAR
Measure Before the Senate Considered
by Superintendent Riggs as One OF
Most Important Brought Up This
sesson-Would End the School Year
on June 80.
Jay CHANGE SCHOOL YEAR
LBy Ora williams.l

to make reputation by passing school
large majority abolishing county GER
titicates for teachers and issuing GER
tificates from the state board of edu-
cational examiners instead. 1t will
likely pass the house. The board of
regents bill Is In hand and will be re-
ported from committee soon and there
is on the senate calendar for special
order Tor Wednesday bill that revolu-
tionizes the school year. There seems
to be no opposition to it, and another
hill is in the hands of the committee to
make easier the consolidation of coun-
try schools.
The bill to change the school year is
deemed by State Superintendent Riggs
one of the most important bills of the
session. At present there Is consider
able confusion and to simplify things
the city schools have for years been ig-
noring the law as to the school year.
Under the present law the school year
ends the third Monday in March at
which time the directors take their
seats. The law provides that the direc-
tors shall provide school for mini
mum of twenty-four weeks, beginning
from that time and the election Of
teachers must therefore begin then. In
the country districts this has been fol-
lowed and the teacher who teaches the
fall and winter term doesn't know
whether she will get to teach the spring
term or not. The cities have ignored
the matter and while electing teachers
in March have elected them to begin
in September and teach for the full
school year though they hadn't author
ity to do it.
Under the present law the fiscal year
ends the third Monday in September
and the directors under the law must
then provide for school that has all
ready been running for about three
weeks.
The new bill which was drawn by
Senator Kline provides that the school
year and fiscal year also shall end
June 80 and begin July 1. In the
country districts the directors will take
office at that time and provide funds
and elect teachers to begin the first Of
September or any time they set for the
beginning of school. In the cities where
the habit has been to elect the teachers
earlier the directors are still allowed to-
do so under the new bill but the act
is made legal. The reports of school
officials to the county superintendent
and the reports of the county superin-
tendents to the state superintendent
under the new bill is brought in the
CT, of q time Nuhnt1 thara 10
less work and it is possible to handle
them better
Patent Medicine Bill.
With the exception of the little
pamphlets passed to the desks of
every rasmber Of the legislature by DR..
Kennedy, secretary of the state board
of health there has been nothing what
ever done to urge on the general as
sembly the needs of a bill requiring
proprietary medicine concerns to print
on the outside of the bottle the ma
ture of the contents. Two bills have
been introduced, one in the house, the
Ladies' Home Journal bill, and In the
senate bill by Senator Young of CAL
houn, who is doctor. While there is
nothing being done by the people of the
state the patent medicine concerns
have taken the matter up through the
country newspapers. They do not wish
to have any labels on the outside of
the bottles telling exactly what Is on
the inside and are endeavoring to con-
vince the country newspapers that II
this is required they will have to go
out of business and the country news
papers will lose the immense amount
of advertising from that source. The
country newspapers and city papers
too are writing to their representa-
tives about the matter. The Ladies'
Home Journal bill provides that the
formula shall be shown on the out
side of the bottle. The Young bill
provides that the ingredients only shall
be shown. There seems not SO much
opposition to showing the ingredients
as the formula, which would give the
per cent of each medicine. The OPP
position seems to take it, however, that
the bills are just alike. The Ladies'
Home Journal bill goes farther in re-
curing that medicine containing GER
tain per cents of certain poisons, shall
be labeled Poison" in IL point type,
which means letters a sixth of an inch
high
The Iowa library commission is ar
ranging to teach the public school
teachers of the state something about
books and library work The state law
requires that every school shall have
library where there Is not a free
public library in the town or city. This
necessitates that the teachers should
know something about books and IL
brary work and how to select books
and get the pupils to use them. AS Ii
brary work has come to be
a technical matter and requir-
ing specific knowledge along
particular lines the country teachers
are not in position to carry out the
new law to the fullest extent and hence
the commission is arranging course
of study which will be first given this
summer at the State University sum-
mer school. Later the same course
shortened to fit the amount of time
will be given at the county teachers
Institutes and the work will be contin-
ued from year TO year SO that the
teachers can get the necessary instruc-
ton. The course as outlined includes
first, Instructions on how books are
made and how to take care of them:
the difference between an index and
contents and how to use each; instruc-
ton in the copyright laws; what the
preface Is for: the best reference
books. the difference between reading