Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-19
.UPHOLDS H[ NEN LAW
Attorney General Mullen Gives
An Opinion On Validity of
New School Law
RIGHT TO SHORTEN THE TERMS
Says Legislature Had Power to Short
en- Terms of Secretaries Elected
Prior to the Passage of the Act -
Perkins Bolt in Scott Was Prear-
ranged Affair.
Special TO Times-Republican.

Special 10 Times Republican.
Des Moines, June 19.-Attorney
General Mullen has given an opinio.
on the new law simplifying the schoo
year, at the request of State Superin-
tendent Riggs, in which he states that
the legislature had perfect right to
shorten the terms of secretaries o.
| boards of education by making their
| election come on the first of July in
Der. 1t is learned that a large num-
/ Der of such secretaries have thought
| that. they We're elected last Septem-
| Der for one year and that the legisla-
/ ture had no right to enact law that
would shorten their terms of office.
] Some it is learned We're preparing to
tary. According to Attorney General
/ Mullen, secretaries of boards of edu-
cation have no term of office specified
! in the law. The old law stated that
| boards of education should elect sec
| rotary the third Monday in Septem-
| Der and that such secretary should
/ serve till a successor was elected or
appointed. Since the legislature pro-
vided that hereafter such secretaries
| should be elected the first of July the
! successors to the present secretaries
earlier than heretofore. A. large num-
how Of ~,
perintendent Riggs, some holding that
| their bonds being for twelve months
they can hold their offices for that
length of time. They have been an
| swered that the bonds do not fix the
length of the term, for if they did long
term bonds would be in instant de-
mand.
The new law, which went into effe It
on its publication In Des Moines
newspapers, was enacted for the pur-
pose of simplifying the school year and
to provide that the fiscal as well as the
official school year expire on the same
day. Heretofore school directors have
taken their office in the middle of the
winter or at the close of the winter
term and the old directors could not
hire teachers for a full year. The fiscal
year ended June 80 and reports had to
be made to that time and the official
year ended in March. Officials taking
office at that time on June 80 have to
make reports for a part of the year
when they We're not in office. 1t is
believed that the new law will go into
effect without any jar and will facili-
tate matters in school affairs. School
directors elected last spring will take
their offices July l and can then elect
teachers for the full school year fol-
lowing. Officers when their terms
expire June 80, 1907, will make reports
for the twelve months they have been
in office and for no more.
That the Perkins bolt in the Scott
county convention was fixed up before
dictated and prepared in typewriting
in Des Moines and sent to Davenport
for the guidance of the Perkins fol-
lowers, is the conviction of Des
Moines newspaper men as we'll as poll
iticians. The Daily Capital was print
ed in Des Moines Saturday with the
resolutions in full as adopted by the
Perkins boilers at Davenport before
the resolutions were adopted at Dav-
export. The convention at Davenport
was not called to order till 2:15 Sat
urday afternoon, and the Perkins
boilers had not concluded their little
rump convention till nearly o'clock.
1t is known that the afternoon papers
in Des Moines close their forms at
2:40 and appear on the street at o.
clock with the first copies that leave
the press. The Capital issue contained
the full report of the Perkins rump
convention with the resolutions in fu,!
as adopted and the names of all the
delegates and alternates to both the
state convention and congressional
convention. Newspaper men familiar
with the facts know that it was i'm
possible for the facts to have been
telegraphed to Des Moines after they
were adopted at Davenport About
twenty minutes must be allowed for
the stereotyping room in addition to
placed in type which at least would
have taken ten minutes, not counting
the time necessary to read the proof.
At least twenty minutes would have
been consumed in transmitting the
facts by telegraph from Davenport,
making in all total of fifty minutes.
AS the Capital appeared with the facts
at 3 o'clock it would thus have been
necessary for the telegram to have
started from Davenport at 2: 10 and the
convention was not called to order till
2:15.
There will be another effort made
at the next session of the Legislature
to get wife desertion bill thru the
general assembly. An effort has been
made at each session but has failed
always thus far. 1t is to be taken up
again at the coming session and push
ed with vigor by Des Moines people.
There are continually cases of deser-
ton in this city. One case came up
lately in which a man with salary
of $500 a year deserted his wife and
family Of four children and the wife
The man held public position but
his political pull was so strong that
no official or official body would take
the matter up to force him to support
his family and there is absolutely no
law to compel him to support them.
A vast amount of information is be-
ing gathered to be presented to the
legislature on the subject with the
hope that more favorable impression
will be made. The difficulty in the
past has been that the laws as drawn
have been too drastic, at least this was
the trouble last winter. Under the