The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-13
SCHOOL TEACHERS
 RETIREMENT FUND Advanced and Additional Steps Taken Within
 Two Years.
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
Up to the Teachers to Dem onstrate Their Interest
 in the Movement.

A correspondent of the Hartford
 Courant writes from Norwich inter-
 estingly upon the subject of teachers
 retirement funds. There have been
 such funds established In many states
 within the past twenty years, but
 within the past ten years advance
 steps have been taken.
 New Jersey since 1896 has had an
 organization similar to the Connecti-
 cut Teachers Annuity Guild and in
 this direction has attained almost phenomenal success due mainly to the enthusiastic and continued special eff
 forts of the teachers to build worthy
 fund. Reaching out for still better conditions, bill was brought before
 the New Jersey Legislature March F, 19O7 and soon became a law. operative from the date of its passage. This law gives to that state perhaps the broadest and most ample provision now existing in any state in the union
 Philadelphia teachers began with the guild plan in 1890, After 1893, this or ganization received annually $10COO from the state and thus aided made d very pleasing record, Advancing from this. new law recently enacted con- tains this clause: The administration of this fund shall begin January 1, 1907, provided it is jointly agreed to by g. 900 teachers and the board of educa- tion.' The secretary of the board says: When this plan was submitted to our 4,10O teachers for signature, S9S0 sign ed it voluntarily. The board of educa- ton was ready at that time to stand behind retirement fund and to sup port it. :" This law provides that teach- CTS of ten years or less in the profess sion shall pay an assessment of one per cent, and teachers of more than ten years shall pay two per cent. of their respective salaries. Appointment to a position as teacher carries with 1t membership in and contribution to the retirement fund. As another incre- ment to the fund: The board of edu- cation shall place in the annual esti- mate of appropriations $50,OOO from the city for 1907 and. for each succeed ing year an amount equal at least to the amount contributed by the teach- CTS unless financial conditions shall not warrant an appropriation in ex- cess of $50,O0O"
 Washington, D, C., from 1894 to the present time has followed the guild plan This organization is always making progress in it's work owing to the confident enthusiasm and working energy of It's members. With a mem- bershlp of 400, this association has now a permanent fund of $70,000 with a record of $5S,OOO paid in benefits. The teachers are now hoping for legislation that will give larger outlook but intend to maintain the present organi- zation.
 Boston also maintains its original aid association which reports a perma- nent fund of $115,556 with over $15,OOO paid in annuities in the year 1906. Bos- ton is successfully working under law which covers the entire teaching force of the city except few of the oldest teachers who failed to enroll un- der the provisions This fund as shown by the annual report of October 1908, is $1s9,6s9 Annuities of $15 per month were paid during 1906 to ninety five annuitants.
 Indianapolis has this year enacted a law which is considered one of the best and which went into effect from the date of it's passage. This law provides that every person upon becoming a teacher shall by such engagement, be- come a member of and contributor to the retirement fund. The assessments shall be for fifteen years or less in the profession one per cent, and for more than fifteen years, two per cent. of the annual salary, such assess ments to constitute one part of the fund, while another part shall be a special tax of one cent upon every $1OO of taxable property in the city
 These recent enactments seem to the sentiment expressed by Simon Gratz, esq, in public speech in April. 1906. My belief Is that if teachers will indicate desire and @ thorough willingness to contribute to a retirement fund, small peroentaae of their salaries, the board of educa- ton, backed by public opinion, will find some way to duplicate the amount that the teachers will give and thus we shall be able to make start to- wards the accomplishment of that which beyond all doubt. is absolutely needed"