The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1907-07-26
. e. o. ?
some TIMELY SUG-
GESTIONS ABOUT
The School Per CAPITA Under
Rep. and Dem. Rule.
Teacher Wants to Know Where
the Additional Taxes
Have Gone.

The following taken from the Cen
trail City Republican which is a reply
to the Democrat organs hilarity about
the increase In this years pay for
school teachers is timely and appli-
cable as well in Ohio county as in
Muhlenburg:
The Argus seeks to make political
capital out of the s.. 40 school per cap
ita for this year. We are glad TO
know that the per capita is as large
as it is. The teachers are more poor
ly paid in Kentucky than any other
class of labor. In fact, Kentucky's
school system is far inferior to that
of the Republican States of Ohio, In
diana and Illinois just across the riv-
er. We remember quite we'll that in
1895 the Democratic party in Kentucky
was in a mighty bad shape, just as
it is to-day and the per capita was in
flated to help the ticket so that the
teachers of the State were compelled
to wait and get their last months
pay out of the next years fund, 1t
taking something like 100000 of the
next years fund to make up the de-
ficit. This explains why the first
three years of the per capita under w.
o. Bradley were no greater.
The last year of Bradley's admins
tratiOn, if We remember correctly, was
$2.S5 for five months term, or 81
cents per month for each pupil, while
the present per capita of $3.40 for six
months is only 56 2-3 cents per month
for each pupil.
When the law was passed changing
to six months term. the tax rate in
the State was changed from % cents
per hundred dollars to 20 1-2 cents
per hundred dollars to make up for
the extra month.
Now we submit that IL the number
of pupil children in the State have
increased in the same ratio that the
taxable property has increased. the
present per capita of $3.40 is not far
wrong. but II such is not the case
then there is something wrong and
1t is up to the editor OF the Argus
to explain.
We have not the data for the whole
State at hand, hence will take Mullen
berg county as an example since il
is one of the growing counties of the
State, both as to population and the
value of property. The recapitulation
of the Assessors books for the year
1897, shows the property valuation in
the county to be $1,S24624, and the
census reports for the same year show
the number of pupil children TO be
G,459. In 1907, the taxable property
mot including franchises) was 1854
207 and the number of pupil children
1883. This shows 100 per cent in
crease in property and an increase OF
q per cent. in the number of pupil
children. According to this showing
the per capita for Kentucky this year
should be $3.50. We want the Argus
to explain to the teachers OF Mullen
berg county where the $1.10 per capita
goes. We think the teacher who
spends her time and money preparing
herself for teaching is worth just as
much money to the State of Ken
lucky as the guard at the penitentiary,
who need not posses any education
and but little brains, whose salary
was raised by the Kentucky Legisla-
turs from $50 to SIS per month. The
school teachers of the State are de-
handing better things, and if the
signs do not fail we shall have an adj
ministration after January LIST, 1908,
that will begin to put Kentucky in
her rightful position in the common
wealth of States. OLD TEACHER.