The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-03-18
MAUI COUNTY
SCHOOL AGENTS
Some of the Questions Before
the Valley Island
Educators.

teachers will take place at the Wailukl
schoolhouse where, among other sub
iects, the questions of teachers sal
aries and county school boards will b.
discussed.
Apropos of the latter, it is an opel
secret, that the commissioners of pub
lie instruction at times find it difficult
to secure suitable persons to act a!
school agents in the various district:
even for pay. 1t is also true that where
his private business receives an ap
pointment as school agent the schoo
| affairs of his district are well admin
ltistered, but where school agent ear
not devote sufficient time to the duties
of the Office (not an unusual circum
| stance) causes for complaint arise and
| the Territorial commissioners are
| blamed. Why not, then, appoint men
that have leisure at their disposal? Be
cause in country districts, as a rule
such men are incapable of administer
ing their private affairs success
fully and hence unsuitable for re-
! sponsible position. The idle men with
out good reason) are generally the
| failures in life and vice versa, the busy
| men are the successes.
The evils of the present school sys-
tenn are from local causes which would
not be remedied by the appointment
Cor election) of local boards of control.
If the commissioners find it difficult
to secure persons for school agents with
salary attached to the office, how
much more difficult will it be for the
act on county board without pay?
Especially as meetings at stated inter
walls must be held at the county seat. In
the County of Maui man from Molo-
kai or Hama would sacrifice much by
accepting position on such board.
An adequate salary attached to the
place will ultimately (if not immed i
ately) be established and then comes
the politicians opportunity and evils
viii multiply.
Let US see how Maui has been treat
ed in school matters by the present
commissioners. Who are the school
agentsa w. A. Mckay district magis-
trate) for Wailuku district; w. 0.
Aiken (subcolleotor of customs) for
Makawao; Henry Dickinson principal
of Lahaina school, now deceased) for
Lahaina; f. Wittrock deputy sheriff.
for Hama, and o. Tollefson (rancher
and strong candidate for supervisor at
last election) for Molokai. Better APP
pointments could not be made.
If such school agents as these should
be empowered to meet together as a
county board once year and make
formal recommendations as to the
county's needs, no objections could be
made. How about schoolhouses? Wal
luku district seems to have been well
treated also in this respect. The
county-seat has beautiful $4,000 |
structure, Waihee has a fine fourroom
building just completed, Kihei has a
two-room house and Pun |
meme an up-to-date new building. AS
to teachers, no one has ever claimed |
but as a corps they are most excellent, |
SO under the present salary !
In Makawao district the houses are |
all good ones barring Paia which is |
soon to have new one elaborate in
design.
The same may be said in regard to
Hama and Molokai.
If facts are known the present cen
tralized system is the best and surely |
the most modern. Capitalization is the |
ruling principle of the business world |
and should be wherever possible in
school matters.
The Board of Commissioners represen-
tative of the culture and intelligence of
q city IKE honolulu SnOuIu be superior
to those boards selected for Waikiki,
Hilo, or Lihue, the number of persons
available for such board being |
greater Not only that but under the
present arrangement politics are OBJ
liberated except, perhaps, for little
in the capital city.
Last but not least it is the most
economical Changes in so important
matter as the public school system
should surely be well-considered before
DEATH OF MRS. JORGENSEN.
On Saturday night, the 9th, Mrs.
Josephine Awana Jorgensen, the wife
IF J. Jorgensen, assistant engineer of
The Kohala Ditch Co., died at the home
IF her parents in Makawao after short
illness.
Mrs. Jorgensen was born at Maka-
vac some twenty-three years ago and
Was educafed at the Kamehampha