Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-07
SCHOOL TAXES IS
BEST INVESTMENT
HEAD OF EDUCATORS TELLS
CITY CLUB WHY
DR.. Schaeffer in MONDAY Address
Advises, However, That Greed and
Graft Be Watched Even in
Educational Work

DR.. Nathan E. Schaeffer, president of
the National Educational association.
told the City club, whose guest he was
yesterday, that unless the cities stop
running themselves into debt the time
will come when people in the United
States will dodge the tax gatherers
just as they do in the downtrodden
countries abroad.
| DIR. Schaeffer who is a great traveller,
told of personal instances he knew of
| the rapacity of the tax gatherers, es-
| pecially in Turkish and Russian do
main.
"If American cities keep piling up
debt upon debt, loan upon loan, and let
greed and graft absorb much of this
money, the day will come when the
people will be forced to do as they do
in Europe" he continued.
1--WE seek here to put education
within the reach of every boy and girl.
Money spent in right education is the
best investment of public funds.
Would Watch Grafters
"The CRATER gets into school moneys,
too, and he needs to be watched. But
the tax payer gets more adequate and
permanent returns for moneys spent
on education that from any other
source"
DR.. Schaeffer told what industrial
education had accomplished for Eng
land and France, as shown by the
worlds expositions held there. Pris-
ons had been turned into schools in
those countries because education di-
minished the criminal ranks. With
population increased one-third crime
had decreased two-thirds.
He told of Lancaster county, Penn
sylvania, his home, the richest agricul-
tural county in the United States ac-
cording to census reports. His state
was credited with an annual mineral
output of $15O,OO0,0OO. more than the
gold output of California and Colorado
combined. Yet Commissioner w. 7.
Harris found that Massachusetts, with
no mineral output to speak of, with
poorer ground and other handicaps,
Showed an average of 33 cents more
per day paid wage earners Tan Penn
sylvania.
Education Pays in Bay State
81 went to Massachusetts to find out
what caused the difference" said DR..
Schaeffer land found education did 1t.
Since 1926 it has been the law that
every community of five hundred fami-
lies must establish a high school. If
any township has 1000 residents and
no high school the board must send the
children to the school in the adjoining
township, paying the tuition charges
and the transportation every day.
"In my own state of Pennsylvania
our legislators at the last session ap-
propriated $15,000,0O0 for schools, not
including colleges and universities.
zone of the arguments 1 use with
legislators and others when they hesi-
tate to vote money for school pur-
poses is to put a bottle of whisky, a
box of tobacco and child before them.
ask them which of the three they
would rather spend their money on.
The fact is the whisky, beer and tobac-
co bill is larger everywhere than that
for education"
Urges Honest Ballot
The distinguished educator then re-
verted to the ballot box.
"It has been stated that men of our
state once raised $535,000 to elect one
president now dead, and two rich men
contributed $2,000,000 to elect another
president" said. he. What does 1t
mean? If we lose faith in the ballot
box all will be chaos.
"You of Los Angeles have duty to |
perform. 1t is the inculcating of patri-
otic principles. The teachers should in
still the lessons of patriotism, the sane
Lity of the ballot, in the young.
Every young man at the age of 21 |
N approaching the ballot box to vote
should say to himself as our heroes of
he Revolutionary period said: I may
lot be worth much, but such as I am
40 ward boss can buy me-
"Unless there is purity in the ballot
he rate of taxation will go up at an
enormous rate and the people will then
lodge the tax gatherer."
-4>S
Don't shop Saturday nights. All the