Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1908-12-25

more county teachers Institutes thi
year in his travels than you can shak
the big stick at. Nearly every tow
of any size, the past month, ha
had an institute grinding out lee
lures, classes in mental anatom.
and social and political economy, ant
nearly everywhere l meet men lik,
State Supt Ackerman, County Supt
Robinson. What was still worst o
all, at Corvallis Rev. j. r. N. Bell
the Presbyterian Bell Wether, wa,
on the program and introduced the
scribe to an acre of school ma'ams
Fortunately, they were mostly veter
ans in the calling and past the easily
impressionable stage and we dared
talk to them. Nothing but a wise
provision of nature makes it safe to
turn three such men as Ackerman
Robinson and Bell loose at institutes
for they are all three hopelessly and
harmlessly homely. We got along
fine. But what jobs are those gen
tlemen putting mp on the people of
this state only future generations can
tell. At Corvallis the local teachers
gave reception at the First Metho-
dist church, where we all appeared
in due form and boosted for better
schools. Ackerman has been at IL
a long time. SO has Robinson. Their
works live after them. Ackerman
can boast of the best set of school
laws in the United States, and Rob-
inson can boast of the best organized
county system in the state, and still
they are not satisfied.
Ackerman Talks Progress.
Ackerman did not seem TO be
afraid to talk progress and advocat-
ed some radical departures, in spite
of the fact that he is charged with
having aspirations to become COVER
nor, not only of Oregon educational
interests but TO include the rest OF
the commonwealth under his iuris-
diction.
He advocates the rights of the
country boys and girls to have just
as good public schools as the city
kids and kidesses. To bring this
about he advocates doing away with
all school boards except in first class
districts. and instead have one school
board OF five for the whole county,
who are To select the county super
intendent Just as the city school
board selects the city superintendent. |
This one school board would hire
all the school teachers in the coun- !
try schools, build and repair all the |
school houses and through the coun- |
~ superintendent and assistant SUI
pervisors, have general supervision of |
the city schools. He wants county |
instructor In agriculture at $1,000 TO |
$1,000 year. TO visit all the country |
schools and teach elementary agri- |
culture. He wants teacher of do |
nestle science at $1,000 or $500 a |
year TO visit the country schools and |
teach cookery and needlework. The |
county or the state shall be the unit |
OF taxation instead OF the district as
now. Instead of 81 per capita he
advocates the California plan OF $420
a year per teacher employed, He
would have the room, or as many
rooms as have one teacher, receive
S420 per room, and do away with the
three and four months school in many
poor country districts.
To raise money for this he would
put all the money now raised by in
direct taxes into the general school
fund. That now amounts to about
50 per capita. These are progressive
ideas and State Supt. Ackerman fear
lessly advocates them before county |
and public audiences wher-
ever he goes. They cannot but pro-
duce a marked effect and would rev.
olutionize the present system where
by the high class public schools are /
In the cities and towns and the low |
class schools are i'm the country.
Visits the q. A. &.
A Journal representative spent a |
day at the Oregon State Agricultural /
College this week and was surprised |
TO find such great changes and mark |
ed improvements made during the /
past year. lie hardly knew the place. |
The old dingy library has given |
way 10 suites of business offices, the |
registrars office, the bookkeeping /
and accounting department. There Is I
a neat college book store where stu /
dents get texts for 10 per cent less |
than the retail price.
The library is now on the second |
floor I'm charge of Mrs. kidder The |
library has been enlarged classified |
organized and made available, Mrs |
Kidder is a whole team and lead |
mule when il comes to working a |
library to its full capacity,
The shops are the biggest thing at
the Corvallis college since they we're |
beaten at football First there rs a
bang-up little printshop under Mas
ter Printer Ready Has two job |
presses, Miehle and fine lot OF
lob material They turn out stacks !
of bulletins and reports that go to
all the progressive farm homes
The woodworking department
starts with lecture room and ends
I'm furniture factory. The boys
plan construction, make drawings,
get out the material, assemble II ana
then finish IL, They make tables
lockers, bureaus, and hat racks Ihey
are making furniture for the new |
Y. NJ. c. A. building and domestic |
science department. In return the
Young women will make carpenters
aprons for the wood butchers. The
,,ovs laarn IN use wood working ma /