New-York tribune., 1908-03-01
PENALTIES THE FAMILY.
Opponent Thinks Conklin Bill Would Drive
Men Teachers from Schools.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: The unconscious attack on the family -
-ba advocates OF bi-sexuaI wage equality conce-rs
society because IT strikes at that social unit wrfcn
ts the soul OF civilization In these days OF easy
divorce and OF that Termination OF Iaocr WHICH
bv competition reduces the wage o. the young man
below the family living wage" so preventing the
normal creation OF family He thoughtful men are
ba-51v 70 be so swayed by sentiment as 20 lead
deliberate attacks on that great idea which has
raised humanity above the brutes-tae family
A woman GorulerIy a teacher. now vita ana
rnoter1 expresses quite concreteiy the gis- OF tna
matter:
.sTs f. not SIGNIFICANT that when woman teacher
becomes the wife OF a teacher and does her duty
as wife and mother IN the home sne feeis nos1
strongly that in teaching. as In otnsr o1s1aess~
the man is the home supporter and must naVe :
living wage and ths living wage for the man rusr
he farrer than the living wage of woman
teacher
.eTT man does his duty he builds . home and
has family TO support 4 woman teacn=r VIZ
r1arries has a man TO support her and their fam
trv- To either the man or the woman may happen
+ha accident cf dependent relarves-to the man
such burden comes in addition TO his normal family
responsibilities
.sTneouaItv OF salary iz~no wrong 70 vor1anncoo.
Men have more avenues open TO them than women.
therefore there fewer men ava11acie as leac2-
ers So, by the law OF supply and demand Il -
necessary 10 pay the requisite man teacher EnoF7
than the equally competent woman
It constitutes no answer to this 10 claim caae
many young women teachers pay board 70 their
fathers and so help support family. and %
noint out that some noble women are even the sols
st1pport OF fatherless family. Society Is not
even concerned with the fact that IN addilon 20
the 50 per cent OF the men teachers who are raar-
rted more than 50 per cent are financially aldins
outside relatives (the married man, OF course
sometimes coming to the help OF the wtfes reLa-
tfves as well as his own. But society Is nightly
concerned when It Is graveIy proposed to penaLzs
the family. that IS what the ConAitn teacners
salary bill proposes. because (whateVer eXtraFS-
CANT fancies may capture the ten thousand women
grade teachers whose safeguards viii be destroyed
by it ultimately the law OF supply and demand
will .equaIize'' downward and man viii then step
out and leave the schools 20 women
Let US hope that President G. Stanley Hall IS
mistaken In saying that already The red cor
puscIes and IRON being subtly distilled out OF
the blood OF boys under this regine-the excessive
ferninization OF education" but President Fauncs
OF Brown is undoubtedly right In thinking that the
ConkIin bill VIII accelerate a movement that we
are all seeking to retard- The greatest need or
the schools Is TO draw service OF education
more OF the truly forcefu. vital and achieving men
in the community" And President Eliot OF Har-
ward is right In supposing IT viii diminish ths
number OF men who viii 20 into the service and
will postpone the reduction OF the number OF
pupils placed in charge of one teacher"
Facts are. after all, more satisfactory than ths
theories OF wsest heads. Cohoes has "equaliza-
tIon" There is left in the force one an-ths prin-
cipali over Buffalo paans OF Joy re-echoed annens
the equalizers. and II was proposed TO pass
resolution complimentary 20 the Buffalo superin-
tendent But the straightforward Buffalo de-
INJURED. saying that there male teachers
in the elementary schools OF Buffalo, And when
the city Council proposed to raise by $40 the
maximum salary $50 compare the hsre). TIA
Buffalo aldermen retusedl = g. q
Brooklyn Feb. IS, tos