Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-17

AS a part of his duties-he has s50 a..
expenses.
Mr.. MILLIkEN: Mr.. President. II
have been accused of more or legs !,
justice with regard to a good man.
things at this session but I thjnl :.
one has accused me of being uni,..
in the matter of raising of salaries
On the general proposition, As >.
whether or not this Legislature shat,
adept the policy of raising no salar,,
end interfere with no salary, and mai.
no change, I have nothing to saw a.
this time. ! do want to raise nv vo;o.
in feeble protest against the postio,
taken by the senator from York wb;os
is to the effect that the committee On
education has been fooled or ,bo,
somebody has been trying to work
scheme on them.
When I go into the committee roo,,
of the committee on legal affairs
t"emblc and bow to the superior wis.
dem of my friend from York, who is
chairman of the committee. because
do not know much about the Questions
that come before that committee for
solution, not being a lawyer. I hayo
tricd, however. in common with oths.
members of the committee on educatioo
to learn something about the affairs
Of the department Of education. and
l think l know that the superintendent,
Of schools for this State receives i,
fact, $500 a year for his scryices--io
full for all services, and that he re.
ccives $500 for clerk hire which is OK.
pended in his office by the employ
ment Of a clerk, and $1,000 for the en-
ployment of another clerk | think
know what the effect of this bill is
and at any rate the intention of tn.
bill-and il it is not carried out by the
bill, an amendment might be offered
by the senator to carry out that in.
tention. The intention of the bill is.
| would say, to give him. instead If
$1,000 for this clerk whom he asks MAJ
Lc made his deputy. sl500. and to give
him. instead Of $500 tor clerk hire. slool.
making the total increase for the lie.
pertinent $1,000 charging $3.50 each to
the salary of clerk and $500 for clerk
hire.
The senator is mistaken in the as
sumption THAI no extra duties are in:-.
posed upon this department If he has
noticed the bills coming through here.
some of them already passed. and some
on their way through at this session,
he will have seen that very important
and very laborious extra duties are
imposed on this department. the prin-
cipal one being. as pointed out by the
chairman of the committee. of the an
nual examining and certifying to the
condition of the various schools of this
State that receive State aid. | am rot
going INTO this matter any further
than to say that the new duties I'M
posed are such that, in the opinion
of the committee, it is not good husi-
ncSS--it is not wise to undertake TO
get d man to serve as deputy super
intendenr-and he must serve as such,
whatever name you call it by-at Il
salary less than would be offered TO
any superintendent OF schools in the
state. In our opinion it is not wise
it is not good business to undertake to
dc this thing with the force of clerks
ROW available. AS l stated a moment
ago, / have not anything to say as to
the general proposition, if the position
shall be taken by this Legislature that.
regardless of conditionS-regardless Of
new duties. or anything of that sort,
no salaries shall be raised on changed.
or that the clerical force of no depart
ment shall BE- increased. That is be-
side this question. But upon the ques-
ton that the committee has been fool
cd. and that there is no reason for this
oh + Il:
from York: and I want to call his at
teItiOn to the very eloquent speech
that Wa:, made in this Senate last Fri
Gay by the senator from York in which
he accused my distinguished friend,
the senator from Knox of sitting on
the coat-tail of progress, and frand-
cally shouting Woe.
Mr.. STAPLES. of Knox: Mr.. Pres-
dent: Perhaps the senator from Aroos-
took will say that ! am sitting on the
c"at-tail of progress when l oppose
this bill. | have always been a friend
of education, and during all of my life
| have been connected with the schools
Il great deal, both as a teacher ana as
a superintendent: but | must say that,
i'll my judgment. the schools in the
state OF Maine have not made but
very little progress for tn" last "
years. Twenty years ago the schools
i'll our rural districts were y"ry much
further advanced. under better diScip-
inc, than they are today. inc
great trouble with our present school
system, and the advancement Of our
schools is the lack of interest of the
people in the cause of education; ana
one of the reasons, in my judgment, Is
that the control of the schools has been
taken away from the people. | staha
here and saw that. take the state as
whole, the cause of education mas >ae'
tcriu-ntcd-gone back-under this sys'
tom that we have. Three thousand doi-
lars from the State of Maine. as lhe
senator from York has said. is gooa
salary for any man. Any of US aie
willing to work every day in the yen
for that amount of salary He caiiho'
wCrl. any more than 500 days IL Tic
works 5n Sundays
/ am opposed to the raising OF sa
aries. I have nothing to say asali'''
MI. Smith. l do not believe it is ne.
cessary for him to go into our co''i'u.
towns to examine the schools. ! INN"
that, and more. that this superihtchu
ent Of the State of Maine, should NV
nothing about the real workings OF 'Ne