The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-29
ACRIClULl|TU|jR]l r
HIGH SCHOOLS
SEVERAL HEARINGS HELD ON
MEASURE BY sEANTE
COMMITTEE.
Measure Calls for Annual Expenditure
Of Eleven MiIIions-sponsor Afraid
Congressional Economy Will Defeat
Passage at This Session.

washington, April 23.-Durlng the
past week several hearings have been
held before the Senate committee on
the agricultural high school bill, for
which Senator Dolliver of Iowa and
Representative Davis of Minnesota are
sponsors in the Senate and House, re-
spectively. The bill provides for an APP
preparation of 100000 the first year,
and increasing amounts during the sue
ceeding three years, when the total APP
preparation is to be and remain at SILL
100000 annually, for the maintenance
of high schools in the various states in
which the principal studies are to be
agricultural, mechanical and home eco
nomics. The amount to be provided by
the government is to be distributed
among the several states on the basis
of population, and the states are to dis
tribute it as equally as may be among
the congressional districts.
The agricultural courses are to be
taught in the rural communities, me-
chanic arts in the city schools and
home economics in both, so that the
proposed high school teaching shall
include both boys and girls.
Favored by Labor Leaders.
Among those who appeared at the
hearings were Charles H. Winslow, as
sistant secretary of the industrial COM
mission of Massachusetts,, and also of
the committee on education OF the
American Federation of Labor; e. E..
Balloon, president of the Rhode Island
state normal school; N. ]. Batchelder,
president of the National Grange;
Samuel Gompers, president, and John
Mitchell, vice-president of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor; A E. Holder
Of the legislative committee of that or
ganization, Mrs. H. ]. Patterson of the
Maryland Agricultural College and
special representative of the National
Grange, Herbert Edwards of the Rhode
Island Agricultural College and Miss
Jacobs, professor of home economies
in the Washington high schools.
All those who appeared presented
arguments for the passage of the bill
on the grounds that through the aid it
would afford to the state agricultural
and city high schools, boys and girls
who would otherwise not be able to
secure a practical education, or to go
through college, could approach these
things in a practical way.
Not Likely to Pass.
Senator Dolliver, who is chairman OF
the committee on agriculture. said that
in all probability the bill would be
reported favorably to the Senate, but
that is as far as it is likely to go in
this Congress.
"This bill has been suffering from q
severe attack Of inertia" said Senator
Dolliver. land we hope to overcome
that by taking action in the commit
tee, and getting it on the Senate cal
endar. Like all measures Of SINH
lar kind, although it is meritorious In
the highest degree, its enactment into
law is a matter of slowly educating
the public to believe in its merit. A
step in advance can be gained by get
ting the bill into the Senate, but that
is probably as far as we will be able
to go in this Congress. OF course,
should an opportunity offer, will en-
deavor to secure it's passage, but l
am not sanguine that shall have the
chance to do that
One serious obstacle in the way OF
the passage of the bill at this time is
the amount of the appropriation, which
eventually will reach the sum OF $11,-
OOO, 900 annually. The economists In
the Senate are not inclined to even
consider bill fixing such large sum
on each of the annual budgets to be
hereafter nrOyided