The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-07-15

successful operation laws consolidate
ing schools in the various towns and
providing for the transportation of
pupils from remote parts of the town
to central schools. providing for the
expert superintendent of schools
with the largest part Of the expense
borne by the State; requiring all
towns where there is no high school
TO pay tuition OF qualified pupils in
high schools outside; the other SINH
lar things all tending to the better
ment of educational conditions along
modern lines An annual school OF
superintendent is held under the d.
rection of the State superintendent of
education in order that the character
and methods of instruction may be
made and kept uniform throughout
the State, and every energy is bent
toward affording the children in the
small towns as good an education, all
things considered, as is provided for
children in more populous and wealth
Ter communities. Throughout the
year the State superintendent con-
ducts meetings in all the counties
and the practical problems of the
schools as they appeal to the parents
and taxpayers and the general policy
OF modern education are discussed by
competent speakers with the object
of increasing popular interest in the
schools and awakening parents and
guardians to the needs of the chill.
dren in them The State has in the
| meantime set out upon the reconsti-
tuition of the normal schools on
higher plane OF usefulness, has estab-
! lished teacher training courses in
high schools and colleges, increased
its appropriations for the State col
! leges, passed teachers pension act
and created permanent school fund
that now approXimates nearly $1,000
| 600, the annual income from which is
distributed among the local schools
according TO their needs. A people
that are so keenly alive to this idea
OF their social responsibility can
| hardly be said to be "decadent."
Vermont and Her Corporations
Take the matter of regulation of
public service corporations. In
some OF the largest and busiest
States in the Union public opinion
has been struggling for years to at
tain the power and influence neces.
sary TO accomplish in this direction
what Vermont has succeeded in doing
with practically no struggle at all. A
few years ago the State transformed
its oldtime Railroad Commission with
limited powers into a Public Service
Commission, gave TO IL the oversight
| of all public service corporations
even to the point OF regulating their
rates. and clothed il with sufficient
authority under such wise restric
tons that today the problem vexing
so many of its neighbors is practic
ally undiscussed in Vermont Pub
| lie service corporations have accept
ed the new order of things with phil
osophy. the law has been administer
ed with tact and common sense, and
peace reigns and the public is pro-
tected. When railroad passes were
abolished here several years ago an
other abuse was quietly put out of
the way win no one seriously dissent
ing The Public Service Commission
is now working under a law that com
| pels the adjustment OF a certain num-
Der OF grade crossings every year. the
expense in each case to be borne in
! part by the state, the town, and the
railroad One by one these danger
Gus crossings are being eliminated
and in few years the transportation
! lines will know them no more Sure
ly this is as much progress in this
direction as some far more populous
states are showing.
Vermont has a very considerable
highway problem TO handle because
her territory is more or less noun
famous or hilly and lies in a climate
where the frosts are prolonged and
often severe. For years there have
been at work here influences tending
more and more to overcome the old
time local prejudice that stubbornly
retained pretty much all control OF
the highways, section by section, in
246 petty local authorities IN the PAD
separate towns in which those sec
tons lay The purpose was gradu.
ally to reshape the law so that the
greater authority over the highways
generally could be exercised by the
state. Within the past few years
more progress than ever has been
made in this direction The law today
gives the state highway commissioner
an authority over the highways and
the disbursements OF money upon
them that would hardly have been
dreamed OF ten years ago, and each
succeeding session OF the legislature
does a little bit more toward reducing
this business to the control OF central
lied state authority. working all over
the state ON a uniform system and
according to uniform plan The
Stale Highway Commissioner holds
an annual school for local supervisors
In each county in the state and thus
educates his forces to a higher stan
dard OF work year by year Thus
commendable progress In roadbuild
Ing is being made and this season the
outlay for good roads in Vermont will
be over a million dollars. or about
three dollars for every man, woman
and child In the statel That's de
cadence!" isn't it?
The child labor law passed by Yer
mont six years ago was at the time
regarded as a well nigh model statute
by various persons In the country AT
large Interested In this movement foi
reform, and this vexed question Of
sociology does not trouble this stat,
today. II still troubles some of oul