The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1911-04-27
FREE TEXT BOOK
SYSTEM FAVORED
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT AS
ISOLATION CONDEMN STATE
UNIFORMITY.
HOLD DISCUSSION AT MEETING
n. r. PattenslI Attacks Representa-
tive Henry E. Straight in Con-
nection With Bll-Officers
Are Elected.

Lansing.-The Michigan School Su.
perintendents' association and school
board members, unanimously favoring
the free text book system for the
schools of Michigan and condemning
as vigorously state uniformity of text
books, held an animated discussion of
the subject at the joint meeting of the
two associations.
A feature of the session was the at
tack made by II. r. Pattengill, ex-su-
perintendent of public instruction, on
Representative Henry +. Straight of
Coldwater, charging that there was
never bill for which the skids were
so well oiled as that one providing for
uniformity of books and courses of
study in Michigan, that Straight at
tempted to railroad it through by dark
lantern methods, not presenting it un-
til just before the five-day limit, and
asking the senate to pass it before the
bill had been printed so that its
vicious" features could not be known.
Resolutions were adopted providing
| that a committee of seven be appoint
ed, with State Superintendent of Pub
| lie instruction l.. L. Wright as its
chairman, to investigate the subject of
| free school books and to arouse public
sentiment throughout the state, to the
end that the next legislature may be
| impelled to enact such a law. The
State Teachers association will be pc
| titioned for funds, not to exceed $500,
with which TO defray the expenses of
! this investigation.
Resolutions adopted indorse The
plan of state aid for industrial and
agricultural education in Michigan,
also the step taken toward removing
the Office of the state department of
public instruction from politics, the
mandatory township unit plan Of
| school districts for the entire state;
recommend that UNCONVENTIONAL col
| leges as well as the University OF
Michigan should make more adequate
provision for observation of expert
| teaching and for practice teaching by
prospective teachers, and ask the
board of state auditors to provide
funds for the continuance of the mu-
scum of the State Pioneer and Histor
ical society.
The association elected the follow
ing officers President, j. NJ. Frost,
| Muskegon; vice-president, j. A. Doll,
! Houghton: secretary-treasurer, II. c.
Daily, Wyandotte.
w. Fl. Brunson of ST. Johns was re-
al tAI ,Jo ~ Il 1in,,
Klump of Saginaw secretary-treas-
urer of the school board section.
Governor Osborn continued cut
ting appropriations. This time the
Lapeer Home for the Feeble-mind-
ed had to suffer for his slashing. The
institution was given $4,000 by the
legislature for two new cottages, two
additions, quarters for employees, a
dining hall and pump, and the gov
ernor compromised by cutting out one
of the cottages and other items up to
| $45,90O.
The board refused TO stand for any
| more, as the institution now has 987
| patients, with 1872 on the waiting list.
The governor listened to long pro-
test from delegation of citizens from
Petoskey against Senator Newtons
bill giving board of supervisors the
right 10 fix the natural level of the wa
ters of the inland lakes. The meas
ure is aimed at condition which has
arisen at Walloon lake, resort IN
Emmett county, where dam was torn
out, lowering the lake level SO that
the resorters cannot build boat docks.
1t was claimed that if dam Is built
it will interfere with the Petoskey wa
ter supply, but the governor refused
to assume that the supervisors would
permit anything to be done that would
injure the city, so he will sign the
measure.
Governor Osborn will take up the
matter of corporal punishment with
the boards of control OF the three
prisons just as soon as he can get
around to It.
81 shall go into the question thor
oughly," he said, land I will ask each
board to adopt rule prohibiting cor
poral punishment until each specific
case Is presented to and passed upon
by the board. In this way every case
will be heard upon its merits. and it
will remove any chance Of injustice
being done. There are other matters
shall go into also. For one thing,
there should he uniform system OF
accounting"