Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1911-01-27

! Must Have Money,
To devise a way to get the money
and make everyone feel pleasant
while they are paying it is the serious
and difficult duty that was placed on
the shoulders of the public school fund
commission by the last legislature.
On getting i'll touch with cOndi
| tons In the public schools the COM
mission failed to find year since an
| nexation in which the public schools
! mad all the money that was needed
There is no necessity to go back Of
| that period.
| The enrolment Of the public schools
for the year 1898 was 1896 pupils
For the year 1908 it was 10 474 This
is an increase of $500 pupils or 77G
per cent.
The amount of money spent on the
| public schools exclusive of new build
ings from loan funds was, for the
year January /, 1898 to December 81,
1899, $3.50 1883 For the year January
! / 1908, to June 80 1909. $i46,S3 60
| For 1910. the treasurer gives us the
expenditure as $433,S1S.92. You will
note from this that as the enrolment
of the public schools has increased
the money expended on the youth of
the land has decreased.
This ought to suit our friend who
doesn't like the theories of the edu-
cational enthusiasts, But like. stoning
the frogs, it is fun for the boys but
death to the frogs. The children are
the frogs in this instance
AS a result of this system of finan-
ciering. the figures given us by the
department of public instruction show
| that on June 80, 1909 one hundred
and fifty-four school rooms in the
| Territory were overcrowded or thir-
ty-five per cent. We were also given
figures to show that over seventy adj
| ditional teachers were needed to pro-
perly officer the public schools then III
existence We may be certain that
in June, 1910 the shortage of tea
cheers was no less and still there We're
| not enough school rooms to hold the
children; they were literally crowded
out because the last legislature made
4 the ,menviable record of appropriate
ing not single dollar for public
school buildings.
Great Increase of Pupils.
We found that in the ten years
from 1898 to 1908 the number of pu-
pills had increased 77.6 per cent. The
number of teachers had been increas-
ed only 54.7 per cent.
During all this ten-year period the
island people had received vista.
lions from public men from the main
land who went away loud in theil
praises of the splendid work done by
our public schools. This. was indee'
tribute to the painstaking and self
: sacrificing labors of our school teach
ers. who did the best they could witt
: what offered, and hoped for the best
These brief figures carry home tn
$ fact that the Territory has not care'
for it's school children as it should
: When we turn to the example set b.
J the Nation and compare our record
our shortcomings are more apparent.
p The figures prepared by our status
+ tcian show that the expenditures TO
e public common schools in the Unite
: States is POI per cent of the tota
: revenue
Expenditure for public commo
schools in Hawaii is S.S per cent. G
: the total revenue in Hawaii.
Q Expenditure for public commo
o schools in Hawaii is IA per cent.
= the funds available for territorif
e uses.
= The expenditure for all publ
schools in the United States is p pc
n cent. of the total revenue.
isl Should Follow Examples.
oI We do not come anywhere near tn
l. example set us by the national gov
Il eminent and we have the reputato
a of enjoying a higher per capt.
Y wealth than any other part of tn
n United States.
Is OF the total amount expended 10
all public purposes by the States
counties. towns. etc, ($74O,0OO,O0o
Is over two-ffths (i1.5o) per cent, wa
s. paid for common schools. Hawai-
3 IA per cent.
l. In the field of educational actlviI
N viewed from the broad national stand
ID point the increase of expenditure pc
N capita for the common schools ma
l. advanced from $1.64 to 1918 extra Q
" gain of almost 124 per cent
" On the mainland of the uhlte
nl States the expenditure of money fc
K each pupil in average attedance ha
N increased from sl5 % to $2G.27 or
,e gain of almost seventy per cent.
al The cost of instruction in the pul
es lie schools for the Territory of II;
al wall was in 1899 $331S per pupil,
1909 ii was $3.50, or falling off
a. about thirty per cent.
If there is anything in that con
Or harrison of cold American facts for Il
ID people, the taxpayers and the philal
II thropic citizens of this Territory to J