Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-03-09
MONEY SPENT ON SCHOOL FHILLS,

W
peclally In rural districts. Child
rem who cannot read correctly in
the First Reader are often found
laundering in the Fourth with
out the knowledge of phonetics.
or even the names of punctuation
points, much less their uses. Of
emphasis and infections they
seem never to have heard. We
hear much about improvement
OF schools, but the process
seems Slow
1t the State would spend more on
elementary instruction and less on
higher education and frills, our cor
respondent would perhaps have no
ground for criticism in the matter
touched upon.
We erect fine school houses and
ride the children to school-to be
taught by the same grade of teach.
ers. at about their same old pay.
We double the salaries of division
superintendents-and have the same
grade of superintendent, who are
no more required to give their whole
time to school work than they for
merly were.
We have a system of "supervi-
sion" that costs nearly $50, 600 a
year. when the money could be bet
ter devoted to raising the grade of
teachers.
We need two normal schools, and
builo four-at a cost of hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
The vital contact of teacher and
pupil is the chief factor in educa-
ton The other things should be of
secondary consideration. Rich
mond Journal.
Here is another illustration of the ex
travagance of the Democratic party IT
Its management of one of the depart.
ments of the State government. The
department of education has becom.
one of the most potential factors in the
"office-holder's trust" The Journa
says:
1--WE need two normal schools and
build four
We remember that Senator Noel at
the last session of the Legislature bold
ly charged that there was jobbery in
connection with the placing of the nor
NAL school at Harrissonburg, and we all
know that there has been something
mysterious and possibly corrupt in the
location of the normal school at Rad
ford.
Attention has recently been called bv
the Richmond Times-Dispatch to the
extravaganza and inefficiency of the
Fish Commission. Now we have the
Journal bravely assailing the Depart
ment of Education. These two Rich
mond papers are among the leading
Democratic journals of the State. They
are at last telling the people what the
Tazewell Republican has been telling
them for years. Elsewhere we publish
an article, headed Democratic Extrav-
agance," which is the joint production
of the Richmond Journal and the Char
lottesville Progress. The editor of the
Progress was a prominent member of
the late Constitutional Convention and
his paper is staunchly Democratic. His
uttersnces are, therefore, worthy of
the highest consideration; and see what
he says:
''This state Of reckless extrava-
gance will continue as long as the
people continue to send representa-
tives to the Legislature who are
more interested in creating new ju-
dicial circuits, adding to the num-
Der of State officers and increasing
the official salaries, than they are in
reducing taxation and legislating in
the interest of the people. The vo-
tiers have nobody to blame but them
selves for the threatened bankrupt
cy of the State treasury and for the
fact that Virginia has the most ex-
pensive form of State government
in the South"
Mr.. Lindsay knows that the Constitu-
tional Convention was called and held
for the pretended purpose of simplify
ing and reducing the expenses of the
State government. And he now sees.
rs we have long seen, that the legis-
Iatures that have met under the new
have directed thsir atten-
ion chiefly to creating new Offices and
to increasing salaries and
o hunting for new subjects of taxation
b rssst the requirement. Of the reck-