The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-06-29
Bankers. Would Educate
farmers of the State
Excellent Report Given Yesterday by the Committee on Edu
cation Of the North Dakota State Bank Association
Make Farming More Profitable

tieai farmers appointed by the gov
ernor
OF the newly enacted laws, however,
which comes closest TO the farm and to
every farm boy and girl is the law EN-
bodied in house bin 210 which the
chairman of your committee had the
honor to introduce. wish here to
give special acknowledgements to the
president of this association who In the
senate did valiant work in it's behalf.
and also TO former State Superintend-
ent w. L. Stockwell, who has cham
pioned a law of this kind for four sue
cessive sessions OF the Legislature and
who was mainly instrumental in the
drafting IL this bill. To quote from the
preamble OF this law, It's purpose is:
ITO encourage elementary education, to
aid, encourage. stimulate, and stand
ardize the rural and smaller graded
schools and thereby increase the eff
cheney OF the entire educational sys-
tenn Of this state" The method en-
ployed to stimulate and standardize"
the schools is to offer state aid rang
ing from $3.50 to $50 to those schools
that reach certain fixed standard OF
efficiency prescribed by the law and
administered by the state superintend-
ent through a state rural school in
spector whose duty II will be to visit
each school applying for the state aid.
This law creates no new schools, but
II adopts the method that has been sue
cessfully operated in this state for a
dozen years to raise the standard OF
our state high schools to their present
high degree of efficiency.
For the graded schools two classes
are created, but each class must main
tain school for nine months, must en-
ploy teachers of special skill and ex-
perience, must have building properly
lighted, heated and ventilated, and
must give courses in agriculture, man
ual training, and domestic science.
For the rural schools two classes are
created but each school must main
tain school for eight or nine months,
must employ a teacher Of high quail
f1cations, must have a schoolhouse
properly lighted, heated and ventilated,
must have a school library, and must
teach elementary agriculture. Recog-
nizing the fact that the final solution
of the rural school problem lies in con-
solidating our rural schools, the law
gives an additional aid to those rural or
graded schools that provide transpor-
tation to and from the school. The
original bill provided for an annual
appropriation of $4,000, but owing to
the many demands upon the state
treasury the appropriation committees
cut this down to $17,50O. We did not
get all we wanted but we have the en-
tering wedge. Let the demand for bet
ter schools in our rural communities
become so insistent that the next legis-
lature will chalk down 100000 for this
purpose first, and then cut the appro-
priations somewhere else. President
Worst aptIy stated not long ago that
while IS per cent Of our population
is agricultural and more than rs per
cent of our taxes are paid by agricul-
turists, less than per cent OF our edu-
cational energy is directed concretely
and systematically toward the inn
provement Of the agricultural interests,
of our state If the farmers are pros
porous all other interests will take
pretty good care of themselves without,
in addition, monopolizing our educa-
tional energies"
Respectfully submitted.
e. C. DISCARD, Chairman.