The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-08-17
NEEDED "A BETTER SCHOOL
sYsTEM-NO. Z.
ny Prof. w. III. Hand, Inspector Of
High schools.

Is absolutely necessary. Unless the
organic law of the State provides for
competent supervisors. and against
incompetent ones. IL Is weak and un-
certain. In south Carolina the whole
matter OF supervision Is subject to
the caprices and whims of petty poll
tics. There Is. for instance. absolute
~ no legal barrier against an Hitter
intendent of education or state SUI
perintendent. and no unkindness is
meant when IL Is said that i'm few
counties. long since the carpet bag
ger regime. men not very far removed
from illiteracy have sat I'm the office of
county superintendent of education.
No professional or educational quail
fication Is required of the holder of
either of these offices. and under the
present constitution and present
mode Of election OF superintendents.
neither professional nor educational
qualifications can be required. Any
elector Is eligible to any elective Of
fice. The briehess lawyer. the anti
quated school master, the uneducat-
ed farmer. and the ever-present typi-
cal job-seeking politician are all
alike eligible to either office. The
worst Of IL all II that Just such men
along with their superiors. offer for
superintendent. and are at least oc-
casionally elected. The success OF
the candidate for superintendent of
education depends less upon his
qualification for the office than upon
his ability to tell an anecdote and to
mix with voters at a barbecue.
In the case of State superintendent.
a candidate must join a campaign
party OF from dozen TO thirty 9TH
er candidates seeking election to
state offices. Like a travelling circus
these men go from county to county
for at least forty-four days soliciting
the votes of the people. not by the
discussion of real issues or the pro-
mitigation OF doctrines so much as By
each candidates telling Yhy ne should
be elected and why his opponent
should not. In this daily perform
anoe the candidate for State superin-
tendent Is usually given ten minutes
to unfold to his hearers his education
al platform. II he MS one. When
the successful candidate has been
elected. he IL installed into his Office
for two years at an annual salary of
$500. from which he must deduct at
least $500 for legitimate campaign
expenses. He enters upon his duties
the following January; Just eighteen
months later. II he Is a candidate for
reelection. he must leave the duties
Of the office to- which ne has been
elected. and re-enter the travelling cir
Gus for another forty-four days. At
the end of this campaign ne has been
given total OF seven hours and
twenty minutes to enlighten the peo-
pie OF the State >on matters pertain
Ing To the education of every child in
~
In the meantime ne has either been
doing some constructive educational
work. or ne has been killing time In
either case ne must defend himself
before the people. Just here Is one
of the radical weaknesses of our
present system: IL the superintendent
has been active i'm constructive work.
he Is sure TO come In for harsh and
unreasonable criticism by the poll
tical tricksters. the malcontents. and
the mossbacks. Before he has had
the time TO demonstrate the wisdom
OF his course the unwise and the
overwise are clamoring for his
scalp.
Some .eople will say that it Is but
democratic that he should fire.
auently render to the people an ac-
count of his stewardship. How we
have all used the word democracy TO
conjure with. How many crimes are
constantly being committed in the
name OF democracy! These astute
democrats forget that the trickster.
the malcontent and the mossback are
not seeking light but an opportunity
TO defeat the ineunbent and to elect
their candidate. These astute dem
ocrats overlook the fact that II re-
quires "A long time for "a profound
idea or scheme to penetrate the cram
iums Of "a large number of ballot
holders Ga strong argument In itself
for wider diffusion of learning
and they further forget that these