The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-23
The Veteran Teachers Pension Bill


 The Connecticut teachers most of whom women, will petition the General Assembly for law providing modest pension for those of their numbers who have taught for and unable to continue in the service.
 Policemen and fremen live under adequate pension plans. Railroads telephone companies and great trial corporations strive honorable competition which shall make best provision for veterans of their respective services
 Mans inhunlanity makes countless thousands mourn" " But there is new light in the sky and new love in the world States beginning to take much account of men and women, and women of the higher type take of their domestic animals.
 Which of us, having horse that has served us faithfully for 30 years would turn the brute out in his to starve?
 Which one of us will deny the dumb creature the privilege of his remaining days where the grass is
 And if that were possible would we not grant our confront him. he confded to other and unfr1endy hands of tasmasters whom he had not served and who had toward him special dutya Infinitely greater is the social duty toward human creature
 There are teachers in Connections both men and faithfully and for miserable wage.
 Some of them have been 20 in the service; set the pace for 30 years and wed the high task of teaching long they celebrate within They cannot teach Their eyes grow dim, their hands tremble The minds active move sluggish1y now
 The average salary of them-these veterans in the highest warfare that civilization knows is the fare against ignorance-is paltry $500 In the past it was less.
 Let us not, therefore out of the hardness of our
  qre Why have these of the schools not SAVED against rainy day''2
 How could they save2
 How could they even make stand against the rising tide of prices that within 20 years has foated larger salary into the harbor of MERE PITTANCEs?
 They, being women, have not had much the weapon that the ballot is Not at any voting place. any forum charged the delegated power of legislative office, have they been enabled to demand a man pay for better work can, the task, perform.
 So what good legislators, will you do with the super annuated sisterhood of the public schools Will turn them out penniles because the best of them has been given to the children of the Comrnonwea1th2
 Five years Is the average time of woman in the schools most of them the schools resting place. These give the children of others for tme then bring the best that motherhood has offer chi dren of their own.
 There the whole force involved pension, of iremen and police There merely the veterans the teachers of the long trail whose devotion greatest whose knowledge is largest.
 This some change from the usual plan of pen sion making in Connecticut Those teachers who pass to marriage and the home may not be fairly pay a bill that SOCIETY OWES to those holy women, who housed in the schools in convent the bone and 'sinew of public education.
 The need is for DIRECT pension, paid from the treasury of the state and without 1nucting of the tiny salaries of the benefciaries of it. sd# T,
 There would be great expense, under the modest plan which has been proposed But to adopt that plan of Connecticut the stigma of brutality which it has schools.