Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-10-23
DISCUSS PENSION
FOR t THE TEACHER
UNCLE SAM BEGINNING TO SHOW
Z. INTEREST IN PEDAGOGUES
OF THE COUNTRY.

/ / The school teachers of Iowa, among
1 whom were those Of Ottumwa, made u
\ good fight for a pension before the last
| Legislature but lost their fight. How
ever, the teachers were not discouras-
| ed. Their request was modest. TheH
1 wanted the state to help them untii
! such time as their plan would become
| self-sustaining. which would probably
| have been in few years. But the law
| makers probably concluded that as the
| Iowa teachers are being paid less than
| in any other state in the union, they
would need no pension and would never
murmur If the state turned them down.
It is to be noted in this connection
| that Uncle Sam Is beginning to take
but the Iowa teachers are going to
stick to their plan and are going to
continue their fight until in has been
won.
Are pensions in general wise? Should
state pension it's workers? Should IT
pay pensions to teachers any more than
to any other class Of employees?
These are questions discussed in
bulletin Just issued by the United
States bureau Of education. The i'm
mediate purpose of the bulletin Is to
describe the pension system Of Great
Britain, but in the course Of the study
Raymond w. Sizes. the author, takes
occasion to discuss the principles un-
DERIVING all pensions, and especially
teachers pensions in the United States
Teachers pensions and pension sys-
TENS, according to DR.. Sizes, represent
one phase Of what has become uni
versaI movement among civilized peo-
ples-a movement to dispose of the
superannuated and disabled individual
and to rob old age Of its economic ter
rors" Pensions for school teachers, he
points out, have existed in Germany in
some form or. other for two or three
centuries, and in other European coun-
tries for the better part Of century or
more. On the continent the benefits of
teachers pensions have often been ex-
tended to include widows and orphans
Of teachers. In Scotland comprehen-
sive system has been developed, based
on scientific insurance principles which
DR.. Sizes considerse especially valuable
for the United States.
Whether pensions shall be supported
in whole or in part by the state. or
whether they shall be financed entirely
by the teachers themselves. is prob
lem that has been solved differently in
different countries. In Germany the
state finances the entire. plan, the
teachers making no contributions
whatever In France the teachers are
heavily assessed to keep the epnsion
system going. In the United States the
tendency is to ask small contributions
from the teachers. AS permanent ar
rangement DR.. Sizes favors the German
plan, not because he thinks 1t any
more generous to the teachers, but be-
cause he considers it better business
for the state to finance and manage the
system itself He shows that in any
event the burden is ultimately shifted
to the teachers.
s, While admitting, therefore. that con-
tributions may be necessary to start
substantial pension system, he believer
they should be discontinued as soon as
possible. In his opinion contributions
from teachers as a permanent feature
not only add nothing to the effective
ness Of a pension plan, but they m
troduce needless completely, they are
source Of constant irritation and mis-
understanding. and they are respon-
sible for a vast amount of unnecessary
bookkeeping and other clerical work."
Dr.. Sizes concludes with strong rec
ommendation for noncontributory
system for American teachers.