The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-06-13
Civil Service for
School Teachers.

Editor Dawson News: The school
teachers of Georgia should be given
in any reorganization of the school
forces of the state the advantage OF
civil service. To do this will require
the adjustment of militia school dis
trict boards of trustees and the vest
ing of the selection of the teachers
of the county in the county board OF
education. This would enable the
county to grade the teachers as TO
teaching ability, as to knowledge OF
how to impart education to the pu-
pills. as we'll as knowledge Of the
branches taught.
For instance. take Randolph coun-
ty, which has as good a county board
of education as is found in the state;
each member is an educated, sue
cessfuI business man in the business
he follows, but with neighborhood
preiudices and incompetent district
trustees to contend with in some dis
tricts their best efforts are to large
extent nullified.
The Methodist church is fine ex-
ample of what can be done right
here. If A, by doing his duty on NJ
circuit, becomes unpopular he is not
without job, bat B, from n circuit
is snapped to N, two good men are
saved and no one injured. When
teacher is "apt to teach she or he
should not be left to the mercy OF
ignorant men, who do not want their
children properly disciplined, but
premium should be put upon such,
and this can only be done by men
who hold their Jobs by their intelll-
gent common sense and interest IN
the whole county and state. Anoth-
err advantage in the county board
being the governing board is the en-
ployer would then look personally
into the fitness of applicants to teach,
encourage by the promise of promo
ton and eliminate the inefficient by
failure to elect.
I understand in Bibb county the
board of education follows this plan,
and Bibb's schools are among the
best in the state, and to be employed
by the Bibb board of education is a
frst-cIass recommendation in and OF
itself. But to be effective in rural
counties like Terrell, Randolph and
others similar in this respect this
should be made the state law. Com
pulsory education is necessary Sc
quence to free public education, for
if the state has the right to take K.
property by taxation Che having no
children) to education HIS children
II has the right, by imprisonment or
fine. to compel H. to send his children
10 school. and unless she does she is
uselesslv taxing r. This is putting
it in concrete form, where the great
est stickler for personal liberty OF
the parent" to arbitrarily allow his
offspring to become a menace to ana
a charge on the state by refusing to
let them take what the state has free
" offered can read his error; for er-
ror. ignorant even though it be, 1t IS
and is freely exploited by good men
who have never been shown its talsl-
tv. But back of every reform III
school government, and a necessary
to the proper admins
tration of all departments OF the
state government, is tax reform. me
English scale is the best of which
have heard. Every species of prop
erty is taxed on the amount of in
come it yields, estimated on the
amount of property invested in gov
eminent securities, it would take to
realize that income, and if A. has
piece of land yielding an income OF
$1,000 per year and beside it B. has
a tract of land uncultivated B. pays
the same rate on the uncultivated
that A. does on the cultivated. But
to do this a state board of tax as
SCISSORS. composed Of tax experts,
would be necessary, and the sooner
this is done the better for Georgia's
welfare ANDREW P. RIVES.