The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-11-08
Superintendent Kelly
Was Not Chagrined
by Defeat Of Clause
hetrng PRESIDENT of North Da Educational Association
Not Chagrined Becaus> solution Lost
DAYS lie Had Not Worked Out Del Plan for increasing
Membership of Association 3 st Now,

J. Nelson Kelly, president of the
North Dakota Educational association
whose sessions at Fargo have lust
been brought to a close, is not cha
grined over the action taken In the
convention Friday morning in elinin-
ating the paragraph In the report of
the resolutions committee, pertaining
to his recommendation, in his inaug-
ural address, looking to the increasing
OF the membership Of the association
The resolutions committee said
Superintendent Kelly, consisting of
Pres. Fred e. Smith, of the state
science school at Wahpeton; Supt. S.
Henry Wolfe. Of Minot; Miss M. Hell
en- Davies, head Of the normal depart
ment Of the Grand Forks city schools;
Miss Minnie J. Nelson, county super
lntendent of Barnes county; and Supt.
,C..J.2 N. Nelson, Of the Beach city
schools, had offered, among it's resolu-
tions, the following
That we approve the recommend
alton Of President Kelly, for enforced
membership on the part of teachers
in this association This resolution
was doubtless due to the following
SSS
and Mr.. Kelly quoted from his ad-
dress here Wednesday as follows:
"A word concerning the member
ship Of this association. Last year
we had a membership Of 1850. There
are fifty counties in the state. Twen-
ty-fve counties, with a teaching force
of d. per cent of the entire teaching
force Of the state, furnished only sew
enty of the 1850 members. Four or
five counties were not represented and
seven counties were represented by
one member each Five counties fur
nished more than half of the member
ship and one county furnished nearly
1one-fourth of the membership. When
we take into consideration that some
of these counties having membership
of one in this association have large
teaching force and men and women
in the profession Of more than state
wide reputation, the indications point
to a woeful Jack of interest in the
work which this association should
accomplish. hope the time will come,
and it cannot come too soon, when
the members of this association viii
not have to give any thought to the
membership from the standpoint of a.
fee. It is too much to expect that ev-
cry teacher will attend the meetings
Of the association. but it is not too.
much to expect !. that every teacher
RaSs %1s dIl1ludl1y lLlLOE The EIERaSuTy OIL
the associatio The fee should; be
required by law, collected by the eoun :
ty uperintendents, and turned over
to the treasurer, of the association
This would give us a working capital
of about $4,000 and this amount would
increase as the teaching force is in
creased. This would place the associ-
alton on a working basis and make it
a power for good in this state. It
would enable us to employ some one
of the Horace Mann type to devote
all his time to the work of the asso-
Ciation.'
"The main idea had in mind" con-
atinued Mr.. Kelly, was the elimination
of the idea from the minds of the
teachers that the members were work.
ing for the dollar when, really, they
We're working for an increased mem
bership Of the association. If the fee
can be obtained from any other source
than from the teachers, and think it
might, there would certainly be no
objection. But if it cannot be obtain
ed from any other source it is my
opinion that any teacher would be
glad to- contribute this much to the
cause of his profession ana for hav-
ing a, competent man who would de-
vote all his time to the cause of educa-
tion in North Dakota. s
81 believe that it was the concensus
OF opinion of the teachers who at
tended this association that it was the
best series Of meetings ever held in
the state and yet there We're counties
in the state unrepresented and several