Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1914-10-23
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1914.
LETTER FROM IDE G. SARGENT.

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The Educational Commission has
made its report. To those of us familiar
with the Carnegie report, there is little
that is new except pages and pages of
arguments t. belittle Vermont colleges
and Vermont normal schools, and the
tables at the end.
1t is with regret | attack this report.
1t has made several exceedingly i'm
be embodied in law at the coming ses-
sion. For example, tenure for teachers
during good behavior, higher salary
schedule for teachers, compulsory
supervision for all towns, greater as
sistance from the State to towns
with small grand list. But coupled
with these good recommendations are
others that will greatly injure our
State. If we do not wish to see Yer
mont become game preserve for few
wealthy men or forest region for the
big paper companies, we must fight a
number of these recommendations and
fight them hard. The same forces that
have pushed these recommendations
thus far will attempt to embody them
in law. The time to begin the fight is
now, by pledging the candidates for
representatives to vote against certain
measures. When the Legislature is in
session we should see that the men we
send there keep their promises.
The commission says Vermont is pre-
eminently an agricultural State. To
continue an agricultural State we must
keep the families on the farms. Yet
recommendations urges very en-
phatically the consolidation of rural
schools. The number of schools they
would close is shown by the fact that
they recommend the $50, 600 we paid last
year for transportation, be increased to
Sl25, 600 for next year. More than a
siXfold increase. Do you believe in this
wholesale closing of schools? If not
pledge your man at Montpelier to
fight it. Except in favored localities
the climate and topography of Vermont
is not adapted to transportation of
pupils. No scheme was ever devised
more conducive to rapidly emptying our
country towns of their inhabitants than
consolidation of schools and transporta-
ton of pupils. Parents will not submit
TO it for long. We have consolidated
schools in this town. What is the re-
suit? In each district in which we have
closed the school every family having
school children has moved out of the
district or is preparing to 60. ! could
cite many other towns with similar ex-
perience. Wherever consultations have
taken place in our Vermont towns like
exodus has taken place The rapidity
of the movement depending on the dis
lance and difficulty of reaching school.
Transportation may work fairly well in
level State like Illinois or warm one
mistake in Vermont. In every back
town in the State where consolidation
has been attempted fathers and
mothers are saying: 1--WE shall sell as
soon as we can and move near enough
so that our children can walk to and
from school
Are the voters in our small towns
going to allow their districts to be
stripped of their inhabitants? If not
pledge your representative to fight
against consolidation and make manda-
tory the school being placed within
walking distance of the school children.
Do our rapidly growing cities and vii
lagos wish to see their growth continue?
If so pledge your representative to fight
to keep the school near the farms.
Your stores need trade from a heavy
farm population in the outlying dis
tricts Your workmen need the food
products of these farms. Remember
you cannot keep families on the farms
unless you put good school near the
farms.
Settle this question now with the men
asking your votes for election day.
Do not be overawed by the members of
the Educational Commission. They are
worthy men, but how many of them are
farmers? How many get their living
by cultivating back farms? How many
actually live for even portion of the
year among these rural people from
whom they propose TO remove the
schools to populous centers? How many
of them have dollar invested in the