The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1914-02-27

years than any other state in the Union.
There has been much gratutous criticism of Ken
lucky on account of her position among the States
on the basis Of graduated scale of iteracy. There
a time when this criticism was perhaps justly
made, although one could be held particularly
sponsble for such conditions Just criticism should
always be based upon pre-existing conditions, and
when Kentucky has heretofore been compared with
her sister States, north, south and west of u.s. 4
proper comparative history of these several States
has not been duly considered. II is we'll for the
critic to consider that while Congress governing
the northwest territory out of which these States
afterward carved, that the pioneers of Ken
lucky under the leadership of George Rogers Clark
and other notable leaders, subduing the Indians
in this vast unsettled country and making it possible
for the inhabitants of these States they were
organized to establish hourishing school systems
from the funds derived from the large land grants
made by Congress when these States we're formed.
Kentucky had land grants from Congress and
notwithstanding the fact that Kentucky is an older
State than Ohio Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wis
consin and Minnesota, these States had prosperous
public school systems many years before Kentucky
was able to organize system of public schools.
small loan from the government in 1886 and the
interest 100000, Kentuckys part Of the direct
recently refunded the various States by act of
congress, constitute all OF the federal ald tnat
that the public schools of Kentucky have ever re-
ceived
But in spite of these unfavorable conditions in
the past the people of Kentucky of all creeds and
classes, regardless of the absence of Federal aid,
have united the great question of public schools
and the improvement of their public school system.
The citizenship in general, the school people Of the
State and General Assemblies of recent years. have
worked side by side to place Kentucky in her proper
position among the States in the matter of public
education.
In this connection | wish to commend especially
the work of the General Assemblies of 1906 1908
1910 and 1912 In these Legislatures the people
wise in sending who were sufficiently broad to
see the future needs of Kentucky, and men who had
the courage to act under the dictates of their udg
ment These should have the honor and graft
tude of every citizen on account of the splendid
interest that they manifested, and account of their
efforts to make possible the greatest educational
awakening that this, any other State has ever
seen. They were men of conviction, courage and
broad vision, with the deepest of human sympathy
for the children of the Commonwealth and for their
future and welfare.
The acts of the Legislatures of 1906, 1908 and
1910 have been reviewed in previous reports from
this Department. | wish to mention especially here
the school laws passed by the Legislature of 1912.
| wish to mention especially the following laws:
the School Inspection Law the Act providing for
the Supervision of Rural Schools, the Law pro-
viding for the raising of the standard of qualihca
ton, and increasing the salary of the County Super
ntendent the Teachers Salary Schedule the Com