Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-03-18
The L;scon,b Consolidation.

rural schools We find that for the year
/ OF 1913 taxes. Albion consolidated
levied SSh mills and Liscomb rural
only II mills and for 1914 taxes s2h for
the consolidated and only mills for
the rural schools. In the vicinity OF
Mcintyre the levy for the consolidated
school Is 24a mills and the rural
schools only 10 1-5 mills. This means
difference Of from 20 to so cents per
/ acre more for consolidated schools than
the rural. Now in view Of these facts
are we getting the worth of our money ?
We are in favor Of better schools and
elieve the remedy to be salary suffi-
lent to our teachers that they may
ualify themselves for efficiency. The
ght teacher would be cheap at $50
er month and what more could be
ccomplished and environment adj
antages over the corsolidates schools
hat for efficiency the rural school
would so far excel that there would be
| no comparison.
The handicap to the rural school has
| been the adverse legislation in favor
! ing consolidation. The maximum funds
which the law permits the rural school
| to levy has not been sufficient to pay
] living wages to the rural teachers.
What we want is the privilege Of levy
F, ing and paying the taxes we feel we
need to maintain efficiency, and we will
show to our village brethren a superior
product.
HENRY LEISE.
| A petition demonstrating against
consolidating any part of their dis
tricts has been signed by:
W. G. Randall, c. A. Thornblade, G.
NJ. Titlow, A J. Riedel, w. A. Summer :
lot. D. W., Summerlot, H. Bale, G. w.
Hall, p. Sullivan, c. o. Thornblade,
Jessie, A. j., G. s., B. H. and Robert
Binford, in district No. 8.
Frank Dawson, F. A. Buchanan, Geo.
Grace, j. G. Elliott, E. c. Veatch, D. w.
Hilsabeck, NJ. H. Ewalt, H. D. Hurley,
G. L., Charles, and Henry Leise. of dis
trict No. 5.
il. Rails. Frank Hobbs, c. f. Shaw,
G. B. Rails, G. H. Van Slyke, Frank
Rails, Theron Denbow, Harry Early.
Fred Koehler, H. A., H. D., and Har-
| lock Durham, of district No. 3.
Children or Taxes-Which?
THUS it seems that not only is the
most cocks,ire authority in every COM
munity upon the rearing of children
childless lady, but in the Liscomb
neighborhood the one who is most con-
| cerned as to the moral environment OF
school children and their possible eX-
posture to storm is not the mother OF
the largest family but the owner OF
considerable land.
There may be some objections to the
district as defined at Liscomb, but
there always are. Men by their OPP
position force the boundaries to follow
lines Of least resistance and somebody
will always be on the outer edge, but
the law is broad enough to cover the
difficulty. If mans land is taxed
within a school district and his family
yet resides outside he can deduct from
his taxes the cost Of tuition for his
children either in the consolidated
school or in some other school. If he
lives at an unreasonable distance the
school board can pay him for providing
his own conveyance or for conveying
his children to some school nearer by
| Mr.. Leise's argument is opposed to
all consolidation Of rural schools rather
than to the Liscomb district In par
ticular. In this respect he knows more
about educating children than the
school teachers who have made educa.
ton a profession, for the state super
intendent Of schools favors consolida-
ton. Every county superintendent II
Iowa, so far as is known, favors It
Every city superintendent favors 1t
State and national conventions OF ed
! ucators have urged it. The United
States bureau Of education Is promot-
Ing 1t. Our state school commission
composed Of the biggest men in Iowa
recommended it and the last legisla-
ture voted to pay money to promote
| it. Men Of education, Of broad in
| telligence and Of experience mostly IA
vor it altho that Is not to say that
| all those who oppose it do not have in
telligence for there is difference OF
opinion but the overwhelming pre-
| ponderance Of opinion by those who
should know is in favor Of consolida'
ton. But this may not appeal to those
who signed the remonstrance. for less
than half Of them have any children
to send to school.
| It is UP to the school board to get the
children to school without hardship OF
delay and 1t is always done so salts
factorily every where it has been tried
that no one ever cares to return to
| the. little shanty school Of Abraham
Lincoln's time, while farmers still
| sell out and move to town to educate
their children when they are denied
the advantages Of graded school. II
| this country can not improve upon tho
log cabin life of the past in eighty
years Of educational progress wherein
has it benefited us to invent the
steam engine, the telephone. the tele'
graph, the electric light, the phono'
graph and the automobile in thai
time ?-Editor.1