Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-01-07

acres OF fine school land. This lane
is not noe cultivation and we might
permit, under proper regulations, these
people OF others who may come into
the state to rent this school land for a
term OF years at a modest rental with
the privilege of removing, their build
ings, if they erect buildings, when the
time came that the lands were sold,
Some plan of this kind might be
worked out and a small eveAu per
acre on a million and a half aces
would add a very large amount OF
money to the common school income
from the school lands and to the in.
come of the institutions that own
land in the state.
BANKS.
The minimum capital stock under
which a national bank can be organ
lied is twenty-five. thousand dollars
Under our state laws a state bank can
be organized with a paid in capital OF
ten thousand dollars. The minimum
capital stock of state bank should be
twenty thousand dollars. At the pres.
ent time too large a part Of the capital
of ten thousand dollars is used for
furniture, fixtures and banking house,
and there is not enough left of the
capital stock to act as security to the
depositors. ] would recommend that
the minimum capital of a bank seek.
ing a charter under our state laws be
increased from ten thousand to twenty
thousand dollars. This would still
leave the minimum capital less than
is required of a national bank.
RATES OF INTEREST.
l would recommend that the con-
tract rate of interest be reduced from
twelve to ten per cent.
SCHOOL TEXTBOOK LEGISLATION
The question of enacting a uniform
school textbook law has been consid-
cred by previous legislatures. This
question was taken up by the State
Educational Association at it's meet
ing in 1913. A committee consisting
Of two county superintendent, a city
superintendent, a member OF the
faculty Of a state normal school and a
school director, was appointed and in
structed to study the textbook ques-
ton and report to the 1914 meeting of
that association. The committee gave
the question careful study and rend-
cred a comprehensive report which in
cludes recommendations for textbook
legislation. A copy of the report OF
the committee above referred to may
be seen at the office of the Superin-
tendent Of Public Instruction. COM
mend the report of that committee to
your consideration.
EDUCATION.
The people of North Dakota are
deeply interested in the education OF
their children, and I know Of no state
where the cause of education has been
so uppermost in the minds of the peo-
pie.
l believe strongly in rural education
and in the consolidated country school
for where n strong central Or con-
solidated school is maintained rather
than several small, one-room schools,
there is an opportunity to employ bet
ter teachers and give the pupils a
much better chance for education,
where they can be divided into fewer
classes and be more closely graded
than is possible where they are di-
vided into many classes under one
teacher in the little country school.
by doing this l believe that we edu'
cate the children for country life and
help to keep them on the farm.
The consolidated country school also
offers a social center which is a neces-
sity in a state like ours. We have
long winters and the schools give the
people an opportunity to get together
for social recreation and enjoyment.
We have at the present time a law
on our statutes that provides for state
aid to high schools and rural schools,
but | do not believe that the law as it
stands is all that it should be. The
| school that needs halp the most is il
the smaller town where they are only
| able to have a ~so-called third-class
high school and perhaps no high school
at all. The money for state aid is di.
vided so that a high school Of the
first class may get $500, a high school
| of the second class $500 and a high
school of the third class $500. What
does $500 mean to a city like Fargo
or Grand Forks? Nothing. But, III
the small community, where it is hard
to find taxable property sufficient to
maintain and support a high school
md where they probably only have a
high school of the third class, they get
so little assistance in the way of state
| aid that it does them very little good
and If the state is to aid the high
| schools we should distribute such aid
in a that will bring the great
est amount to the weaker districts
where it is impossible to maintain
strong high schools on account of their
financial condition.
That which is true of the high
schools is also true of the rural
schools. IN order for a rural school
to secure aid, they must come up to
a certain standard. 1t may be right
to have the standard, but unfortunate
ly in practice l do not think it works
out right, for the rural school that
really needs help does not get it and |
feel that in this rural school problem
that the aid that is given should go tc
the little struggling school which has
only a small amount of taxable prop
erty and this school given encourage
ment rather than the school more for
%tunately located which can come up to
the standards and which does not
need the aid.
In connection with this l wish to
say that I do not believe it right for
the state to give aid to high schools