The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-02-03
EDUCATIONAL LAWS
SENATE COMMITTEE FAVORS LO-
CAL OPTION MEASURE.
Three Bills OFFERED

Senator Sinkler's Bill is Backed by
Swearingen and Manning-Senator
Carlisle Has Statewide Measure
Ready-Harper Introduces One in
House.
The Senate committee on education
will return a favorable report on Sem
ator Sinkler's bill, providing for at
tendance on public schools IN South
Carolina with the local option feature
applied to each district, as the result
of division vote of five to four in a
committee meeting last week after
the adjournment of the hearing be-
fore the joint committees on educa-
ton in the Senate chamber during the
afternoon.
All members of the committee
spoke in favor of some form of com
pulsory school attendance; those who
voted against returning a favorable
report did so with the statement that
they had not decided which bill to &C.
cept and with the privilege of reserv,
ing the right not to be bound by the
decision of the majority of the com
mittee when the measure comes VI
for consideration in the Senate. Sen
ator Sinkler's bill is the one drawn
by ]. E. Swearingen, State superln'
tendent of education.
Unfavorable reports, adopted o1
viva voce vote, will be returned on the
compulsory education bill introduced
by Senators Carlisle and Lee. The
former provides for Statewide Law
without the local option feature ane
the latter has the local option fea
ture with the county and not the dis
trict as a unit, based on the vote O.
the people. Senator Carlisle's bill L
that advocated by Frank Evans o.
Spartanburg, who spoke before thf
Joint hearing; Senator Lees bill !:
the same as that introduced by Mr.
Harper in the lower House.
The hearing before the joint com
mittee lasted for two hours, during
which time the authors of the three
! bills were heard at length on th'
provisions of the respective measures
Senator Sinkler of Charleston, CHAIR
man of the Senate committee on edu
cation, presided.
| On motion of Senator Laney tn
debate on each side pro and con wa
limited to As minutes. Senator Sink
ler, chairman of the joint committee
called on John E. Swearingen, Stat
superintendent of education, to eX
lpiain his bill, which was Introduce
in the Senate by Senator Sinkler am
in the House by Mr.. Hawkins.
! Mr.. Swearirgen said that the ag
of compulsory school attendance wa
placed at from to a years on &C
count of the physical feature. 1
child may be exempted when its worl
is needed for the support of the lam
ily, such a condition to be decided b.
authorities in the district. He sl'
that no child should be required t
travel more than two and one-hal
miles to school. Mr.. Swearingen wa
i against fixing specifically the time o
attendance for year, as that shoul
depend on the length of the schoo
term, especially in rural districts.
"You must provide penalty" h
said, "and l suggest warning, nrs'
then a fine, then sentence OF i'm
prisonment on the third offense. /
truant officer should be appointed t
look after the children, to find ou
who should go to school and to tax
a school census; this appointment
should be in the hands of distric
board. This officer will have powe
of prosecution"
| Without cooperation from the peo
pie, averred Mr.. Swearingen, the lay
would be worthless, and the necessit
Of keeping the public sentiment Il
favor of 4 compulsory school attend
ance law is required for its enforce
ment. This drew the speaker on t
the matter of .levying taxes and this
he stoutly upheld, was a question TO
local option on the petition of quail
/ fed electors in a district. The bill
makes no question Of the race prob
lem.
| Cecil H. Seigler. of Aiken, repre-
senting the county superintendent o
education, said that those whom h
represented favored the adoption o
Mr.. Swearingen's bill. He begged
however, that the legislators enac
some compulsory school attendanc
law, as the sentiment of the people IL
the State is clearly in favor of it.
| Senator Christensen said that h
favored the Swearingen or Sinkle
bill. He asked that the difference b.
explained between enacting Mr.. Sink
ler's bill ordering Statewide attend
ance with district exemption and
vote of the people that only those
districts which want it should have
lit. In answer Mr.. Seigler said tha
the latter course would require al
! election in each district, "a very cum
bersome matter to handle
Senator Carlisle was called upon tt
explain his bill, which embodies the
ideas of Frank J. Evans of Spartan
burg. This bill is Statewide without
the local option feature; such a fea
ture. it was argued, would make
those districts which needed educa
ton most comply with the law.
| Az ILLS lluS MI. Lfduo dPPSoi SS
and began his argument in favor OIL
the Statewide measure introduced BY
Senator Carlisle. He said that there
are only three states in America hav,
| ing compulsory attendance law that
have the local option feature in their
respective statutes.
Mr.. Evans then talked Of the reso-
luton OF the State Teachers associa-
tion that was passed at its last meet
ing as an Endorsement of the State
wide measure. He favored the enact
ment of the best law rather than the
choice by the legislature or COM
promise measure.
He said that there was no argu-
ment on the side of inadequate facili-
ties, as he hau replies from 2S coun-
ties and all but four OF them replied
that there is a sufficient number Of
school houses to take care of all the
children.
He said that Senator Sinkler's bill
is the best local option bill'' he has
seen but that he was against any
oop,ou1corv cnboo1 attondaDca law