Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-27
CHURCH UPHC!LDDS
TUITION MEASURE
State Distrihutive Funds Are TO Re
Released in Mercer. Rock Island
and Other Counties.
AGREE TO ABANDON THE FIGHT
Amendment Designed TO Correct
Faults OF Present Enactment TO
Go to Legislature.

Aledo, May 27.-When Judge Will
liam T Church enters an order TODAY
in Mercer county circuit court IN
holding the constitutionality of the
1915 high school tuition act there will
be released in Rock Island. Knox.
Mercer. Warren and Henderson coun-
ties more than $1,000 of the state
distributiye fund which has been held
up by the attack made on the law bv
the school districts of Aledo, Keiths-
burg and New Boston, in Mercer
county All Of the school superin-
tendents OF surrounding counties have
been Withholding tuition funds allot-
ted by the state pending settlement
OF the case in Mercer After TODAY
they Will be free to make payments
which have been deferred since
April l,
The way was made clear today for
distribution Of the funds when Will
liam J. Graham of Graham & Ora
ham. counsel for the school boards
which attacked the law, indicated that
fight would not he made to force
payment under the 1913 law because
the present law, according to the rul-
ing Of Judge Church, does not go into
effect until July S. The AledO school
board has voted TO discontinue the
fight, especially in view of the fact
that an amendment designed to cor
rect the faults of the 1915 act will be
pushed at the next general assembly,
and it is indicated that the keiths-
burg and New Boston boards will fol-
low the same course, allowing Super
intendent {. L. Gregory to pay out
the tuition fees.
IN making the fight against the
present law the cOntending school
boards set up two causes of COM
plant, one that the law was uncOn-
stitutlOnal in that it acted as class
legislation against the larger or high
school districts and in favor of the
farmer or rural districts which do not
maintain high schools, and the other
that the law does not become effec-
tive until July because it was not re-
turned and filed with the secretary OF
state until July s. 1915 Judge Church
has ruled that the law is COnstitu-
tional but not valid until July Thus
by Withdrawing that part of the COM
plant relating to the time of taking
effect of the law the way is clear for
the county school superintendent to
90 ahead with distribution of the state
funds held by them
The prospect of amendment of the
1915 law which has been bitterly at
tackled in all parts of the state during
the last few months was the chief
factor in bringing about the com
promise which will permit distribu-
ton Of the tuition funds.
Each County as Unit.
The proposed amendment, TO be in
troduced at the next general assem-
bly,, will be a device designed TO make
each county in the state a high school
unit Under the present system each
township or high school district is d
unit, and child going from one dis
trict to another to secure the advan-
tages OF high school education has his
or her tuition fee paid out Of the dis
tributive fund before the moneys are
appOrtiCned for the balance of schoo
purposes. By making the county in
stead OF the district a unit, explains