El Nuevo mexicano., 1917-11-29
Miss Isabel Ecles Unanimous Choice for President Of ". N. E. "A.

ter for the state. The state board OF
education should mako a list of the
men eligible to the position of super.
intendent Of public instruction, from
which the people should choose. AL.
ways with the proviso that no mem
Der of the board should be listed as
eligible during the period for which
he has been appointed a member OF
the said board,
THE superintendent Of public in
struction should have a cabinet made
up Of persons qualified to assist In
the various duties Of inspection and
administration. All members of this
department should serve for a long
time and be eligible to indefinite re-
election.
Short Term Unwise
1T was a decided misfortune to the
educational interests of the state
when the term of the state superin-
tendent was lessened to two years
and but n reelection was permit
ted. Pennsylvania, a reliably Repup.
lican state, has had the same superin-
tendent of public instruction for a
period of more than 80 years. in spite
of the fact that he is a Democrat. In
all educational positions the term OF
service should be long, slways re.e.v-
ing a fair means OF removal.
THE next suggestion has al -eady
been made many times and has Teen
rejected without fair dis suss.on. The
county superintendent should lie
elected from a class OF qualified per.
sons and If none can be found in a
given county, 1t should be made PCS
sible for the electors of any county
TO choose the county superintendent
from another county. This would not
happen very often, because teachers
would Immediately begin to prepare
themselves to meet any qualifications
that the people might place upon
them.
'sNo reforms that forget the past
will ever be accepted or ever be sue
.cessful.
"The last legislature, in its county
board bill, and the previous legisla-
ture, with its county unit bill, laid
most excellent foundations for the
building of the future. These bills
were attacked on false democratic
principles. 1t vas charged that local
interests were being taken out of the
hands of the people.
A Political Error
MAY / turn aside just for a mo-
ment to remark that the greatest err
ror in political doctrine that know
anything about is the great bug-a-boo
that democracy is all right for a
small unit, but impossible to work in
a large unit. America has proven
absolutely that democracy of the
large unit is possible and safe, while
the democracy of the small unit is
disastrous. The objection to a mon
archy or to an ~aristocracy is that the
government of a large unit is placed
into the hands of a few-a class-a
clique. This is what has been made
possible and so generally happens in
a democracy where the unit is too
small. Many states of the union have
already discovered this fact and are
eliminating the little school districts
and increasing their units, so that
there will be many interests to be
represented, to balance and to check
each other. The older states both
north and south, are rapidly depart
ing from the local school district
government, preferring the larger
unit Of the county. The next step
worth while will be to make the state
the unit.
why should not a child in the re-
and s~parsely settled commune
ties be as we'll educated as the child
in the crowded cities. Many of our
writer's on economic questions be
the fact that the rural districts
are being rapidly depcpulated and
they have gone so far as to declare
That the nation has been brought to
The brink of ruin and financial dis
aster stares us in the face 1t q
no wise economy to give the
poorest eduction to the rural conn
munities. The city profits from the
rural community, The railroad profits
rom the rural community, the state
1T large profits. And why should not
Ill communities contribute to the edu-
,ation of all communities and why
should not the state be organizes
hat all it's children may have e-ual
opportunities. This seems to me to
De the true democracy of e~iucetion
Ind I would make it impossible for
! little clique of men to dominate and
control the school in any system.
with a state wide distric. and
With county boards of education
working in harmony with, and direct
y under the state board of education,
md under them district representa-
ives in close touch with the people,
may be consolidated and so
organized that communities may have
large and truer interest and rural
communities become much more
table than under present conditions.
A Radical Reform
'sThe state institutions should have