Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-29
TOLD or SCHOOLS
NEEDS IN DETAIL
Secretary OF Teachers Association
Advocates More Competent Or
ganizatiOn in State.

Springfield. Il.-An educational
campaign that will touch all the
people Of the state and a more COM
pact organization, as means toward
larger revenues for school purposes,
were advocated by Robert c. Moore Of
Carlinville, secretary Of the Illinois
State Teachers association, in his an
nual report to the Gath convention of
the organization.
The failure of the 50th general as
sembly to grant the customary and
expected increase in the state distrib-
utive fund and the veto of the rev.
enue relief bill have greatly handi-
capped the school work in many dis
. tricts in this year OF enormous in
/ crease in prices and in the wages Of
almost everybody except teachers, -
said Mr. Moore. Practically all the
] improvements We teachers advocate
+ involve the problem Of school revenue.
: Therefore. it viii be necessary to OBJ
( tain increased school revenue for Iii
nois, and to do this. those who under
stand the necessity and how TO meet
/ it must educate the general public
to understand the problem and most
| create a public opinion that will be
/ irresistible in its demand for a more
/ liberal support for schools To ac-
| cOmplish this ii will be necessary TO
strengthen and perfect the organiza-
/ ton"
Mr. Moore, who served as legisla-
tive agent for the teachers assoeia-
ton in the last general assembly, said
probably one hundred school bills
would be introduced in the Fifty-frst
! general assembly, although he did not
discuss what lines the legislation
would take
The secretary reported the tota
membership on Dec Is to be 1911, g
gain Of only 152 members since tbs
report last year He attributed the
small increase to the fact that 1871
is an off-legislature year and to the
fact that teachers are inclined to Gu
down expenses in every possible way,
THE enormous increase in the cos
OF living and Of what teachers mus
buy and the infnitesimal increases il
their wages. have made it necessar!
that they eat less, wear less, traye
less and do without many things the!
actually need to promote their growth
, in PROFESSIONAL efficiency" said Sec
rotary Moore
Hugh S. Magill, chairman Of tn
legislative committee. reviewed wha
was accomplished in the Fiftieth gen
erai assembly and named the meas
lures defeated He told of an amend
ment to the teachers pension fun
law which extended the privileges O
the fund to teachers in state char
table institutions and to teachers i
state normal schools
The community high school an
high school act which was declare
unconstitutional by the suprem
court. This curative act, he said. ha
been declared valid by the high couI
which also validated all district
created under the 1911 law and a
taxes levied by such districts.
THE new community high sehot
law" MIR. Magill said, prohibits gel
rymandering In the creation of di:
tricts and makes it imperative ths
the school be organized around a con
munity center" Gerrymandering
take in families who paid large take
it was said, was one Of the defects {
the 1911 law
Some of the measures which faile
Mr.. Magill said. were the anti-frate
nifty bill, vetoed by Governor Low
den, changed and vetoed again; I'll
unit system vocational education bill
and the bill giving districts a right
vote to increase the tax levy for scho
purposes. At present, he said, the ia
limit for school purposes If 3 per cen
The proposed law. which was vetoe
by the governor, would have increase
the levy TO per cent.