The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-21
W|l. .L..iM ]. ANTICS CASH GOES FOR
 TRIVIAL THINGS
Educator Declares More / Money is Spent for Beer
 Than for Schools.

Hartford, Feb. 21-Henry T. Burr, | principal of the Normal school of
 Willimantic, told the members of the
 comittee on education yesterday, at 1 a hearing for the establishment of a | retirement syste for public school | teachers, that Willimantic spent more
 money for beer, candy and chewing
 gum than it did for it's schools. He surprised the committee with the statement that the money spent on chewing gum alone in Willimantic during one year would support the schools. He was one of the score of speakers to appear in favor of the
 bill for state pension system for teachers and made an eloquent plea for the measure. The hearing was
 held in the hall of the House which was comfortably filled. No oppsition
 developed.
 Representative Israel Lupatin of New Haven, the first speaker, told the committee that the teachers of New Haven have a pension system of their own and are satisfied with it.
 He said they would not object to a state pension system so long as it did
 not interfere with the New Haven measure. Corporation Counsel Charles Kleiner of New Haven said that the New Haven teachers had voted to re- quest for an exemption from the state bill and had appointed him to appear before the committee and voice these sentiments. Representative Howard
 w. Taylor of Danbury strongly favor ed the state measure.
 Charles L. Ames, principal of the
 Brown School, represented the teach CTS of Hartford at the hearing He said in previous years the state had
 spent millions for highways and for tunes for other works, including har- Dor Improvements. This, he believed had created a debt in the state and had furnished some reason for hold ing up the passage of the teachers retirement measure. At the present time, he said, the state was in good financial condition and was in a good position to give the teachers of the state a pension system. Every state in New England except Con necticut, he said, had a pension sys- tenn and it was high time for action in this state to recognize the work of the teachers. He made strong plea for state measure and showed the
 committee a map which marked the
 states which have teachers pension systems. Connecticut was one of the few states without the system.
 w. I. Hamilton, a member of the research department of the Massa- chusetts board of education, said the proposed state bill was even better than the existing Bay State measure. He described the Massachusetts act and told the com mittee of the bene- fits which the teachers had derived from it. He said teachers in the service present widely ] different groups of neds to be met and legal provision to meet them must be drawn with the utmost care. He went into details regarding the op- eration of the Massach chusetts measure and impressed his audience with the practicability of the plan.
 MT. Burr, who represented the
 State Teachers association, argued
 that a teacher must live up to de- gently high standard. She must spend
 something from time to time on her
 own improvement. All this at the
 present time, she must do on small salary. MT. Burr said profession which does not take care of it's mem. bers in old age while calling for so much of sacrifice is not undesirable profession. Other occupations are af- iording more opportunities for women and if this fact is not recognized the high class school teachers will be lost.
 'We are confronted at the present moment with a famine of school
 teachers said Mr. Burr. "You know you can't remedy the situation by in creasing salaries because higher sal aries, with their incidental increase in taxes, will not be increased. Now, I do not pretend that the teachers pension system will solve the problem but it offers the cheapest possible way
 of meeting the difficulty.
 .The greater part of the country, l aside from the solid South which is backward educationalJy, is under some sort of pension system"
 MT. Burr then pointed out the weak spots of the average systems of pen sions. He spoke favorably of the
 Massachusetts plan which gives the
 teacher a safe pension. The teachers
 of Connecticut, said Mr. Burr offered
 to pay half of the expenses of the pension The teachers, he said, were asking for pensions as employees of the state and not as a class existing within the state.
 'eeWe spend more for beer. candy and chewing gum in my town than we do for schools said MT. Burr! Il believe the money spent on chewing gum during one year in Willimantic would support the schools"
 Howell Cheney of Manchester,
 manufacturer and member of the state board of education, favored the pension plan but regretted that the system was not based on the insur- ance idea. He said it practically amounted to compulsory savings bank. The teachers. he said, conn pose the major body of civil em- ployes. The committee, he pointed out, had the initiation of state policy which would be welcomed He said if might pave the way for pen ployes.