The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-07-12
COUNTY SCHOOL NOTES

st. Francois county will be repre-
scented at the Boys State Fair School
this year by Yount Cashion, a son of
p. A. Cashion of near Libertyville.
This school is held each year at Soda
State Fair, which is to be held this
year on August 10-17 Each county
is allowed to send one representative,
chosen at a competitive examination
in arithmetic, geography and agricul-
ture and an essay on some subject of
current interest each year. The State
Fair Board pays all expenses and fur.
nishes comfortable quarters in the
Boys Camp. The meals are prepared
and served in the Woman's Building
by the faculty of the Domestic Science
Department of one of the State Nor
NAL Schools. This is a splendid op.
portunity for the boys, not only to see
the greatest fair of the Middle West,
but to become acquainted with its
great resources and to form friends
among the hundreds of the best
young men of the State and to learn
from the best instructors that the
State affords, who are employed o
give lectures and demonstrations to
the young men of the school during
the week in which the school is held.
An actual investigation based up
on accurate statistics really shows
that although few Missouri teach
ers save a small amount of money
that great majority of them lose
larger amount. The conclusion that
is forced upon US by these statistics,
no matter how we may arrange them,
is that the present salaries paid TO
our school teachers in Missouri is too
small for them to live. The modal ex-
pense is but $500, yet over 81 per
cent of them necessarily have to look
elsewhere for part Of their living.
When such conditions exist in the
business world, society forces the par
ticular business which does not pay its
employees a living wage to increase
the pay or go out of existence. Some
States have recognized the justice of
this principle by enacting minimum
wage laws. The same principle ap-
plies with even more force to the
teaching profession. The school
teachers save each generation from
barbarism, yet for this invaluable SER
vice these teachers are not even paid
living wage, much less one on which
they might prosper. 80
1t lis universally recognized prin-
ciple that, other things being equal,
people will do that thing for which
they can receive the greatest value.
Even now, teachers of ability are tax
ing civil service examinations and en-
tering the service of the government,
and turning their attention to other
lines of industry where they can
make decent living and perhaps save
some money worth mentioning. If
this condition of affairs is allowed to
continue even another year, the edu.
cation of our children will be left to
those who are incompetent to earn ev-
en- part of living any other way,
and are therefore unfit to be the in
structors Of the rising generation.
Many other sound arguments for
the increase of the wages paid to
school teachers might be advanced.
But the very sufficient argument is
the fact that these statistics d, show
that the present salaries do, not meet
the living expenses Of teachers as a
whole, and indicate very definitely,
with even mathematical precision,
that the minimum salary should be
$3.50 per year. The modal salary
should of course be much higher than
that.