The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1919-09-26
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published the fact that the school
route west Of Froid had been award
edsto Mr.. Strand at $500 per month.
I sumbitted4a bid at 5000 and wish
to ak the school board to please
state publicly why they turned me
down who has driven this route for
r. number Of years and gave it to a
higher priced man? 1have an abund-
sanAe offgood horses and feed to
handle this job, am as competent q
driver as Mr.. Strand, had four child
rem on the route so was personally in
terested in safety to all, and my bid
was rs per month lower. have paid
school taxes here for Is years, my
school tax last year being $4,000 and
will probably be higher this? How
much has Mr.. Strand paid to schools ?
l have driven this route when it was
two or three times as long as now,
taking in every child Of school age
west Of town. l furnished my own
covered rig, stove, robes, etc., and
got $4,000 per month, doing this work
at loss to myself for the sake of
getting these children to school. When
l asked raise of wages, I was told
there were no available funds so con-
tinued to drive at the same prices as
the board could find no one else to
take the job. Last winter / rented a
house in town for my children and
there was no school bus run, q num-
Der Of children not getting to school.
Last spring again took this job
at $50 per month 1.-THE price paid at
Homestead) but told the board plain
ly could not handle it myself dur
ing spring work, nor could afford
to hire a man, at $500 a month (the
going wage last spring) and furnish
my own rig for this sum; but would
put on a good, fast gentle team with
Marion as driver as my children were
going to school at any rate. And let
me say here, Marion can and has
handled two, four or six horse team
better than most Of the men in these
parts. Marion drove the remainder
Of tho term, apparently satisfactorily.
Now I understand. I was turned down
because some others on the line pro-
tested against giving me the job.
Why7 M
l drove when 40 degrees below zero
and not a child ever had frozen
finger or toe in the bunch, nor could
they point to single instance where
a child had been injured in any way,
while riding in my rig: Then why
protest. ~: Because some Of th9m
wanted to land the Job for their rela-
tives and friends Of their own rela-
tionship now that the route was
shorter and price higher. There are
"A children school age on this route
as proposed: five Of them are Bakers
and four mine. making nine of the
fourteen. Am l not as vitality inter-
ested in my children as they are in
theirs? If the outfit was safe for
mine, was it not safe for theirs? Why
did they not submit bids if dissatis-
fed. =
Why did the school board let these
httle*kaisers tell them what to do?
Could they not use their own judy
ment or what are they there for? If
they are to be dominated by few
disinterested parties why call for
sealed bids at all as any one whom
these autocrats do not approve of
will be beaten before he starts. When
there were only two going to school
from this road, Marion drove and
took Nora Mogan to school for up
wards of two years, free Of charge,
Mr.. Mogan never having taken them
once that I can remember. The rig
was safe. then. She has since taken
Ella Rued for upwards Of one year
and at one time was given the NUM-
ficent sum of $500 for her services.
We did not want pay from them but
thought they would have appreciated
it enough to at least keep out as they
did not submit bids or care to handle
the route themselves. Mr.. Mogan has
now no children of school age. Mr..
Knutson has no children Of school
age. These gentlemen should have
had no say whatever. Mr.. Knute
Thompson has two Of school age and
Mr.. Rued three, a small minority Of
those going. Mr.. Baker and I stayed
home and let the board use their own