Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-12-26
STATEWIDE ACTIVITY
IN TEACHER CAMPAIGN
Public Officials and Prominent
Men and Women Endorse
Movement for Higher
Salaries.

Men and women alive to the dan
ger threatening the public schools Of
New Jersey are working along with
school teachers from Sussex to Cape
May at the task of %rousing the public
to the need of increased teachers
salaries in order to prevent the closing
Of schools.
In almost every county, city and
town, teachers organizations have
been formed, and committees are at
work making up tentative schedules
which will provide uniform salary In
creases based on population, as 1t is
desired to have approximately the
same salary schedule for all cities of
the same approximate size, so as to
avoid inter-city competition.
Prominent men and women who are
not teachers are forming a strong
state organization, and many of these
are making speeches endorsing the
School and Teacher Campaign move
ment. State officials, including Cover
nor William N. Runyon, have issued
statements calling attention to he ne
cessity' for prompt action to meet the
crisis and prevent a breakdown of the
public school system. Among the men
who have volunteered to assist the
teachers in the campaign are Thomas
McCran, Of Paterson, Attorney General
of New Jersey Willard |. Hamilton,
vice-president of the Prudential Life
Insurance Company L. L. Woodward,
president Of the Trenton Chamber of
Commerce; H. r. Van Saun, of Gran
ford; Lincoln E. Rowley, City Clerk
of East Orange; f. L. Driver, of the
Driver-Harris Company, Harrison, and
Alfred Borden, Of Short Hills.
The results of these activities are
encouraging. In many cities substantial
salary advances have already peer ap-
proved by the Boards of Education,
while other boards are comforting with
teachers committees with q view to
granting adequate increases.
At a mass meeting of Newark teach
ers plans were made for an intensive
lOCdl campaign lOL
salaries. The Newark teachers decid-
ed to have one hundred prominent resi-
dents who publicly sponsor the cause
to act as a cooperation committee"
in spreading the appeal broadcast.
Alexander ]. Glennie, principal of
Hamilton school, addressed the meet
ing, saying:
"Other industries are successfully
competing for help and if we don't
put our proposition before the people,
the public school system will go down.
We don't want bonuses; we want a
%revaluation of the teaching profession
which has never been properly valued.
It is not so much of primary impor-
lance to the teachers that this re-
valuation be made, but to the people,"
M. g. Leonard, of the Dickinson
High School, Jersey City, said:
"There is no better way Of making
Bolshevists out of the next generation
hal to put in a lot of cheap sub
stitute teachers"
The Newark teachers each agreed
to hold at least ten interviews with
citizens in the next ten days in order
to a%cquaint the latter with the aims
of the educational betterment move
ment.
The teachers Of Jersey City went
before the Board of Education with a
request for a general increase of forty
per cent. j. ]. Hopkins, principal Of
the Dickinson High School, chairman
of the executive committee Of the
School and Teacher Campaign, told
the board that the movement embraces
more than mere salary increases. He
pointed out that the keynote Of the
entire campaign was one of co-Opera-
ton. There is to be no attempt to
arouse a~ntagonism, he said, and when
the people are acquainted with the
facts, the teachers will be willing to
submit their salary ideas and abide by
the result.
Committees have also taken up the
school problem with boards Of educa-
ton in Paterson, Hoboken, Atlantic
City, Elizabeth, Trenton, Plainfield,
Gloucester, Camden and Passaic.
The Paterson Board of Education
decided to form a conference commit
tee consisting of teachers, citizens and
board members to work out a
thoroughly adequate schedule which
would meet with no opposition.