Evening journal., 1919-11-19
S2l0,O00 DEB7
LEGACY HANGS
over SCHOOLS
.,cor,inued From Page one.l

siged by several men, who were back
ofthe meeting. Governor Townsend
alb was invited. He declined owing
ida business trip which he had ar
raged some time ago, taking him TO
Jicago and further West
Dr.. Prettyman, however. reading from
prepared speech, sneered at the alb
snce Of Governor Townsend and
heered at the presence OF Mr.. dupont.
5oing further he scored Mr. dupont
or coming to Milford, saying he should
Stay in Wilmington and practice his
missionary work there.
"All share in the disappointment
caused by the absence OF the COVER
nor" said DR.. Prettyman, reading from
I his manuscript, "but he found he
couldn't come sneered the presiding
officer "He is away out in Chicago
tonight he continued with appropriate
gestures. But in his place we have
another defender Of the school code
He IS not afraid Although knocked
out earlier In the fight and battered
up he Is on his feet again. lie comes
from Wilmington Wilmington has re-
fused to accept the code He comes
right from the home Of those who
won't have the code, to tell us be-
nighted people what we should do. He
should return to his native city to do
his missionary work. Especially are
the journalists Of his city in need Of
missionary work. OF the hundreds OF
columns printed by the newspapers OF
Wilmington on the code. there is
scarcely paragraph that has not been
a lie. Not satisfied with that, the
school code advocates have imported
newspaper liars from New York 10
help them in their campaign OF de-
famatiOn. We need Mr.. dupont less
than his native city. lie should begin
it home TO educate the people Mr..
1uPOnts motives may be all right when
he gives his mill Ons but q million TO
him is no more than 500 20 you and
me and he has no right TO attempt 10
make us conform 90 his educational
standards than he has to ask US to
conform 20 his social standards. His
heart may be right; his judgment may
be right; but the trouble Is with Mr.
gupOnts head. And II he cOnvinces
YOU tonight that the school code is
right. then I will know that the trouble
70 with your head
After this introduction, Mr.. dupont
took I'D the discussion Of the Code in
a qulet. conversational tone, speaking
from memoranda. His hours talk was
a series Of facts arrayed In answer TO
specific objections % the Code. Be
ginning he laid down the principle that
when people say they are for or
against" the Code they are not speak
ing Of the Code verbatim and literally.
Those who say they are in favor Of
she Code mean they are in favor OF
better education and better schools i'm
Delaware. Those Who say they are
against the Code do not nit3n they are
against better eduGtion. nor do they
mean the Code will not give better
schools and bettg education. they
mean there are sme features Of the
Code they do not fke. No critic Of the
Code has yet sail the Code will not
improve the schools and educational
advantages Of Diaware, and no critic
OF the Code has ret proposed a substi-
tute for the COP.
Beginning sevral years back. Mr..
dupont traced ne development Of edu-
cational reform in Delaware. He said
the main faultNith the old system was
IFS lack Of sistem Before the new
code was enadcd there were nearly 400
separate. unriaied. Independent school
units in Delatare, each having its own
way about Is educational affairs. us
own Siandah Of schools. teachers and
Attendance Y There We're ii6 teachers
and 10 wafh these 4i6 teachers there
were 1856 fhOol commissioners, almost
three TO ateacher. The result was di-
vision ofrespOnsibility and lack Of
nNN
the old Estem was only 90 per cent.
The enrilment OF pupils in Delaware
dropped 100 from 1899 TO 1918. The
state Purchased s22000 Of textbooks in
. 1892. 1T by 1918 the schools were
using hly sil 600 worth-just half. All
these hings clearly showed a decrease !
in NJ effectiveness Of the public /
schot system Of the state under the
old hw. and a decrease Of public in /
teret In the schools.
TIE provisions Of the school code are /
notnew ideas In 1911 the Legislature /
redgnized the schools were poor and |
grhving poorer and took steps to find /
Nat should be done. To the Leg,sla- |
Ne Of 1918 the following suggestions !
yere made by those who had studied /
he situation. ti) The abolition of the !
oca school district. (2l County unit OF
schpl management. (3l Uniform tax
rate with county as unit The sug-
gest)ns were rejected. but the fact
theywere made shows others thought
the bme reforms were necessary as are
embdied in the school code.
Tie backbone Of the school code Is
the fact IL gives uniformity TO the
schols Of Delaware. Children may
moe from one section OF the state TO
anHher and find the same standard OF
schools and studies. schools are not
ba and good by patches or by acci-
dht. This is largely due TO the fact
Ne code gives the state Board Of Edu-
etiOn specific duties-25 OF them-and
ays they must perform these duties.
70 permits no evasion Of responsibility.
And among other things the code says
the State Board "shalr do. is that 1t
shall consult and advise" with the
people.
Taking up the assertion which has
been made over and over by enemies
Of the Code. and which Daniel J. Lay
ton asserted and reasserted in his re-
cent Georgetown speech and defed any
body TO contradict him-the assertion
that the State Commissioner is an auto
crat and Is the whole thing in State
matters, while The State
Board is n0thing-Nr. DUPONT charac-
terized il as absolutely untrue" and
said in deciding upon educational poll
cies for the State the state Commission
er has not word to say He showed