The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-02-20

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON
SCHOOLS
Before another two years undoubt-
edly, through the act of the state leg
islature or of congress, American
women will have been granted the
right Of suffrage, and it is but natural
that women should be scanning with
greater interest the state and national
problems being threshed out in these
two bodies. The most enlightened ma
tions have granted this right to the
half of their populations that has not
heretofore been granted a voice in
governments affairs, but so far, in
the countries where the women have
already had chance to express
themselves at the polls no great
change has come of it. The
same, is true in this country in
polls no great change has come Of it.
state and municipal elections, although
undoubtedly their influence has been
felt for the better in purely local mat
ters the details with which we are not
familiar.
In this state under the guidance of
the nonpartisan league-or, more
properly speaking, Of the leadership
of the league, because practically
none of the details of the measures
before the legislature were known to
the rank and file of the party before
the introduction of the bills in the
league caucus-a complete revolution
in many matters is about to take
place, for there is little doubt of the
passage of the bills. Among these
measures that particularly call for the
close scrutiny of the women of the
state is the overturning of the public
school system, no intimation Of which
had been given the public prior to the
failure of Neil Macdonald to defeat
the will of the voters by preventing
Miss Nelson from assuming her Of
flee as state. superintendent of in
struction.
Under this measure supervision of
the common schools as we'll as the in
stitutions Of higher education, is to
be taken away from the duly elected
state and county superintendent and
placed in the hands of three men to be
named by the governor, thus central
izing the whole educational admins
tration in the state and under the di-
rection Of persons whom the voters
would perhaps never dream of placing
in so responsible and vital position
if the choice were left to them, as it
should be. The bill practically strips
from the people all voice in school
matters save as it may be reflected
through the governor, who may or
may not have the ability to choose
wisely in such an important matter,
as it leaves the county superintendent
without power and absolutely subject
to the will Of the state commission,
even to the selection of her own office
force. The bill also gives the state
commission the power to originate
and print it's own text books, and this
with the we'll known socialistic, it not
Bolshevist tendencies of those ir
power, is far from reassuring to those
who abhor such tenchings and fear
the school will be made field for pro.
paganda foreign to American repub
i Elicanism. The plan also takes from
the women all voice in school affairs
No one will deny the right of the
: majority to rule. That is funda
mental of our form Of government
But that right is based on the pre-
sumption that the people know in ad-
vance the basic things for which thei,
candidates for office stand before, the
! balloting is done. The farmers Of
the state have chosen to take the
! reigns of government into their owr
hands to the exclusion Of every othei
) interest on a platform for state owned
utilities, but so many additions tt
this platform have been sprung or
: the legislature by theorists and mer
of questionable character, and embrac
) ing, like the overturning of the schoo
!, system, so many issues Of which none
dreamed at the time he or she voted
that some doubt exists if everything
/ now proposed would have been approx
: ed last November.
Every individual whose vote made
up the great majority given Miss
Nelson at the election last fall is be-
ing as ruthlessly slapped in the face
as the members of the legislature are
being threatened and dragooned be.
cause they hesitate to thwart the
' peoples will. Failure to put this
+ measure over carries with it danger
: Eof losing other measures, so every
TlSUG VI d lTcc llldll dIlu VI d 2SSlSAd'
tor is being trampled upon in order
E that all these secret proposals may be
j, fixed in law before the people have
5 opportunity to study them.
II Never before in the history of the
| state have there been so many issues
e of vital interest to women before 8
legislative session. Not only are the
public schools have always
E been conceded to be matter of pc.
culiar interest to mothers -endanger.
ed by the new commission bill, but the
, property rights Of many women are
r vitally effected by pending legislation
Homes are at stake and the savings
of years that these little properties
represent may be swept into the NAV
of the state government to swell the
millions in cash and bonds to be ap.
!, piled to carrying out the visions OF
, idealists notorious for their financial
failures here and elsewhere.
There is much in the worlds new