Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-03
DANIELsoN AND PUTNAM NEWS
PUTNAM

FC NAM
 :. Substantial wage increases for all l teachers in Puthana's seaoois, and compulsory military training for tho 1 boys at the high school, we're Rh- i endorsements made relative to iff14 portant decisions made public Tues- day by the town school committee.
 The wage increases for the teach CTS were decided upon following a pe- tition from the teachers in which more money was asked. The petition was signed by members of the high school faculty.
 The town school committee gave careful and lengthy consideration to tioral compensation and finally aflari-1 mousiy decided that the request should be granted.
 The superintendent of schools. the principal of the high school and the sub-fnastef at the high school are to receive advarces at the rate Of S250 per year. The high school teachers are to be given increases of 15 per cent. over their present salaries and the teachers in the common, or graded, schools of the town are to receive an
 increase of 10 per cent. in their sal aries. All of these increases are to he effective from December 1 of this year.
 A member of the school committee
 stated Tuesday afternoon that the or
 ganization, after carefully considering
 the question from every angie. hala
 decided that the teachers must be
 given an increase unless the commit
 tee desired to assume the risk of hay- ing it's efficient teaching organization
 broken up through teachers leaving
 to accept more money for teaching in other towns. Teachers were con- stantly receiving such offers this com mitteeman said, and the slender hold that any school committee has on it's teaching staff did not warrant deny ing them an advance to which it seems they are justly entitled.
 The teachers set forth in their pe- tition that the cost of living at it's best estimate Is conelusively proven l by statisticians to have increased since 1914 by 103 per cent, whereas the teachers of five years experience I in Putnam High school have had in- creases of salary amounting to ap- proximately 2s per cent. and thereby have lost about "A per cent. in the purchasing value of their money.
 | The teachers further pointed out | that while not single teacher shows an increase in salary in so far as pur- chasing power is concerned. there Is also to be considered that no ir- creases have been allowed op the basis of experience, and therefore greater value to the town goes unrecognized. 1 The salary increases just authorized by the town school 'ctntnittee will ad- 1 just the compensation question for at least year it is hoped, it was stated on Tuesday by one of the members of
 the school board.
 | The committee has also decided to 1 introduce military training for the boys at Putnam High school and to make this part of the course eompul- sofS This is in line with what is be- ing done in some of the colleges and tnany of the finest high schools of the l United States. It has been generally established that this training vii make for the deyelopfnent of the. boys physically, will add to their alertness maf1liness aiid courtesy and will in spire them with additional patriotism as well as making them a greater as set to their country in time of need 1 The military training will be intro 1 duced as a regular part of the higf
 school work at the beginning of tht winter term, and the military instruc ton will be under the direction 0
 Principal Snow. -
 ' 4 Naples despatch that was of 1o
 cal interest Tuesday referred to tn illness in that Italian city of Prime Alfonso of BtagaIiza. Duke of Oportt
 and stated that his wife. who wa formerly Mrs. Nevada Van Valken burg, of New York and PoIf1fret. wa i at his bedside. "
 It was iii the superior court in thi city in February, 1914, that Mrs. Va Valkenburg received decree of di ! 1 vorce from her husband, Philip Va Z vaikefbtirg, of New York. The coup ,. were married in Greenwich, this stat . in November, 1903, and. the plainti | alleged in her complaint filed her i that Van valkenburg, an attorney. d. 0 serted her in January. 1910. In h t answer, Van valkenburg denied u e desertion charge of his handsome wi e and prepared for an appearance = contest her suit for divorce, but jul s. ] before the case came to trial, appea e lance in his behalf was withdrawn. 1 . the time they were married Van Va . kenzurg was 55 years of age and Mir # Van kalkenburg. who was the wife
 William Hayes Chapman, who dit | in 1907. was 52,
 II Carl T. Kent of this city has bee ,f invited to appear in Rhode sland n Friday as witness in the inyestig if tion to take place at that time relt Is tive to the fatal accident that occg le red last Saturday on the Putnar i'd Chepachet pike. few miles east It this city, in which Mir. and Mrs. M. D. Mellor of Plainfeld, N. J.. lost the l. lives.
 Mr. Kent was the first man to req al the site of the accident. His arffv l. was within five minutes after the O J. currence. Mir. Kent found two b of trucks stopped and the wrecked tou B. ing car. in which were the bodies le MT. and Mrs. Mellof, who had died i ar stantly upon their car being in colli ic ion with one of the trucks. MT. Kel 1t who was en route to Providence, co n cred up the bodies, which were in t