Evening journal., 1919-11-12
P.S. DU PONT GIVES.
FACTS AS TO code.
Work for Good Education,
He Urges Chamber of
Commerce
BETTER SCHOOLS UP
TO PEOPLE, HE SAYS

Members Of The Chamber Of Com
merce commented enthusiastically to-
day upon The address on the new
school Code delivered by Pierre :. du-
Poni, vice president Of The state Board
OF Education. at the weekly luncheon
Of the Chamber. yesterday afternoon
in the duBarry room OF the hoiel
dupont. u was agreed Mr.. dupont had
, prolted much by his speaking lDur
down the state and had attained plgh
/ proficiency as an exponent OF a most
/ important question.
Mr. dupont made no attempt what
ever AT rhetorical effect, but relied en-
iirely upon facts and force Of logic and
reasoning 20 make his talk convincing.
| Evidently he succeeded. for his audit
0rs. at the close Of his address, no.
only gave him the customary rising
vote Of thanks. but continued to STAND
and TO applaud for several minutes. .
Another noticeable feature OF Mr..
| dupOnl's address was the almost enlie
! elimination of0the FIRST personal pro
noun. lie effaced his own part IN the
upbuilding Of the Slate school system
almos. entirely, and only about twice
did the ~ appear Both these ofca-
solns were when he described a visit
90 school building which were so lily
conditioned and equipped as 10 ein-
phasize Of their OWnselves the urgent
need Of improvements.
Mr.. dupont cited some Of the argu-
ments which have been raised IN oppo-
sltion 20 the Code. one OF these-thot
OF enforced attcndance-he met by Civ
ing some figures he had just received
from the State Commissioner Of kdu-
cation showing that for September and
October the average attendance In the
schools OF the state outside Of VIII
mington had been about 30 per cent.
This compares very fayorably with the
average Of other states. Heretofore
the average attendance in Delaware has
been at times as low as Sc per cent
"Of cGVrse." said Mr.. dupont, this
favorable average Of attendance covers
only two fan months. We shall have to
wait 10 see the effect Of the Code In
the spring months. II is only reason
able. however, 10 allow that there VIII
be a yearly attendance OF s. per cent.
Therefore. II this be so. IL is unreason-
able TO deprive that s. per cent OF the
greatest opportunities FOR education
because there are - per cent. who can
not or do not attend school.
Mr.. dupont admitted that the taxes
would be higher this year Iran last,
but he added that there was one great
satisfaction. I'VE know at any rate
| this year" he said, exactly how much
money will be devoted 10 the schools
beforehand" Then he added: we do
not know yet how much was spent last
year"
Mr.. dupont showed further that the
average pay OF teachers last year was
only sii3. or One-third The average pay
OF a day laborer. The sum Of 100000
will be spent on the schools for 1919.
For 1918 the sum was S5S3,OOO. or this
years fund $4,000 will 60 for teach
ers' salaries and sl0S,OO0 for general ex-
penses, Of which about one-third Is for
! janitor services.
out OF the entire expense the code IT.
self is responsible for only $4,000
more than that which would have
been necessary under the laws which
the code has combined and correlated.
This sum IS for administration.
As 10 text books. Mr.. dupont said
last years bill Of $4,000 still was un-
paid. "And yet" he continued. 1--WE
| found many schools absolutely bare OF
books. We spent $4,000 this year be-
cause without books the children can
not study"
1--WE have been woeiully behind as a
state in paying our debts" he contin-
ued. "The new budget. however, makes
/ it mandatory that we pay our bills.
Thus our credit will be established as
| 70 should be-"
The speaker said: "The main issued
lis: DO we want good education. The
decision must be made in the next
/ six months. Work must begin at once
/ The people must decide what they want
done. The state will have 10 hold back
the district boards, II anything. be-
cause public sentiment evidently wants
good buildings and equipment, and bet
| ter teaching Reports now indicate that
/ the cost Of rebuilding and restoring the
schools Of all the districts will amount
/ to S7.5OO.OOO. A bond issued viii pro-
vide for IT, II the people want It,"
Mr.. dupont estimated that education
in the state will cost approximately
SIS to $50 per child per year. The
debt for bonds would be only SIP per
child. per year.
Naturally. this VIII tend 10 increase
taxes" said Mr.. dupont, but ! am con-
ndent the increase in property and as
! sessments will be sufficient 20 meet the
extra cost by the time the burden is
reached.
/ Arc ,ve going IN 60 backVard2 We
/ are going backward now and have been.
I The enrolment in the schools OF the
state should be $1,000 II was only $1,000
/ last year. What about the 1000 pupils
who did not go 10 school?'
Partly as a result Of war conditions
and partly because Of the poor facili-
lies provided. Mr.. dupont said IL was
extremely difficult in some districts 10
get the children 20 attend at all any
more. In one high school he found only
| Two classrOOms. Each room had one
large window. so high the pupils could
not see out Of It, and one small window
Rough boards served as desks in some
schools.
.This is not Onc-man job" dc
clared Mr.. dupont, nor a job for the
state Board Of Education II is a job
for the whole people. We Of the state
Board hold ourselves as servants, not
masters, and we are going ahead until
we are called of. 10 is for everybody
TO decide the situation
Addressing the members OF the
/ Chamber directly, Mr.. DUPONT con
cluded:
1T is just as, much your duty TO