Milford chronicle., 1920-03-19
SUSSEX FACTION WOULD WIPE
OUT THE new SCHOOL Law
Landreth L. Layton and Daniel Layton nveigh Against
School Code at Georgetown Meeting. With Sussex
Legislators Present Former Refers to
GOVERNOR JOHN C. TOWNSEND ASIAN OUTSIDER
Don't Want State Money Used Lower School Tax. E. j.
Winder Made Strong Plea for Code.


some school legislation for Delaware
by people from Delaware. We have
a Governor from Maryland. State
Commissioner Spaid from Maryland
Rev. Odell is from New York, DR..
Cooper is from anywhere. Don't take
a thing or accept a suggestion from
that element. Don't accept any
amendments to the School Code which
they propose. Avoid them as a rat
tlesnake."
Such was the closing admonitiOn of
Landreth L. Layton, chairman of
mass meeting held in the George
town court room, Tuesday afternoon,
to the crowd which had been listening
for nearly two hours to a terrific at
tack launched on the School Code,
and an appeal that the Sussex county
members of the General Assembly re-
ject any amendments offered to the
code by the State Board of Education
in the coming special session, and re-
ject the proposed plan Of increasing
State aid for the local schools in order
to keep down local taxes.
Either vitality amend the code this
special session, or, better yet, do moth
ing at all and kill it in the regular
session next January was the advice
offered and urged upon the crowd and
Sussex members of the General As
sembly by Landreth Layton and Daniel
]. Layton, the moving spirits of the
meeting. Daniel ]. Layton in closing
a lengthy attack upon the Code and
those behind it and supporting it,
said:
These men (pointing to the Sussex
county members of the General As
sembly who were present) are your
epresentatives-yet, l don't know
how long they will be. The School
code is not democratic, but thank
God, we will have a Legislature for at
least one more year. But if you peO-
pie don't stop this work which DR..
Odell and DR.. Cooper and two or three
others and their powerful hackers are
doing, your Legislature will be abol-
ished and a committee will be appoint
ed by these influences to make your
laws. Only one buffer stands between /
you, and God knows what in the way
of autOcratic government; that buffer
is the special session. Use it to re- /
buke the influence behind the School 7
Code If you don't wake up and fight, .
you will wake up and find your State .
run entirely by outsiders and money
ed men in the upper part of the State.
''The State Board of Education will
be on hand at Dover at the coming
special session with a lot of amend
ments to the school code, telling you
they are just the thing and if they are
made you can all go home and every
thing will be all right. Don't believe
hem. Their amendments will be harm
ess and meaningless; they will if
adopted, do no greater harm than the
present code and they will do no good.
The fair and proper thing to do is turn
hem all down and stand resolutely
against appropriating any more mon
~ to bolster up the school code. Let
he school code stand as it is until
leXt year and then the people will
zee what a failure it is, how undemo-
ratio it is, what a burden it is on the
Door man, and they will wipe it out.
"Only a few wealthy people are
behind the school code. 1t is not the
peoples law, because it increases his
,urdens and gives him nothing in re-
urn. Now is the time for the poor
nan to have his say. Make your rep
in the General Assembly
Oe the mark in the coming special
ession. Make them represent you,
nd not the Service Citizens anda few {
ich men and outsiders up the State. Z
DON'T give these legislators a change
o duck or dodge or evade. Don't let {
hem come back home, and say oh,
veil we got up there at Dover and
hose fellows said, This viii be all Z
light and that will be all right and
ge thought they knew and we did as
hey told us Now is the time to make S
hese school authorities and others t
top buying land and selecting expen t
i've school sites and contracting mil c
ons of dollars of debts for you and a
our children to pay. o
Above all, don't go to Dover and p
Ote for any transfer of funds from d
ny general fund to the school fund n
/ order to help the school code h
rowd cover up the sins and total fail 4
re vi the scii0Gi code and nernetuate
until it has been fastened upon you r
} hard and fast that you can never
lrow it off"
That these remarks of Daniel ].
ayton reflected the sentiment of the F
majority of those pres N
It was evidenced by the uproarious N
)pluase which he received, inter- W
ingled with shouts of that's the 81
uff" Earlier in his remarks Daniel fe
Layton said: OIL
This special session of the General W
ssembly has been called because the d
.hool Code has proved a miserable re
lure and is unwoTkable, and those
hind it know the fact can not long NJ
be concealed, and something des
rate must be done and done at once.
lat is the only reason and the sole
ason of the special sessions being ar
He'd. The question of woman's suf- ev
lge has nothing to do with it. of
"The reason The School Code is a ma
lure is because it was written and ar
being operated by two kinds of in
Ople. First, idealists, who have no an
actical knowledge. Second, by men an
10 worship the Almighty dollar and ed
srefore worship Mr.. dupont He en-
ans well but he knows nothing, abb
utely nothing, about the needs of
, common people or about schools.
said, IF you will write a School
de to suit me l will give you $2,t tn
1000. That is not the way to get da
ID school laws" ct,
IN the course of his speech, Mr.. a.
yton went over the same old objec- he
rs to the School Code that he made mi
his frequent speeches against the sol
de, last winter, although he was
lreciably more bitter and uncom- ct
,mising in his manner than former "
He still insists there must be a
lnge in the State Board of Educa- no
d the State Commissioner of Edu- nm
ion, radical revision of the pow- III,
Of the county superintendent and rel
eduction Of their salaries, and l9
Continued on page four) Gu