The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-16
HOT FIGHT OVER
SCHOOL BILLS
SteaTns Forces Clash with
Supporters of State
Board
BAILEY PAYS
THOMAS TRIBUTE

And He Defends Plan to Establish Cen
trail Teachers College Mason >.
Stone, Miss Florence WelIman and
! others Oppose Stearns Bill.
! MONTPELIER. Feb. 16.-With the
hotise and galleries packed as for a gov
cInor; inaugural, the proponents of the
Stearns normal school bill (H-9S) and
the board of education bill (S-44) rang
the changes on the educational problems
of Vermont last night before the house
and senate committees. Senator Bryant
Of Windsor county presiding.
! In addition to his own spectacular
speech i'm behalf of his own bill, Mr..
Stearns sprung a surprise on his oppon-
y entS by introducing Miss Helen Winslow
of Boston, authoress and native Of West
field, who made Il moving appeal for the
normal schools as instruments of rural
culture and giving poor girls from back
towns an opportunity for an education.
/ President Guy w. Bailey of the Uni
versity. Of Vermont also scored heavily by
pretacing his argument with warm
tribute to John NJ. Thomas of Middlebury
/ college. soon to leave the state to become
head Of the state university i'll Pennsylva-
MIA.
/ Il do not intend to enter into any UNI
( H''tllllA Controversy Win ~. ibilittHs
said President Bailey. apparently he is
a much disturbed about the obvious trend
of educational IHatters. but he Is about to
leave Vermont after years of Invaluable
service to his alma mater and the state,
and | take this occasion to join with his
many friends in extending most kindly
Fluctuations. not only because of his Is
years of service in Vermont in many fields
4 Of cndcayor. but also because of the con
elusive recognition which has come to him
hHayf for
state.
I The applause that followed showed that
the audience at least appreciated the
splendid craftsmanship of the tribute,
coming after the scathing arrangement
which DR.. Thomas gave the University of
Vermont last week.
! Miss WinSlow. who has not forgotten
tie Wcsttield directncsS of speech and the
dry wit If the native Ncrm0nter told of
her interest in the Johnson normal school.
her long journey here to argue for its con
tinUaton.
+ If it hadn't been for the Johnson nor
NAL school" said Miss Wnslow. which
! gave uS poor girls a chance to get an cdu
cation without going to the big cities.
J d. Mt know how we would ever got one.
( | know that whatever success | may have
had owes much To the grounding | got in
Johnson. Women that | talk with in
/ Boston ask ne: What is Vermont think
/ ing Of to discontinue her normal schools: =
4 " nat crazy llCs mas ' tEulbuI got now
| beg of You to give the poor girls Of
| kerment the Opportunity to get an edu-
cation within the reach Of their purses.
80 they viii be willing to go back to the
small towns and raise the standard of liv-
ing in Vermont
Miss WinSlow told of the general ac-
QUESTION of the farms in Westfield by
French Canadians. many of whom cannot
read and write. but who are willing toI
let the children go to school and get an
7 II
coming into the Johnson normal school
and then going back to do a most impor
taUt and patriotic work of Amcricaniza-
/ ton among their people.
Like Mr.. Stcarns she paid her respects
| t. DR. HillegaS late commissioner of ctlu-
cation. Il didn't believe all he said de
clared Miss WinSlow. and he knew It'll
before" Laughter and applause followed
/ this skit. The speaker stressed the value
| of the normal schools in teaching the
/ fundamentals of reading and writing and
arithmetic and training the teachers to|
20 back into the little towns and teach
! the children the same.
| Mr. Stearns opened his big guns on the
| late commissioner, DIR. lIillegaS, whom he
accused of deliberate double dealing in
killing off the normal schools. He told
! of conversations i'm which he alleged lille
gas has promised to continue the normal
! schools. Then, when the appropriation
! bill was filed in 1919. he accused the doc
! tor of leaving out the provisions in the
+ bill which gave the schools the breath of
. life. 1t will be a sorry day for Yer
! mont. said the speaker. "when we let this
: white elephant Of a teachers college into
/ the big tent at Burlington"
\ President Bailey was warmly received
when he rose to defend the University of
Il Vermont. He cited many important facts
about its service to Vermont and referred
to the establishment of a chair Of peda-
gogy in 1907. He disclaimed any lobby
ing IN behalf of the bill for Il state teach
erS college and told briefly the offer of
the Carnegie foundation To make the state
present of $4,000 for teachers col
lcgc.. provided site were provided and
an additional 100000 raised by subscrip-
ttion. One gift Of $1,000 has already
been pledged without solicitation. de-
clarod President Bailey.
L lie declared that he did not believe the
Carnegie foundation was trying TO wreck
the educational system of the state. He
also analyzed in detail the so-callcd
StcarnS bill. which he declared ought to
be amended in at least 10 particulars be-
fore it would be workable
/ lie closed with a moderate and brief
statement of what the University of Yer
mont was doing for Vermont boys and
girls. citing the fact that out of $50 stu
dents at L. V NJ. 726 are from Vermont
He pleaded for the proposed college as
purely Vermont institution. calculated to
aid the work which the university was do
ing for the state. Hearty applause fol-
lowed Mr.. BailcyS address.
4 Mason ). Stone. former lieutenant gov.
, ernor and commissioner of education
whose name had been frequently injected
+ into the discussions, followed with a char
acteristic speech. which was very favor
ably received and frequently interrupted
/ by-applause. He defended the present
Il Notwithstanding system and said that if
\ the StearnS bill were enacted into law it
i would practically close every training
i class in Vermont. He referred to the low
grade of normal school graduates and de-
Il clared that they were already having
i trouble IN getting certificates to teach in
other states, adding that the vacancies in
the teaching stats of rural schools were
/ being very largely filled from graduates
of the training classes. lie favored a cen
!! trail college in a city like Burlington
| where there are plenty Of good schools for
1 practice work and which. with its extern