Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-11-22

by the utterances of one man, himself
unacquainted with the conditions in the
state, was as unfair as it would have
been to judge the press of Montana by
the utterances of the Butte Bulletin.
"Forewarned by tnis propaganda, the
legislators assembled in Helena fol
action, and, although copies of the min
utes of the convention were placed al
their disposal, many preferred to be.
lieve the false reports and consequent.
ly their actions throughout were an.
tagonistic towards the State Teachers
association.
Holds No Brief for Labor
"The president of this association
was also openly charged as being 6
labor adherent. He. therefore, wishes
emphatically to state that he holds nc
brief either for or against labor inter.
ests; neither does he side with the
merchant, the banker, the farmer. oil
any other single interest He believes
as does 50 per cent of the teachers OF
Montana, that educators should main
tain as neutral an attitude as possible
But this does not imply that teachers
should be Invested Of the right to dis:
cuss social, industrial, and civic prob.
lens from the standpoint of truth anC
any interest they welcome constructive
criticism and ask for sympathetic CO.
operation. They reserve at all times
the right to teach the truth and te
express wrong no matter where it may
be found.
"Still another angle of attack upon
the teachers of the state was discov.
cred. A foreign-born citizen. avowedly
pro- German before Americas entrance
into the war, proposed an oath of 10y.
atty for teachers. The speaker sub
mits that such an act betrayed an
ignorance of the foundations of the
life giving spirit of American institu-
lions and the factors contributing to
their successful growth. Such a per-
son truly needs re-baptism of Amer
lean ideals, in order to understand that
the American schools, manned by
American teachers, have been the great
est single factor contributing to the
success of our national institutions.
When the call came the response OF
citizens trained by them and the atti-
tude of the teachers throughout the
country are the best testimonials OF
the efficiency of their work.
''The fact that the teachers dared to
discuss finance constitutes another
grievance. lUht tchSHrlo sAouIo h0A Y
to look into methods Of taxation came
as a shock to certain interests. Teach
ers, they argue, have no right to dis
cuss taxation because they do not pay
taxes. Now it is a self evident fact
that taxes are paid from profits on
production and the paraphernalia and
processes necessary to get the products
to the consumer. Without consumption
he d7Ynf
and little need OF taxation. No one
denies that the teachers are good con-
sumers and as such, contribute their
share Of the taxes. even though indi-
rectly.
Teachers Train for Citizenship
s'Since the life of the school depends
on taxation, and the teacher is life
giving source of the school, why
shouldn't the teachers discuss taxa
ton? The teachers are citizens and
endeavor to train for citizenship. Who
has greater right to be interested?
BY what right do other classes arrogate
to themselves alone the privilege of
discussing and of legislating for that
to which all consumers contribute?
How do they square this idea with
democratic government?
Economic history SHOWS that large
majority of economic reforms have been
worked out by teachers. Twenty-Five
per cent are property owners. The
arguments produced to shut out teach
ers from discussing taxation would de-
bar laborers, large numbers of women,
many professional men, tenant farmers
and many business interests. Because
of unequal taxation, made possible part
ly by constitutional provisions, long
since out of date, the property holders
are excessively burdened
'Yet In face of this inequality our
legislators enacted law de-
priving large numbers of people Of the
right Of suffering in certain educational
matters, and emphasizing still more the
idea Of a property tax in place of trying
to construct a taxation law that will
reach all citizens regardless of property
holding. Such craftsmanship out
generals for stupidity even his late