New Britain herald., 1922-10-21

education of large part Of its powe
 and authority by an amendment t'
 the city charter to be proposed to thu
 charter revision committee, This i
 a subject which comes 10 tho fore per
 ennially, which Is discussed usual!
 with a high degree of heat by advo
 cates of the proposition, and ther
 dropped. It is feared, however tha
 chronic enemies of everything tha
 savers of uplift will attempt to gt
 farther this time and will not allow
 the matter to drop Of its own weight
 The public should understand thu situation clearly. Any attempt to re-
 strict the usefulness Of the loca
 school board would not be an attack
 on the board but it,would be an at
 tack on the rank and file of New
 Britain. Whether their powers are
 large or small, members of the board
 have public spirit enough to serve as
 best they can. Loss of authorit,
 would not be their personal loss but it would be . serious blow at every child of school age in New Britain whose parents work in our factories.
 Among the complaints on which op. position to the school board is based is that old and familiar cry, They spend too much money In fact. the money question seems to be the prin- cipal issue of all campaigns against the schools
 The school board does spend large share of the public receipts. Unlike most city departments it cannot show returns in dollars or cents, it cannot point to a stretch of paved roadway, to new electric lights to attractive parks or any other concrete proof that the money was we'll invested. But no intelligent man will deny that the return on the money Is of far great CT value to the community than streets, lights, parks, etc. It Is an Investment in good citizenship and it pays for all time in better manhood and better womanhood. It makes for a better city, a better state and better nation by helping to create a | higher state of civilization.
 Education has proved itself All we have to do to realize the truth of this statement is to look around us and see thousands of people going about their own business, not molest- ing their neighbors They didn't do that when men lived in caves and used clubs, not words, for arguments. Education has been and continues to be the greatest force in the world be- cause it has made possible the crea- NS 1~f f,,l uyhiCh never would have become possible had man not been taught to use his brain constructively
 In a city like New Britain with it's population recruited from the farthest flung borders of the earth, 1t is surprising to hear of anyone sug- gesting a weakening of our educa- tional system. In many eases the mothers and fathers of the growing generation of boys and girls came from countries where education was to be obtained only at the expense of great personal sacrifice. or where 1t could not be obtained at all. They want their children 10 be on q plane intellectually with the other children throughout this broad land and they are justified in wanting if.
 The danger lies in the situation be- ing misrepresented by persons whose only desire is to further their own political ambitions. It would not be the first time this has happened, al- though New Britain has been spared the spectacle of the schools being dragged through the streets to make Roman holiday for office seekers.
 It is always considered clever maneuver to appeal to the~masses and try to stir them up against the classes. With respect to the school situation this has been done here before, the insinuation being that the board of education is clique of West Main streeters' and therefore the poor man doesn't have chance, etc, etc. How nonsensical this is can be de- termined by an analysis of conditions. Instead Of preventing the poor man from having a chance" it is his only. real salvation. Moneyed people would not be seriously inconvenienced if the entire school system broke down to- morrow and every public school was closed to stay closed, because they could afford to send their children to private tutors or private schools fo continue their instructions.
 The public school is boon to the man who works for wages and wants his boys and girls to keep away from that rut. It gives him practically his only opportunity to see them fulfill his ambition. Any attempt to hedge about the board of education with re- strictive regulations. any attempt to place monitor over it's legitimate ex- pense account. any attempt to shear 1t of authority is direct blow at the man the politicians say they want to help, the poor man, because unless his children get an education at ac- tual cost they will grow up to be "poor" men too
 On the face of the present situa- tion an unbiased observer would con- clude that the democrats will find it necessary to put ul. the hardest fight of their lives to elect senator and two representatives next month Their main hope is that the vote for Mayor Paonessa for secretary of state and for their League of Nations" local ticket, will be so heavy that their will be elected. And this is unsafe ground on which to base any hope Of victory. Results may prove the writer to be all wrong, but al the present time it would seem safe to predict that New Britain will be In the senate and house next term by republicans.
 The interest shown by republican voters was reflected on Monday by the manner in which they crowded