The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-12-07
OF INTEREST TO
SCHOOL PEOPLE
County Supt. Crone States
Purpose of Compulsory Ed
ucational Law and Why 1t
Must Be Enforced.

If the RAYMOND vicinity, wish the
Prhlic to know that, regardless OF
tbe verdict in the A. E. Aldrich Case,
we stand souarely behind our County
Superintendent of Schools, Emma
Crone and our County Attorney, A.
p Erickson, in their endeavor to en-
force the Compulsory Education Law
in our school district.
Bernard Void, trustee; j. w.
Brown. trustee; Chas. Westphal, clerk
Of School Board, Henry A. Hill, Elsie
Hill Mrs. w. M. RAIDER, Mrs. +. II.
Wendt F. H. Wendt, Mrs. A. j. Mar
nuson. Emil A. SENEGAL, Mrs. J. A.
Stewart. Mrs. H. S. Jordan, IL. 5.
Jordan, J. A. Stewart. J. Schikursld,
Mrs. Schikurski, Mrs. E. w. Black,
70. w. Black, VIM. RAIDER, Anna Syme,
Mrs. Harry Holland, Harry Holland,
7 RAYMOND, Mrs. E. w. Hannah. i.
w. Hannah, A. A Rio, Mrs. A. A
Ric Mrs II. =. Fraley, Oscar Mat
son Amanda Mat5on, Emil Severso1,
Edna Nichols, Mrs Joseph Brown.
Mrs. M. E. Granrud, John BjorklunC,
Manor Biorklund, Joe MCGOWAN Mrs.
Joe MCGOWAN.
It is gratifying to County officials
to know absolutely that they have the
backing of their constituents in their
endeavor to honestly perform the du-
ties of their offices; and it is with
sense of gratitude and satisfaction
that the County Superintendent pub
fishes the above statement. The
I signers constitute the two Trustees of
District No. ri, not on trial, the
Clerk of the School Board, every
school patron of the Raymond School,
every man and woman residing in
RAYMOND excepting two or three who
know first hand. 1t will take more
TINA a verdict of mot guilty" by six
jury men, only partially informed, to
acquit Mr.. Aldrich in his own COM
munity.
The State Superintendent last BIZ
ennial report shows that there were
3O,037 days absence in Sheridan
County last year, and this in spite Of
| tn fact that very few Of our schools
/ have the nine months term required
/ by the Course of Study-a number Of
/ them having only six Is it any Won
/ der that our boys and girls find it
hard to pass the eighth grade exami-
nations! The Aldrich children alone
made TIA tardy marks in the Ray
inond school las year and In addition
/ To IG012 days absence. The oldest
1 child is almost S'Xteen years OH and
net yet half way through the seventh
] grade, though her teacher tells ne
I she is a bright girl. This is one Of
/ the things that we were not allowed
to tell the jury
The good people of Raymond are in
! deed to be commended for going Oh
/ record in this way for law enforce
ment When every community in
/ Sheridan County takes the same
! stand, law enforcement will not be a
one-man job. and will become a COM
paratively simple matter. The Com
/ pulsOry Education Law is plain, eX-
planning in detail the duties of par
ents, and guardians in keeping their
children in school, the penalty if they
fail to do so, the duty Of the truant
officer in enforcing the law, etc. In
my mind there is no possible excuse
for anybOdy's unfolding ordinary VI
OlatiOn of this law. to say nothing Of
I defending open and fragrant defiance
of it. Personally l have more re
/ Spect for an anarchist than / have for
man or woman who, lacking the
4 courage to call himself an anarchist
/ proves himself no better than one by
/ either defying the law himself Or
unfolding another IN doing so. An
4 archists are at least honest enough
to tell the world where to find them.
IF we do not believe in law enforce
ment, we should not believe il law at
all. Without enforcement it is a
farce so foolish as to disgust any de-
cent thinking man, and the mOcker,s
Of it is a crime against those win
believe in and pay for a legislative
department and department of justice
in our Government.
We are endeavoring to enforce the
4 Compulsory Education Law in Sheri-
dan County, not because we wish t.
punish anyone-nothing coud be farth-
er from our purpose. | dare say no
one in the Court room sympathizes
more keenly with the defendant tia
the writer, whose duty it happens to
be to swear out the complaint against
him-our purpose is not. say, to
punish the parent, but rather protect
the child In sympathy for the par
ent the welfare of the child is too Of
ten lost sight of altogether. So, al
4 so, is the real purpose of the Com
of which is the protection Of our
country.
What are the arguments in favor of
public schools at all, and which iusti-
fy compulsory payment of taxes in
support of them? Is not one of them
that we live in a Democracy where
our Government is run by the people
and that this being the case it is
important that the people have enough
educational training to enable them to
make intelligent investigation of the
problems confronting the body polite
from school district to national gov
eminent. A Democracy can be no
greater than its citizenship-it is in
deed exactly what its citizenship make
1t. and an ignorant mans vote counts
for as much as that of the most en-
lightened in the making. So long as
our people are not allowed to choose
individually whether or not thew will
pay taxes in support of public
schools, just so long should parents