The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-03-13


eral government, with the threat of
bureaucracy and misuse Of, the al
most unlimited power that would
thus be put in the hands of few
officials whose selection would be gov
erned largely by the exigencies of ma
tional politics. The head of the pro-
posed department, for example, be-
ing in the cabinet would be chosen
necessarily first as party man rath-
er than as an educator.
Without power to exercise or funds
to distribute, it seems evident that a
Department of Education could
achieve nothing beyond what now is
done except perhaps, to add little
dignity to teaching.
The fear of those who oppose the
creation of the department is that it
will exercise power, through ! the
large funds distributed if not by di-
rect warrant
| Therefore, the real core of the is
sue as it now stands lies in the pro-
posed appropriation of Federal funds
for the support or aid Of the public
schools of the country.
| This appropriation will be made on
the "fifty-fifty" principle; that is,
communities sharing it must pro-
vide at least equal sums for the pur-
poses in view.
There are several of these purposes.
| The sum of s7,5OoO00 of the annual
appropriation is proposed for the
eradication of illiteracy among the
native7born population 1t would be
distributed in ratio to illiteracy
among the native of the different
states. Thus the Southern states,
wherein, largely on account of the
Negroes, the rate of ilIiteracy is high,
would get larger portions of this than
would the states in other sections.
| Another $7,OOO,OO0 would be for
war on illiteracy among the foreign
'fborn, and would be so distributed;
hus assuring those states with large
Immigration populations the big
share of this
The sum of S2O,Ooo,OOO is for physi-
cal education and instruc ton in the
principles of health and sanitation.
1t is to be distributed on the basis of
population.
The balance S50,000,00O would go to
the states "to be used in public ele-
mentary and secondary schools for
the partial payment of teachers
salaries, for providing better instruc-
tion and extended school terms, es-
pecially in rural schools in partially
settled localities. for the extension
and adaptation of public libraries for
educational purposes, and otherwise
providing equally good educational
opportunities for the children of the
| several states" Onelhalf this sum- or
S25, 100000, is to be distributed on the
basis of the number of children of
school age in the different states
The other half is to be divided on the
basis of the number af teachers en-
ployed in the different states
Thus on some apportionment the
states of almost every section of the
country will seem to profit at the ex-
pense of other sections.
In fact. therein lies the prime ar
gument for the venture. 1t is argued
by those who favor it that rich New
England should help educate the
poor South, and that educ alton in
poor rural districts of the West is an
obligation on the wealthy cities of
the East.
| A committee of business men which
studied the subject during the last
session of Congress declared in an ex-
tended report "that the trainers of
the bill have been guided by political
considerations rather than educ alton
al necessities"
at is a logrolling BILL" this COM
| mittee held. "More than $4,000, 900
of the s1Oo,0Oo,oOO appropriation
would be apportioned to the follow
ing eight states: New York, Pennsyl-
vania. Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts,,
Michigan, Iowa and Texas. These
states cannot be classed as states
with backward educational institu-
tions; they pay their teachers above
the average for the country. There
is neither an educational nor pow
erty argument for Federal aid for
these states"
Eighty Cents for n Child
Professor Rufus S. Tucker, of the
Department of Economics of Harvard
University, says that the appropria-
tion would provide only eighty cents
! for each child of school age in the