The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1931-02-06

a MESS OF DAMAGING BLUNDERS
The January, 1881 bulletin issued by the Montana Taxpayers asso-
citation was received about a week ago. 1t says the association has
taxpayers in this state. In a blackface line at the top of a page it
tells those 10000 people, This copy of the Bulletin is a Educational
Directory for Taxpayers" That is just wonderful. All free. too, but
one thing the bulletin does not reveal is who finances this splendid
tenyear, altruistic enterprise that celebrates its tenth birthday by
handing out a free Educational Directory. 1t also says, "The districts.
listed in this publication have been picked at random. :
Should you desire the information o. your district write us" OF
course. Don't bother to ask your school board, o clerk or superinten
All right, let's see We are interested in the data concerning Dis
tct o. Wolf Point, Roosevelt county, o turn to page 10 of the January
1881 bulletin. A page Of inside information about districts of the sec
ond class. Wolf Point, cost per pupil $17S67, average daily attendance
well, that is terrible. How do the property owners of that district
manage to pay such taxes?" Suppose " e consult the authorities of
District As, Roosevelt county and search the original records. We
find this: Number of teachers 80, average daily attendance ia, cost
per pupil 1872" This result is found also by dividing the correct at
tendance into the total cost shown in the bulletin.
A slight error of III per cent in the cost per pupil
tor of this pag is: striking omnareon i nf c nrA in "%e ant ne at a ee
mentary and high schools" Striking is correct. Among the districts
of the second class shown up o this page, Wolf Point easily takes
first honors for alttude-$l7S67 But Poplar, District 8 is a good
second with S15SS2 and Shelby third with s15257. A few districts are
down in the sixties Nothing has been heard from Shelby but the err
ror in the Poplar figures is wild and wide, according o a phone in:
terview with Superintendent Frank Mitchell. He has a letter of apol
Livingston.
Second class districts are no. the only ones 0 receive this fine free
Falls included. The Great Falls Tribune of Wednesday has a double
column story Of the erroneous bulletin figures in their case. Their av
erage cost per pupil is broadcast to the state as $1,000 when it is real
~ So. Great Falls got off easy. The fate OF the many other districts
given free publicity in the bulletin will likely be coming to the surface
for some time. At the top Of page one the big line is Still wearing
letin editors will please ditch their binders and take a good look at
the facts, the public will perhaps receive a fully corrected bulletin
ina Will o. more accuTaeIy educat1Onal on the education bushes
of the state. Nothing less than a complete and accurate edition, carry
ing explanations and apologies, mailed to all of the 10000 taxpayers
receiving the balledup issue should be demanded of the organization
responsible for the damaging misinformation that has been spread. Even
that will never undo the damage suffered by school authorities, cities
and districts through the impressions and prejudices created in the
minds of people who may not happen to see the corrected bulletin Or
who ar. the sort always looking for bad news to believe. 1t is reason
able to presume that the 10000 erroneous bulletins came to the atten-
tin of at least three times that number of people.
Nobody knows better than newspaper makers how easy it is for er
rors to get into print. The matter OF a typographical error in al am
cunt " total or word would not be worth talking about. But the glazing
ra4arv pnemmon NJ dS DoeI cIat me tho e'% ~ra )" r rp %S error Spy ,"
It is mite enough TO " som big nee at he other m of he
81 wealthy it can compile, publish and circulate free bulletins ov
er the state for ten years, dig into city county and school district affairs
as though it already owned us, without having it spread widely enron
eous figures and then make those statistics the basis Of assorted and
supposedly sage advice.
The men and women of this and the other counties of Montana
who have been placed in positions of authority " the school bust
ness of their respective districts, live in their districts, most of them
have lived there for long periods, their property and their chief inter =
est are there, they ire familiar with every phase of their local situa-I =
It is natural that they should use their brains and business ex-
perience to hold school costs at the lowest total consistent with aver q
age educational opportunities for the youth of the districts. School dis q
officials don't wear "blnders", and the rest of the taxpayers don't -
to ear them-the facts are available. Boards, superintendent
and teachers have the school laws to guide them and the authority OF
the voters behind them. With the benefit of their Owl organizations l
and conventions, where practical experiences are compared and digest G
the state a carry o n nicely with the enyiably educational standards g
have established, without the aid Oh consent of outside influences,
no matter how sohcitous those influences may be $ to the taxes that u
they themselves are required to pay. 10
II a group of ordinary individuals committed such a crude and dam
bunder they would at once find themselves facing a civil action SC
law. The incident will perhaps be considered serious enough in RI
Its effects to call for action by the Legislature designed to regulate
the circulating of misleading and inaccurate literature bearing on ia
matters. III
These comments are written and published by the editor OF this. sp
without the request, suggestion or knowledge of the school SO
authorities of the Wolf Point school district.
WHY WE HAVE BUSINESS DEPREssIoNs! av