Milford chronicle., 1936-09-25
FORMER JUDGE
DEFENDS LANDON

repeated attempts to discredi
Landon by New Deal spokesmen VIII
charge him with the respOnsibiiit,
Of school teachers salary cuts anl
the closing OF many Kansas publii
schools were decried recently In
statement made by Judge Grace A
Miles, of Kansas. Mrs. Miles, form
er Probate Judge of Montgomery
County in the Republican nominees
state, and a close friend of the Gov.
ernor, made her statement in this
Office of Representative Joseph W
Martin, Jr., eastern Republican cam
paign manager.
The former judge, who is now en-
gagged in the private practice of law
in independence, Kansas, has been
an intimate friend Of Governor and
Mrs. Landon for many years. Her
home is close by the executive man
sion. She declared that while she
was a probate Judge, her salary, as
well as every other county employee
had been cut considerably more than
were school teachers salaries. She
stressed the fact that Industrial
workers, as we'll, had their incomes
lowered and that school teachers
certainly were not singled out in
Kansas"
ANY statements attaching blame
to the Republican Presidential nomi-
nee for the school situation in Kan
sas are absolute libels," Judge Miles
said. THE spOkesmen of the ad-
ministration, in an attempt TO allie
nate the vote of educators know that
their charges are without fOunda-
tion in fact. They know that Gov
eTnor LandOn has taken many steps
to improve the school situation and
that he has had the wholehearted
support of teachers organizations
throughout his state.
"ln an effort to break down Gov
ernOr LandOn's splendid record of
economical operation of the state de-
partments, New Dealers have charg-
ed that one of the means he took to
effect such an accomplishment was
by starving school teachers and
closing many of the schools" Judge
Miles said "The public has been
told by these spokesmen that proof
of this is to be found in the fact that
school boards levied S36,OOO,O 900 in
taxes in 1880 and only S22,600 900 in |
A0oO anu AAal Huiuc 1OO ntHooAS W6IN
closed.
THE fact is that the Governor Of
of Kansas has absolutely no control
of the expenditures of the public |
schools in the state. Every school |
district is a law unto itself except as
to the limits of the taxes they may
impose for school operation. These
tax limits are fixed by the Legisla-
tufe and not by the Governor. -Four
years ago it was proposed that such
taxes be limited by constitutional
amendment and Governor Landon
condemned such a step. In this he
naturally had the united support of
the Kansas Teachers Association"
Continuing, the Kansas woman said:
''Of course it is true that teachers
were given cuts in salaries as were
educators in other states. Ii is like
wise true that there is no minimum
wage law for teachers in Kansas,
nor any uniformity of wages. Many
teachers in Kansas, as in other states
are woefully underpaid. In some of
the poorer school districts not more
than $500 a year can be made avail
able by taxation TO pay teacher and
alike. Undoubtedly the
system needs revision But il is not
fair to blame Governor LandOn for
this condition nor is it fair TO blame
him for the closing of some of the
schools throughout the state.
schools were closed by local dis q
Lricts because il was found to be
more practical to send the pupils to {.
nearby districts. There are today
more than 500 schools with only >
hree to four pupils and forty schools
With one child each in Kansas. Re- :
erfing to these closed schools, the :
secretary of the Kansas Teachers
Association last winter said that =
these schools were not forced to 3
lose because OF the Kansas CASH
lasis law or the tax-limitation act,
lut il was cheaper to make tempo q
airy consultations On this point Il
he State Superintendent of Public 81
a Democrat, said that II
lot a school was closed by anyone n
kept the action OF the school board d
that district alone The superin- =
andent added that the school sys-
I'm in Kansas needed revision but ;
e also declared that there were e
mple educational facilities for every n
Oy and girl in the state. III
"When local authorities closed 81
shOols, the state stepped into the :
icture by furnishing free transpOr- =
ItiOn to children TO other nearby Z
,hools. III
Regarding the suspension of
achers in the state. let me submit
lat the number of teachers engaged
1885 was little more than one per
mt less than those employed in q
81 and the annual salary paid these
achers at the close of the school y
ar OF 1885 was 1913 per cent less
an that paid In 1891. This salary b
It followed closely the fall in farm
come. The agricultural income
r Kansas was s419 1886 900 in 1929;
09, ,83S. 900 IN 1880; and $3.50. $780, q
0 In 1891. The drop from 1929 to
81 was 45 per cent. Naturally, this >
/ In the farm income had a sharp q
fluence on the teachers salaries
I'd In the one-teacher schools of q
e state. Farmers are the taxpay- II
5 who support the more than 1000 .
raj schools" q