COMMON SCHOOLS.
The consideration of the bill [H. R. 322] to regulate Common Schools pending at the time of adjournment was resumed.
Mr. COOPER offered an amendment to Section 31 so as to provide for the election of County Superintendents.
Mr. LINDLEY moved to further amend by adding a priviso that any vacancy that may occur in the County Superintendent's office shall be filled by election by the Trustees of the various Townships and the Presidents of the School Boards of incorporated cities and towns of said County.
Mr. KENNER thought the tendency of these amendments was to run this office into political matters, which would be deleterious to the Common School system. He felt satisfied that the the County Superintendency is a great advance over the old examining system, and appealed to the members to vote down these amendments, as they seek to strike down the present system.
Mr. NEFF said the people were capable of electing Trustees and other officers, and they ought to have the privilege of electing County Superintendents. He opposed the election of County Superintendents by the Trustees of the County because the relation existing between these officials were usually such as to impede the selection of the most competent person.
Mr. BUSKIRK thought there was a prevailing tendency which should not exist for members to put themselves on record for the ultimate purpose of re-electionor be elevated to some other office. He thought, as a rule, that the best men are not elected to office, because they carry out their own desires rather than the wishes of constituents. He attributed the prejudice against the County Superintendents much of the same character as that against the Common Schools--one without good foundation. The office of County Superintendent he considered a good feature and favored letting well enough alone.
Mr. THOMPSON'S objection to this bill was the heavy expense incurred upon the State. This bill does not propose to remedy that evil and reduce the salary.
Mr. FRAZER--I want to say there is no officer in the State of Indiana that is so bound up and made a slave as is the County Superintendent. I see no reason why the people of Indiana are not as competent to select the County Superintendent as they are to elect the Treasurer or any other officer of the State.
Mr. GILMAN was opposed to both the amendments. The question is merely how the Superintendent was to be selected.
Mr. FLOYD considered the present mode of selecting County Superintendents the best one and the most systematic, as it has been tried and found to work well. Trustees are elected by the people, and if they do not perform their duty, they can be deposed at the proper time.
Mr. SCHWEITZER said he could not see why there should be any more corruption or political manipulation in the election of County Superintendents by the people than in the election members of the General Assembly. There would be no more politics in it.
Mr. CARR made an ineffectual motion--yeas, 32; nays, 51--to lay the amendments on the table.
Mr. DAVIS--It seems to me that this is the groundwork of our Common School system. There is nothing political about it. If there is any political bias on the part of the Township Trustees they are the members of the strongest party.
Mr. BERRYMAN moved that the pending bill be referred back to the Committee on Education with instructions to amend the bill by striking out all of said bill that pertains in any way to County Superintendents, and providing for a County Examiner, whose duty it shall be to examine teachers for license.
Mr. BERRYMAN could see no use in the office, page: 23[View Page 23] except to incur an expense upon the people of the State. Under the old system there was simply a County Examiner, and under the law as it now stands we have a County Superintendent, who is simply an ornamental office-holder who goes about the country--especially so in his County--as the Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee.
Mr. FANCHER thought the amendment of the gentleman [Mr. Berryman] amounted to just this: It would change the County Superintendent back to the old form of School Examiner; it would be taking a step backward instead of forward; it would be a retrogression instead of progression. He wanted the bill to pass in its original form because it would come nearer meeting the demand in this direction.
Mr. CAUTHORNE--At the last session there were eighty members of the House who thought proper to vote to abolish the office of County Superintendent. The people of Knox County, and even the teachers there, are opposed to it as a useless and expensive thing. When the old bill instituting this office was introduced I voted for it simply because I wanted some reformation on the school question. If there is any change made in the way of amendment I will vote for the motion refer, as I think it ought to be adopted.
Mr. STEWART said if there was any one thing he and his constituents were in favor of, it was to abolish that useless office. He had not as yet been able to see the use of that office. The teachers of the County have an idea of the time the County Superintendent comes around to visit the school and drill their pupils for the occasion. If this money--from $4 to $5 per day--the Superintendent gets to visit the schools was paid to the teacher to continue the school a longer term, it would be much better for the people of the State. He was opposed to the passage of the bill in its present shape.
Mr. RYAN said if the office of County Superintendent is beneficial to the school system of Indiana, it makes no kind of difference what it costs as it gives the State prominence among other States of the Union, and it is the only thing that will accomplish this result. He did not favor condemning the system because of its being loosely conducted, or a disregard of the law. He considered it a great National benefit to the schools. Superintendency is essential to the proper conduct of any kind of business, and the Common Schools are no exception to the rule.
Mr. MARSHALL did not object to the office of County Superintendent particularly, but, he objected to any useless office. His experience as teacher of Public Schools for over ten years has convinced him that the office of County Superintendent has not improved the condition of the Public Schools
Mr. COMPTON--I do not think Indiana ought to take a backward step, and I do believe these amendments would be a backward step in the cause of education. One of the leading merits of the County Superintendent system is that it raises the standard of scholarship, and I do hope that this resolution will not prevail. The County Superintendency to-day is worth more that it cost us, and I feel that we ought to stand by it.
Mr. FRAZER hoped the motion to refer would be voted down.
Mr. LINSDAY--As we are all expected to visit our constituents between now and next Tuesday, I therefore move that the further consideration of this bill be postponed until Wednesday next at 2 p. m., and that it be made a special order for that hour.
The resolution was adopted.
